When the yakuza boss's daughter drags top lieutenant Ken to a K-Pop concert, he finds himself utterly captivated by the group, especially the main rapper Jun.

I only dabble in reading manga, but one genre I have found myself enjoying is light-hearted gag mangas - with one major caveat. The joke's got to have legs enough for a series, or it will run thin quickly. Luckily, this is not the case with The Yakuza's Bias.

Ken might be a serious, tough-talking yakuza member, but he finds much to admire about the unyielding dedication to his job and loyalty to his band members that Jun, a K-pop idol, displays. Over the course of the manga, we get to see him meet fellow fans, get into fandom spaces online, and even write a fanfic set in a mafia AU universe. Though I am not into K-pop myself, having friends who enjoy it and plenty of familiarity with different fandoms was enough context to carry me through.

The art seemed fairly standard, though I did appreciate that characters were drawn distinct enough from one another that I could keep up with everyone who was introduced. I do have to admit that I was a little uneasy at times about being so amused by a clan of active yakuza members - some little part of my brain kept pinging about the dark side of Ken's lifestyle that did not allow me to relax completely into the story. This is probably a me issue though, and certainly there's nothing particularly criminal on the page.

Summary:

Ken Kanashiro is a family man. By that, we mean he worked his way to the top of the Washio Clan – a yakuza outfit. Despite this, there's room in his heart for something more. It wasn't until the boss' daughter, Megumi, introduced him to K-pop that Ken realized what that thing was.

Now he's in love with K-pop. Or rather, he's in love with a certain band, with a favorite idol in particular. He will do anything for Jun, including creating a social media profile and tracking down exclusive merch.

Review:

Oh wow! The Yakuza's Bias Vol. 1 is a delightful and funny series. This badass and tough protagonist is completely unafraid to cry when attending concerts. It's sweet and oddly wholesome, right?

Actually, this whole series could probably be described as oddly wholesome. Ken shows that there's more than one way to be a loyal man, making me love him all the more. Throw in some comical scenes, and you've got a well-balanced series.

Don't worry if you're not all that familiar with the world of K-pop; The Yakuza's Bias Vol. 1 does a great job of leading readers along. Basically, you'll get to learn all about it alongside Ken. So have fun!

Highlights:
Manga
Slice-of-life
Humor
Yakuza x K-Pop

Will I continue the series? Maybe

Thanks to Kodansha Comics and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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I like the concept of this. It shows that older fans are exciting and can love K-Pop too. While this gave us some funny moments, I don't see myself picking up the next volume. There wasn't a plot and I feel like it wouldn't be much going on to keep me interested.

This book was pretty fun. I found the main characters quite likable and the way the K-Pop lifestyle was compared to the Yakuza lifestyle was pretty amusing. This book has a mocking tone, but the mocking is done with fondness rather than cruelty. My only negative is that it doesn’t quite do as much character development as I’d like, though it definitely has some.

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. This is such an intriguing story with feels of the Way of the Househusband mixed with any idol fan story. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the humor and how deep the characters personalities are and also how the idols feel about different kinds of fans as well. The art is also profound as well. 5 out of 5 stars

I’m not really one for gag manga, but I am one for gag manga about Kpop idol obsessed Japanese gangsters I guess. It’s easy for a story like this to pivot into weird territory given the nature of the protagonist being a middle-aged man (not unusual unfortunately, but unusual for a boy band fan). But I appreciate that everything here was largely related to the yakuza underboss’ fixation on a Kpop idol for their character and unshaking loyalty - which he sees as a mirror to his own.

You can tell the author has experience as a fangirl, from the photocard sales to the Twitter celebrity status some fans get. The outrageousness of this lifestyle rings true, but it never demeans the people that do it. This book is just fun, maybe not laugh out loud funny but it’s premise is at least unique enough to stick with me and I’ll likely carry on in the series.

Thank you to the publisher Kodansha Comics for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

A great read for for fans of Yakuza stories and Kpop! The Yakuza's Bias has a fun take on fandom and doesn't take itself too seriously.

I KNEW this was going to be a fun series and I wasn’t at all let down! Genuinely, I had so much fun reading this volume!

The art style might not be my favourite kind but it worked for the series and I enjoyed it!

As a kpop fan I was just so enchanted by this to be honest, because kpop is all about being for everyone because there’s no age limits or limitations on who can like music and this gives me this kind of vibe and the way the idol love starts to spread is so realistic because the way my friends all slowly fell to BTS one after the other!

I think this is going to be a favourite series of mine and I can’t wait for volume 2 because I enjoyed this one so much!

The art work was great and the story was very funny I had a great time reading ‘The Yakuza’s Bias vol 1’ would recommend to anyone looking for a fun quick read.
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good artwork and good humour.

A hard boiled Yakuza enforcer finds hope and encouragement in a k-pop band and it changes his entire outlook on life. This manga has the same kind of off beat humour as the Way of the Househusband.

Ken Kanashiro is tough, with a tough reputation. He is feared and admired by others in his clan and feared by everyone else, except for Megumi who is the daughter of his boss. Megumi introduces Ken to MNW, a K-Pop band and then Ken becomes a fan of the band to the confusion of other members of the clan. It becomes even more confusing when a rival clan member also becomes a fan.

Great artwork, entertaining and funny. If you like music with your mafia manga this is one for you.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This took me a little bit to get into but once I did, I found it so funny and really enjoyable. I would definitely pick up the next one happily!

First of all I want to thank netgalley for providing me with the first volume of this manga.

yakuza bias tells us the story of ken kanashiro, a yakuza from japan, who one day is introduced to the kpop world, becoming the number 1 fan of a kpop group, he shows us what it is like to be a fan, the process of collecting , to have your favorite member, to give him your full support during concerts, and not only does he end up falling in the kpop world, more members of the yakuza clan begin to fall, which often turns into funny moments, what would one say Yeah, but the fans are so like that... and maybe yes, I don't doubt it so easily.

It makes me curious to know how it will all end, since you are given to understand that the idols are noticing these unconventional fans.

I give it 3.5 stars out of 5, it's a fun story and it reads very quickly.

This is a gag manga where a serious yakuza member becomes obsessed with his favourite member of a K-Pop band, Jun. This is in a similar vein to The Way of the Househusband, with comedic gags of 'serious man with harsh expression is actually really soft and doing non-harsh things'. I don't think this was as much my cup of tea but there was some great comedic timing in there - you even get a small bonus half-chapter where you see the K-Pop group itself rather than just the yakuza members doing fan-boy things!

If you like Way of the Househusband, this may be the thing for you to try!

<i>I was provided with a complimentary copy of this volume by NetGalley courtesy of Kodansha in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily</i>.

This was such a cute story. It felt like a love letter to idol fans, truly. This was hilarious and there are so many scenes that made me laughing out loud. Such a golden book, mixing the yakuza culture with the idol love was absolutely genius. So much fun !

I really enjoyed this manga, it was hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. It's funny in the same way that the Way of the House Husband is funny but with kpop, playing on the contrast between the KPop and the Yakuza worlds, showing the gangsters becoming die hard stans - but also showing the perspective of the idols, which was very well done as well, as they're so over the top nice.
I'd like to read the next one!
Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for gifting me a copy in exchange for a fair review!

I really like the art style and how it changes for the idol & yakuza protagonist. The premise is similar to Way of the House Husband but different enough that it stands apart from it without issue. It showed the idol’s point of view & internal thoughts in reaction to the protagonist, which made it funnier than it already was. Looking forward to the second book

Between the poor English translation and my lack of K-pop expertise, most of the jokes in this comic probably went straight over my head, but I still didn't think it was particularly funny... both thumbs up for the concept though, we could have had it all.

Like parodies of Isekai, I wonder if there’s a subgenre of “yakuza doing non-yakuza things” in manga. Two of my favorite recent reads have fallen firmly into that territory, and Kodansha adds to this pile. The Yakuza’s Bias is a delightfully charming look at a gangster’s exposure to stan culture, with hilarious results.

Second-in-command of the Washio clan Ken Kanashiro has one thing on his mind: Running the crime family efficiently. However, that all changes when Megumi (the boss’s daughter) introduces him to MNW, a K-pop group performing in Japan. Suddenly, Kanashiro finds a new passion in life: being obsessed with the MNW singer Jun! As Kanashiro balances work and play, he decides to head into the seedy world of K-pop. Well, it might not be as seedy as the Japanese crime underworld, but who knows.

What I appreciate about this and The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting is that the protagonists are still a part of the yakuza. Kanashiro’s newest obsession acts as a detriment to his crime dealings, but there are plenty of times that it helps him in a bind. (Who knew trading a rare photo card would avert death?) The scenario is goofy, and the gritty art style contrasts with the main narrative in a pleasing way.

I can see the premise wearing thin in future volumes, but for now, The Yakuza’s Bias is a chart topper!

I reviewed this title for Booklist. Please see Booklist for the complete review and full feedback regarding this title.

Really enjoy this book about a Yakuza that shows a softer a side by showing his love for an unlikely genre of music K-Pop. The book has some really light hearted moments and really captures the development of the characters well.