Is About Death Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read
Quick Answer
Worth reading if you want short, self-contained stories about grief, regret, and mortality that land their point without melodrama. It's a complete, short anthology webtoon, and one of the more genuinely poignant things WEBTOON published in its early years.
Quick Verdict
“Every chapter of About Death is a different person's whole life compressed into one honest conversation, and most of them land harder than they have any right to.”
Best for: Readers who want short, emotionally honest stories about death and regret rather than a long-running plot.
Not for: Readers who want a continuous story with recurring characters instead of a self-contained vignette each chapter.
- Type
- Webtoon
- Genres
- Drama, Supernatural
- Status
- Completed
- This review
- Minor Spoilers
- Author
- Sini
- Artist
- Hyeono
- Publisher
- Naver Webtoon
- Platform
- WEBTOON
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Webtoon, 32 chapters, 3 volumes |
| Run | 2012–2013 · completed |
| Community score | AniList 7.6 · MangaUpdates 7.9 |
| Content | Death, mature themes |
| Where to read | WEBTOON — official |
Overview
One by one, the recently deceased find themselves somewhere pale, quiet, and unfamiliar — a limbo where a divine figure is waiting to talk before whatever comes next. About Death is built entirely around these conversations: a series of short, self-contained vignettes about ordinary people confronting the end of their lives, each chapter its own complete story about who they were and what they're only now willing to say out loud.
What it does well
The anthology format is the whole reason this works. Instead of one character's arc stretched across dozens of chapters, About Death gets to cover an enormous range of human experience — regret, love, loneliness, quiet contentment, unfinished business — in short bursts, and each chapter earns its own specific emotional point without needing a season's worth of setup. That's a genuinely different rhythm from almost everything else on the platform, and it lets the book move fast without feeling shallow.
The recurring conversation-with-a-divine-figure structure holds all of that together. It gives every disparate story the same basic shape — someone arrives, talks, is understood or isn't — while still letting each person's specific life and circumstances feel distinct rather than interchangeable. That consistency is part of what makes the anthology format work instead of feeling scattered.
What's most impressive is how much restraint the writing shows. This is a webtoon literally about death, chapter after chapter, and it mostly avoids cheap melodrama in favor of observations about grief and regret that feel genuinely lived-in — specific enough to land, universal enough to recognize something of yourself in nearly every story.
Where it falls short
The anthology structure cuts both ways. Some chapters land with real force, and others will feel slighter or less resonant depending entirely on what specific kind of loss or regret speaks to you — there's no way around some unevenness when every story is standing entirely on its own.
A handful of chapters also lean toward delivering a clean, tidy insight about life or death rather than sitting with something messier and less resolved, which can feel a little pat compared to the collection's stronger, more ambiguous entries. And because nothing carries over between chapters, readers hoping for a continuous story or characters they'll see again won't find that here.
Verdict
About Death takes a simple, repeatable structure and uses it to say something genuine about mortality, over and over, without running out of new angles. It's short, complete, and easy to read in one sitting, but don't mistake that for slight — this is one of the more quietly devastating things WEBTOON has published, and it holds up.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- The anthology structure lets it cover an enormous range of human experience in short, self-contained chapters, each landing its own emotional point without needing a long arc to earn it.
- The recurring framing device — a conversation with a divine figure in a pale, quiet limbo — gives every disparate story a consistent shape while still letting each person's specific circumstances feel distinct rather than repetitive.
- It earns real emotional weight without leaning on melodrama; the observations about grief, regret, and how people actually process mortality feel lived-in rather than delivered as abstract lessons.
- Being complete and short, it's an easy, rewarding read that doesn't ask for the long-term commitment most webtoons do.
Weaknesses
- As a vignette collection, some chapters land harder than others — the anthology format means your mileage will vary depending which specific stories resonate with you personally.
- The one-insight-per-chapter structure occasionally reaches for a tidy lesson rather than sitting with messier, less resolved grief.
- Readers wanting a continuous story or recurring characters won't find one here — every chapter starts completely fresh.
Similar Titles
A different, longer-form meditation on loss and moving forward, for readers who want more sustained character work in this emotional register.
A slower, more character-driven exploration of grief and connection if you want a full ongoing story in a similar emotional key.
A shorter, quieter, contemplative story with a similarly restrained emotional approach.
Where to Read Officially
| Platform | Format | Pricing | Region notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEBTOON | Digital webtoon chapters | Free | Region availability varies | Open |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is About Death finished?
Yes, it's a complete series — the original Korean run ended in February 2013, with the English translation concluding in November 2014.
Is About Death connected to other death-themed webtoons like Death's Game?
No, it's an unrelated, separate series with its own distinct anthology format.
Where can I read About Death legally?
It's available free on WEBTOON with an official English translation.
