Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san

Honda is a skeleton, but more importantly, they are a bookseller. And they will tell you from firsthand experience that the job of a bookstore employee is more challenging than it may seem to the average customer.

Alongside their equally eccentric coworkers, Honda constantly deals with the stressful requirements of the bookselling industry. From the drama of receiving new titles without their bonus material to the struggle of providing quality service to customers who speak a different language, the work of a skeleton bookseller never ends.

Nevertheless, despite the hardships they face, Honda thoroughly enjoys their job and strives to bring the best book selections and service to their customers.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Honda Main

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Kamibukuro Supporting

Sanpei, Yuuko Japanese

Okitsune Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Pest Mask Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Houtai Supporting

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Azarashi Supporting

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Gas Mask Supporting

Hatano, Wataru Japanese

Armour Supporting

Okamura, Akemi Japanese

Kendou Supporting

Nishiyama, Koutarou Japanese

Majutsushi Supporting

Nakao, Ryusei Japanese

Yoshie, Terushige Producer

Masaki, Daisuke Producer

Fujii, Takahiro Producer

Saitou, Masahiro Producer

Reviews

Oct 19, 2024

bigtiddysub

Recommended

"How'd it go with the search for a shoujo manga that could entertain a man in his fourties?"

I think if you're looking for a short and face paced anime about the realities of working in retail, then this is for you!
The art style was unique because all of the workers and main characters have their head covered with some sort of mask or object. Even background characters might have their face covered with a sheet of paper at times.
Pretty much the only ones who were drawn as humans were the customers themselves.
I especially liked how the Americans were drawn because it was ... very accurate, and that moment when they added an unsuspecting gyaru customer was great.
There were many hilarious scenarios of the different types of customers that one might face while selling manga at a book store.
The scenes of the many different types of BL lovers. It was funny to see their stereotypes become challenged when meeting these unusual people.
It was definitely stressful from a managing point of view, with faced with the task of restocking and getting their hands on the newest products. Seeing how they would interact with their bosses as well.
It was also interesting to see their dilemmas of setting up displays or arranged the books on the shelves which I never really thought would be portrayed in a story but it was actually cool to see.
And we can't forget the craziness that happens in retail during Christmas. (The part where he didn't want to gift wrap their orders was too relatable)
Overall this anime looks quite odd at first but even if he is a skeleton there are still many moments to relate to.
As far as comedy goes this achieved the goal!
I would recommend especially if you're looking for something easy and light-hearted because each episode is only about 11 minutes long. The opening is also great I have to add.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Oct 1, 2023

uptoolate

Mixed Feelings

To be honest, I almost gave up on this anime around episode 5, as at that point despite the good vibes of the show in general, none of the jokes had really landed. I'm glad I stuck it out, and really when the episodes are as short as these it wasn't any real struggle.

The strongest point, for me, was how visually interesting this anime ended up being, despite how few setting changes there are. I really enjoyed the styling of the various booksellers and employees. I also tend to like episodic structure, and that was no different for this anime.

The main sticking point for me ... ends up being the content itself. I just wasn't particularly entertained, overall. I didn't find the stories that interesting, and I didn't find the jokes that funny. As the story and comedy are the backbone of this anime, the art can't really make up for the fact that I found this anime to be a pretty bland experience. I don't think this anime is bad, there's really no harm in giving this show a shot, watching an episode or two to see if the jokes land with you. If they do, you will certainly find enjoyment in it. If they don't, you've only invested 10-20 minutes into finding out.

One further note on an aspect of the lens of this anime, which I genuinely appreciated: there is a refusal to outright make fun of the customer characters, regardless of what they were in the bookstore shopping for. Too often, I see jokes made at others' expense when the only thing the butt of the joke ever did was genuinely appreciate and be passionate about something. I was nervous when I realized the setting that I was headed for tasteless jokes about fujoshi/fudanshi or mocking of foreign manga readers or any other combination of a joke that consisted of "Hey, that person likes something ... let's make fun of them for it!". I am truly glad to report that, while there are good-natured jokes related to both the various genres of books for sale and to their varied readership, none of them, in my opinion, even approach the line of mean-spirited. I suspect this is due in large part to the actual lived experience the author drew on in order to write the original manga. I just wanted to highlight that. While the humor didn't exactly land with me, the respectful attitude behind telling these day-in-the-life vignettes did.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 9, 2024

Avinash1999

Not Recommended

Preliminary (3/12 eps)

I was in the mood to watch a comedy anime, something light and funny to lift my spirits. So, I started searching everywhere on this site, exploring different sections to find a hidden gem. Then, all of a sudden, I came across an intriguing poster: the main character was a skeleton! The visual immediately caught my attention, so I decided to check out the anime’s rating and reviews. To my surprise, it had a great rating, and all the reviews from other viewers were overwhelmingly positive. Everyone seemed to love this anime and found it hilarious. I thought I might have found the perfect one!

So, ... I started the first few episodes with a lot of excitement, expecting to have a good laugh. But unfortunately, disappointment quickly set in. Why was I disappointed? Well, I’ve watched plenty of comedy anime, and this one just didn’t make me laugh, even after two episodes. The pacing, the jokes, the humor in general didn’t work for me. I expected so much more, and that’s exactly why the disappointment feels even greater.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Oct 7, 2018	103 replies	by kyotokki »» Oct 10, 2024 5:48 AM
	Poll: Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san Episode 3 Discussion Stark700 - Oct 21, 2018	37 replies	by lara2058 »» Jul 31, 2024 7:11 AM
	Poll: Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san Episode 12 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 23, 2018	42 replies	by Occupyingmyeyes »» Jun 20, 2023 6:43 PM
	Poll: Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san Episode 10 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 9, 2018	23 replies	by kihel »» Apr 20, 2023 9:08 PM
	Poll: Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san Episode 9 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 2, 2018	22 replies	by kihel »» Apr 20, 2023 9:05 PM