Synopsis

With a new king on the throne and Michelle’s name off the wanted list, Yusuke and his new girlfriend can finally start dating in peace. During these tranquil days, Yusuke continues to sell stat-boosting snacks to his beloved rookie adventurers, Michelle’s yandere nature begins to rear its head, and he finally receives his greatest upgrade yet—a live-in store! Now that he’s a bona fide dagashi-ya, everything seems to be falling into place. With a loving girlfriend, trusty friends, new abilities, and new snacks to sell, what could possibly go wrong? But unbeknownst to him, a certain vengeful queen is lurking in the background and plotting her revenge… (Source: J-Novel Club)

Revenge, Redemption, and Romance!

Having settled the matter of Michelle’s most wanted status, the sequel to Dagashi-ya Yahagi’s sweet shop shenanigans finds Yusuke’s business growing from strength to strength.

Following Yusuke’s business expansion to inside the dungeon, his clientele has been growing nonstop. As a result, his sweet shop skill has seen a steady increase in levels to the point that he’s now able to summon forth his own live-in shop.

Rather convenient for several reasons, the main one revolves around Yusuke’s ever-evolving love life. Freed from being a wanted criminal, Yusuke’s live-in shop allows him and Michelle an opportunity to live together for the first time. There are plenty of sweet moments to be had between them as they get used to their new living arrangements. However, Michelle’s yandere tendencies may cause problems further down the line.

As well as his sweet shop skill, the second volume also sees Yusuke develop some new magical abilities. After discovering his Dagashi-ya upgrades, he soon realises that he’s acquired the ability to use clairvoyance. A useful skill as a dungeon diver with the potential to pick up treasure and monster locations, it’s unclear how the series’ author will get Yusuke to use his powers concerning his business.

Unfortunately, not everything is plain sailing for Yusuke, and the main plot of this volume focuses on the revenge and redemption of Michelle’s sister, Chichi.

Up to her old tricks again, the story ends up taking a surprisingly heartfelt turn. Despite her designs for revenge, things don’t go quite to plan as she ends up falling in love with her unsuspecting co-conspirator. Genuine love seems to change her personality throughout the volume. Little by little, her scheming and selfish ways slowly ebb away, allowing for a rare moment of selflessness by the end of the volume. By the story’s climax, I was genuinely surprised at how invested I became in their love story, and it’ll be interesting to see how it’ll be developed as the series moves locations for the next volume.

Overall, the sequel instalment of Dagashi-ya Yahagi keeps the series on the straight and narrow. While steadily increasing its protagonist’s abilities, the standout comes from its focus on Chichi. A villain through and through in the previous novel, her evolving tale of revenge, romance, and redemption was a thoroughly engaging exploration of her character, and in a genre filled with cathartic comeuppance stories, this one ingratiates itself as being unique.

I Give Dagashi-ya Yahagi Volume 2: 7/10