Honda, Hiroto

本田ヒロト

Honda, a student in class 1-B at Domino High School, is a boy who became friends with Yugi, Jonouchi, and Anzu. Later, he also befriends Bakura. In the manga, Honda begins as Jonouchi's street thug buddy and initially has a crush on Miho Nosaka. In the 1998 anime, he serves as the head of the school's beautician department. Along with Jonouchi, he was rescued from the bully Ushio by Yugi, though he initially dislikes Yugi. After confessing his love for Miho Nosaka to Jonouchi, he is persuaded by Jonouchi to ask Yugi for help in writing a love letter to her in the form of a puzzle. When the vain teacher Ms. Chono confiscates the puzzle, threatening to punish Miho if the secret admirer does not come forward, Yugi and Jonouchi defend him by claiming they wrote it. Ms. Chono decides to assemble the puzzle anyway to identify the sender, and Dark Yugi secretly turns it into a Shadow Game, shattering Ms. Chono's pretty face as the Penalty Game. From then on, Honda warms up to Yugi and becomes one of his dearest friends, despite Miho later rejecting him when he asks her out directly. Honda always helps Jonouchi or Yugi when they are in need. He is a friend to the end.
In the 1998 anime, Honda has a recurring crush on Miho, but he has no involvement with Ms. Chono. In the English version of the Duel Monsters anime, his past was heavily edited to remove violent fighting scenes, and his importance is slightly downplayed. In the Duel Monsters anime, he has a large crush on Jonouchi's sister Shizuka, and his origin story with Miho is never mentioned. He also has a strong rivalry with Ryuji Otogi in the English version and regularly competes with him for Shizuka's affections.