About Death

The stories in Regarding Death are often tragic, beautiful, and generally a little heart-wrenching. They are well written and fit well together, and although the ending was a little sudden, it was very well done and very satisfying. The art was visually appealing and interesting, but also simplistic enough to maintain a slightly surreal feeling. It was an excellent style and lent much to the story. Hipster God is perhaps the best God, haha. Characters were not consistently shown in depth, but they did not need to be. Each individual was explored enough for readers to relate or emote or just understand the person accordingly. Theirsimplicity made the series better. I enjoyed Regarding Death a lot; it made me feel for the characters and made death seem less frightening and more like what it is: a part of life.

This is one of the only story that I often returns too. Maybe because it's easy to read again with its few chapters. Perhaps because each chapter is independent of the others, which allows you to read any story you like. God is the main character but prefers to listen to the characters explain their own story, even though we suspect that he knows them better than anyone else. He wants to make others aware of something, or just know how people interpret their own story, in their own way, and not in an omniscient way as he knows them. Even if the art is notthe best, it is simple. The interactions take over the drawings and allow them to express their emotions just as well.

About Death is an anthology series with each chapter following the immediate aftermath of a person's death. God, the only recurring character, will discuss the person's life story and put them on the path to reincarnation. There is no overarching plot to About Death. Each chapter provides commentary on a different type of death and the possible repercussions of it. People on their deathbed, killed in accidents, who committed suicide and many more are all represented. The pain or acceptance death can bring to a person serves as chilling reminders for the audience about the presence of death. I enjoyed the philosophizing and how everything ishandled with care no matter how touchy or possibly controversial. Each chapter can trigger different emotions. In some you might be bawling and in others dissappointed in how the dead chose to react. The emotional impact in some of these chapter cannot be overstated. God is the only recurring character and thus is given the most character development, no matter how subtle it may be. We know the kind of person he is and how he can change his approach with people depending on who they are. Other characters do have multi-chapter arcs, but they are only relegated to 2 chapters each time. The Dead are surprisingly well developed for only being around for a chapter or two. Everybody is fleshed out enough to feel like a real person with believeable stories. They are equally tragic and beautiful. The art style is a simplistic but effective one. The concept of Death is already complicated, so a bright and beautiful art style would only serve as a distraction. The art is rough to match how one might feel about death, but never becomes lazy or bad. Color is used to great effect throughout. The black and white palette is used to indicate the afterlife/limbo and color denotes the world of the living. The simplicity only adds to the beauty of the series as a whole. It's only con is that it looks a better in black and white and looks somewhat rough in color (especially in the first half). About Death amazed me in its quality despite its short length. I found it to be perfect and infinitely rereadable no matter the age. It's simple yet complex, poignant, and has surprisingly well developed characters despite their single chapter appearances. An easy 10/10. Story: 10/10 Characters: 10/10 Art: 9/10 Enjoyment: 10/10 Overall: 10/10 all day

~*CONTENT DISCLAIMER: this manga discusses difficult topics like suicide, self harm, abuse, assault, and abortion. it also displays various scenes of death~* TL;DR: about death is a quick but profound read that delves into death, acceptance, repentance, and remorse through various scenarios all depicting different characters and manners of death. god is portrayed as a neutral and somewhat sassy constant that helps each character come to terms with their manner of passing, the people they are leaving behind, and their traumas. it is a fast paced manga with some twists that kept me engaged and emotionally invested. please note the content warning!! some scenarios were harderto get through than others and i was definitely almost pushed to tears at some points. i would definitely recommend if you are into philosophy or psychological mangas and are not of the faint of heart. SYNOPSIS: about death goes through 27 different vignettes of different people who have died, or on deaths door and pass on into what is presumed to be heaven to meet with god; god is the only constant character in the manga. each character goes through their life story, their situation just before dying, lay out any grievances, and try to work through their life up until the moment of their passing. ART (6/10): the art style isnt for me but it wasnt awful or distracting. it was simple looking and straightforward -- just like death itself. i will give the manga points for 2 things: character design & the use of color. i felt like each character was unique looking and were expressive. the manga is primarily in black & white which i thought was a good choice. the use of color is introduced every so often but only to signify when the story no longer is in "heaven" but back on earth which i really enjoyed. CHARACTERS (7/10): the only main character is god because he is the only recurring character. he is portrayed as fair, level headed, witty and sometimes sassy. he is the judge, jury and executioner in every story and i think i enjoyed how he was portrayed. he wasnt too stoic, he had some personality and i actually found him to be an enjoyable character. without giving too much else about the other characters away, i will say that each of the characters that go and meet god are all dynamic in their own right and the characters really push the storyline for each chapter. some stories are much more tense than others but i think the manga does a good job sprinkling in the touching/lighthearted stories in with the more intense ones. STORY (8/10): each vignette is separate from the others so each chapter you are getting a fresh face which i enjoyed. there were some call backs and overlap between some of the characters which were cheeky if you were able to spot them but for the most part they are all separate. the stories are really pushed along by the characters and their development in "heaven"; some stories are really dark and others are touching and heartwarming. the only criticism that i have is that some of the deaths feel repetitive -- i felt like there was a lot of the same type of death and a lot of the same type of person dying so there was a point where it felt very repetitive and a bit predictable but i dont think it look that much enjoyment out of the read. OVERALL (8/10): even though it is a face paced & short read it is quite the downer so be warned. a lot of the stories are very reflective and make you think about how you the reader think about death. it was a very somber and almost humbling read because it put into perspective my own thoughts and feelings on the matter and i really love when art does that to the participant. if you can forgive the manga for its art style and maybe slight repetitive nature i think it is a good read IF you are in the headspace to consume it.