23:45 Manga

 

Rating: 3 for unusual story line

My Thoughts:

The publishers use the term otaku when describing the main character, Iku. Otaku is like a subculture in Japan and describes someone obsesses with something like manga, computers, etc. to the detriment of some kind of social life. 

Anyway this is a paranormal love story between Iku and the ghost that he lets into his life. at 23:45 Mimori disappears to replay his death. Perhaps because this kind of story has played out in movies before, the manga seems to assume we are connecting to these other movies and seems to be a bit erratic about the plotline, either going too slow or skipping over.

I know this is a series, but I think I am done after this one. 

From the Publisher:

New Tokyoite and college freshman Iku is living the otaku dream-except for the fact that 

he can now see ghosts. One day, he bumps into Mimori, a super friendly spirit that 

haunts a local bridge, and reluctantly lets the lonely specter into his home. 

But every night at 23:45, Mimori is drawn back to the bridge and forced to replay

his downfall. Will Mimori be stuck in this loop forever, or can Iku find a way to save

him from an eternity of unending tragedy?

Publication Information:

Author/Illustrator: Ohana

Publisher: Kodansha (March 11, 2025)

Print length: 186 pages

These Violent Delights, series Book 1, Audiobook

 

Stars: 5 The difference between a 4 star and a 5 star is that a 5 star can be used in the classroom. 

My Thoughts:

Shanghai in 1926. The gangs, one Chinese, and one Russian rule Shanghai. But there is a blood feud between the Scarlets and the White Flowers and there was a hidden teen romance between the two heirs to the Scarlets (Juliette Cai) and the heir to the White Flowers, Roma Montagov. Yes, this is a Romeo and Juliet combined with a Romeo + Juliet gangster vibe. If the two "kids" broke up because of family pressure and came back together to fight a strange "monster" that spreads bugs that makes people kill themselves by ripping their throats out, then this is the story.

Juliette is back in Shanghai ready to take over the family business when she runs into her first love and her greatest enemy in Roma. But with the monster killing gangsters and business people on both sides of the blood feud, as well as the rising Communist disruptors, the two teens need to put their feud aside to try and solve the mystery.

Juliette and Roma have the kind of chemistry that will break your heart. This would make a fabulous comparative literature conversation with students because what these young people have that the Shakespeare version does not have is a sense of filial piety that becomes a real barrier to their work together. These teens are not free to do whatever they want, so it actually feels more authentic and heartbreaking. 

From the Publisher: 

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is 18-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang - a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette's first love...and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns - and grudges - aside and work together, for if they can't stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

Publication Information:

Author: Chloe Gong

Narrator: Cindy Kay

Publisher: Tantor Audio (January 26, 2021)

Length: 14 hours 14 minutes