Member Reviews

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.

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** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

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THEMES: ghosts, death, loss, grief, fear of losing someone, mentions of potential suicide and suicide attempt


Iku Kurihara moved to Tokyo two months ago. He's an otaku – an anime fan – and has just started being able to see ghosts! The first ghost he's been able to interact with is Mimori Seo, a boy his age who has somehow found himself trapped in a death-loop, reliving his death every night, and eventually falls into tagging along with Kurihara, to the point where he begins staying in his apartment.

23:45 is a VERY emotional, beautiful story! I was SO invested in this story, both the mystery of what really happened to Mimori and the tentative romance that began to develop between Kurihara and Mimori. I loved the concept of a second chance at life, at love, at friendship. It also felt like they were both getting a second chance at love, just not with each other as is typical.

This book ending was quite open-ended but it felt right and realistic. Although I REALLY hope there will be another volume.

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What an absolutely great read this was. I really enjoyed all the silly moments but the undertone of sadness really pulled at my heart strings too. I thought this was so well done and the art is also great. My only complaint is I wanted more, which is always the case with one shot manga for me 🤣

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It was a quick and easy read. I liked the story line and plot twist. The art was pretty as well, which might not matter to some, but to me its a make or break kinda thing when picking up a manga. It ends on a pretty hopeful note and I will definitely continue if there will be future volumes.

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This is a slow, drifty story equal parts mystery and romance. Focused more on the slow burn of the relationship between Iku and Mimori as Iku comes to terms with his fears about getting too close to real people, with how easily words hurt and how easy it is to to hurt other people back. As introspective as the manga is, it’s very wordy, with lots of introspection on Iku’s part, and long, thoughtful conversations between the two young men.

The ending is hopeful, pleasantly cheesy, and for all that the pace is so languid, it’s easy to read. I’m not sure I liked it enough to recommend it, though, unless you’re already a fan of this author’s other work, or are looking for something a little more philosophical and internal.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!

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This was my first time reading a manga, so it took me a while to get into it and even by the end, the page layouts still felt a bit confusing to me; however, that is definitely a me problem.
Storywise I thought it was really cute: a college student meets a ghost and they start hanging out. It was nice to read, but quite a bit of it to me felt like "filler content" that did not add much to the story.
Overall I would still say I enjoyed it, though.

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