Thanks to both Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC copy. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.

Recently moved to Tokyo, college-student Iku lives by his rules: reading manga, watching TV and not much socializing. Until he starts seeing ghost, one in particular. Mimori, who haunts a local bridge and looks like sunshine in person due to how super friendly she is. They start sharing space and oxygen, their lives (and dead) mingling in all aspects. Except, every night, at 23:45 Mimori replays his dead at the bridge.

This manga was a bit of a bad surprise, because the premise sounded reaaally good and the art that accompanied the story is visually stunning, but the story and the characters didn't deliver at all, disappointingly.

The romance was sweet and the characters share a lot of moment, which is something I think a lot of romances sometimes lack, instead forcing itself onto the pages and the characters involve without been developed properly and forcing the reader to believe it. That said, even thought Iku and Mimori share all types of moments and are good for each other, the story was rushed in all aspects and the romance didn't feel well-developed for what the story demanded and wanted to deliver. And so, the emotional impact the manga wanted to make, didn't gave me a punch as it wanted.

There are manga that can benefit from being shorter. "23:45" is the contrary case: it could have benefited from being longer, maybe even from having two or three short volumes. I think that could have helped to it all be better and not feel as rushed.

All this into account, I did enjoy this manga, laughing with the characters, admiring the art and trying to decipher the truth behind the paranormal aspect that haunted the pages; just like Mimori. But, at the end of the day, this manga could have been more developed, better paced and with an ending that satisfied me. Pros and cons, really. Bit of both worlds.

I didn't write this review on my website, mostly since I don't have much to say. This volume was underwhelming and hard for me to follow personally. I really enjoyed the art, but couldn't connect with the story, so it was a pass for me.

The premise made it sound interesting but it's just average overall, he wasn't even an actual ghost and most of the story is about them living together watching tv and reading manga.

The ending happened out of nowhere without anything leading to it, while reading I was confused on whether I should take the scene at face value or if there was something going on since it's a paranormal.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics for the e-arc of this manga. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Iku and Mimori growing closer and trying to figure out what happened to Mimori (that made him a little ghost-like). If you’re looking for a melancholic but hopeful story of two lonely people finding each other at
the right time, look no further. The ending made me definitely excited for the next volume. 4.25 🌟

23:45 by Ohana, which was recently released on March 11, 2025, can be considered a one-shot paranormal, BL manga, but there is a sequel manga out there. I read this as an ARC from Kodansha on Netgalley. 23:45 centers around Iku Kurihara, who has recently moved to Tokyo. Before his move to Tokyo, he had never seen a ghost, but is able to see them now. Or so he says. The only ghost we, the reader, knows he sees is Mimori Seo.

Iku finds Mimori to be an interesting ghost as he is able touch and hold onto things compared to a regular ghost. Or at least he is able to do all of this around Iku. We do see early on, as Iku does as well, that people are able to walk through Mimori. The two start to talk and hang around one another when Mimori follows Iku to return a fan comic(dounjinshi). Yes, Iku is an otaku. This begins the friendship and potential relationship for the two.

I did enjoy the friendship that occurred and deepened between Iku and Mimori. You could tell that Iku began to worry about Mimori, especially after finding out what might have happened to him. Mimori, for his part, seemed to be worried about Iku’s cooking skills. The one part that I will never understand is where everyone in the manga gets the idea that Iku is a perfectionist. We really don’t seem to see any evidence of this. And how does it deal with cooking?

What we do get to see is part of Iku’s past. We get to understand why he is withdrawn from his fellow classmates, and I guess the reason for him becoming an otaku. I am not sure that the two points really connect, but I guess if you have enough time to watch TV compared to before, you can become a fan of anything. Iku’s is anime.

I found it interesting that while Iku was curious about why Mimori was drawn to the bridge he first found him at, he is not curious enough to research Mimori right away. Mimori introduced himself right away, and even though Mimori did not have memories of much else, it would have been enough to go off of to research into him. I found myself questioning about Mimori, and wanting to tell Iku to start searching right away.

I do appreciate that while this was a one-shot, and a BL manga, we have hints to a developing relationship. I imagine that the sequel will go more in depth as to what could be a proper relationship for them. Some parts of the development were a bit rushed, but I feel that it will be more believable when the sequel comes out. I really am looking forward to the next volume, and I did really find this book to very cute. I enjoyed my time reading it, and I liked the idea of how people view the different types of relationships as well as the paranormal aspect to the story.

***ARC from NetGalley***

This is a haunting story that I hope has a sequel.

Iku is a university student in Tokyo. Shy, reserved, living in his own world. And he can see ghosts. Or can he.

What a follows is an unusual love story between a damaged and lonely young man and the ghost he takes into his home and his heart, Mimori.

I really enjoyed the story. However, I feel like the story is rushed and would have benefitted from a few more pages in areas to help develop the tension/storyline/emotional payoff.

That said, I would recommend this story and hope that it continues.

I liked both characters but I feel like there was something missing from the story. It felt too rushed. The two plot points in the middle made me feel like I missed something. I am curious how the next volume is going to go so I will be picking that up.

Iku is a first year college student in Tokyo who splits his time between studying, a job at a grocery store, and his mangas and animes, which he prefers to human interaction. The reason is given in the story. He’s an otaku and a bit of a shut-in.

Lately, he’s been seeing a ghost of a young man on a footbridge that no one else can see. They learn by accident that Iku can talk with him and touch him, and since he’s lonely, the ghost moves to Iku’s place. He remembers his name, Mimori, but he has no memory of his life or how he died. And every night, at the same time, he’s pulled back on the bridge to die again.

The two bond over manga and anime, and a friendship and then love blooms. Iku knows they’re on a borrowed time, because ghosts leave when they have fulfilled their purpose. That doesn’t stop him from trying to learn who Mimori was. What he finds out changes everything.

This was not as sad a story as it might seem. With Mimori’s help, Iku learns to let go of his trauma and to interact with humans again. And when the inevitable time comes that the ghost goes away, a new thing begins that is different and yet the same. This is a stand-alone story, and although the ending isn’t a happily ever after but more of a new start, it still feels complete and satisfying.

This is the artists first solo manga and they did a good work. The story is lovely and the art is good.

3.5 rounded up

23:45 is a sort of melancholy book of post-trauma: Iku, a young who moved to Tokyo alone after a harrowing incident with his mother, and Mimori, a... ghost?? Since Iku's the only one that seems to be able to see/touch him, they start to become friends and get to know each other and start to mutually understand each other despite their personal circumstances and what they keep from the world.

There's a point most of the way through where, no spoilers, two (unrelated) things happen rather quickly, both of which had me going back a few pages to see if I had missed something (no), which had to knock my rating down a bit, but I see the second book/sequel is coming out in July so I'll definitely read that two-- I liked the characters, and I wonder of course if these two quick-occurring things were a fault of trying to condense a story into one volume... well! Enjoyable anyway.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

2.5 ☆
23:45 tells the story of an otaku who moves to Tokyo to study, and there he realizes that he can see a ghost.
It's not bad, but it's not good either. However, it had a lot of potential.
I liked it enough to look forward to the sequel. Which I hope is much better.
I didn't understand half of it. I don't know if it's the storytelling or me.
It's okay, but it could be better.

A boy who lived in his otaku world just fine until he starts seeing a ghost and sees how that young man ends his life by jumping off a bridge and is determined to change the course of his... 'life'?

I can't say that I'm completely convinced, I feel that something was missing or that I personally didn't quite understand it. I don't feel that the characters have been very developed and that something else is missing. I don't know what.

I know that the story continues so I'll be on the lookout for the continuation.

Thank you very much Kodansha Comics for the ARC that I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this story, but I would've liked for there to be an explanation for why he was the only one capable of seeing the "ghost". The story felt more akin to an ongoing retcon -- like "just kidding, he's not actually dead" -- then ended on the biggest cliffhanger ever.

Because 23:45 has such a great premise, I really hope the second volume is not as messy as this one.

This was just okay. I wish that the story had gone a little further into the mystery and the romance as it felt like everything just fell into place so quickly and effortlessly. It had a lot of potential though.

The story was emotional and beautifully written, with moments that really stuck with me. The characters felt real, and their journey kept me hooked. Some parts were a bit slow, but the depth and heart of the story made up for it. A touching and memorable read!

Pretty disappointing. The story didn’t flow well, which made it tough to keep track of what was going on, and the characters felt pretty one-dimensional. There were big jumps between events that missed some context, making the whole thing confusing and easy to forget. Overall, it was a letdown and didn’t really stick with me.

Publishing date: 11.03.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

TLDR: Iku falls in love with Mimori who is a ghost. 3 stars

Iku is able to see ghosts, and one day he bounces into one and let the ghost into his life. Now they are living as roommates. Iku wants to know more about the ghost and starts to research his life while developing feelings for him.

Our two characters here fall into the typical stereotype in these kinds of mangas. The shy guy and the sunshine extroverted guy. The trope didn't benefit or draw back from the story at all. Also Iku is a geek or an Otaku if you wish to call him that, and Mimori finds that interesting and starts to fall into the same hobby. This was fun to read. They do feel a little flat as characters doe.

The relationship, in my opinion, developed a little too quickly. It felt like they had no reason to fall in love, and that they didn't necessarily know each other well enough. Oh well, maybe the next volumes will expand upon it more.

The story had an interesting premise and executed it fine. I wanted a little more, maybe a lot more tension or mystery surrounding Mimori's death. The wrap or ending to the story came a little bit out of left field and was slightly disappointing to me. I get why it was done, but I wish it was saved for a later volume.

The art was simple, but pretty. Not too many details or the typical yaoi style.
But even with a pretty artstyle, it can't save the story. Fell a little flat for me.

If you haven't read much LGBTQ manga, this might be a fine point to start. Some may find it a little boring, especially those who have read a lot of them before. Young adult to adult readers.

I am giving this 3 stars, interesting premise, but fell a little flat. I don't think I will be reading any more volumes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed this story, I think the romance was cute and I liked the concept a lot. The first half of the story didn't really stand out to me, but as I moved along it became more interesting. It was definitely cute, and the little twist at the end took me by surprise.

This had some cute moments but it was missing a ton of development so the story didn’t land for me at all. It ended up feeling flat.

Honestly, this is a super interesting premise for a manga, & it even manages to tug at the heartstrings a little! Boy who can see ghosts... meets ghost boy? Awesome. Follow along with this duo as they form a bond while trying to get to the bottom of why this new ghost friend is caught stuck in a time-loop, seemingly repeating his last day indefinitely. I enjoyed the underlying mystery, & appreciated the time given to unwrap the backstory of both of these MMC's.

Also, since this is a manga— obligatory note that although the art was simple, it was beautiful! However, some pages did get a little crowded by text bubbles & could benefit from some additional panel spacing.

⛩️ Set in Japan
👻 Paranormal
❤️ Romance
🔍 Mystery
🥺 Heartfelt moments & personal reflection!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kodansha & Ohana for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!!

i'm not sure what i expected, but i thought it was going to be a much more angsty love story between a ghost and human, and while it was angsty, i don't think it hit the way it should have. i liked the chemistry between Mimori and Iku, a classic grumpy x sunshine though. that whole bit on Iku not wanting him to regain his memories and move on was on point, and the handholding!!

still, the plot twist that (spoiler!!) Mimori is alive and in a coma as a little obvious.

still, i like this. it's a quick read that's entertaining and fast paced.