★ ★ ★ ✬
Length: 196p
Source: ARC - NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, Vertical Comics
Release Date: March 11, 2025

Iku is new to Tokyo but extremely happy with his otaku (someone obsessed with a hobby) life. Until he starts seeing ghosts and a specific one catches his attention—Mimori, a young man standing on a pedestrian bridge until he shows up at Iku’s apartment one night and kind of “moves in.”

Like most manga, we get tossed into a story and it shoots off like lightning. You can IMMEDIATELY feel the pull between Iku and Mimori. I’ll admit Mimori’s situation seemed a bit ridiculous but I LOVED how it ended on that cliffy!

With this being volume one I’m giving it another chance. I ADORE the artistry and as long as the story begins to flesh out, I’ll be happy!

♡ yaoi manga
♥ ghost roommate
♡ otaku life
♥ ya romance
♡ memory loss (kinda)

{I was gifted a complimentary copy of this book. All reviews are my own.}

Read it in one sitting! Even though this is a premise I've seen many times before (so I knew what the twist/ ending would be), I was still rooting for the characters and was invested in the story. Enjoyed it!

Thanks to Netgalley, Kodansha Comics, Vertical Comics for the ARC.

This is a really cute story that falls pretty flat, unfortunately. Iku realizes he can see ghosts after bumping into Mimori, a spirit that haunts a local bridge. Mimori follows Iku home one day and is reluctantly invited to stay. However, at 23:45 every night, Mimori disappears from the apartment and ends up back at the bridge reliving his end. Iku decides to try to break this loop, and the story progresses from there.

I think it's an interesting concept, but somehow nothing, from the plot to the characters to the relationship between the characters, feels fully fleshed out. The characters are cute but flat and the relationship doesn't have any real depth to it. I did enjoy reading this, but I wanted a whole lot more out of it. Worth a read if you're looking for something quick, cute, and not too deep.

I quite enjoyed this manga. I know I’ve seen some not so high reviews and talking about how the plot lacked substance or depth, but for a standalone manga that’s under 200 pages, I thought it was great. If you are looking for an easy/quick read & a lovely story about two MMCs (one being a ghost) with some shared trauma & a developing love story, this is a great option.

And the art style was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed the illustrations. The only thing that I felt took away from the story (for me) was that some of the transitions within the storyline felt off & it didn’t flow well.. at point I was confused about how we got from one point to another. But not confused enough to be taken out of the story all together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the chance to read and review this lovely story.

23:45 is a quiet, heartfelt romance wrapped in a touch of the supernatural. It follows a shy college student who, by some strange twist of fate, ends up with a ghost tagging along after him. What starts as an unusual encounter slowly turns into something beautiful—two lost souls finding exactly what they need in each other.

There’s something really special about the way their relationship unfolds. It’s not rushed or overly dramatic; instead, it grows in those small, intimate moments, shared silences, quiet understanding, and the simple comfort of knowing someone is there. It’s the kind of story that sneaks up on you, wrapping around your heart before you even realize it.

I do wish it had been a little longer. There were parts of their pasts that felt like they could have been explored more, and I would have loved to spend more time in their world. But even in just one volume, the story feels complete, like a soft, lingering memory you don’t want to let go of just yet.

For those who love gentle, introspective romances with a hint of the supernatural, 23:45 is a perfect choice. It’s a quick but touching read, great for anyone 12 and up who enjoys stories that feel more like a quiet whisper than a loud declaration.

e-ARC from NetGalley.

This was 50% beautiful and 50% needed more time. Our protagonist is an otaku who has cut himself off from other people since moving to Tokyo for school and, for some reason, developed the ability to see ghosts. When he bumps into a ghost he sees every day on his way home, the ghost follows him home.

This needed to be double the page length. I enjoyed it, but further on-page development would have made me love it. Maybe a little less discussion of anime and a few more hints that Mimori had gotten his memories back or that their friendship had developed into love.

Still very sweet.

This manga was an enjoyable read. It was quite reflective in the way that you get to learn about the character’s inner turmoils while also seeing their different perspectives in life. Although this manga did have some romance in it, I don’t think that was the main focus of the plot. I feel like the two main characters fell in love while trying to figure things out in the plot, which is something I quite enjoyed because of the tone of the manga itself. The romance felt natural and although the ending hurt me a bit, it also felt like it was a natural progression of the plot. The plot twist was actually quite unexpected but I enjoyed it. The pace in the beginning felt a bit fast but after the midpoint of the plot, it felt like the pace was a bit more slower and going more in depth about the characters' backstories.

A huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this manga!

I fell in love with the artwork—the illustrations are simply stunning. The story itself is bittersweet, filled with emotions that tug at your heart. It made me tear up at times, but it also showed me how, in the end, soulmates always find their way to each other, no matter what. A truly beautiful and touching read.

This was a nice story, and the art was pretty. I think the students at my school will like this more than I did. I think they’ll appreciate the things I didn’t really care that much about, for example the story around the main character’s mom. The twist at the end was predictable, but I was still glad it ended like that.

⭐ Rating: 4/5 stars
🗓 Publish date: March 11, 2025
🏷️ Tags: BL manga, supernatural, otaku x ghost, opposites attract, emotional


I really enjoyed this manga, particularly the romance between nerdy Iku and the sunshiney ghost Seo. Their relationship was very soft and cute!

The tragedy of a person falling in love with a ghost gave the manga an overall melancholy feeling, but it was well-balanced by the gentleness of the romance.

I did feel the wrap-up was a bit quick and I wanted more, but it also felt like a fitting conclusion for the characters and story.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts shared in this review are my own.

23:45 is a sweet MM standalone manga with an interesting premise; our nerdy, lonely mc moves to Tokyo and can see a (cute) ghost - a ghost who more or less ends up moving in with him. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between Iku and Mimori's personalities, and I enjoyed their scenes together, watching their bond grow. I will say, though, that I definitely got more friend vibes than romance between the two, which is unfortunate, because I feel like with this could have been rectified with a longer text. Regardless, this was still a quick, enjoyable read, and the plot twist surrounding Mimori's death - as well as the full-circle ending - was extremely well-done.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of 23:45 by Ohana in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by any third parties.

The story was cute and a bit sad but I feel like there could have been done even more with it! Maybe it's because I'm used to reading long manhwas but it was too short for my liking. The tempo was good, it didn't feel too rushed, rather there was not enough content. Nevertheless, it was a good read.

I have mixed feelings about this. I do enjoy the fact that characters have to confront their pasts slightly in order to move forward. But they move forward just a bit too fast. Everything in this story is either a very slow, drawn-out scene or moves along at a very quick pace. There is a lot of talking, and not in a negative way. I also really didn't care much for the ending. This was certainly a story, I just feel so neutral about it, it's hard to say anything at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

First I want to thank NetGalley, the Author and the Publisher for this ARC.

This is just the cutest!!!!
I'm soooo hooked!
Now I want to read 23:45RE...
I really want to know if they talked it out, and does Mimori gets his memories back from when he was dead??
This is a wonderful story nonetheless.
A quick, easy yet heartfelt read.
Beautifully illustrated, you can feel the shame, the pain, the loneliness and awkwardness they both go through.
It isn't graphic in anyway, which makes it friendly for most audiences.

loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I'M NOT CRYING!!! YOU'RE CRYING!!! This story reminded me of how I felt at the end of Cemetery Boys (world building aside). Finding out that Mimori wasn't actually dead MADE ME SO DAMN HAPPY. But I was also stressed out for Iku because it meant Mimori wouldn't remember him!!! I didn't think this would be a full story in one volume but I don't think it needed to be expanded any farther than this. It was good as it was and I really enjoyed the characters and the art style.

This single-volume manga surprised me in a good way. Sometimes it’s hard to tell a good story in just one volume, but the story and characters were so sweet. It shows how we sometimes assume what others think of us, which can change the way we interact. It’s a charming tale with supernatural elements about a ghost and a college student who, despite having different circumstances, they can have a lot in common. The art was also very pretty. I love it.

Iku stumbles upon a ghost, Mimori, who only he can see. As he has nowhere else to go and doesn't remember anything prior his death, Iku lets him stay at his place. While they spend day and night together, trying to find out what happened to him, feelings blossom between them …

~

The story is quite fast-paced, a bit too quick sometimes, and yet, at the same time, felt like a slow read. In a good way, though? I'm not sure how to explain.

It's overall a nice concept with loveable characters. Although the romance was almost insta-love, which isn't my favorite trope, I did feel the chemistry between them.

It has a tender writing style, with some nice quotes that make the death theme more poetic rather than dark. I loved that vibe while reading.

It did lack a bit of depth, which I, on one hand, find unfortunate, cause instead of having a side-story with Iku's mom, that time could've been used to give more moments between Iku and Mimori. On the other hand, it makes it quite realistic, showing that we all have side-stories in our lives, and there's never enough time to spend 100% time on one plot. Even if we wanted.

Maybe it was never intended to be a deep love. This manga's love story certainly isn't anything new, but the "fleeting moment" vibe did touch me in a soft way.

-02.03.25

This was such a sweet read and I really enjoyed the story! It was simple yet impactful and flowed so nicely! I think the author did really well with both the sotry and the art and I would love to see more from them in the near future!

Amidst the running series coming out and continuing this month, Kodansha manga is also releasing 23:45. This single-volume story by Ohana is an unconventional romance about a college freshman named Iku who has a run-in with the friendly Mimori. This new acquaintance moves into his house, plays his video games, and reads his manga. There’s just one problem: Mimori is a ghost, and he’s lured to the site of his tragic accident every night at 11:45 pm.

Before long, Iku learns the truth of Mimori’s accident. But helping him move forward may break them apart. What happened? Why did it happen? And what will guiding Mimori to happiness mean for the two? This sweet story is wrapped up in a single volume, and it’s well worth a read!

“We all want to matter to someone. We want to be irreplaceable.”

5.00 / 5.00 stars

Iku is a socially awkward and newly minted Otaku that looks down on “normies.” After moving to Tokyo, he discovers he has the ability to see ghosts. And he keeps coming back to one ghost in particular – a boy around his age living on a bridge he comes to know as Mimori. The pair soon form a cross-dimensional friendship, and facts about Mimori’s life, and death, are slowly revealed. Can Iku find a way to reverse what’s happened to Mimori? This first volume kicks of the series with 6 short and sweet chapters.

This was an amazing story! I loved the depth of the characters and the growth Iku goes through in this first volume. The slow-burn romance was everything. It was so beautiful to watch as Iku was falling in love and to know that’s what was happening before he even realized it. I absolutely loved the art work, and I found myself taking down quotes in every chapter. It’s a quick read, so I think both newcomers to manga and seasoned vets will be able to enjoy this series.

I ate up this volume so quickly and I absolutely cannot wait for the next volume to be released. I mean, I guess I technically have to wait for the official release of this volume, don’t I? But you can bet I will continue reading and have already recommended it to several of my friends.

I recommend this manga to anyone who appreciates a slow-burn romance, those looking for an unforgettable romance, and anyone who loves a good story to go along with even better artwork.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for gifting me this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.