This was an interesting concept. Iku can see ghosts and after encountering one on a bridge, it follows him home. Mimori, the ghost, basically moves into Iku's apartment and they grow closer. Iku, hoping to stop Mimori from reliving his death every night, decides to figure out what exactly happened to Mimori in the hopes of helping him move on. But surprise, he falls in love with Mimori. There is a twist about Mimori that I didn't see coming and I honestly cried a little towards the end, I won't give away why but there was definitely a part that made me feel really sad for Iku. I don't think anything about this was particularly ground breaking but I enjoyed it enough to look forward to the sequel.

A cute story that leaves no loose ends. The main character is forced to confront his past and reflect upon why he has isolated himself from the world. A beautiful story with matching artwork.

This was really adorable and also a little sad!

Mimori and Iku are really sweet MCs, pretty typical of the genre.

The art is gorgeous and the plot is really easy to follow.

it was cute and a little mysterious. i was happy that they found each other again at the end. The ghost aspect was kinda interesting.

I loved the premise in 23:45. Every day our main character sees the same ghost on the bridge. And then one day the ghost follows him home...

It sounds so interesting. But then the actual manga is mostly confusing and chaotic.

The beginning of this manga is excellent, but then once the story actually starts there's a lot of chaos. There's no one linear story but a few snippets of our characters' lives together and they lead nowhere.

There are sudden flashbacks which are fascinating and really added to the main character. I actually liked them. And I liked how the story ended. I didn't expect this outcome.

I would enjoy this manga more if there was more structure to it. And if the art wasn't so confusing. Sometimes I didn't know who said what and what was actually going on.

23:45 has a central plot that works even if you take the BL elements out of it. For that alone, I found it a very compelling read, but the fact that it was executed well makes this a wonderful one-and-done story.

It’s a cute standalone but fell flat in many areas. I enjoyed the reflective nature of the plot but otherwise wasn’t hooked.

It’s very fast paced, albeit a little wordy at times, and with that comes a lack of overall character and relationship development as well as world building. It just fell flat, unfortunately.

My review may sound overly critical but I do think this was an enjoyable read. It’s quick and has some cute moments and I think a fan of the BL genre would enjoy reading. A bonus comes from the art style, it suited the story very well.

Iku has just started going to school in Tokyo when he realizes that he has the ability to see ghosts. When he accidentally catches the attention of Mimori, a ghost on the bridge on his route home, he makes a promise to never let Mimori experience death again. But it turns out that Iku may be in a stasis on his own.

I really enjoyed this one. The tone overall is reflective. I enjoyed the pacing, the art, and the focus on the mystery of Mimori’s need to repeat the events of his death. This story doesn’t dig too deep, but is still impactful in its own way.

This is a really bittersweet and ultimately nice story about a boy who can see ghosts and the ghost you ends up following him home and "haunting" his apartment. The pacing, both storytelling and art-wise could have been better, but it still hit that sweet spot for me. Some of the panels are hard to follow and the dialogue is clunky (combined with some interesting typesetting choices to have to fit with said panels that all together feel jarring), but not enough to really throw me out. I wish there had been more of a leadup to the last couple chapters; we seem to be thrown into the result rather that the slower beginning. I also don't know how accurate it is to say that Iku can see ghosts, since Sei seems to be the only ghost that he really sees. Anyway, a cute oneshot that I enjoyed reading.

23:45 tells the story of certified otaku Iku who one day meets Mimori, a ghost. Mimori comes to hang out at Iku's place every day from then on.

"Loneliness attracts the lonely."

This was a bittersweet BL romance story. The art style is a typical shoujo manga art style which fits the subject. The premise of this is intriguing and I liked how the ending of this was handled.

"...I won't ever let you die again."

However I would have liked the pacing to be a bit more even throughout. The beginning is slower, but then the story really speeds up towards the end and things move very quickly. I also found the dialogue a bit clunky.

Overall the story is quite cute, and I can see fans of BL stories enjoy this. Ohana takes familiar elements, but combines them in interesting ways.

Iku moved to Tokyo 2 months ago, which hasn't given him much time to get to know anyone from work or school. In unrelated news, upon moving to Tokyo, he finds that he can now see ghosts. One of the ghosts he passes by every day is on a bridge, just leaning on the rail and staring out into the distance. As Iku becomes distracted by staring at the somewhat attractive bridge ghost, he runs into someone, scatting his belongings. In the chaos and then the bridge ghost talking to him, Iku runs away and leaves something behind. The ghost follows Iku to his home just to return Iku's comic. It is a simple gesture of kindness and maybe a dollop of loneliness that leads to an unexpected friendship.

#ThxNetGalley #Ohana

Honestly, the premise is promising, a loner otaku boy who can see a ghost, and they start to be friends after accidentally interact with each other. But I feel like the pace is a bit rushed and the timeline is confusing. I had to go back several pages to understand which one happens now and which one happens in the past. I'm an avid manga reader and I think this wasn't done well. I appreciate the drawing style though. But the story could be better in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the e-arc!

23:45 is a supernatural tale about Iku, an otaku, who gains the ability to see ghosts. One day, he sees a ghost named Mimori on a bridge and both realize they can interact with each other. This sends Iku on a journey to figure out what happened to Mimori and help him escape from his endless loop. I felt this should have been two volumes to give the story a chance to breathe. I felt it was very rushed at times and a bit confusing when we kept switching between the past and the present. I also felt the relationship was super rushed due to the lack of scenes with the characters in the present. I think if you like supernatural stories, this might work for you but it did not work for me.

"23:45" by Ohana is a manga about a college student named Iku, who falls in love with a ghost that only he can see.

This manga is heartwarming, cute, and beautifully drawn. The story is engaging, and the characters are relatable.

I highly recommend this manga! I definitely want to continue reading this manga series!

Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha, for sending me an ARC of "23:45"! It comes out 03/11/2025!

*Thanks to Net Galley and Kodansha Comics for e-arc*

This was such an interesting story. This story explores grief and depression and I thought it did it well. I loved reading bls were the boys heal as they fall in love with each other.

A sweet love story between a shy 'otaku' and a 'spirit' he meets on a bridge. This story is not particularly novel or mysterious. In fact, most experienced readers will be able to guess at the 'secret' of Mimori's ghostly nature well before the halfway mark. But what sets this 'ghost story ' apart are the characters and interactions of Iku and Mimori. I loved how Iku is so determined to be a loner, but is defeated by his own kind-heartedness. Mimori's struggles in his former life are also easy to connect with. All in all, I found myself in love with this cute not-couple.

3.5/5 stars

I recall when this book was released in German and I almost picked it up but ultimately gave it a pass. My main reasons were that standalone manga rarely live up to my expectations due to their length and something felt off about the cover. Now with an upcoming English release, I thought it's time to give it a try. My original reasons for not picking it up were partially debunked: I might not be a huge fan of the cover but the art inside is beautiful. There was something very soft with how the gradients were added and it was all around very aesthetically pleasing.

For a standalone, it definitely wasn't poorly done. I liked the general premise of this plot - somewhat socially awkward loner can see a ghost who more or less becomes his room mate. It's quit fun, although the solution of the main issue was quite easy to guess as it seems to be one of the most common ways out for these kinds of stories. It was nonetheless well nuanced in terms of background and issues both main characters face. However, it does suffer from being a standalone [ignoring the sequel which was tacked on later] - the pacing feels a little off and it sometimes read as a fan translation. I don't actually believe that this is a translation issue but rather an issue with how the original is delivered. There's a certain sense of scenes jumping around that can feel confusing.

I was also not entirely on board with the romance. On one hand it was cute and there was definitely a bond growing between the two main characters. But for the short time we see them, it felt more like friendship than romance. There is also an intimate scene comparatively early on which was not graphic at all but still felt very out of place; it didn't seem driven by lust and the romance didn't feel like it had developed far enough for this to happen which made it seem a little random. Despite having a good guess of what the conclusion might be, it wasn't a bad one and yet I felt it was lacking.

Although this may seem like a largely critical review, I do think it's perfectly readable and not a bad manga to pick up for fans of the genre.

It was a cute BL manga with a good ending. Some things in my opinion could have been explained better. But overall, would highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC!

I went into this with high hopes because bl between ghost and otaku sounds right up my street, but unfortunately it did not live up to this at all. There were major gaps between events that meant there was just no context for what was happening and why

I was not expecting this story to be as heavy as it was. It delves deep into so many emotions including loneliness, guilt, and grief, exploring these topics in a unique way. A great read.