Hello everyone, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! This week Honda-San is back in form, as we refocus on the customers. We see a cavalcade of book lovers, the terror of children, and a peek into the publishing life of Honda. Let’s dive in!
As I sad in the intro, Honda-San is back at it with the customer stories this week. Once again, it shows that these eccentric personalities are the strength of the show. I can’t say it was hilarious, I didn’t laugh out loud at any point in the episode. But it was consistently entertaining. I giggled from time to time and the stories were, if nothing else, interesting. I think a short series like Honda-San benefits from a rotating/perpetually new cast of side characters. This way our set leads can bounce off them and show something new each week, occasionally bouncing off of each other. Both segments had numerous new customers with their own quirks, and with how short the segments are, none overstayed their welcome. With how short the are on screen, they don’t have to be more than interesting caricatures.
Take sequence one, Bookstores are so Wonderful, for example. We got three new customers here, with one of them acting as nothing more than a punchline. But each one was memorable. In the first, many viewers could probably see themselves. Buying loads of books or going to the store just because you love it. The struggle of carrying everything in one trip. Meanwhile the Yakuza acts as the actual gag of the segment, with the multiple layers to the joke. The appearance, to the finger, to the nametag, to the delivery to a prison. These are the kinds of jokes I want to see. I keep hitting on it, but the first few seasons of the Simpsons are beloved for a reason. Layering jokes works, because the audience can never know when it’s over. Honda-San has a perfect example of it here.
The second segment, The Shelves with and without Restrictions, tries to do this layering as well, though not as well. The focus on children isn’t bad. It’s a new direction for Honda-San, as we haven’t seen any children up until now. But the jokes start and stop to obviously. The crying child to his mother springing over was probably the best, and there was no follow up to it. You could consider the “creepy” aspect, with the great visual below, as a follow up. But for me it felt like a separate gag. Meanwhile the second attempt, with the young girl, took to long in its execution to me. Funny thing to say about a 10 minute short series, but it’s true. Honda-San is at it’s best when it just doesn’t stop. A short is not the place for long pauses or biding your time.
Finally, we have an extra segment at the very end, discussing a live action adaptation. Had some good chuckles about this one. I quite liked the self-deprecating jokes of the hot actor playing Honda. With how short it was, it also didn’t stop at any point, to it’s benefit. Honda-San also went for deadpan humor here in regards to the Koala publisher. Sadly, aside from the jokes about the actor, I just don’t find industry discussions funny. And I come to Honda-San for humor. Nothing more. The series is meant to be a 10 minute jokey distraction for me. Perhaps that is my fault for mis-interpreting it, but that is what the first episode sold it to me as.
All in all a valiant attempt by Honda-San. Some jokes hit, others missed, that’s natural. The day every joke hits every audience member is the day our sun implodes on itself. For me, enough jokes hit that I count this as a well spent 10 minutes. My personal favorite part of course was that Texas made it into the series! Being from Texas myself, it is also nice to see my fellows in media. And portrayed in a positive, passionate light as well! I doubt it hit anyone else like it did me though. The joke wasn’t great and I only truly cared because of my home state. Still, a nice treat for me.
What did you think? Is anyone here still watching Honda-San, or am I talking to open air? Let me know below and see you next week!
