First Episode Impression: "Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san"

Synopsis

One would think that life as a bookstore employee would be highly boring. That is not the case with a skeleton employee named Honda. Each day he faces all kinds of colorful customers and his job is far from boring

The Good

It’s a series that seems silly on the surface but does give a good amount of laughs and clear care for the concept. Clearly, the whole masks and skeleton thing is a matter for visuals and it does do well in giving the anime a unique look along with its general style. In addition, the general tone of the anime is something different and really draws in the viewer. Personally, the whole idea of the anime being something that features the passion of reading and the colorfulness of different characters makes for an anime with great potential for enjoyment.

The Bad

As a mostly comedic anime, there isn’t any prominent flaws but rather certain points that miss the mark. The first thing that stood out was that it got a little heavy-handed with the enthusiasm of the customers and Honda panicking in trying to assist them. The way it happened more than once could turn in a repetitive point for the series. Other than this, there isn’t any real issue to be found with the first episode given the simplicity of its presentation for the most part.
Conclusion

Reading the premise, you would think that the series is simply a comedic work that focuses on the life of a bookstore employee with unique looks. It’s a fun little work that brings out its concept with colorful characters and a solid comedic delivery. It’s unique in that there are no tropes or cliches to be found with the story of characters. In addition, it seems to use Honda more as a character that informs the viewer and brings up the other characters rather than being the main protagonist. Basically, he’s not necessarily the main focus of the series but rather a figure on whose perspective the viewer is seeing through. It’s a different sort of series that so far has a minor miss point and a large potential for an enjoyably different comedy.

Rating: 7.5/10