This is the story of Honda-san, a skeleton that works in a bookstore. He mans the manga counter and fulfill requests for his strange customers like Gintama tentacle doujinshi and deals with his variety of equally odd co-workers.
This is an anime for the anime fans. The comedy is part absurd and part meme, but if you are well-versed in your otaku references, it is sure to please. If you want more anime recommendations like Honda-san, head on down below.
Anime Like Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san
For Fans of Inhuman Shop Workers
Shirokuma Cafe
Located near the local zoo, the charismatic polar bear Shirokuma decided to open his eponymous cafe.As a popular spot for humans and animals alike, it is a good place to relax after a hard day.
Honda-san is a skeleton, the cafe is staffed by animals. Different, yes, but also similar. Shirokuma is more of a chill comedy, however, but can be just as strange at times.
Squid Girl
Terror of the seas Ika Musume has come out of the ocean to punish humanity for polluting her waters. With her ink-spitting skills and tentacles for hair, she is all set for invading Earth, but she didn’t count on two sisters bullying her into working at their seafood restaurant.
The primary focus of Squid Girl, unlike Honda-san, isn’t working. She is brow-beaten into working as a waitress, though. Primarily what they have in common is the strange characters that lead to the strange comedy.
The Devil is a Part-Timer
Just as he was on the cusp of conquering his world, Satan is thrown through a portal to Tokyo. Although he cannot use magic in this world, he is still motivated to conquer it, but first, he must get a job and pay his rent on time.
Unlike Honda-san, Satan, by every respect, looks human. However, he is not. Furthermore, because of the unique way he acts, this is what leads to the comedy in the workplace and the show itself.
For Fans of Otaku References
Denki-gai no Honya-san
Umio is a shy kid that took a part-time job at a manga store to fund his hobbies. However, while the store is in the center of the city, Umio and his new co-workers are more interested in spending time inside.
Like Honda-san, Denki-gai is about a kid that works in a bookstore and sells manga. While the show is less weird than Honda-san, it is just as packed with otaku references and related comedy. It is also a little more slice of life in genre as well.
Himouto! Umaru-san
Umaru Doma is, by all accounts, the perfect student. She is beautiful, smart, and respectful, at least until she gets home, anyway. Once that door closes, Umaru dons her hamster hoodie and transforms into a bratty, lazy, junk food-gorging otaku that is fully dependent on her responsible older brother, Taihei. Whether it it playing video games or eating the right snack combinations, Umaru knows how to live.
If you loved the otaku comedy in Honda-san, Umaru-chan is something to revel in as it is just packed full of references. However, while it shows off a lot of relatable otaku lifestyle, unlike Honda, Umaru is kind of a dick in many respects.
Genshiken
Sasahara Kanji is a college freshmen and hopes to join a club to share his secret thoughts about anime,manga, and gaming. While ardently believing he is not an otaku, he gets utterly humbled by a member of the society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, the club he wants to join. Will Kanji be able to accept his otakuness?
Although older and showing its age, Genshiken is a classic otaku comedy show, but much less random than Honda-san. Furthermore, you will note that there are more serious moments in Genshiken as well, including the fact that it has a plot.
For Fans of Weird Characters
Nichijou
Nichijou primarily focuses on the daily antics of a trio of childhood friends—high school girls Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami—whose stories soon intertwined with the young genius Hakase Shinonome, her robot caretaker Nano, and their talking cat Sakamoto. With every passing day, the lives of these six, as well as of the many people around them, experience both the calms of normal life and the insanity of the absurd.
If you don’t necessarily need an otaku comedy, but really enjoyed how random and energetic the comedy was in Honda-san, you can do no better than Nichijou to follow it up. It is high energy and as clever in comedy as it is fast paced.
Working!
Due to his love of cute things, Souta Takanashi ends up taking a job at the Wagnaria family restaurant in Hokkaido at the behest of the small and cute Popura Taneshima. However, while he enjoys doting on Popura, he must stay on his toes while working with his more eccentric colleagues.
While the comedy in Honda-san is inspired by real life, Working finds its comedy in real life situations that arise while working. They are of a similar genre, but Honda-san is more fantasy than Working.
Blend S
Maika is a person with naturally bad luck, although much of that comes from her mean-looking eyes. These eyes have since prevented her from gaining part-time employment in order to fund her dreams of studying abroad. However, one day she meets a man named Dino who runs a very special cafe. Inside, the waitresses all adopt very specific personas for the customers, and Dino wants Maika to be his sadistic-type girl. However, despite having the eyes for it, Maika isn’t a sadist.
Honda-san focuses on serving otaku hobbies and Blend S services a different sort of otaku client. While Blend S is more cute, it is still an effective comedy like Honda-san, but it has a bad habit of beating the same jokes.
Did we miss any more good anime recommendations like Honda-San? Let fans know in the comments section below.
