Anime Review: Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-San Episode 1

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-San Episode 2

Studio: DLE

Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life

Stream: Crunchyroll

Just in time for Halloween, Honda-san comes to save the day! Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-San (Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san) is based on the web manga of the same name and centers on Honda, who is a skeleton that works at a bookstore. I feel like this season has been lacking in quality comedies so far, but I think that has finally changed with this series.

The series features an eclectic cast of bookstore employees and customers. The employees are creatures like a skeleton, a knight in armor, and a Jack-O-Lantern, while the customers are mostly just normal people. Honda, the main character, works at the manga counter, where he needs to satisfy his customers by pointing them towards the books they want. Sometimes the poor guy even needs to give recommendations.  At just 12 minutes an episode, the show is able to remain funny throughout with constant jokes and referential humor.

Most of the customers are foreigners who want to buy their favorite manga while they are abroad. There is a clear language barrier between Honda and the customers, which makes for funny banter as he tries to assist them. Most of the books reference real manga, such as a doujinshi with a character that is clearly Gintoki from Gintama.

The art style is perfect for the type of show, with simple lines and minimalistic book covers. The animation is crisp throughout, especially since the show doesn’t rely on any crazy visual effects to tell its story. The sound effects help to enhance the comedy, and the voice acting is perfect, reminding me of Gintama or SKET-Dance.

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-San is short, but there is a lot of humor in the first episode. Those who just want a quick laugh should certainly give it a try. It’s not revolutionary, but it accomplishes everything it sets out to do.