7-genme wa Himitsu.

7th Period is a Secret: (G rating) Short and sweet. Proper approach to Student-Teacher relationships, as well as a strong message on showing your true self to in turn have true friends. A nice story with a feel good message and cute plotline. Strongly recommended for all fluff shoujo readers, fans of personal development stories, or anyone looking for a quick and light read.

7th Period is a Secret is a short story consisting of three chapters. The last two chapters are one shots and are not related to main chapters. I started reading this with some expectations for it, but I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong though; for such a short manga, 7th Period is a Secret was actually quite good. The story is about a high school girl who was an outcast at her previous school. She transfers to a new school, determined to be popular, while hiding her true personality within her. She deceives all but her teacher, who showsher that living in such a state is degenerative, and thus teaches her to live as herself. The story was short and sweet, and for three chapters, 7th Period is a Secret was enjoyable. The two one shots focused on developing relationships between two different couples despite apparent difficulties. The characters, however, were the weak point of this manga. The mangaka relies on extremely typical personalities, personalities that are not only predictable, but are seen almost in any other boy-girl romance manga. In the two one shots, the boys and girls could've been secretly programmed machines designed to simulate a romantic relationship, and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. Their every action was extremely predictable and calculated, they didn't seem like real teens struggling through thick and thin to find love. The characters in the main chapters were better, but this was probably due to a more different setting of the story. Overall, the characters were dull. Unlike in other manga where one grows attach to the characters' unique personalities, characters of 7th Period is a Secret were predictable and did not show any signs of personal traits or characteristics. The art style was quite good. The background of various high school scenery and cityscape allowed pages to be very pleasing to look at. The mangaka went along with the sharp, clear drawing style, as opposed to blending and smearing to create lighting effects that are typically seen in Bleach or Claymore. As a result, every panel looks clean and neat. Perfect for a high school romance manga. :) Overall, 7th Period is a Secret is not unique at all, but was surprisingly enjoyable. It doesn't take long at all to read through its 5 chapters, so give it a go.

Brilliance. I had started this manga several times and never completed it. I believe for me, it was getting used to the art. I found the art to be too dark and usage of a lot of shading so that didn't appeal to me. When I did become used to it and also determined to finish such a small manga, I got over the art and really enjoyed the story for what it offered. This story is one of the more popular and well known mangas for the Student/Teacher genre, if one is a fan. As a fan, it's a wonder it wasnot my first read. As I said, I had a lot of things to get over in regards to this manga before I delve into it fully. The story is so well done and poignant. You feel for both leads. Shun is a young student who just recently transferred from another High School, and based on an educated guess she probably transferred because of the shunning she previously experienced. She's a nerd who is a bit more studious, and serious than the others with a healthy insecurity issue. She feels the best way to be "included" or part of the "in crowd" is to hide aspects of her self for the superficial which is more popular. Jun is the young teacher who is playful and more like another student than teacher who sees the 'real' Shun and brings her forth. Makes her drop her insecurities and became independent of past angst and also drop the cowardice to show the her real self to the world. He showed her that she deserved love, not the character she created like the dramas she watches to fit in. It's commentary on the insecurities people face and in particular the more studious students is quite interesting for a manga. I loved the story for successfully doing that within a taboo love story. I think everyone who gives it a chance will like this story. The plot is not complex, but the character associations and relations are which enrich the story. The art is definitely a great piece and really gives you a solid understanding of the characters and their feelings. The characters were cool. I would have loved to know more about Jun, the sensei, but overall it was decent. I enjoyed it immensely as I mentioned so overall it was a good read. As for the two other minor fics attached to this story they were decent. They are cutesy stories that are very lighthearted for the reader. I like the art, not as detailed and almost sketch like in affect. It was very appealing. The first story is about a sweet girl who confessed to a boy she liked when they were young kids. Said boy moves away and has suddenly come back to the town. What he does is blackmail her with the confession letter to do things for him. It's very cute and sweet. I like the twist of how he blackmails the girl to be his slave. What's interesting is that he knows the confession letter by heart---this is how you know that he took the letter very seriously. I really liked this story. The second one shot is about a girl who is older than the boy and they were raised like brother and sister where she's his protector. The thing is, she sees him as her brother and even though he's around 15 she still baby's him. His mother is totally agreeable with the relationship and basically you are sitting through their drama of the lead girl understanding her feelings for the lead boy. While the lead boy is using his abilities to make her jealous----he's a hot gorgeous bishie in school (the girls flock). It's another nice read.

STORY: 7th Period is a Secret (7 Genme wa Himitsu) is a bit boring. It wasn't a bad story, but it just didn't pique my interest. I'm glad Shun's friends didn't turn out to be a bunch of trashy individuals. CHARACTERS: This manga really only focuses on two people: Shun and Jun. Shun was okay. She was a people-pleaser and too afraid to voice her own thoughts and feelings. Her teacher, Jun, saw right through her and made her acknowledge her phony persona. Shun's probably very relatable to anyone who has felt like they had to become someone different to fit in. Jun was also okay. He remindedme of cornbread, specifically the boxed type you add eggs to. A bit bland but taste good enough to continue eating. I mean he could have had more depth to his character, but I still found him cute. He blushes pretty adorably as well. For the brief flash of a character he is, he's still entertaining. ART: I have read other mangas by this mangaka, and I really like her style! I find it appealing. RELATIONSHIP: I didn't care for Shun and Jun. Aside from the obvious forbidden student-teacher angle, I did not like the way it was executed. I'm not trying to be a stickler because I couldn't write this story any better but... Why did Jun like Shun again? I understand why Shun liked him (he's the first person to really notice the true her), but did Jun only like her due to similar pasts? The fact that she was a cute schoolgirl? Some third reason? OVERALL: This is a quick shoujo read that doesn't stray much from the norm but is still good enough for leisure time. I liked reading it on a rainy day. There's also two, unrelated one-shots in the story too. I didn't like either of them haha. You can give this manga a try! Your sentiments might be different from my own. Just don't expect too much though.