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花と忍び [Hana to Shinobi] #1
A Springtime with Ninjas, Vol. 1
Benio is the heiress of the richest family in Japan, and tradition holds that she must marry the first person to kiss her. So that she can attend high school, Benio is assigned the ninja Tamaki as a bodyguard, but he turns out to be quite the player. It’s not always easy for a strong-willed rich girl and a smart-alecky ninja to get along in this romantic comedy about a pure young lady and her smoking hot knight.
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 19, 2023
I really really really love this mangaka’s work!
While this only my second title I’ve read by her, she has such fun characters and humorous dialogue that I deeply enjoy! A Springtime with Ninjas was definitely no exception!
It’s hard to say what was my favorite part of this story because right from the first few pages, I found myself laughing and sucked right in! Benio is a fantastic shoujo heroine who definitely is a romantic at heart, but also brave and bold. I love how she wants her situation to change even if she knows/realizes it won’t be all she thinks it will be if it does change, which plays a great role in the story later on.
I also really liked Tamaki and how the reader knows things about him. However, even if we didn’t, I would still really like him! 😆 He’s super cool and a perfect fun hero that really fits well with our heroine.
Overall, this was such a fun story! I like the premise of her lips needing to be protected, the dangerous shenanigans that follow, and the excellent interactions between our main leads!
Definitely looking forward to reading more!!
While this only my second title I’ve read by her, she has such fun characters and humorous dialogue that I deeply enjoy! A Springtime with Ninjas was definitely no exception!
It’s hard to say what was my favorite part of this story because right from the first few pages, I found myself laughing and sucked right in! Benio is a fantastic shoujo heroine who definitely is a romantic at heart, but also brave and bold. I love how she wants her situation to change even if she knows/realizes it won’t be all she thinks it will be if it does change, which plays a great role in the story later on.
I also really liked Tamaki and how the reader knows things about him. However, even if we didn’t, I would still really like him! 😆 He’s super cool and a perfect fun hero that really fits well with our heroine.
Overall, this was such a fun story! I like the premise of her lips needing to be protected, the dangerous shenanigans that follow, and the excellent interactions between our main leads!
Definitely looking forward to reading more!!
July 14, 2020
Ninja nonsense indeed! This book is one of those ‘good enough’ books that looks fine, has a trite story, and just enough charm to see it through.
Benio is heir to the fortune of the richest family in Japan so naturally that means she has been raised at home her entire life. It also means, because manga, that whoever gives her her first kiss on the lips will become her betrothed and get all the family’s wealth.
Enter Tamaki, the ninja bodyguard tasked with making sure that doesn’t happen. First at home, then when Benio willfully demands to attend school. He then constantly saves Benio as her sheltered life leaves her vulnerable to all sorts of unsavoury ne’er-do-wells.
Romance and hi-jinx ensue, although I do feel like Benio is going to have a serious persecution complex by the time graduation rolls around, given the sheer number of betrayals she experiences throughout the book.
This manga reminded me a lot of Maid-sama in a way, except I will read this entire series before I touch Maid-sama again. That series, for the volumes I got through, goes out of its way to present a strong, capable heroine up until it decides to knock the legs out from under her so the guy can come in and white knight her every single time.
Here, conversely, Benio is constantly out of her depth and everybody knows it. She’s utterly inexperienced with the outside world (the runner with the juice is so good) and lacks common sense. Coupled with her desire to have a life for once, it all combines to get her into trouble such that it makes narrative sense for Takami to need to save her constantly. It doesn’t hurt that they have actual chemistry together too.
Look, there is no surprise to this book. Every beat is cut and pasted from a dozen other manga with a similar set of characters. Sometimes it’s okay to just do that and do it well and this is a perfect read for when you don’t want to think too hard, but still want to enjoy yourself.
(I’d still love to know how they got that shuriken throwing game past the school’s health and safety committee though.)
Benio is heir to the fortune of the richest family in Japan so naturally that means she has been raised at home her entire life. It also means, because manga, that whoever gives her her first kiss on the lips will become her betrothed and get all the family’s wealth.
Enter Tamaki, the ninja bodyguard tasked with making sure that doesn’t happen. First at home, then when Benio willfully demands to attend school. He then constantly saves Benio as her sheltered life leaves her vulnerable to all sorts of unsavoury ne’er-do-wells.
Romance and hi-jinx ensue, although I do feel like Benio is going to have a serious persecution complex by the time graduation rolls around, given the sheer number of betrayals she experiences throughout the book.
This manga reminded me a lot of Maid-sama in a way, except I will read this entire series before I touch Maid-sama again. That series, for the volumes I got through, goes out of its way to present a strong, capable heroine up until it decides to knock the legs out from under her so the guy can come in and white knight her every single time.
Here, conversely, Benio is constantly out of her depth and everybody knows it. She’s utterly inexperienced with the outside world (the runner with the juice is so good) and lacks common sense. Coupled with her desire to have a life for once, it all combines to get her into trouble such that it makes narrative sense for Takami to need to save her constantly. It doesn’t hurt that they have actual chemistry together too.
Look, there is no surprise to this book. Every beat is cut and pasted from a dozen other manga with a similar set of characters. Sometimes it’s okay to just do that and do it well and this is a perfect read for when you don’t want to think too hard, but still want to enjoy yourself.
(I’d still love to know how they got that shuriken throwing game past the school’s health and safety committee though.)
February 17, 2017
Really enjoyed this first manga. I can kinda tell where it is leading too already but it's cute and the artwork is beautiful and my style. Wish it wasn't only a digital manga, I would have liked to see if we could order it for the teen room. Highly recommend if you like romance and ninjas
October 28, 2018
3.5 stars. Silly fun
February 1, 2022
This was cute! Reminds me of Wild Ones, Vol. 1 which I loved. The only sad part is that the online service I use to read it only has volumes 1-3 and not 4!
January 31, 2023
Ceritanya manis, cuma ya gitu deh, terganggu sama kualitas kertas komik terjemahan yang tintanya nembus-nembus dan nerawang. 🤧
Padahal sengaja beli komik fisik biar lebih nyaman dibaca, eh ternyata malah kualitasnya begini. Ya udah lah ya, mari fokus ke ceritanya aja, lanjut volume 2~
Padahal sengaja beli komik fisik biar lebih nyaman dibaca, eh ternyata malah kualitasnya begini. Ya udah lah ya, mari fokus ke ceritanya aja, lanjut volume 2~
February 5, 2020
2020 Read #153
Cute. Reminds me of Inu x Boku SS without all the supernatural elements. I look forward to seeing how this develops.
Cute. Reminds me of Inu x Boku SS without all the supernatural elements. I look forward to seeing how this develops.
February 17, 2022
The artwork is beautiful. I enjoyed reading it
March 19, 2021
A Springtime with Ninjas, Vols. 1-4 by Narumi Hasegaki ⭐⭐⭐
Generally, I enjoyed the series, but at its best it still wasn’t great. It’s yet another manga with an interesting premise that fails to deliver the goods. The characters lack depth, the romance lacks, well…romance, the panels lack clarity in a lot of places, and the plot development is half-baked. Still, on the surface, it’s an entertaining read. I’m only going to focus on my issues with the romance in this review, since that’s my main reason for reading it.
It’s pretty clear from the beginning that Tamaki is Benio’s , but for some reason she doesn’t remember his name. She apparently wrote the name on tons of letters she sent him and still managed to forget it. I figured they’d chalk it up to some kind of ninja magic wiping her memory of him, but no...it just slips her mind. She only remembers after someone physically shows her one of the letters she wrote.
The problem with this romance is that it’s all based around memories of their childhood friendship. Benio just wants to date that boy and doesn’t care who he’s grown to be in the present day. She even mistakes the wrong guy as her childhood friend and asks him out! When she discovers who it really is, it makes it less special because it had nothing to do with as the young man he is today, and everything to do with her memories of him as a young boy. Even after they start dating, there’s no real romantic moments between them to solidify their love for one another. There’s too much ninja drama going on for them to take a breather and get to know one another.
I appreciate that this series is about ninjas and their masters and so expected a lot of the plot to revolve around that. However, I really needed the plot to slow down just a little in order to develop the relationship between the leads. We got zero time with them as just a normal couple doing normal couple things. Their one date was interrupted by yet more ninja stuff.
Volume 4 ends with them .
In the end, I’m not disappointed that I read the series, but I am glad that I read it for “free” through ComiXology Unlimited.
Generally, I enjoyed the series, but at its best it still wasn’t great. It’s yet another manga with an interesting premise that fails to deliver the goods. The characters lack depth, the romance lacks, well…romance, the panels lack clarity in a lot of places, and the plot development is half-baked. Still, on the surface, it’s an entertaining read. I’m only going to focus on my issues with the romance in this review, since that’s my main reason for reading it.
It’s pretty clear from the beginning that Tamaki is Benio’s , but for some reason she doesn’t remember his name. She apparently wrote the name on tons of letters she sent him and still managed to forget it. I figured they’d chalk it up to some kind of ninja magic wiping her memory of him, but no...it just slips her mind. She only remembers after someone physically shows her one of the letters she wrote.
The problem with this romance is that it’s all based around memories of their childhood friendship. Benio just wants to date that boy and doesn’t care who he’s grown to be in the present day. She even mistakes the wrong guy as her childhood friend and asks him out! When she discovers who it really is, it makes it less special because it had nothing to do with as the young man he is today, and everything to do with her memories of him as a young boy. Even after they start dating, there’s no real romantic moments between them to solidify their love for one another. There’s too much ninja drama going on for them to take a breather and get to know one another.
I appreciate that this series is about ninjas and their masters and so expected a lot of the plot to revolve around that. However, I really needed the plot to slow down just a little in order to develop the relationship between the leads. We got zero time with them as just a normal couple doing normal couple things. Their one date was interrupted by yet more ninja stuff.
Volume 4 ends with them .
In the end, I’m not disappointed that I read the series, but I am glad that I read it for “free” through ComiXology Unlimited.
November 4, 2021
Benio has spent her entire life confined to her family's estate. It is part of their tradition that the first man to steal a kiss will be the one she will marry. Enter Tamaki, the last in the line of the ninjas sworn to protect Benio's virtue and keep her safe until she finds the man she wants to marry.
I guess this a common fantasy for teenage girls, the whole idea of the chaste princess and her white knight. Basically the man of your dreams being dropped on your doorstep without all of the guess work and having to sift through the countless broken hearts.
I get it completely. I actually appreciate the fantasy and the magic behind it which is why this kind of speaks to me in some odd way.
But Benio's life isn't perfect, since she has set foot off of her family's grounds she has had three different families attempt to steal a kiss to gain her fortune, but Tamaki has been there all along. This is a four volume series and from the first book and the set up of Benio having been kissed when she was younger by a neighbor boy. A true instance of young love, you know who she will end up with and who the young neighbor boy will grow up to be.
Still, it's more about the journey than the obvious destination. It's not a secret at all. It doesn't mean that I enjoy the idea behind it any less or the fact that Tamaki is a snarky "playboy" because of course he is.
This is a really cute and quick series on KU that I'd recommend for any shoujo fan. I'm probably going to binge the whole thing today.
I guess this a common fantasy for teenage girls, the whole idea of the chaste princess and her white knight. Basically the man of your dreams being dropped on your doorstep without all of the guess work and having to sift through the countless broken hearts.
I get it completely. I actually appreciate the fantasy and the magic behind it which is why this kind of speaks to me in some odd way.
But Benio's life isn't perfect, since she has set foot off of her family's grounds she has had three different families attempt to steal a kiss to gain her fortune, but Tamaki has been there all along. This is a four volume series and from the first book and the set up of Benio having been kissed when she was younger by a neighbor boy. A true instance of young love, you know who she will end up with and who the young neighbor boy will grow up to be.
Still, it's more about the journey than the obvious destination. It's not a secret at all. It doesn't mean that I enjoy the idea behind it any less or the fact that Tamaki is a snarky "playboy" because of course he is.
This is a really cute and quick series on KU that I'd recommend for any shoujo fan. I'm probably going to binge the whole thing today.
July 28, 2021
Benio memiliki tradisi yang tak boleh dilanggar di keluarganya, yakni siapapun yang merebut ciuman pertamanya harus menikahinya. Karena itu Tamaki seorang Ninja diperintahkan untuk melindungi Nona muda ini, agar bisa bersekolah dan mendapatkan kesempatan mencari cinta pertamanya.
Nggak nyangka bakal enjoy banget baca A Springtime With Ninjas ini, Benio digambarkan sebagai gadis polos yamg belum Pernah melihat dunia luar, sedangkan Tamaki sebagai cowok tampan dan seorang ninja yang piawai.
Dari segi cerita sebenarnya memiliki plot khas Shoujo Manga, tapi kelebihannya disini ada beberapa adegan aksi pertarungan ninja dengan alat-alat ninja serta jurus-jurus khas ninja. Karena ternyata bibir Nona muda ini banyak diincar oleh cowok-cowok dari keluarga lain.
Kesimpulan, Bagi kamu yang suka cerita romance pasti kamu suka, aku akan rekomendasikan A Springtime With Ninjas ini, karena hanya ada 4 volume, jadi cukup singkat untuk dikoleksi.
Nggak nyangka bakal enjoy banget baca A Springtime With Ninjas ini, Benio digambarkan sebagai gadis polos yamg belum Pernah melihat dunia luar, sedangkan Tamaki sebagai cowok tampan dan seorang ninja yang piawai.
Dari segi cerita sebenarnya memiliki plot khas Shoujo Manga, tapi kelebihannya disini ada beberapa adegan aksi pertarungan ninja dengan alat-alat ninja serta jurus-jurus khas ninja. Karena ternyata bibir Nona muda ini banyak diincar oleh cowok-cowok dari keluarga lain.
Kesimpulan, Bagi kamu yang suka cerita romance pasti kamu suka, aku akan rekomendasikan A Springtime With Ninjas ini, karena hanya ada 4 volume, jadi cukup singkat untuk dikoleksi.
September 7, 2021
Interesting take on modern Ninjas lol
Now....I'm willing to bet if modern Ninjas existed they'd have better things to do than babysit a HS girl, alas....it makes for a cute romance story hehe
The main character is from a basically ancient and well off Japanese family. Tradition states she must marry the first man to steal a kiss from her. The catch, is if they want her hand and fortune they must get past her ninja protector to get to her. Her ninja, Tamaki has personal reasons he likes to protect her lips for as well. Cant wait to see where this is going. Shes a naive girl, but thats unsurprising considering her upbringing. Perfect girl to explore character development. Have a feeling this is going to be a cute series.
Now....I'm willing to bet if modern Ninjas existed they'd have better things to do than babysit a HS girl, alas....it makes for a cute romance story hehe
The main character is from a basically ancient and well off Japanese family. Tradition states she must marry the first man to steal a kiss from her. The catch, is if they want her hand and fortune they must get past her ninja protector to get to her. Her ninja, Tamaki has personal reasons he likes to protect her lips for as well. Cant wait to see where this is going. Shes a naive girl, but thats unsurprising considering her upbringing. Perfect girl to explore character development. Have a feeling this is going to be a cute series.
July 11, 2019
This mangá is about a girl who's the heiress of one richest family and the lucky guy who gets to kiss her will have to marry her so her fortune will be shared with that lucky guy. BUT her lips are protected by a ninja so it's a difficult task for everyone to get near her and stole that kiss.
I fly through this in no time. Such a cutie ass mangá.
Benio (the protagonist of the story) is really clumsy and everything ''happens'' to her.
I fly through this in no time. Such a cutie ass mangá.
Benio (the protagonist of the story) is really clumsy and everything ''happens'' to her.
May 19, 2021
🎶 Read for the 2021 KU Shitathon™ challenge – [Halfsies #1: January-June] – at Weaponized Pineapples 🎶
🔹 Plan A — Book: #10 of 13 🔹
🔹 Plan A — Book: #10 of 13 🔹
June 29, 2021
Benio is the heiress of the richest family in Japan, and tradition holds that she must marry the first person to kiss her. So that she can attend high school, Benio is assigned the ninja Tamaki as a bodyguard, but he turns out to be quite the player.
It's not always easy for a strong-willed rich girl and a smart-alecky ninja to get along in this romantic comedy about a pure young lady and her smoking-hot knight.
It's not always easy for a strong-willed rich girl and a smart-alecky ninja to get along in this romantic comedy about a pure young lady and her smoking-hot knight.
April 12, 2025
This was really cute actually but i hope that this switches up a little I don't want each chapter to be about someone trying to steal a kiss and the "twist" about her childhood friend is really easy to guess but I like her and the ninja are both enjoyable.
July 12, 2018
This would've been better as a one shot, which is what I believe it started out as.
There's just not much character development or world building or really anything.
I can't recommend this one.
There's just not much character development or world building or really anything.
I can't recommend this one.
April 24, 2020
3.5 Not sure yet if this is "cute but repetitive" or "repetitive but cute".
October 18, 2020
Lumayan. Gak nyebelin, tapi juga bukan tipe shojo kedemenan si Gie.
May 4, 2021
Best one so far. It’s definitely leaning into the comedy in a few places where I’d prefer more drama, but I’ll be picking up the next volume for sure.
May 9, 2021
The main is a little too dumb to live but the series doesn't take itself seriously so it works.
June 9, 2021
Unsure what I actually feel about this right now.
October 29, 2021
Absolutely A+ bonkers concept
March 20, 2022
the only thing keeping me going is the fact that she doesn’t know. WHY DOESN’t she know??
December 29, 2022
Downloaded on a whim
What in the what in the otome game/pick me girl was this? Maybe I missed something, but not for me
What in the what in the otome game/pick me girl was this? Maybe I missed something, but not for me
February 1, 2023
If she keeps getting abducted each chapter, I will scream! My god! She takes stupid to a whole ‘nother level….
March 30, 2023
DNF'd the series halfway through volume 3. This is terrible. Not problematic or anything like that, but just plain bad writing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews