Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard (Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards)

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: 赤羽骨子のボディガード

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 12

Chapters: 104

Status: Finished

Published: Sep 21, 2022 to Nov 20, 2024

Genres: Action, Comedy, Romance

Themes: Organized Crime, School

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Magazine (Weekly)

Authors: Nigatsu, Masamitsu (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.35¹ (scored by 1,685 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #4771²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #3485

Members: 7,256

Favorites: 36

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@akabanehonekoWM

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7.35

Ranked #4771Popularity #3485Members 7,256

MangaShounen Magazine (Weekly)Nigatsu, Masamitsu (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /12

Chapters: /104

Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards

Volume 1
$8.99

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Synopsis

They have only one goal—to kill Honeko Akabane! One day, Ibuki Arakuni learns that his childhood friend, Honeko Akabane, is being targeted by assassins! Both of them are in Class 3-4 at Sosoji High School, and Ibuki is ordered to protect Akabane for one year. His goal is to ensure that she graduates safely, but he must do so without her realizing it. And so begins his secret life as a bodyguard at school! However, there seems to be more secrets within "Class 3-4"...?! This is the start of a new and exciting action school comedy!!

(Source: Kodansha USA)

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BackgroundAkabane Honeko no Bodyguard was published digitally in English as Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards through K Manga. The volumes have also been published by Kodansha USA since January 28, 2025.

The manga was adapted into a live-action movie that was released on August 2, 2024.

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Characters

Ibuki, Arakuni

Main

Akabane, Honeko

Main

Jingu, Masachika

Supporting

Higure, Yamihime

Supporting

Somejima, Sumihiko

Supporting

Managami, Tomoe

Supporting

Kuran, Shuto

Supporting

Dokudami, Ganraku

Supporting

Honeko, Shingo

Supporting

Senzaka, Tokinori

Supporting

Reviews

Jun 10, 2024

trivia_lover

Recommended

Preliminary (6/104 eps)

Pretty decent.

Mafia, spies, secrets, and lies are inherently woven into the classic romcom formula. Sometimes it's a throwaway side character who's secretly a trained assassin, or a love interest whose father is the head of the yakuza. But if love is war, and war has no rules, then these lies of omission are all fair game. Perhaps the prevalence of these stereotypes is a symbolic representation of how love leads us astray from reality (though they usually take the form of yet another cliche). With the success of Spy x Family, it's no surprise that we're seeing more stories that are breathing life back into ... these tropes, and Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard is definitely following in the right footsteps.

In this story, various factions of the yakuza find out that their boss has an illegitimate daughter: a young high school girl named Honeko. This throws a wrench in their internal battle for succession, as this unassuming high school girl now has a right to challenge this position. The yakuza boss thus entrusts a delinquent named Ibuki, one of Honeko's childhood friends, to guard his daughter from the various assassins that are after her life. The catch is that he doesn't want Honeko to know her true identity, meaning that Ibuki must also keep the secret of Honeko's identity and his battles with the assassins from her prying eyes. The setpieces for this story consist of: a deadline set to graduation, a supporting cast of tarot-card-based-specialist-secret-agent-classmates, extremely generic/edgy/dramatic villains, and a childhood promise between the two leads. But although the plot points and supporting cast are generic drama manga staples, the execution makes for a pretty fun time.

My favorite part of this manga so far is how well the two main characters mesh together. Despite her appearance and role in the story, Honeko breaks past the prim & proper stereotype, instead choosing to be a little headstrong, express complex emotions, and have goals/aspirations of her own. Like most high school romcom protagonists, Honeko performs a delicate balancing act between volatile maturity and childish obliviousness. However, unlike many of her counterparts, she is not intentionally insufferable and her outbursts are reasonable and understandable. On a similar note, Ibuki is the classic bold, brash, scary-looking loner whose serious demeanor instantly breaks down when Honeko is involved. However, unlike many annoying romcom characters who fall under this stereotype, he isn't stubborn beyond disbelief and makes several concessions throughout the story for the sake of the girl he likes. In this way, Ibuki shows that the power of love makes him not only capable of comically inhuman feats of strength, but also maturity and growth as a person.

At the end of the day, despite the guns and theatrics, Ibuki and Honeko's story boils down to two people in love who, despite the secrets and lies, are willing to make great sacrifices for each other. And really, isn't that what matters?

Looking forward to reading the rest.

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Oct 15, 2024

MizuSawaEmi

Recommended

Preliminary (96/104 eps)

Very fun bodyguard shonen manga with a romcom twist. The fights are engaging and the character writing is satisfying. The pace picks up fairly quickly and the romance is not drawn out or slow burn in the slightest.

Though the story beats are standard and fairly predictable, it does not diminish the quality and charm of the manga. The art is great, with the fights being very legible and easy to follow, character designs being unique and easy to differentiate, and striking paneling. The characters were all very well written and handles class-sized casts much better than many other stories out there, constantly bringing in ...

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Jun 10, 2025

jannaksanimebude

Mixed Feelings

If you like Kindergarten Wars or Sakamoto Days, this could be up your alley.
Fun over the top characters and fight choreographies mixed with lighthearted school romance. For me the gravity was missing in a lot of situations, so you were never really fearing for any character, making the fights rather predictable and sometimes boring and dragged on. In some regards both the romance and the fighting aspects are taking away from the other. Because of the romance, the fighting and violence is kept light and in return the heavy focus on the fights is taking away time from the romance, which was really straight ...

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Poll: Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard Chapter 103 Discussion MegamiRem - Nov 19, 2024	5 replies	by Biisoo »» Sep 1, 2025 12:48 PM
Poll: Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard Chapter 25 Discussion MegamiRem - Aug 9, 2024	1 replies	by GoldSwxrdfish »» Aug 30, 2025 8:11 AM
Poll: Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard Chapter 24 Discussion MegamiRem - Aug 9, 2024	2 replies	by GoldSwxrdfish »» Aug 24, 2025 5:21 PM
Poll: Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard Chapter 23 Discussion MegamiRem - Aug 9, 2024	2 replies	by GoldSwxrdfish »» Aug 24, 2025 4:57 PM
Poll: Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard Chapter 1 Discussion Phloup - Nov 3, 2022	4 replies	by Biisoo »» Aug 10, 2025 1:21 PM

Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard
Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards
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