Oh wow — now that was a ride! A brilliant mix of action, romance, and genuinely solid humor — the perfect feel-good read if you're looking for something to lift your spirits. I picked this manga purely because of the cover design, and now I cannot wait to get my hands on the next volume! 😊

When a yakuza boss personally reaches out to Arakuni Ibuki and drops to his knees in front of him, there’s not much Ibuki can do but accept the man’s request: protect his secret illegitimate daughter, Honeko Akabane. Rumors are spreading about the boss stepping down, and assassins are swarming in to eliminate any potential heir. Ibuki’s mission is to keep his childhood friend and classmate Honeko alive.

It’s a little over-the-top and absolutely extra at times — but that’s exactly what makes it so incredibly fun. I loved every second of it! The artwork is expressive, detailed, and no one is left in the background. As it turns out, Ibuki isn’t Honeko’s only bodyguard — their entire class 3-4 at Sosoji High School has been secretly trained for the mission. The only ones left out? Honeko (who has no idea) and Ibuki (who missed the training). The other 22 classmates? Elite-level specialists in everything from martial arts and firearms to hacking and knife-throwing. They were trained to act as one unit — and when they do, their enemies don’t stand a chance.

Oh, how I loved these characters! Sure, things felt a bit rushed and tidy at first, but the story quickly hit its rhythm and became pure joy to read. My favorite scenes? Definitely the ones with the whole class in action — especially the library ambush, when Honeko and Ibuki show up to study (which Honeko thinks is a date). Meanwhile, their classmates are silently taking down attackers between the bookshelves — in total silence, of course, because it's still a library and no one wants Honeko to notice a thing. The poses, the expressions… perfection! Ibuki is quietly freaking out — which honestly, who wouldn't in his shoes — and the whole thing plays out like an action movie in my head. Just chef’s kiss.

I honestly can’t recommend this manga enough. Maybe it was just the perfect thing at the perfect time, but I had an absolute blast reading it. Big thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this incredible experience — I’m all in for volume two! 😊

I loved this! It was the perfect blend of serious and silly to keep me hooked. I can't wait or the next volume!

I love ibuki! He's a great character, honourable, fierce and cute. At first you think he's stuck in a one sided love with his childhood friend but as the story goes on you realise she has feelings for him. It is action packed and didn't see the whole class plot coming. Or the sibling rivalry. Really enjoyed it and look forward to volume 2

High school comedy romance with a twist. Honeko Akabane, daughter of lawyers and a do-good high school president, is the secret daughter of a yakuza boss. Fight over his successor has put a target on Akabane’s head too, but her bio-father is determined to protect her.

He enlists her school mate, childhood friend and school delinquent, Arakuni Ibuki, as her bodyguard. He must keep her safe without her knowing or learning that her life is threatened. Easier said than done when a wave after another of assassins come after her. To make matters worse, she’s determined to reform him and make him a decent person, so she’s constantly stopping him from fighting.

The job might be too much for Ibuki, but luckily he’s not alone. The entire class consists of highly trained bodyguards, there to protect Akabane. Unfortunately, they don’t trust him and consider him a liability. That doesn’t stop them from putting him in the frontline of protecting Akabane. He doesn’t mind. Because he might have a slight crush on Akabane—which he won’t admit to. He definitely has a secret mission given to him by Akabane’s father: unearth the mole among her classmates.

This was a fun, action-packed start to a series. A lot happened, all of it involving assassins. Their boss won’t give up, and after Ibuki managed to enrange them, he now has a target on him too. And it’s personal.

Art was good and slightly old-fashined in style, as if this was from the 90s, even though the original is only a couple of years old. I liked the story, even if it lacked depth in the middle of all the action, and would like to read more.

Unbeknownst to her Akabane Honeko is the illegitimate child of the head of the Jingu Gangs boss and with him retiring his beloved daughter whom he has only ever wanted to have a normal life has a target on her head. So he does the most natural thing ever, enlists the help of her childhood friend Ibuki to keep her alive. Easier said than done when assassins could be lurking everywhere, even in her own class.

I've never been a huge of yakuza inspired manga, anime, and games but I gotta admit there's been a few that have come out over the last few years that have really caught my eye and this is definitely one of them. When the synopsis says it's a Assassination Classroom meets your white knight trope that pretty much nails it. Akabane's entire class is made up of elite assassins trained since childhood to protect her and like Assassination Classroom each of them have their own thing and their own quirky little personalities that either are the exact opposite of their specialty or are no brainers. Ibuki, of course, doesn't want to admit to anyone that (especially himself) that he's head over heels for Akabane although when push comes to shove and his emotions run high (which is actually all of the time) he'll admit it. And then, of course, say something stupid to Akabane. The art is great as well, and with this twist on the White Knight Trope, this becomes an adorable romance manga with an action twist. I'll be continuing this one for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this.

I really wanted to like this, and in the first half I did. The art looked nice, the story looked interesting,... But in the second half it all went downhill.
They started sexualizing the girls, which I'm usually not a huge fan of, but sometimes I can disregard it. In this instance I couldn't. The whole vibe of the manga just shifted in the second half, in a way I didn't like.

So yeah, wanted to like this but the second half ruined it. If it hadn't I would have contained reading the series because the concept is quite interesting, but alas...

Thank you to Kodansha comics for the e-arc of this manga. Overall, I was entertained. This manga was an interesting change from usual yakuza manga — especially since the character everyone is trying to protect is completely unaware. Ibuki’s character was really dedicated to protecting Honeko and his dynamic with her is really cute. There was one side plot (with Masachika) that weirded me out a little bit, but I liked the manga overall. Rating: 4 🌟

High schooler Arakuni Ibuki receives an visit from a Yakuza mob boss. Ibuki is asked to serve as a bodyguard for his childhood friend Honeko Akabane during the next school year. Class 3-4 is filled with trained bodyguards but there is a mole in the class. Ibuki is supposed to keep Akabane safe and unaware while finding out the mole. Plenty of action, bit of romantic awkwardness, and nice art to keep the story rolling along. It will be interesting to see what happens in volume 2!

Thanks Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the chance to read this title.

This action-packed manga got a live-action adaptation this year, and now Kodansha is releasing the original manga! Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards spins a tangled web of action and intrigue. At its center is the aforementioned Honeko, the secret daughter of a yakuza boss. Delinquent kid Arakuni Ibuki is Honeko’s childhood friend. He’s also in charge of protecting her from assassins; but so is the rest of their class! A total of 22 highly-trained bodyguards protects the unwitting girl. And none of them much likes Ibuki.

So why is he there? That’s just it: one of those 22 bodyguards is a spy. Otherwise there would be no one targeting Honeko. So, as Ibuki protects her and battles his own feelings for her, he also has to keep an eye on his peers. And as Volume 1 comes to a close, a new threat looms in the form of Honeko’s half-sibling. This action-packed series hits hard from the first page and never lets up. If you’re a fan of series like Kill Blue and Shinobi Undercover, you’ll want to grab this one.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!!

oh my god i don't know how to describe this other than that it's super addictive!! yes it's an action manga with romance subplot (?) but god i am hooked!! how are high schoolers allowed to be badass bodyguards?? the plot is simple, Honeka Akabane is an illegitimate child of a gang leader and her childhood bestfriend Arakuni Ibuki along with the rest of her class are to guard her and keep her alive until she graduates high school.

when they promoted this as Assassination Classroom meets Nisekoi, i didn't expect it to be so accurate. Arakuni actually being a rookie fighter wanting to protect Honeka and her dream of becoming a lawyer is so sweet especially since their feelings seem to be mutual?? anxiously waiting for them to get together.

also, the whole plot that there's a traitor among the other 22 bodyguards in class 3-4...... i haven't read the rest but i would bet so much money that it's either Sumihiko (the leader) or Nei (Honeka's bestie). plsplspls. excited to read the rest!!

Enjoyed this way more than I was anticipating! Action packed and there are good twists throughout. I felt a decent connection to the characters even though it’s only the first volume and found the plot fun and engaging so I can’t wait to read the second one!!

I did subtract 0.5 due to the oddly timed upskirt panty shot. Felt misplaced with the rest of the book, totally unnecessary.


°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:• Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing this arc in exchange for my honest feedback. °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:•

I want to first thank Masamitsu Nigatsu and Kodansha Comics for letting me read this first volume in exchange for an honest opinion.

Ibuki and Akabane are friends since they where childs, but when Akabane's life is in danger, Ibuki changes his role in her life and becomes his secret bodyguard (as she can not know many assassins are trying to kill her).

I really enjoyed this first volume. It reminded me a lot to Raise the tanin ga ii, because of the sort of yakuza that are after Akabane. In my opinion, there is so much happening all the time, I would have appreciated some slower scenes to get to know the characters and get to see them bond, but this is only the first chapters, I guess there would be more of these scenes in the future ones.

That being said, the constant action and the line of action on the drawings (that are stunning) make this a super quick and entertaining read.

In just this one volume alone, the main characters Honeko Akabane and Arakuni Ibuki are established as childhood friends and having crushes on each other which makes for a cute romantic dynamic.
Honeko's secret background is revealed and brings Ibuki to the forefront to be her bodyguard, but she doesn't know that he is guarding her.
Turn's out, there is someone (who is a plot twist in and of itself) that wants her dead, but along with the other classmates of class 3-4, they will never let that happen.
This was so much fun and there was so much going on from the get-go.
The art is fantastic, with the faces that show characters like Ibuki having a range of interesting faces ranging from looking really cool, really silly and even cute and blushing when he is embarrassed by people guessing (correctly even though he denies it) that he likes Honeko.
I wish that I could binge read this series, but since I can't, I will be looking out for subsequent volumes in the future.

Loads of fun and even more action! I don't know what I expected but this manga definitely delivered and then some. I was laughing the entire time and I have to say, the character design is impeccable.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for copy for review*

This was just okay. While it has an excellent set up it felt to slice of life for an action manga. Similar to Assassination Classroom so I would recommend if you enjoyed that.

I have recently gotten back into reading manga/graphic novels, and I enjoyed this fully. The relationship that Honeko Akabane and Arakuni Ibuki have makes me laugh and root for them together. He will do anything to protect her and knows her so well. I know that the rest of their class are her trained bodyguards, but they are all about doing the job. He is all about her. I'm intrigued to find out who the mole is in the class, I don't have any clues right now who it could be. The fact that she has a sister whom Arakuni Ibuki thought was a guy, and he kissed them, I could not stop laughing. I can't wait to read the next volume.

First I want to say I love the cover and it’s giving the vibes I truly expected from this book. The art style is detailed and if the plot of this series was better I would’ve thought the art aesthetic fit it perfectly.

This was simply for a younger audience, minus the fan service one shots. Which if the characters were older and didn’t just graduate middle school then I’d be aboard but not in this case. The storyline is interesting but I found myself having secondhand embarrassment and it at times was a little cringey. It was immature for the most part but if it were to target a younger audience then I think it would fit the age category well.

First, let me start with the fact that the art was gorgeous :) But as far as the story goes…Everything felt too fast-paced, the manga’s format reinforced that point: there are four mini « stories » in just one volume…They could have easily used just the first story as a whole story for the first volume, adding more depth to the characters / the development of the plot…I felt like I didn't connect with any of the characters, even the main ones like Akane and she is the central piece of the story. The plot idea wasn't bad, for example, I didn't expect the whole class to be bodyguards. It would have been cooler to finish manga with this surprise, and it would have even maybe teased the audience into reading the next volume! So, overall, I would say it just didn’t do it for me, but maybe for a younger audience, it will work :)

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

A fellow student finds out that his female classmate is the daughter of a mob/gangster boss but she is put up for adoption as a baby to protect her... but that didn't work and now everyone is after her.

This was a fun read full of action and I got invested in the story and look forward to more

In Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards, high school delinquent Ibuki is drafted into a secret bodyguard class tasked with protecting his childhood friend, Honeko—who just happens to be the unaware daughter of a powerful yakuza boss. With assassins constantly after her and Honeko totally oblivious to the danger, Ibuki and his chaotic classmates have their work cut out for them.

The premise is fun and chaotic, and at times the story delivers on that energy. But overall, it felt a bit too generic for me. The characters fall into familiar archetypes, and while the action and comedy move at a quick pace, it never quite hooked me emotionally or left me eager to read more.

The humour leans heavily toward the goofy side, which may work for some readers but didn’t always land for me. It tries to juggle school-life antics, action sequences, and hints of romance but doesn’t fully develop any of them in this volume.

One thing I did enjoy was the art—it has a nostalgic 90s manga feel that adds charm and helps carry the more chaotic scenes.

It’s not a bad start, just not one that grabbed me. I might check out the next volume out of curiosity, but I’m not rushing to continue.