Geek It! Anime First Impressions: Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san

Growing up, we all dreamed of working at our favourite bookstore. Not only does it seem like a relaxing job, but the fact that you get to be surrounded by your favourite books makes it an enjoyable working environment.

If it wasn’t already obvious, spending time in the manga/comics section is our favourite pastime. So when we encountered SKULL-FACE BOOKSELLER HONDA-SAN, we couldn’t help checking it out. Here are our first impressions of the anime!

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Meet Skull-face bookseller Honda-san. Yes, skull-face bookseller Honda-san has a skull-face and he works at the manga section of the bookstore.

For an anime that is based on a Pixiv manga series, Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san is an odd yet delightful addition to this year’s list of anime shows. Capturing the hearts of manga readers, the show consists of short stories that pokes fun at both manga readers and retail workers.

Rating: C/A

Although each short story lasts about five minutes (or more), it shows an insight into Honda-san’s life as a bookstore employee. Within a short amount of time, it surprisingly packs a lot of information about the retail job such as the book publishing process, stocking process, and the organisational process. 

On the frontline, we get to see Honda-san’s interactions with different customers every day. As expected, it is no surprise to see outlandish customers with outlandish requests — we’re talking yaoi suggestions and 18+ doujinshi novels. Luckily for these customers, Honda-san always does his best to remain professional and helpful no matter what the subject matter is.

The visuals might seem low-quality and the style is something you’d see back in the 80s-90s, but this art direction actually works in its favour. And also, with Honda-san’s dark humour and absurd facial expressions, Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san is the perfect show to get into the Halloween mood. 

Our final thoughts? Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san is a fun short anime series where the length of the show is deemed worthy to watch. Although the concept of the show might deter real-life retail workers, it still offers good entertainment, especially the way manga readers are portrayed. If you’re looking for something to pass a short amount of time, this is the show!