Photo by Nicole. Yukimura, Volume 1, Colette Decides to Die, Viz Media.
Colette Decides to Die – Information
Author of Story: Alto Yukimura
Chapter Count: Official English publication at 6 volumes
Status: Original Japanese completed at 20 Volumes + sequel story (1 volume)
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Topics of death, dying
- Illness
- SI
- Blood, disturbing imagery/topics
- Pregnancy, childbirth
- Trauma
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
Colette Decides to Die – Plot Summary
This lovely manga follows an apothecary by the name of Colette. In her village, she is the only apothecary—which takes up a lot of her time. Working day and night, barely able to even eat, sleep, or even use the restroom, Colette becomes exhausted.
Overworked and tired of caring for everyone else while she herself is uncared for, she throws herself into a well… A well that was rumored to lead to another world—and to another world Colette went: the underworld!
Awakened in a prison cell, Colette is instructed by some skeletal-looking figures to get to work. Turns out she can’t easily escape her apothecary duties, as a new patient shows up very quickly—and the one she encounters is peculiar: Hades, lord of the underworld.
Even after the first chapter, I knew I would enjoy this series. Who doesn’t love a good fantasy with inspiration from Greek mythology? While the title may make this manga sound like it will be depressing or dark, you will find that it is surprisingly wholesome and cute. Learn more about what makes this series great below!
Yukimura. Japanese Volume 17 Cover, Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita, Hakusensha.
Why I Enjoyed Colette Decides to Die
Plot:
Colette Decides to Die, despite the title, makes for a very relaxing and simple read. It is a lovely, calm story that offers an easygoing and wholesome plot with a light, fluffy romance.
The plot doesn’t seem to follow one main goal or chain of events. It’s sort of like a slice of life or episodic-style manga, where every few chapters or so is a new story that is mostly unrelated to the others.
These stories aren’t completely random, as the plot of the entire series seems to primarily focus on revealing or building the characters’ individual personalities, as well as slowly allowing the main two to grow in their romantic feelings.
Speaking of romance, it is very sweet in this series, with a sort of complicated relationship between a god and a human. To add to this, Hades is much more doting than I ever expected, which leads to a very sweet, cute relationship.
Colette seems to be always caring for others, so she definitely deserves a doting spouse! This manga takes on the classic innocent FL + smooth ML pairing, so if you like that sort of romance, don’t miss out on this cute read!
The romance is also paced very well, in my opinion. It is a slow burn where the characters have a decent amount of time to build a relationship and allow feelings to bloom—my favorite type of romance. Once things are more officially established, the romance really doesn’t take too long to get rollin’!
Although there is a lot of plot throughout this manga that is not romance-focused, the story is still a very cute and wholesome read. And when the romance does show up, it is very lovely and incredibly fluffy.
Characters:
Although the plot of this story isn’t too complicated, the author has done a great job at making lovable characters. Colette is a fantastic female lead.
Right from the start, she is headstrong, capable, and caring. I adore her character’s can-do attitude. Although she has a strong and determined personality, Colette has her cute moments as well—and is very new to love!
Hades is another great character who was unexpectedly kind and calm. Not your typical lord of the underworld! I liked his design and how the author took a different turn with his personality.
I was expecting Hades to be more evil or sassy in some way—and he is rather stern or stoic—but the kindness within him was quickly made apparent. He’s also more smooth and extravagant than I expected from his first impression!
Because this story takes inspiration from Greek mythology, you can look forward to meeting other gods and goddesses throughout the series.
However, I would recommend that you don’t expect anything too accurate in terms of following the exact mythology, as the characters all seem to have their own unique twist or personality trait that only loosely follows the Greek folklore.
Art:
The art style of this series is very nice! It fits that familiar vibe of fantasy mangas or historical fantasy mangas, where the outfits are detailed and the backgrounds or environments are well done, too. I enjoyed the character designs and the overall manga style quite a lot!
I especially liked Hades’ design. He has a very nice, flowy style to his hair, eyes, and clothes that really help create the feel of his character. As I mentioned before, I imagined “Hades” would be a rough, scary character—but the personality and art style used in this series makes him seem the opposite. I really liked it!
Colette also has an incredibly cute design, perfectly fitting the shoujo aesthetic. The author often draws her in very cute outfits, with her hairstyle changing now and then, too. I adore her cute outfits and I love when authors put a lot of thought and effort into that aspect of shoujo romances!
One other aspect of the art is that for the most part it stays rather consistent. You can see a bit of a change from beginning to end (this manga was published in Japan from 2013 to 2021) where the style becomes a bit simpler and rounder. However, it is a lovely art style with a good amount of detail.
It never felt as though it was lacking in any aspect—I enjoyed the character designs, environmental art, outfits, and even the silly chibi versions of the characters.
Yukimura. Japanese Volume 19 Cover, Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita, Hakusensha.
Any Cons?
While this story is lovely and beautiful, it is rather episodic and doesn’t contain a flow of events leading towards a main conflict.
Some readers may find this a bit boring, so if you aren’t looking for a relaxed romance with lots of extra story and supportive character-building, maybe look into a more adventurous manga like Yona of the Dawn, or a more romance-focused story like Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen.
Additionally, there is a supernatural age gap of sorts here. Technically, Hades has lived for hundreds of years and Colette is 17. It wasn’t really a big deal in the story, but here is the warning for those who do not like fantasy-based age gaps!
However, the fantastical aspects of Hades living in the underworld sort of takes away the realism anyway, so it doesn’t bother me in this case. But here’s your warning if you aren’t a fan of that sort of set-up!
Lastly, while I did mention that I like the art style and character designs, I sort of dislike the disconnection between Colette’s design and Hades’ design. Let me explain: Colette’s design is cute, small, and round—with the classic large shoujo eyes.
Her design, when compared to Hades’ much more mature and slightly angular design, feels almost as though they belong in two different series with different styles.
I think I would have preferred if their styles weren’t so drastically different, even though I do like them separately—but this is just a minor nitpick, and sort of ties into the previous con.
Final Thoughts
Overall this manga is an interesting read that isn’t too complex, making it great for readers who want a longer but easy read. It features a fluffy romance and a fun Greek mythology theme, a combo that I would love to see more of.
I wouldn’t necessarily call this story a romcom, but it is lighthearted a lot of the time and brings in some very cute and lovable supporting characters. So, if you’re looking for a calm fantasy romance with a pretty art style, Colette Decides to Die could be a great pick!
Disclaimer: Any images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Yukimura, Alto. Colette Decides to Die, Viz Media, 2024. Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita, Hakusensha, 2013.
