Anime For The Bookish Soul
Hello everyone! I’ve talked about about bookish manga series that I enjoyed in the past on the blog, but not too much about bookish anime. So I decided to share some bookish anime shows that you may enjoy viewing and want to add to your watch list. I hope you enjoy these animated shows that will resonate with readers everywhere.
Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san
Synopsis: Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san is based on a real life experience of the author Honda during his days as a bookstore employee. The story follows the life as the staff while telling how a bookstore works.
I love to watch anime about books. I like that it’s heartwarming, humorous, and showcases the heart of a bibliophile. Honda-san is a delightful character and I like that he never mocks his customers for their sometimes unusual requests. I enjoyed how the anime takes the time to explain the world of Japanese publishing and what it’s like behind the scenes of a bookstore that sells manga. I think this show is one I can watch over and over again for its relatablity and wackiness. Most of all it celebrates the joy of reading!
Read Or Die
Read or Die takes place in an alternate history world where the British Empire has remained a major superpower. The Empire’s continued existence is guaranteed by the British Library an external intelligence agency working within the actual British Library. The series follows Yomiko Readman, also known as “The Paper”, a superhuman agent of the Library’s Special Operations.
If you like your bookish shows with a little more action, R.O.D. is a good animepick. It’s been a long time since I watched this anime but I love the mystery and feel of it and how it acts as a 007 parody too. Having a main character that is a bookworm, but can also manipulate paper as her supernatutal power? How cool! If you enjoy this series I’ll also recommend the sequel R.O.D the TV which takes place in the same universe. Both shows are fun, entertaining, and a little over-the top (in a good way).
Synopsis: Based on the manga with the same title, this animated film follows Shizuku, an inquisitive young girl and a voracious reader, who longs to be a writer when she grows up. One day she notices that all of her library books have previously been taken out by one Seiji Amasawa. Amid chasing after a large cat, befriending an eccentric antiques dealer and writing her first novel, Shizuku aims to find this mysterious boy who may well be her soul mate.
I’d thought I’d inlcude this Studio Ghibli gem because the main character is a book worm. The plot is not only centered around her journey of self-discovery and falling in love, but it discusses the process of creating art. Struggling to be creative and dealing with writer’s block are all a part of the writing process, which makes this movie seem relatable to a wide audience. It has a nice blend of slice of life and fantasy elements that truly illustrate Shizuku’s vast imagination. It’s a film that will resonate with bookworms and creative writers.
Synopsis: In the near future, the federal government creates a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. The libraries vow to protect their collections, and with the help of local governments, form a military group to defend themselves–the Library Forces!
Library Wars is a dystopian anime that follows the main character, Iku Kasahara, on her journey as a soldier in the Library Defense Forces. I like the overall concept and that the series for the most part, is very lighthearted and lots of fun. I’ve read more of the manga than watched the anime, but I think the plot is a bit unique compared to other shojo manga. It’s different to see a more dystopian view of libraries that have to be guarded and it opens up a larger conversation about censorship. It does stress the importance of freedom of speech which I appreciated.
Synopsis: Chiyo Sakura, a high school girl who fell in love with the unrefined boy schoolmate Umetaro Nozaki, decides to be courageous one day and asks him out. Her feelings weren’t conveyed properly, and before she knew it she ends up helping a particular job of his as an assistant… The series is a shojo manga boy comedy which centers around Nozaki, a high school boy that is a popular shojo manga artist, and has a story woven by very individualistic characters.
What a fun show! Nozaki is a short, binge-worthy anime running at twelve episodes total. It follows a high school students working with a student manga-ka (manga writer) and their adventures. I felt this is a bookish manga for they way it explores the process of writing manga. Through watching the show I learned more about the stages of how a manga is put together and I gained further appreciation for the hard-work and dedication put into the art. The show has a lot of laughs especially since Nozaki is the driest character of all and writes romance stories even though he’s clueless when it comes to love.
What bookish anime have you enjoyed watching? Which ones do you recommend? Let me know in the comment section below.
I need to read more Honda-san! And that Whisper of the Heart sounds perfect for me. I’ll check it out.
Whisper of the Heart is such a gem! It’s a heart-warming story and I’ve re-watched it too many times to count. I hope you enjoy it when you watch it.
Nice picks.
Whisper of the Heart is such a wonderful film. I have recently felt the desire to re-watch it.
Read or Die was a favourite of mine when I first watched it.
Me too! I feel like Whisper of the Heart is a bit underrated. I don’t feel like many people discuss the film as much as the other Ghibli movies out there.