After winning tickets to an old theme park on the outskirts of Tokyo, Casio and his friends brave the eerie rumors surrounding the place for a little winter adventure. However, what was supposed to be a fun day trip takes a horrific turn when one friend lures Casio away from the group—and stabs him to death. While he bleeds out, his friend tearfully begs him to save someone named Asebi.

When Casio next awakens, time has rewound to the moment he set foot in the park that morning. Though he's shaken and desperate for answers, his “second” day goes by without incident—until he tries to leave and snaps right back to that morning again. As he spirals into panic, a mysterious girl appears and introduces herself as Asebi. She tells him she's been trapped in the park for a long time, reliving the same day over and over. Now Casio is caught in the loop as well…and according to Asebi, the only way out is to kill someone.

The Neverending Winter, the Land of Broken Dreams has a story by Mei Hachimoku and art by KUKKA. English translation is done by Evan Ward. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (October 6, 2026).

Content Warning: child abuse

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Of the many things I might have expected of this fourth entry in Mei Hachimoku's seasons tetralogy (of which one is The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit to Goodbye), a nuanced depiction of mental illness was not one of them. Possibly this is because I haven't read the other three – the books aren't related in content, but rather in theme, with each dealing with a specific season and the idea of time. But I was impressed, nonetheless. Hachimoku deftly discusses how having a chronic mental illness can make you feel, how it might impact your decisions if you were stuck in an endless time loop, and the perception that having one makes you “broken.” The whole book is good, but that is what really makes it work.

The basic plot is that high school student Casio (yes, the name is silly and Hachimoku knows it) and his friends head to local amusement park Sunny Park for the last day of their winter vacation. While there, Casio becomes trapped in the park, reliving the day of January 7th over and over again, always resetting from the same point. He meets Asebi, a girl also trapped in Sunny Park, and she explains that they have both been murdered, and that means that they can't leave. In Asebi's worldview, the god of the park feels badly for them and so has gifted them an eternal pass so that they can play forever. In Casio's estimation, however, they're not so much rewarded as trapped, and he wants to find a way for them to get out.

Hachimoku uses their differing opinions and mindsets to explore ideas of free will, but also of what might make someone want to keep reliving the same day over and over. Asebi knows that what happened to her was terrible and she takes pains every loop to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else, but otherwise she's delighted to get to stay at Sunny Park. Casio has to learn to understand why that is and who she is as a person, as well as grapple with his role in the original situation that landed Asebi in the loop. As I said above, mental illness plays a significant role in the story, but not in a preachy way or even in one that suggests that everything can be magically fixed. Everything takes work, and if you're not willing to put in the effort, nothing will ever change. Sunny Park's time loop becomes a metaphor for giving up, for taking the easy way out. It's a gift with strings attached.

There's a bittersweetness to all of this that works. Asebi and Casio both have a lot to process and there are some genuinely scary moments in the park after hours. But I definitely recommend picking it up. It's more literary than your average light novel, but more importantly, it understands what it's like to struggle with your mental health and treats that with the gravity it deserves.