The Yakuza's Bias 2

The Yakuza's Bias #2

by Teki Yatsuda

A yakuza enforcer becomes the gang world's biggest K-pop stan in this cult comedy manga that went from webcomic to sleeper hit in Japan! Perfect for fans of Way of the Househusband , Phantom of the Idol , or Spy x Family .

WITH HONOR AND HUMANITY
Ken Kanashiro has taken the vow of brotherhood in the world of K-pop fandom. His devotion and commitment to MNW -- the hottest K-pop boy band -- inspires many around him, including his rival, Kinji Mizuhara. When Miss Megumi is not able to attend the upcoming concert (or "celebration" as Ken calls it), Kinji jumps at the chance to his bias in person for the first time. With primal fervor, the yakuza fanboys are treated with excellent fan service and become more determined to attend the upcoming handshake to repay their debts.

Genres: Manga, Humor, Comedy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, Japan

160 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2023

About the author

Teki Yatsuda (八田てき) is a Japanese manga artist.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all!! THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MANGA series I’ve ever read! It’s so freaking hilarious. In this one we get to see Ken meet his bias Jun for the first time and it was the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. It’s such a great balance and the artwork is STUNNING. I’ve never been a part of the Kpop world so this is really informing me about so many different aspects of this community. I’m dying to see what could possibly happen next. Great storytelling and great art. I couldn’t ask for more!

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had expected a deeper plot spiced with humorous contrasts to go along with the above average illustrations. Wasn’t able to find either in significant amounts. My bad. Meh

[Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main joke of this series is the contrast between super-serious yakuza Ken Kanashiro's usual poker face and the way he passionately emotes when either watching or talking about his kpop idol bias. This is a fun series, full of in-jokes and a developing cast of quirky side characters. One of my favorites is Megumi, the mafia boss's daughter who initially introduced Ken to kpop and laments not being able to understand her favs, but claims she is "too busy stanning to study Korean."

[Chantaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhh goddammit I’M SO IN.

This hits all the humor beats I could hope for, while poking good fun at K-pop fandom from a place of obvious fondness for how over the top it can be.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Bae Yongjoon reference?! Ahhhhhh!!!

[Knigoqdec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дявол да го вземе, събитието с ръкостискането наистина звучеше толкова готино... чак ми се приходи и на мен :D Струва ми се, че никога не съм била кой знае колко голям фен на подобна айдъл група, че да умра от кеф за тяхно събитие... но мога да разбера какво изпитва нашият Кен-чан, ако заменя к-поп групата с група сейюта, която обявява същото събитие... Ще си пръсна парите за това на мига!! Така че, ъъъ, да, разбирам. И аз завиждам, че Кен-чан успя да вземе билет от първия път... безсрамник долен :D
Много е сладко как целеустремено се опитват да разпространят "болестта" из всички нива на подземния свят :D

[marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol. 1 ★★★☆☆

As much as I liked Vol. 1, I felt like the story would run out of steam very quickly. For once, I'm glad I'm wrong. This volume is utterly delightful and even more batshit insane than the last. Where do I even begin? I have lots of favorite moments, but the highlights are definitely the handshake event, the banquet, and the plushie hostage situation. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. Yatsuda is just very good at drawing expressions. I'm not at all surprised that she also draws BL, since the MNW members are so lovingly rendered. Super curious as to which boy groups she's into now.

[Rin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

I wanted something fun but idk about this one. I'm not sure what the point of it is. I think if the point was just "isn't it funny to think of a Yakuza stanning a k-pop idol?" then the story ran its course in vol 1. If there's not a real plot then I'm stopping here. slice of life is not for me

[Megan McFaddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series omg. My kpop stans will just get it.

[deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/23/2023 Two of the chapters felt a little erratic and less focused than Vol 1., but I was giggling and nodding along in agreement and just having such an overall delightful time reading this that it totally earns 5 stars from me. I'm besotted by this rough n' tumble crew of k-pop stans!

9/13/2023 I'm literally so invested in this series, you have no idea. This volume can't come soon enough! Ken Kanashiro is my manga bias now.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5✨

I laughed out loud in this one. This is just a fun manga. I just wish that the transition into different scenes was smoother. There is a lot of jumping from one thing to another without making much sense.

[Claire Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

FAN MEETS AND CONCERTS?!? SOO LUCKY

[Katie❄️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first one but this one was just ok.

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

volume 2 is as good as volume 1, this series is hilarious

[mikaela (spinebreaker) · Rating 5 out of 5]

my bias is Yuseok ✌️ just as effortlessly funny as the first one

[Nettles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just really silly and lighthearted

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but not sure I need more.

[Lorena B. Robles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esto es una joya y nadie puede decir lo contrario. ¡Eres el mejor Don Ken!☕️🩷💎

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the first volume a bit more, this is still a 5-star (😏) manga. Once again, this volume is so funny and I smiled so much reading about all the K-Pop things that I relate to. Like the V-Live reference, not understanding Korean during livestreams, and wanting to tell everyone about your group and also the comeback and listening with your friends! This is just the cutest and happiest manga series.

I also enjoyed the member profiles and again I personally feel they were partially inspired by Stray Kids. Like the leader having a difficult past training for so many years … Sounds like Bang Chan. Or the youngest having fans who call themselves his mom (Um hello literally every STAY including myself wants to be Jeongin’s mother hahahah).

This story is so wholesome, fun, and lighthearted but I also think it’s showing that K-Pop fans (And fans of anything) can be anyone. You are never too old to love something, especially K-Pop which is truly for everyone. So the fact that an older, tough man who is also a yakuza is unhealthy obsessed with an idol is great to see and I plan to obsess over my idols even when I’m that old too hehe. I loved this.

Side note: I 100% believe Ken would love Changbin and his jutdae.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually laughed out loud at some outrageous moments. My favorite was probably the glorified cupsleeve event the entire clan had for Jun's birthday party!
Being a Kpop fan myself, it's so funny to read these almost fantastical ways that we express fandom, but its honestly so relatable and so cute of us lol. I know when you break it all down to like capitalism and business being business, the Kpop fandom may seem a little shallow, but the joy that it can bring to a person, is just indescribable. Reiji and Sotaro may not "get it," but its honestly so beautiful how Ken, Megumi and Mrs. Washio (Megumi's mom!) express their love and dedication to MNW!! I love these characters and the adventures they go on as stans!

[Mae Crowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, this is still hilarious, but yeah, probably not going any further. I stand by the review of Vol. 1 where I said this is a very similar bit to the central conceit of The Way of the Househusband and similarly fun, but with so many more secondhand embarrassment factors. This is definitely because I'm active in fan spaces (even if they're not music-centric ones) and Ken is very much portrayed as one of those borderline invasive fans that you avoid at all costs and hope they don't see your posts. It just takes me so long to read these because even though they're fun, my brain wants to give me flashbacks even as I laugh.

[DonutKnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and quite authentic, but I think I passed a bit of that phase in my life so I’m not as engaged, but it’s quite interesting to see the extent of the feels for stans.

I particularly like the concept of a mirishira sheet, which is a template for people who don’t know a band that non-fans can fill out for the amusement of hardcore fans. I also like that it’s a shortened word for: ichi-miri mo shiranai = ‘I don’t even know a millimetre of knowledge’

[Fa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es tan gracioso lo ridículo que es el manga, me encanta. Ken es un obsesivo total, el dude hizo un PowerPoint como los que yo hacía de 1D en mi época.
Gracias Megumi por abrirle todo un mundo.

Me parece increíble que todos le sigan el juego a Ken, subordinados, rivales, fans, líderes, unos grandes.

Repito, ¿cómo es que a Yatsuda le surgió esta idea después de crear una de las historias más desgarradoras existentes?

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken's life is made perfect when he manages to win a handshake event with his favorite K-pop member, Jun.

This is great fun. Watching a yakuza melt into a puddle when he gets to pledge his life to his 'aniki' puts a huge grin on my face. Anyone who has been a hard-core fan of something will completely understand his 'feels'.

[Carlislethesucker uwu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume did not disappoint, and I love the yakuza subordinates just being dragged along for the ride.

This manga's humor and storytelling are very similar to Way of the House Husband but K-Pop centric. I do love the art and facial expressions throughout this manga, and if I see the next volume, I may pick it up.

[Littlerhymes]

Feared yakuza Ken continues to stan kpop idol Jun and group MNW, with the help of the boss' daughter Megumi. In this volume he goes to a concert with an enemy, wins entry into a handshake meeting, tries to force a fellow gang member to stan using a powerpoint presentation, and falls to his knees when a comeback is announced. Silly and funny but also - incredibly on point and accurate lol.

[Paige Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn’t pick up til after half. I’m surprised these fan traditions haven’t come over to the States yet. The filling out a sheet with assumptions about each band member pic would be a fun game or video. Still not much Yakuza stuff though the uncle is interesting. Wish we saw more of the boss. Maybe in another issue the MC could be more confronted with a song or lyric or interview he doesn’t like?

[Jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it fine. While reading it, I was entertained enough. As a kpop fan the humor is relatable and I got some actual laughs out of it. The thing is that it's a gag manga with no real plot, so when I put the book down I had no motivation to pick it up again. The humor is also quite repetitive, so the volume overall wasn't as charming as the first one.

[Rosie49% · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not less great than the first one but it has it's shortcomings.
I just love how they're influencing everyone to join the fandom lmao, such efforts!
Forgot to talk about Ken's fanfics in my first review, that shit is amazing, rating it higher cause of the fanfics, like bruh, that shit is peak lmao!! literally how he became a great k-pop influencer on Twitter is so baffling omds!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gag manga continues. There's a handshake event, a special presentation and even a turf fight. Volume 2 feels like it's setting up for more volumes, so not as funny as the first to me, but definitely as entertaining.

My bias is Siwoo and, no, I am not taking any questions or comments bye