I loved this story. It was very unique and had me entrapped from the begging. Can't wait for the second one!

This was such a refreshing and hilarious read! Arakuni's been tasked with the role of bodyguard for his classmate—and childhood friend—Honeko Akabane, and she's definitely a handful!

What I loved about this story was that despite Arakuni being a teenager, he's taken up this task and treating it as his own life's mission... Which kind of is, in some ways, and he'd rather be seen as a boisterous, hot-headed boy than a protector to Akabane's very own life. It felt very sweet and it makes you wonder whether there's a bit more to their friendly bond that meets the eye.

I'm still not sure how I feel about Akabane yet, although it is a little funny to see her completely oblivious to everything that's going on around her.

Definitely not short of comical moments—and also twists that I did not see coming at all—Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards' first volume is definitely an interesting start and I'm very curious to see how this develops.

The manga does a great job keeping the reader engaged with surprises and character development in a short period. It's a fun action with romantic and comedic elements which I hope are expanded on as the story progresses. I enjoyed the art style and thought it lent itself well to the action and story. Will definitely keep reading and trying to solve the mystery!

3.5 stars

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. I think so far this is my favorite teen yakuza story because of the number of characters and their abilities but also because it's not just a flat-out romance, there is also a mystery that I am curious about. I will say though because of the number of characters looking similar to each other there could be some confusion, but otherwise a lot of fun. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars

3.5-4 stars
Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards 
-Volume 1 & 2 released
-Volume 3 Release May 27 
-thanks to Netgalley+ Kodansha was able to read this eARC

I’m going to start off by saying I liked how volume one flowed. We get that Ibuki is to protect Akabane then the entire class is guarding her from assassins, then into him also having a mission to see who the spy is within that group. The one thing that bothers me about this is how all these assassins are after her but she has no idea… I just feel like at some point she would notice what was going on or is she just acting like she doesn’t know. I’m also curious if she knows that her family is yakuza, because I feel like it would be hard to hide that with how many people seem to be involved with her family. She does mention her parents being attorneys, so my question is are they attorneys so they can help protect the family?

The art is fitting for this genre and the fight scenes don’t drag on- personally, it feels well balanced. Ibuki and Akabane seem to have had a good relationship since they were kids, so it seems natural to assume that things will progress as the series continues. Ibuki is a bit oblivious to the fact Akabane also likes him; although, everyone else can see how they feel about each other. The contrast in Ibuki’s personality is nice to see when he is with her as well, even though he tries to hide it.  

Summary:
Ibuki is seen as a delinquent and childhood friend of Akabane’s, which is the perfect cover to carry out his mission that the head of the Honeko family asked of him. Without Akabane knowing, Ibuki is to be her bodyguard as information was leaked that she was the granddaughter of the yakuza family. To his surprise all of Class 3-4 are her bodyguards and now he also has to show his worth to these trained “bodyguards”. One catch is that Akabane cannot find out what is happening. Who leaked this information? Will Class 3-4’s cover be blown?

A Stylish Blend of Action, Comedy, and Romance

Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards 1 introduces readers to a unique fusion of high school life and underground intrigue. The story follows Arakuni Ibuki, a delinquent high schooler who is tasked with protecting his childhood friend, Honeko Akabane, from assassins hired by rival yakuza factions. The catch? Honeko must remain unaware of the danger, leading to a series of comedic and suspenseful situations.

Masamitsu Nigatsu's storytelling is engaging, balancing action, humor, and romance effectively. The dynamic between Ibuki and Honeko is both entertaining and heartwarming, with their long-standing friendship adding depth to their interactions. The supporting characters, including the diverse group of classmates who double as bodyguards, bring additional layers to the narrative.

The artwork complements the story well, with clean lines and expressive character designs that enhance the emotional tone of the scenes. The pacing is brisk, keeping readers hooked from start to finish.

While the premise is intriguing, some elements may feel familiar to fans of similar genres. However, Nigatsu's unique approach and character development set this series apart, making it a promising start to what is expected to be an exciting series.

In summary, Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards 1 is a delightful read for fans of action-comedy and romantic school dramas, offering a fresh take on familiar tropes.

Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards is a fun, action-packed manga with a romcom twist!
Honeko, an ordinary high school girl, is actually a daughter of a yakuza leader and she’s being targeted by assassins but she is completely unaware. The only one who knows this is her childhood best friend Ibuki, who becomes her bodyguard in order to protect her and he has to keep everything a secret!
I loved the art and the premise was so entertaining, full of twists and turns! Ibuki and Honeko's interactions were really funny and cute. I loved everyone in Class 3-4 and their varying personalities and skills.
I know this was made into a live-action movie last year so I was really intrigued and I'll definitely check out the next volumes!
～Thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for the ARC!

"Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards" by Masamitsu Nigatsu is a manga that blends school life and yakuza. The story follows delinquent Arakuni Ibuki, who is together with his classmates tasked with protecting his childhood friend Honeko, who is unaware that she’s the daughter of a yakuza boss. The bodyguard team, each with their own unique skills, has their hands full protecting Honeko from various attempts on her life, often landing them in one unbelievable situation after another. Arakuni must earn his place within the group and prove himself along the way.
The characters are lively, with strong group dynamics and a fun mix of personalities. Nice art, especially during action scenes. Underneath the humor, the manga explores loyalty, friendship, and coming-of-age themes!

This had my attention from the first to last page, and even now still has me in a chokehold to read volume 2 ASAP! The MC was interesting and the plot was unexpected. I would recommend this to anyone who likes an action packed manga! 100/10

An interesting story line, I was excited to see where the story would go next. There were a couple of scenes that I did not think we're necessary to the overall plot that will limit young readers from picking up the manga.

I liked it, it's good story, and funny 😭 I laughed so much reading it
the art reminded me of those old mangas and it brought back memories of a lot of good stories, the nostalgia ♥️

A wonderful, hilarious and action-packed manga! I breezed through this and had so much fun reading this story! I enjoyed the plot twists a lot and nothing felt overexaggerated or hard to believe.

It's adorable the relationship Honeko and (her bodyguard) Ibuki share! How they have each other's backs, too. The art is gorgeous and so expressive! The action scenes are also very clear and cool! I really enjoyed this, and I look forward to reading the next volume, too!

Great work and story by Masamitsu Nigatsu!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting premise with the Yakuza getting the main guy character to protect the girl without her knowledge. A bit silly and over the top but enjoyable!

oh we love a little yakuza style romcom with incredible art!!! I really enjoyed this and I love an assassin type manga

It's really hard to find a manga that you are going to love from the first volume, and this was one of the rare ones for me.

I like how easy it was to get into the story, the funny parts and the unrecognized feelings going on. Though the story might be corny for some people, the author makes it work really well with the characters and their chemistry. It was a really fun read, very quick and now I just want to quickly grab the next volume to read. It doesn't seem to be a really complicated story that will be long, so I recommend it to anyone looking for a short manga serialization. Very fun read overall.

*Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with this ARC. I received this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.*

I enjoyed this! At first it felt a little repetitive recapping everything at the start of each "chapter"/section, but I eventually got into the flow and didn't notice it after a while. I like the secondary premise of there being a mole amongst the bodyguards and not just needing to keep her safe in general but also needing to figure out who the mole is. The upcoming love story with the gang's heir seems a little strange, but I will keep reading the series when new books are published!

I think there is too little Akabane. I need a little duo POV here to enjoy it more. Maybe cause I have a slight head ache but it’s loud. The fights are loud, the characters are yelling, there is so much dialogue… it feels a little overwhelming on the pages. I think I will give it one more volume and see what I think. I saw another reviewer who said it was similar to spy x family and I see that.

Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards is a yakuza story of sorts? The delinquent high schooler Arakuni Ibuki has been given a mission to protect his childhood friend Honeko Akabane, because she's the secret daughter of the head of the yakuza clan. Actually, the whole class is full of bodyguards helping him save the the girl and of course he's in love with her too. The setting isn't all that "new", but the movements look really awesome. The manga is full of fights as every assassin out there is about to kill the girl of course (at every turn no less). The problem is that there's hardly anything else aside from the fights, which makes this weak content-wise. The fact that there is a mole in the class is interesting though, and I wish we'd get to know our characters better, since now it's just humor and romance with beatings.

The art looks good, the line work is lively and you can actually see the kicks and whatnot. The rhythm is great and the flow is superb all in all. As the manga looks good, everything else should be that too and now it's not the case. I hope Nigatsu puts more effort into the plot as the series is twelve books long. This needs more.

It wasn't bad, but it also didn't grab my attention all that well. There wasn't any character or scene that really hooked me in. There were some funny scenes though and the action wasn't bad.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha for this e-comic in exchange for my honest review.

This new series is pretty fun and I will most likely continue with it. It took a couple of chapters to really draw me in, but once it did, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The art style is really good and the plot, once it got going a bit more, was interesting. I didn't find it particularly funny, but the action was fun and the budding relationship between Arakuni and Akabane is really cute.