Secret, Vol. 3

Secret #3

by Yoshiki Tonogai

The tension among the survivors of the bus accident reaches its threshold as the one-week deadline finally arrives. The three killers may have confessed, but does this mean that all their sins are accounted for?




What truly constitutes a crime? Or to what extent is an action criminal? When the gavel falls on their sentences, perhaps all might not be as it seems.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics Manga

226 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2015

About the author

Yoshiki Tonogai (外海良基 Tonogai Yoshiki, born March 14) is a Japanese manga artist from Shiga, Japan.

Reviews

[Sushi (寿司) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alla fine metto 5✰ perchè mi piace Yoshiki Tonogai ma non è stato all'altezza di Doubt. Sarà forse che Doubt è stato il primo che ho letto ma delle tre opere mi è parso il migliore.
La classifica finale è quindi:
➥ Doubt
➥ Judge
➥ Secret

Quando verranno pubblicate comprerò ancora opere di Tonogai. :)

[neela 닐라 || ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series apparently ends with this novel, which is disappointing because there was so much potential. I really had hoped it would somehow tie in Doubt and Judge but it doesn't. that being said, I found the ending to be quite satisfying, and the extra episode at the end is a nice touch. Nothing groundbreaking here, but still worth a read. I fouls the characters more relatable/likeable than I did in the other installments, and I like that there's a sense of justice served at the end of this.

Although not a huge spoiler, I think a warning for incest should still be made.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of back and forth who the murderer was. A bit let down by who it was and what the reason behind the murders was for.

[Titis Wardhana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jaaaahhh... didn't see it coming :p

Meski endingnya ya lumayan tak terduga, tapi kurang memuaskan, kurang greget, alesannya juga kurang masuk akal, trus soal si sopir bus juga gak dibahas lagi...

[mar ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't see that coming

[Adeeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing! OH MY GOD! All of this author's works are shocking!!!!! I was a bit disappointed that the rabbits didn't have any significance to the story, which was very annoying.

[Sunread26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2021/...

Extrait :
On se retrouve pour le dernier tome de la trilogie Secret, où tout les éléments sont enfin dévoilé, nos apprentis enquêteurs, commencent à comprendre, et ils passent de proies à chasseurs. Malgré tout, ils feront quand même une victime supplémentaire, à vous de deviner de qui je parle… Une fois de plus, les esprits des différents personnages sont mis à rude épreuve, le psychologue aura t-il le dernier mot ? car pour le moment, seul deux meurtrier ont été découverts…

Les nerfs de plus en plus à vifs nos différents personnages commencent à révéler leur vraies nature (du moins pour ceux encore mis en avant). Le dernier coup du psychologue tombe, pensant enfin débarrassé de la plupart des élèves (toujours pour une raison que l’on ignore), il voudra terminé son « travail » avec Ozu… Tout se terminera t-il selon ses plans, où ses élèves, qui ont pour certains tout compris, arriveront à le stopper à temps ?

Je n’irai pas trop loin, pour ne pas vous spoiler le reste du volume, je trouve juste le personnage du psy très intéressant (même s’il est aussi très dégoûtant), il est arrivé à piéger tout le monde. Il aurait pu s’en sortir comme ça, mais l’un des étudiants est plus malin que ça, mais au final il aura raison… Et ça c’est le plus surprenant, car les trois meurtriers ne seront pas tous ceux auxquels on aurait pu s’attendre…

Cette série fut une belle surprise de la part de Tonogai, car autant Judge et Doubt se ressemblait, autant avec cette nouvelle série part dans un autre sens, toujours avec les même idées clés. Quand je parle d’idée clé, je pense notamment à la place importante de l’ambiance d’un point de vue général, mais également, et surtout de la place de la psychologie plus que mis en avant cette fois-ci avec le psychologue. En effet, aucun soucis n’était présagé au départ de la série, mais c’est son arrivée, et son but qui feront bousculer la balance. Est-ce que pour autant il ne faut pas faire confiance aux psy ? Je pense que cela n’a aucun rapport, ne vous inquiétez pas, votre psy ne vous fera pas faire ce genre de choses.

[...]

[Alasblancas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todo aquel que haya leído cualquier obra de este autor estará familiarizado en como plantea los misterios, los giros en la historia, los personajes que son el prototipo y cliché de cualquier serie escolar (la guapa, la lista, el estudioso, el macarra...) y el empleo de un animal, la mayoría de veces un conejo, como símbolo y máscara a los implicados en lo ocurrido. Por eso, después de disfrutar de Doubt y Judge, empecé Secret con muchas ganas. La huella del autor, en el dibujo y en la historia, es indiscutible pero no le llega a la altura de las anteriores. No le quito mérito en saber mantener la intriga y la tensión pero peca de abusar de giros absurdos, la trama flojea y el final fue apresurado e incompleto para mi gusto. Quizá el error es compararla pero aún si que he sentido esa tensión e intriga tan características que el autor logra transmitir.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly this was really good.

Halfway throughout the book I was a bit disappointed because I didn't like the way a few characters acted and a few things that happened, but when all those things were resolved I was pleased, because the author did manage to fool me a bit just like the characters.

I really liked the ending too.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa, ok!! This was a wild ride from start to finish! Uh, I skipped a volume because they didn't have one at my local library, so I'm not exactly up to date with all the details. Anyways, gosh, what a wild conclusion! The teacher was the mastermind and a massive freak too. Glad that incestuous jerk got stabbed~ (⁠･ั⁠ω⁠･ั⁠)
4/5☆ just cus the pacing in the beginning was a bit too slow for me.

[(╯`▭´）╯︵ ǝɔnɒꓷ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.75*

Kind of a letdown. I thought it was a bit too rushed and thrown together. It was a bit predictable in some ways, and kind of blegh in others. Also, really did not like the "secret" ending. Wish it had been something different, or left out entirely.

[Joseph Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

The killers are out, now why did this whole thing happen? A much more satisfying volume, even if we still don't know why the bus crashed. Just wish there was more foreshadowing, so it didn't just feel like crazy reveals.

[Sleepy Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

omg that ending though. Some parts of this were a tad predictable but I love how it all came together and interlocked. Knew his crazy ass was a creep.

[Snow Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love it!!

[Gabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Ophilia Adler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incest...lol

[19Utopia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recensione al Vol. 1

[KarleeXx0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed how this all played out. I wasn't particularly shocked by the ending, but thought everything tied up nicely and made sense. Fast-paced and all secrets revealed!

[Intania C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected too much to the story. It wasn't like the imagination in my mind:( but yeah it was good enough for killing my time.

[Knutschi · Rating 3 out of 5]

🤗👍💫

[Helluwutra · Rating 4 out of 5]

La cause de tout ça était prévisible mais la raison beaucoup moins. Je ??? Quoi ???

[Nayahbf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miscommunication at its finest

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending had one of my least favorite tropes but I still was surprised and enjoyed my time reading this.

[ashes ➷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review of the first book (and overall series) here. Review for the second book here.

The thrilling conclusion! You know, I do think endings are Tonogai’s weakness; he can give great suspense, but can he resolve it? In this case, I found the overall wrap-up satisfying, though hampered by a few unnecessary twists and illogicalities. Spoilers follow, because how can you explain without them.

Allow me to read to you from my notes. “why does mitomo sensei need to be an incest freak?” they read. “like he’s already insane why does he need this?” Though a little ineloquent, I think they get the point across. Why DOES Mitomo need to have any kind of incestuous motivations or backstory? Why can’t “I am a fucked up person with warped morals who needs to Set Things Right” be enough? Hell, you could keep him as Ami’s brother, that’s fine. I find the incest totally unnecessary to the stakes of the book.

Not only that, but it adds a layer of complexity to the mechanisms of Mitomo’s plans. How did he get access to information never reported to other survivors? How did someone likely registered as a sex offender get to be a school counselor? I’m not going to pretend to understand Japan’s legal systems, but I have to assume some of these things are a little less believable given the circumstances. So, again, Tonogai could’ve left that out! Or made Mitomo a cop or something, I don’t know. Find a way for these things to make SENSE.

Warning: Rika complaints follow. She’s not just a stereotypical fallen idol but a total do-over for Tonogai given Doubt. Murderous ex-idol who is no longer able to perform due to disfigurements/disabilities acquired in a tragic accident? Check! I honestly didn’t find Rika remotely a murderous type throughout the book; there’s nothing in her personality that suggested a propensity for murder even given this motivation. Tonogai just has it in his head that this is believable, and I’m not going to sit here and diagnose him with sexism, but I will say that maybe he has not considered the greater nuances of women’s feelings on beauty and status. So, again, you’ve got a character who acts less like a person and more like a stock villain, which is frustrating!

And again, why so many twists?? Do we HAVE to have Rika think Amano caused everything and become a murderer but then not really because they escaped also Amano didn’t do it and Mitomo orchestrated the whole thing but don’t worry Rika becomes a murderer after all because she doesn’t know the truth? I mean, in defense of Tonogai, Mitomo orchestrating a third murderer is really exciting, and I like that Mitomo actually knew very little about the crash in the end (leading us to a “hell is other people” suspicionfest), but again… do we have to have our minds THIS blown. Also like why… does Mitomo need these two killed. Like I get that he doesn’t know who Ami’s secret boyfriend was but… what. I don’t know. What was the reason.

It just feels kinda weak and, again, stock villain-y, instead of really compelling. I like a villain I can empathize with! Relate to! Be scared by my agreement with! etc. etc. I wish Mitomo had been overall better fleshed-out.

Anyway, nevertheless, the series itself is really fun and I enjoy reading it every time. And the ending isn’t necessarily bad! I just like to nitpick. I noticed when I returned to my old review for this volume that I praised the ending heavily, and overall it is fun to be fucked with. Again, I’m excited to see what Tonogai comes up with next; I’m sure it’ll be a further improvement.

[Daisya Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warning: Mention of molestation towards the end.
There was a part of me that wanted to give this volume 3.5 stars, but since I'm trying not to add .5 stars, I'm going to give this three stars. Mainly because of the motives with Rika and Mitomi. I don't think Rika really cared about the other people who died, but moreso that she couldn't really be an Idol anymore, so to justify her anger she attempts to kill Sanada and Amano in a fire only to be tricked into being the third murderer by Mitomi.
Mitomi's reasoning for wanting to frame and kill some of them was that Tono was his little sister and he was in love with her. And when I say in love with her, I mean that it's implied that he molested her and she was supposed to have "his child". That was just sick and twisted and made me want to knock down a .5 star.
The ending where Rika ended up stabbing Mitomi while he was being escorted by police and he still got his wish at the end of it (having her be the third murderer) was kind of interesting and I liked how that was a bonus chapter as well.
I think there are things that this series as a whole can fix namely making certain parts more interesting and making the motives a little more justifiable and not as disgusting.

[Traben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've become somewhat wary of Tonogai's stories. The endings in particular have been either nonsensical or unsatisfying and I was expecting this story to take a last minute left turn for no other reason than to fake out the reader. Despite my relatively low rating of this series, it is the most consistent of the three thus far. I do miss the locked room/bottle story feeling of its predecessors, but if the trade-off is a more coherent story, than I'll take it. Would recommend this series for mystery fans who have a few hours to kill.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly am glad that I read this series. And I am very glad that the conclusion of this series was totally worth it!

Since this is the last volume, every thing comes out. All the secrets, all the twists and turns are coming out. And I actually thought the flow of the story was very good.

It was a fun manga to read. And I love that it was a quick one too.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed all 3 of these books,not as much as I enjoyed Doubt which I really really enjoyed but more than I liked Judge.There was plenty of twists to the story,a couple of which I really didn't expect and the story really does keep you guessing.I hope Yoshiki Tonogai writes another series.

[Valery Tikappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'ho trovato un finale un po' debole, sicuramente meno avvincente dei finali di Doubt e Judge!
Ma mi è comunque piaciuto. I manga di Yoshiki Tonogai sono quasi "malati", sicuramente psicologici, e hanno il grande pregio di assorbire totalmente nella storia.

[˗ˏˋ mckenna ˎˊ˗ · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be frank I was mildly disappointed with this twist but all in all this story was wildly intriguing and totally shocking! I don’t see myself reading it again but I’m very glad to have experienced this series!