This was a cute graphic novel. It was reminiscent of old VIZ and Tokyopop manga of the late 90s and early 2000s, and will likely make older readers nostalgic.

Colette Decides to Die is a much lighter series than the title would make you believe. Colette falls down a well after feeling too tired to continue work as a healer and meets Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Rather than be terrified, Colette notes that he is afflicted with a painful skin condition, and she becomes determined to assist in healing him.

This collection is actually the first two volumes of the Japanese editions, so it is a hefty read. Normally, I fly through manga, but something about this series was not gripping me the same. Whether it was the constant complaining by Colette about being tired, Hades not being cooperative, the shades worrying when Colette is disrespectful to Hades, or all of the above, it was work finishing this volume. I believe I am in the minority though.

The art is pleasant to look at and it was easy to follow along with the story. Nothing was too complicated for a teenager to be able to follow along and nothing in the content would trouble me if my teenaged child read the story.

The overall story is really cool! I put this on our “new yet old” manga display with all the newer releases that are… well… also older releases!

Thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for the ARC.

It isn't clear from the description, but this is both volumes 1 and 2 of the manga, with a separate short story by the same author in between. The short story was cute but didn't interest me too much, its unrelated to Colette and I wasnt even expecting it. The main story is a lot of fun, it takes place in this alternate version of ancient Greece or Rome? Colette is a real piece of work, lol. Despite her doubts about her job, she really cares about healing people, and she won't take no for an answer, even if it's the ruler of Hell. Their relationship hits all the right points for me, I really enjoyed it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7341145038https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/62547462-c3f1-4561-94e3-2a4844940d8a

Check out this review of Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 1 on Fable. https://fable.co/review/ab9fba0f-365e-4e6c-8079-b607bb290fbc/share

This was so sweet! I really liked this Persephone/Hades story. The art was cute, as were lots of the characters. I'm looking forward to the next volume.

Collette is an apothecary healer tired of the constant demands of people requiring her services. She decides to end it all, only to find herself alive in the underworld and the Lord of said Underworld needing her services. By helping him and talking to him Collette remembers why she took up this career in the first place, and eventually earns herself the title of Apothecary to the Underworld (or something similar).

While the title may imply there is some sort of suicidal ideation in this series, it's not the case. I think the title was just an attempt to grab a reader's attention and have them open the book out of curiosity. What this series seems to be more about is the dangers of overworking yourself and the ramifications of experiencing burn out. There is a lot of emphasis on remembering the thing that got you into your career path in the first place, the rewards of helping people, and allowing other to help you when it's needed.

My only gripe with this was the fact that there was a random, modern story slapped in the middle of the volume because books 1 & 2 were short enough that they could be condensed into one volume. I think that should have been moved to the end of book 2 to avoid confusion. I literally stopped reading to pull up the page count when it appeared (because I felt it was a short volume), and when reading it, hoping it wasn't going to take up the last half of the book page count. Good news, it did not, but it's placement was confusing and it threw me off.

Colette is tired of the demands of being the only healer for miles. So, one day, she decides to jump into a well, ready for it all to finally stop. But instead of joining the realm of the dead, she finds herself set-up as death's apothecary.

Despite the dark premise, overall the book is much more light-hearted & uplifting, with constant reminders of the need for community & the dangers of burnout. I do wish this had been published in two volumes--the out-of-world story in the middle was a bit jarring & threw me out of the story--but overall I see why other shojo fans were excited about its translation.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

Having a love of shoujo romance manga and greek mythology, I decided o give this manga a read, and I am so glad I did! This manga series follows Colette, a doctor who falls into a well. Instead of falling into her doom, she fell into the Underworld, meeting Hades and taking care of his health. This series so far is adorable with the art and side characters and also makes the main characters so likeable! I'm excited to see how Colette and Hades interact more and develop their romance!

A very sweet manga about a girl who is overworked accidentally ending up in the underworld and working some more. Each chapter takes us through her and the people around her remembering the important things in life and why people need to remember the good with the bad.

The art was very expressive and interesting. I enjoyed the characters and the approach this story took to death and life. It has a lot to recommend to many different readers, since it offers such serious material without getting too dark, while also being all-around fairly light-hearted.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by Alto Yukimura. Tyere were a couple of parts that I lost track of what was going on, but overall I liked the characters and the overall story. I would read it again and would recommend it. I ended up buying a copy to keep.

Spoiler alert: There is no suicidal ideation in this, despite the misleading title. The MC h ends up falling down a well into the Underworld and thinks that she is dead initially, but does eventually realize that she is not really dead, nor does she want to be. She's just overworked and very tired. I can relate.

This was cute and sweet, with some soft surprises. Nothing to offend, or to really grab me. A calm read for me, maybe cozy/cottage core vibes?

3, definitely worth a look-see and I want to read the next volume, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC of this book to read and review.

Please see my full review in Booklist for a full analysis of this work. Thank you! I appreciate the opportunity to review this manga professionally.

When an overworked apothecary haphazardly commits suicide after being overworked and burnt out, she has no idea what is in store for her on the “other side.” What she initially believes to be a break from being needed and attending to patients, turns out to be another opportunity to work, as she is sought out to heal the ruler of the underworld, Hades. This quirky premise, which was originally a one-shot manga, turns into a rich emotional journey about life, love, and purpose in this life and the next one.

I think for me what feels so comforting about Colette Decides to Die, is that the story so far is not just about people dying and the afterlife, but what their life is like on earth or was like. Each story touched upon so far left me in tears when I relate it to the human condition overall.

The first chapter, the oneshot which ultimately becomes the story, felt so poignant to me. Colette, who thinks she has died, is thinking about how much she carried in her day to day life, because she had to be the strong one and didn’t want to ask for help. Her realizing that she could have done things differently. When Hades tells her “ Live a life you can be proud of for when you face me at your trial.” that hit me hard. Ultimately, we may not know during our time what comes “next,” but what we can do and control is our NOW. Colette serves as a reminder that what we do every day is what shapes our lives and who we are.

I am absolutely in with Colette Decides to Die. To read a series that brings me comfort about that topic where normally I would feel a lot of fear and anxiety just feels so good. I love that a series like this exists and may be helpful to someone else. Stories like this manga whether they’re fictional whether they’re based on real-life, they can have an impact on us, on our mental health journeys, on just who we are and can provide us comfort about the darkest moments.

This is such a sweet, lovely manga. I really appreciate this take on Hades—it is so easy to play him off as a dark, broody, grim character. He can be somewhat moody, but he's also sweet, appreciates humanity, and is so very, very kind. It's not another story of the female mc having to do all the emotional labor in the relationship, but instead them helping each other out as opportunity permits. *mild spoiler* I also really appreciated how Hades reacted when Colette was held hostage. Hades just really feels like an ancient god, at the same time as he feels like a real person. He's very nicely balanced. Someone kind like that running the underworld? 100% one I would sign up for when my time inevitably comes! Sold!

Colette herself is a fun character—pretty typical female mc, but she has her own little quirks. I particularly like how she's not afraid to fight dirty when she needs to verbally, though she is a healer and sticks pretty firmly to not wanting to cause harm.

Overall, I enjoyed it, and will definitely be adding it to the library collection.

dnfed at 35%

this was so unmemorable, I forgot it was in my currently reading by the next day. It felt very typical, everything was way too simple and easy, there was no conflict and not in a cozy way, just in a boring "what is the point here" kind of way

Thank you Netgalley and VIZ Media for the digital ARC of the manga "Colette Decides to Die"!

"Colette Decides to Die" by Alto Yukimura is a sweet manga about Colette the apothecary and her friendship with the lord of the underworld, Hades! After falling down a well and into the underworld she finds Lord Hades sick and insists on helping him. She becomes the underworld's apothecary, spending time on the surface helping her village and making house calls to Hades' palace. I'm a sucker for a ball of sunshine girl thawing out a cold exterior boy story. Hades and Colette have a sweet friendship, and they both support each other in their busy and stressful jobs, and by the end of this volume there seems to be hints that love might be blossoming! I'll be recommending this series to teen and adult library patrons looking for a light mythology/fantasy romance manga, and I look forward to picking up future volumes myself.

I really enjoyed this premise, as it was nothing like I expected. It's very unique for an isekai. I really enjoy the humor of Hades' minions.

Colette Decides to Die is an unfortunate title to a series about a girl who is burnt out, jumps down a well, and then continues to try to help as many people as possible and try to live to the fullest. It contains a classic shoujo romance, and it's very sweet and warm.I did not realize it was multiple volumes in one, and the extra story in the middle threw me for a loop, but that was user error.