My Monster Secret Volume 10 Manga Review
Jitsu wa Watashi wa/実は私は 10
My Monster Secret: “Actually, I am…” 10

–> Buy My Monster Secret Volume 10 from Amazon.com

Man, it is so good being back in the world of My Monster Secret. The wacky comedy is always welcome. Plus, volume 10 sees more progress made on the romance plot threads.

NOTICE!!! In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I am the adapter for the official English translation of the True Tenchi Muyo! novels, which are also published by Seven Seas.

***SPOILERS***

The Story, in Brief

Nagisa has some false starts confessing to Asahi on the beach. But after he encourages her to speak her mind, she confesses to him, kisses him, then flees. The following day, she has trouble looking at him. Her brother Ryo, in the female human-mecha, shows up looking for free food. Instead, he’s forced to deal with Shimoda.

A worried Akari-sensei returns home after the class trip. Akane is acting suspiciously, leading Akari to discover Akane has created a magic girl TV show about Akari. Meanwhile, rumors are spreading about Asahi having a harem. Youko attempts to give up on Asahi for Nagisa’s sake. However, Nagisa again confesses to Asahi in front of Youko so that he can reject her. Then Asahi confesses to Youko, who accepts.

Youko has trouble understanding what it means to be a couple. She goes to Akane for advice. Akane puts Youko and Asahi onto a TV set to answer questions from Akari-sensei, who’s been stuck with an Envy feather. After coming to a resolution on being a couple, Youko and Asahi visit Karen. They discover that she has a radio program, answering letters from listeners.

Romance Plot: Nagisa

It took a bit, but Nagisa fully confessed to Asahi. Not only that, she managed to kiss him, thanks to Akane making her human-sized. But as happens in these kinds of manga stories, she flees before getting his response.

The humorous part of Nagisa’s plotline came from her brother. Ryou basically had the reverse experience dealing with Shimoda. But Masuda-sensei staged everything so that Nagisa could recognize herself in Shimoda’s shoes.

That aside, after Nagisa stated her confession again for Youko’s sake, Asashi was able to gracefully turn her down. So in that regard, we have a resolution to Nagisa’s romance plotline. I would guess that we might get some aftermath stuff, possibly comedic in nature.

Romance Plot: Youko and Asahi

It only took over nine volumes, but as of My Monster Secret Volume 10, Asahi and Youko are officially a couple. Masuda-sensei did drag it out a bit. I was worried that he would try to maintain the status quo for even longer by having Youko basically give up on Asahi for Nagisa’s sake. But thankfully, that got resolved and they are now a couple. Woo!hoo!

I do like that Asahi and Youko had to deal with what it means to be boyfriend and girlfriend. This is new territory for both of them. And though Akane trolled them, she also helped them come to a resolution on that front. So now they can move forward together. I look forward to seeing where Masuda-sensei takes them.

Akane Troll Fun!

Speaking of Akane trolling, My Monster Secret Volume 10 certainly had a lot of that. I got a real kick out of her making a magic girl show based off Akari being single and technically an “obasan” in real life. Family or no, in many ways, it is amazing that Akari allows Akane to live with her.

Of course Akane’s ultimate troll move came from forcing Asahi and Youko to answer tough, personal questions. Having Akari-sensei stabbed with an Envy feather, then being the one to ask the questions made it funnier. And having this done on a punishment game set was the final piece that made things so funny to me.

Still, as I’ve said before, when it comes to trolling her students, Akane also does some teaching as well. In that regard, her trolling is a way of showing she cares. And I suppose, the same could be said of her trolling Akari. However, Akane’s trolling still provides her with entertaining amusement, so it is two birds with one stone.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Let me wrap up my review of My Monster Secret Volume 10 with some final thoughts.

• Even though it is a repeat gag, I still laugh whenever Shimoda gets arrested for appearing to harass women (Ryo in the human, female exterior unit).
• The story with Karen having a radio talk show was fun.
• There were no extras from Seven Seas in this volume. The omake chapter from the tankoubon was included.

In the end, My Monster Secret Volume 10 was another fun, hilarious read. Plus, Youko and Asahi are finally a couple, which I’m really glad for.