1. Skull-face Bookseller Honda-sanCopy !req
2. An Outstanding BooksellerCopy !req
3. Working at a bookstore, we sometimes
receive questions like this one:Copy !req
4. What kind of person is a good fit
for work at a bookstore?Copy !req
5. Who's good for working at a bookstore?Copy !req
6. That's what I'd like to know.Copy !req
7. What would you answer, Honda-san?Copy !req
8. Um...Copy !req
9. *Personal opinionCopy !req
10. Someone who doesn't care about being
monetarily rewarded for their work,Copy !req
11. who can control their expressive
muscles to a certain degree,Copy !req
12. and is reasonably sociable.Copy !req
13. Stop that, please!Copy !req
14. Especially the part about monetary rewards!Copy !req
15. I want more pay!Copy !req
16. I mean, I get it, but...Copy !req
17. Pipe down.Copy !req
18. And don't talk about your fetishes.Copy !req
19. We were talking about work!Copy !req
20. I thought you were going to say, like,
"someone who can speak English."Copy !req
21. Someone like that is also suitable
for places other than bookstores.Copy !req
22. Oh, speaking of which, there's
something I noticed recently...Copy !req
23. Bookstores are perpetually
organizing something or other.Copy !req
24. *Personal opinionCopy !req
25. That's true.Copy !req
26. We pull out new books and make returns...Copy !req
27. ReturnCopy !req
28. Every day is spent pulling things
out and putting things in.Copy !req
29. The book stacks tend to end
up looking like bar graphs.Copy !req
30. IdeallyCopy !req
31. And the magazines end up looking
like the katakana "no" and "shi."Copy !req
32. In a perfect worldCopy !req
33. That's never a good thing.Copy !req
34. I caught a shoplifterCopy !req
35. ProductsCopy !req
36. Shoplifters tend to prey
on disorganized shelves.Copy !req
37. Social OrderCopy !req
38. And the social order type people
tend to get on our case.Copy !req
39. Oh, no!Copy !req
40. I'm gonna work my hardest
to keep things in order!Copy !req
41. Yeah, let's do it!Copy !req
42. But that's easier said than done.Copy !req
43. The shelves end up disorderly in no time.Copy !req
44. BamCopy !req
45. WooshCopy !req
46. Ta-daCopy !req
47. These shelves...Copy !req
48. Sneak.Copy !req
49. Sneak.Copy !req
50. Sneak, sneak, sneak.Copy !req
51. Each publisher is sorted and stocked
by author and grouped by volume count!Copy !req
52. Hey, what's up?Copy !req
53. Are you looking for something?Copy !req
54. N-No, I'm not looking for anything.Copy !req
55. I was just peeking.Copy !req
56. Why are you doing that?!Copy !req
57. Gotta go, bye!Copy !req
58. I'm humbled.Copy !req
59. Fullface-senpai is something else.Copy !req
60. Staff OnlyCopy !req
61. I know, right?!Copy !req
62. It's not just the shelves. His personal
drawers are always tidy as hell.Copy !req
63. Dude, your shelves are super clean, too!Copy !req
64. The chaos at my place is, like,
Mad**x level, to put it lightly.Copy !req
65. Why don't we get Fullface-san
to do our shelves, too?Copy !req
66. That's tempting, but no thanks.Copy !req
67. Seriously, put a sock in it.Copy !req
68. We're sorry.Copy !req
69. Oh, man. Wow. Fullface-san
cleaned up my spot, huh?Copy !req
70. How did you know?Copy !req
71. It's organized in a way
that's logical to anyone,Copy !req
72. it's orderly, and it's easy to understand.Copy !req
73. No one else can maintain such a state.Copy !req
74. Not anyone here, at least.Copy !req
75. Dude! You're right, but come on!Copy !req
76. Say something, Manager!Copy !req
77. I can't.Copy !req
78. You're so loud.Copy !req
79. There he is.Copy !req
80. We were just talking about how your area
is so tidy, even including your stock.Copy !req
81. Tidy?Copy !req
82. Tidy, huh?Copy !req
83. I mean, I'm cleaning for my own sake,Copy !req
84. but it makes things easier for everyone
when it's easy to find stock.Copy !req
85. It sucks when we have to dig
through all of it, right?Copy !req
86. That's our Fullface.Copy !req
87. A true bookseller.Copy !req
88. Nah, I'm just doing what's normal.Copy !req
89. Stop it! You're just rubbing it in!Copy !req
90. A person who can act in the interest of othersCopy !req
91. is the kind of person a bookstore needs.Copy !req
92. Isn't that right, Senpai?Copy !req
93. *Personal opinionCopy !req
94. Section Chief Pestmask.Copy !req
95. Yes?Copy !req
96. What kind of person comes to mind when
you think of good bookseller material?Copy !req
97. Where did that come from?Copy !req
98. I don't know.Copy !req
99. There are a lot, but...Copy !req
100. *Personal opinionCopy !req
101. Someone who doesn't steal
or become violent...Copy !req
102. Someone who isn't asking
to be arrested, maybe?Copy !req
103. Oh, someone who likes books?Copy !req
104. You there, the hero looking
to work at a bookstore,Copy !req
105. it might not be too hard to get the job.Copy !req
106. Swapping Section HeadsCopy !req
107. Things are heating up in
the staff shuffle meeting.Copy !req
108. They always seem really stumped, though.Copy !req
109. It decides your fate, after all.Copy !req
110. This kind of takes me back.Copy !req
111. A few years agoCopy !req
112. ** BookstoreCopy !req
113. Looks like it isn't a full shuffle this time.Copy !req
114. I wanna switch.Copy !req
115. Gimme something really easy.Copy !req
116. In any case, Honda-san, you'll
be in charge of something else.Copy !req
117. Oh, my!Copy !req
118. Honda-san, you've been in charge
of the current section for a while,Copy !req
119. so we decided you should try something new.Copy !req
120. Congrats.Copy !req
121. Oh, err, I'm just busy thinking about how I really
need to clean my shelves before we switch.Copy !req
122. You're so proper.Copy !req
123. Are there any sections you're
interested in, Honda?Copy !req
124. Nope.Copy !req
125. That was quick.Copy !req
126. There are some sections I don't want...Copy !req
127. Ones that I don't have
the confidence to handle.Copy !req
128. I think we might be the same.Copy !req
129. Which section?Copy !req
130. The gaming stuff.Copy !req
131. Same!Copy !req
132. It's not that I have contempt for
gaming magazines or anything...Copy !req
133. If anything, it's the other
way around! I know!Copy !req
134. What's this? I smell a noob in the shelves.Copy !req
135. We're not gamers at all,Copy !req
136. so the customers tend to know more
about the strategy guides and stuff.Copy !req
137. I feel like the customers can tell right awayCopy !req
138. when someone who doesn't know
the content is managing the shelves.Copy !req
139. I mean, it's work, so I'll do it
begrudgingly if I have to.Copy !req
140. But I can't imagine I'd accomplish much
aside from ruining our sales numbers.Copy !req
141. I know.Copy !req
142. I know, but Kamibukuro-senpai,Copy !req
143. at the end of the day, you're
hard-working, tough, and capable.Copy !req
144. Even though you're weird.Copy !req
145. I'm not saying that the gaming shelvesCopy !req
146. are the only ones I can't handle.Copy !req
147. I have no confidence with any
of the well-known publishers!Copy !req
148. What follows is Honda's strictly personal
opinions on sorting shelves by publisher.Copy !req
149. Shu-E-shaCopy !req
150. Let's go!Copy !req
151. First, the king of manga, Shu-E-sha!Copy !req
152. The popular series never end, and they
keep selling even after they finish,Copy !req
153. so they can't be removed from the shops.Copy !req
154. A shelf from Hell!Copy !req
155. Kou-D-sha is picking up steam!Copy !req
156. Kou-D-shaCopy !req
157. A mad publisher that finds a strange pleasureCopy !req
158. in shortening each title's
frequency of new releases.Copy !req
159. Sho-G-kanCopy !req
160. The eternal final boss, Sho-G-kan!Copy !req
161. A super-duper proper publisher that'll
never accept an order unless you fax them!Copy !req
162. Shonen-G-houshaCopy !req
163. Aki-T-shotenCopy !req
164. Aki-T-shoten and Shonen-G-housha!Copy !req
165. Many of their customers demand
blood, guts, and comedy,Copy !req
166. so we have to keep their shelves extra tidy!Copy !req
167. Toku-M-shotenCopy !req
168. Shin-C-shaCopy !req
169. Toku-M-shoten and Shin-C-sha!Copy !req
170. There's such huge fluctuation
in interest for their titles!Copy !req
171. Let your guard down, and they'll create a
buzz online, leaving us with nothing in stock!Copy !req
172. Welcome to chaos: Haku-S-sha!Copy !req
173. Haku-S-shaCopy !req
174. The lack of consistency in the
moods they set is unrivaled!Copy !req
175. Their section is best led by someone who can
quickly add stock as soon as a new book releases!Copy !req
176. And the most terrifying of them all...Copy !req
177. The multi-headed publishing
lifeform colony, KADOKAWA.Copy !req
178. Perhaps their goal is to fill the calendar
with their own comic launches,Copy !req
179. but there's a new volume every day.Copy !req
180. The New Book Instrumentality Project!Copy !req
181. They're just really slow to reprint books.Copy !req
182. Seriously slow!Copy !req
183. So we end up ordering more
than we expect to sell.Copy !req
184. This, too, may be part of
the Instrumentality Project.Copy !req
185. I'm starting to hate—I mean,Copy !req
186. lose confidence in—all the shelves.Copy !req
187. No, no, no!Copy !req
188. Buck up, Honda.Copy !req
189. It's all right.Copy !req
190. *Artist renditionCopy !req
191. So long as they don't throw me a huge
curveball, there's no section I can't handle!Copy !req
192. New person in charge: HondaCopy !req
193. American Comics
Oversized booksCopy !req
194. Previously in charge: HoutaiCopy !req
195. Please soldier on ❤ by ArmorCopy !req
196. You got this!Copy !req
197. #^(*&@%#(*&!Copy !req
198. I don't read American comics! I have no idea!Copy !req
199. You'll be fine.Copy !req
200. Used CardboardCopy !req
201. I didn't either, but keep
at it and you'll make it!Copy !req
202. Foreign comics and other big books get
treated more like books than manga,Copy !req
203. so just randomly arrange them.Copy !req
204. It's perfect for half-assers like you and me.Copy !req
205. Your true colors are showing.Copy !req
206. But, I feel like the customers can tellCopy !req
207. whether or not I have as much
passion as you do.Copy !req
208. I dunnoCopy !req
209. You'll end up loving them
eventually, I guess.Copy !req
210. So half-assed!Copy !req
211. You'll get used to it.Copy !req
212. I'll back you up in the beginning.Copy !req
213. Thank you.Copy !req
214. I was worried about the
foreign comics shelves,Copy !req
215. but strangely, I'm still in charge.Copy !req
216. I don't know whether I'm good at it or not,Copy !req
217. but it's true that it's grown
on me since I started.Copy !req
218. Newly in-charge: KendoCopy !req
219. Magazine-style comicsCopy !req
220. And so, you're in charge now.Copy !req
221. Magazine-style comics, huh?Copy !req
222. That sounds really hard.Copy !req
223. Don't worry!Copy !req
224. You can learn about them as you go.Copy !req
225. Life is all about trying new things, huh?Copy !req
226. Should I stop being fussy
and try the gaming shelves?Copy !req
227. I'll be waiting!Copy !req
228. In charge of gamingCopy !req