TV-Series
Description
Hotaru Shidare serves as a central figure in this narrative, distinguished by a striking and polished appearance. She is a young woman of slender build and relatively tall stature, with a noticeable bust and shoulder-length lilac hair typically accented by a flowered black headband. Her most captivating features are her peculiar blue eyes, which possess a hypnotic, concentric quality, and her consistently well-maintained red nail polish. Her wardrobe contrasts a white blouse with a red bowtie against a black skirt, black pantyhose, and heels, lending her a formal air that stands in contrast to her often unpredictable behavior.
Her personality is defined by an intense, eccentric, and almost childlike passion for dagashi, or cheap Japanese snacks. This obsession fuels her most notable trait: an overwhelming excitement that leads her to initiate strange activities and challenges involving candy. Her knowledge of these sweets is encyclopedic, making her a formidable database of facts, trivia, and the unique origins of each product. However, she does not simply recite information; she often becomes overly dramatic, spinning fantastical and emotional narratives about candies, such as depicting them as warriors in a war or inventing sorrowful origin stories. This hyperactive imagination causes her to become genuinely moved by her own tales. While her love for dagashi is her primary drive, she can be surprisingly unaware of situations with sexual connotations, often making bold or easily misinterpreted statements without any apparent self-consciousness. This is also evident in her lack of shame regarding her own body in certain situations, such as when she was unintentionally seen naked.
Hotaru is the daughter of the president of the Shidare Company, a large and wealthy confectionery manufacturer. Her family's immense wealth is demonstrated by their ownership of a private jet and a mansion built specifically for her in a suburban town. Her primary motivation for coming to this rural town was to recruit Kokonotsu Shikada’s father, a renowned dagashi shop owner, to her family's company. When he refused, stating he would only leave if his son agreed to inherit the shop, Hotaru made it her personal mission to convince Kokonotsu to take over the business. Her dream is to create the world's best confectionery company with her own hands.
In the story, Hotaru acts as the chaotic catalyst who disrupts the quiet life of the Shikada Dagashi shop. She sees Kokonotsu not only as her target for recruitment but also as a rival in the realm of sweets knowledge. While she constantly devises schemes to persuade him to inherit the shop, her actions more often result in the two of them engaging in passionate discussions and strange antics involving various dagashi. Her key relationships include a close friendship with Saya Endō, whom she greatly respects and calls "Saya-shi," and a collaborative partnership with Kokonotsu’s father, You Shikada, with whom she shares a deep camaraderie for dagashi and plans to push Kokonotsu. There are hints of developing romantic feelings on both sides, as evidenced by her later proposal and her queries about his feelings for her.
Throughout the second season, Hotaru undergoes a significant development when she suddenly disappears from the town for several months, leaving Kokonotsu and the others uncertain of her whereabouts. Her absence becomes a major plot point, forcing Kokonotsu to confront his own feelings for her and his aspirations for the shop. When she finally reappears, she reveals she has been working to start her own company, separate from her family’s, and once again attempts to recruit Kokonotsu, this time for her own venture. This period of growth demonstrates her ambition beyond her family's shadow and solidifies her feelings, culminating in her directly proposing to Kokonotsu before departing again, asking him to have an answer ready by their next meeting.
Her notable abilities extend beyond her vast knowledge of dagashi history and trivia; she is a highly skilled player of Menko, a traditional card game, having perfected a technique called "Second Dance" after two years of practice. In contrast to her extensive expertise, she possesses a unique and consistent weakness: extraordinarily bad luck with any lottery or drawing element found in dagashi, as she is said to have never won a prize. She is also prone to accidents caused by her single-minded focus on candy, such as falling off her bicycle while trying to eat a popsicle.
Her personality is defined by an intense, eccentric, and almost childlike passion for dagashi, or cheap Japanese snacks. This obsession fuels her most notable trait: an overwhelming excitement that leads her to initiate strange activities and challenges involving candy. Her knowledge of these sweets is encyclopedic, making her a formidable database of facts, trivia, and the unique origins of each product. However, she does not simply recite information; she often becomes overly dramatic, spinning fantastical and emotional narratives about candies, such as depicting them as warriors in a war or inventing sorrowful origin stories. This hyperactive imagination causes her to become genuinely moved by her own tales. While her love for dagashi is her primary drive, she can be surprisingly unaware of situations with sexual connotations, often making bold or easily misinterpreted statements without any apparent self-consciousness. This is also evident in her lack of shame regarding her own body in certain situations, such as when she was unintentionally seen naked.
Hotaru is the daughter of the president of the Shidare Company, a large and wealthy confectionery manufacturer. Her family's immense wealth is demonstrated by their ownership of a private jet and a mansion built specifically for her in a suburban town. Her primary motivation for coming to this rural town was to recruit Kokonotsu Shikada’s father, a renowned dagashi shop owner, to her family's company. When he refused, stating he would only leave if his son agreed to inherit the shop, Hotaru made it her personal mission to convince Kokonotsu to take over the business. Her dream is to create the world's best confectionery company with her own hands.
In the story, Hotaru acts as the chaotic catalyst who disrupts the quiet life of the Shikada Dagashi shop. She sees Kokonotsu not only as her target for recruitment but also as a rival in the realm of sweets knowledge. While she constantly devises schemes to persuade him to inherit the shop, her actions more often result in the two of them engaging in passionate discussions and strange antics involving various dagashi. Her key relationships include a close friendship with Saya Endō, whom she greatly respects and calls "Saya-shi," and a collaborative partnership with Kokonotsu’s father, You Shikada, with whom she shares a deep camaraderie for dagashi and plans to push Kokonotsu. There are hints of developing romantic feelings on both sides, as evidenced by her later proposal and her queries about his feelings for her.
Throughout the second season, Hotaru undergoes a significant development when she suddenly disappears from the town for several months, leaving Kokonotsu and the others uncertain of her whereabouts. Her absence becomes a major plot point, forcing Kokonotsu to confront his own feelings for her and his aspirations for the shop. When she finally reappears, she reveals she has been working to start her own company, separate from her family’s, and once again attempts to recruit Kokonotsu, this time for her own venture. This period of growth demonstrates her ambition beyond her family's shadow and solidifies her feelings, culminating in her directly proposing to Kokonotsu before departing again, asking him to have an answer ready by their next meeting.
Her notable abilities extend beyond her vast knowledge of dagashi history and trivia; she is a highly skilled player of Menko, a traditional card game, having perfected a technique called "Second Dance" after two years of practice. In contrast to her extensive expertise, she possesses a unique and consistent weakness: extraordinarily bad luck with any lottery or drawing element found in dagashi, as she is said to have never won a prize. She is also prone to accidents caused by her single-minded focus on candy, such as falling off her bicycle while trying to eat a popsicle.