Is COLORLESS Worth Reading?
Quick Answer
Yes, if you want a tight, complete post-apocalyptic action series with a strong visual hook and a dark, military-inflected tone -- it delivers a full arc across seven volumes without padding.
Quick Verdict
“This is a visually striking, tightly paced post-apocalyptic action series that uses its color-drained premise as more than a gimmick, building a genuinely bleak and dangerous world around it.”
Best for: readers who enjoy dark, body-horror-adjacent post-apocalyptic action like Dorohedoro or No Guns Life and want a complete, officially licensed series.
Not for: readers looking for a lighter adventure story -- the tone stays consistently dark and violent throughout.
- Type
- Manga
- Genres
- Fantasy, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- KENT
- Publisher
- Comic Border
- Platform
- Seven Seas Entertainment
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manga (seinen), 81 chapters, 7 volumes |
| Run | 2019–2022 · completed |
| Community score | AniList 6.9 · MangaUpdates 6.5 |
| Content | Consistent violence and body-horror imagery befitting its post-apocalyptic mutant setting -- not aimed at a younger audience. |
| Where to read | Seven Seas Entertainment — official |
What It's About
A massive solar flare has stripped Earth of every trace of color, leaving behind a gray, decaying world where most of humanity has died or mutated into something else entirely. Avidia, a lone-wolf investigator armed with a strange, color-hunting gun, searches through the wreckage for the last remaining fragments of color -- fragments that might hold the key to restoring the planet. Along the way, he takes on the task of protecting a girl named Chie, who may be central to that restoration, while a cult hunting for the same power closes in around them.
Why It Works
COLORLESS commits fully to its central visual concept, and that commitment is what elevates it above a generic post-apocalyptic actioner. The color-drained world isn't just an aesthetic choice -- it's the engine behind the plot, the stakes, and the horror of the setting, and the series uses it consistently rather than treating it as a one-time hook. The action is grim and body-horror-adjacent, closer in spirit to Dorohedoro's dangerous, decaying world than a conventional shounen adventure, and the story wraps up its full arc across seven volumes without losing momentum.
Who Should Read This
This is a strong pick for readers who want dark, visually distinctive post-apocalyptic action with real stakes and a complete, well-paced story. It's not for readers looking for something lighter -- the tone stays bleak and violent from start to finish -- but for the right audience, it's an underrated entry in the genre that's currently easy to find thanks to its official English release.
Where to Read It
COLORLESS is officially available in English through Seven Seas Entertainment, which has published all seven volumes in print.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- A strong, consistently used visual concept -- a world stripped of color -- that shapes the whole series' atmosphere
- A complete seven-volume arc with real forward momentum and no filler stretch
- An official, currently in-print English release that makes it easy to pick up
Weaknesses
- The tone is consistently dark and violent, with little comic relief to offset it
- The post-apocalyptic mutant-action genre is a crowded space, so some beats will feel familiar to genre veterans
Similar Titles
A close tonal match -- dark, body-horror-inflected post-apocalyptic action with a similarly grim, atmospheric world.
Shares the sci-fi action register, with a mutated-human protagonist navigating a dangerous, morally murky world.
Where to Read Officially
| Platform | Format | Pricing | Region notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Seas Entertainment | Digital | Free + Paid | Region availability varies | Open |
Frequently Asked Questions
How dark or mature is COLORLESS?
Fairly dark -- it's a seinen series with consistent violence and body-horror imagery throughout, aimed at an older teen and adult readership rather than a younger one.
How long is COLORLESS and is it finished?
It's a complete series -- 7 volumes and 70 chapters, with the full story wrapped up.
Is there an official English release?
Yes -- Seven Seas Entertainment publishes the full series in English, with all 7 volumes currently in print.
Is there a romance between Avidia and Chie?
No -- their relationship is framed as a protector-and-ward dynamic rather than a romance; the story has no romance genre tag at all.
