Reviews for Undead Unluck

Rough ecchi beginning to one of the most unique and brilliant stories I've read in shounen. The first 10 chapters are a good introduction to the pacing, world, and power system, but they're a piss-poor guide to how the characters will develop over the course of the story. I genuinely feel sad for anyone who dropped UxU off the intro, but I guess I can't blame them if they don't know better, because it really has some uncomfortable moments. 174 chapters later, though, it's easily one of my favorite stories of all time, and I'm eagerly awaiting the anime adaptation (which I sincerely hope getsa partially rewritten beginning).

The pacing is deranged and barely slows down until the later half of the story (which makes sense story-wise, for undisclosed reasons). The characters are all fantastic and, despite appearing to be cardboard cutouts upon introduction, get heavily expanded upon as the story progresses. Fuuko can feel like an objectified side piece to her own story at first (which is generally a major thing I hate in these kinds of things), but without getting into spoilers, she's easily become one of my favorite shounen protagonists by this point in the story, which is an impressive feat. This story will evolve and change in ways that are impossible for you to predict, and has some of the best and most absurd climaxes and arcs I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. As long as you can stomach the rough beginning, I would seriously, seriously recommend checking this one out. If you like ridiculous, over-the-top batshit insane stories that don't take themselves too seriously but can still throw some heavy emotional punches when they want to, don't pass on Undead Unluck.

Incredibly creative and unique. I believe it can be the new pillar of Jump. Powers are really cool and super unique MCs have powers that haven't really been explored in many series and they are creative in how they're used. Battles are strategic/realistic and not just a generic "I put more effort in this punch" The strategy is similar to fights like JJK or HXH. World is vast with a cool power system. Similar to OP and MHA. Art is incredible as well. Like hunter x hunter meets One Piece or MHA would be how I describe it. Story takes a couple chapters to start up so give ita chance.

As someone who dislikes ecchi, I wasn't sure if I was gonna stick with UU or not. However, I was pleasantly surprised. After 50+ chapters, I’m here to say Undead Unluck has consistently been one of the best JUMP manga I’ve read in a while. DO NOT drop this manga if you’ve just read the first few chapters. While the first handful of chapters are rough, UU quickly drops the vast majority of the ecchi nonsense. After about 8-10 ch in, you get the start of a manga that has an incredibly well done power system, some actual good romance in a shonen, a veryunique, unpredictable story with plenty of foreshadowing, extremely well done worldbuilding, good art that makes use well of double page spreads, and great character development.

--STORY 9/10—

I’m not gonna give a synopsis for the story since other reviews here have done that, but what I will say is that I can only describe it as a crossover of SCP, HxH, and maybe a bit of DBZ even character design wise. UU’s story is one that will take you through all sorts of unexpected arcs. While it might seem like a generic “kill God” story, it’s so much more than that. The way the mangaka uses the concepts of “Uma’s & Negators” is just brilliant, and heavily ties into the characters and how they act. UU can actually be a rather tragic tale at time, and characters you maybe didn’t care about at first could end up as faves.

The world itself basically runs on its own set of rules. Concepts like there being more than 1 language, stars in the sky, a way to tell time, even death itself may be absent at certain points in the story. The foreshadowing and worldbuilding is genuinely so amazingly done, rereading the manga can be surreal just seeing how events in the first ch can relate back to current events in the manga. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but I will say it is very good so far.

--CHARACTERS 8.5/10—

I was actually quite surprised at how UU handles its characters. It may take some time but most characters get some great character development at some point in the story with both characters on the protag and antag side getting it. The main duo of Fuuko and Andy in particular are just so well done. What starts off as a rather unorthodox pair turns into a surprisingly natural romance story. Fuuko is a great female protag, and her development from a timid, suicidal girl to a strong, passionate young lady in love wanting to save the world and others has been great so far. Andy too has had great development, tho it’s a bit more subtle and spoilerly. I will say he becomes a lot more considerate of both Fuuko and other people’s feelings over time. Both him and Fuuko have a very natural romance, and while it starts off kinda grossly as your usual ecchi gag, I assure you it becomes a heartwarming story of romance.

As for the side cast, well a lot of them have well-done backstory and development as well. There would be too many to list here, but some faves so far are Rip, “Anno Un”, and Juiz. Not ALL of them oc have development mind you, but I figure there’s def the possibility for those who don’t to get development in the future.

--ART 8.5/10—

UU is one of those rare manga that really makes use of double page spreads well. The battles in UU are very creative, and unique to look at. Using the excellent power system, the art is able to show some just amazing action moments. Character expressions are also on point too whether it’s for comedy or serious moments. Backgrounds look good for the most part, there’s a lot of variety in the areas travelled to as well. The character and creature designs are on point, and they usually relate back to each character’s power as well. There are better drawn weekly JUMP manga certainly, but it works very well here.

--ENJOYMENT 9/10—

UU is one of those manga I actually look forward to weekly. I never know where I’m going to go with this manga, but it’s consistently been very smart, interesting, and above else just pure fun. I’m not sure what else to say here other than I guess I hope you enjoy it. It’s not for everyone sure, but I’d say give it a try. I will say though if you’re about 10-12 ch. in and still don’t like it, it’s probs not for you.

With the recent announcement of the Anime adaptation by David Productions. I thought that it's about time I give my honest thoughts about this series that could soon potentially be a massive hit. At first glance, this merely seems like "another" urban battle shonen genre in the current Shonen Jump lineup. You have a one dimensional, bland and perverted main character in the form of Andy and a boring pushover of a female lead in the form of Fuuko. A series filled with lackluster, perverted and overused gags with at least one censor bar in every chapter of the first two volumes (This is noexaggeration I promise you). In short, Undead Unluck is your average battle shonen with bland and one dimensional characters ,in a setting that offers no unique aspects that has not already been seen before, that repeat the same gags again and again every chapter.

The paragraph above is likely what your and everyone else's opinions of the series will be in the first 10 chapters or so. In fact that was my opinion as well. A lot of people drop the series from here on out.

But to those that choose to push through the next 10, next 20 and next 50 chapters after. You will witness the incredible character developments of not just our main cast, but even the side characters with their rich and emotional backstories that exudes a sense of realism befitting of a Shonen in an Urbanized setting. I cannot name a single poorly written relevant character in the series as all of them have been developed in one way or another.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. The power system is one of the most creative and well thought out systems I have seen in the shonen genre. A main character having Undead powers is generic and will certainly put off people's interest. But I personally think that Andy, the main character, should be an example of how to properly write an Undead character. Every battle in the series is not only a feast for the eyes, but also a feast for the mind because of how diverse and rich this power system is.

The story begins to hit off a little later but once it does, the gears really start turning at an incredible rate. I wouldn't necessarily say that the story is as strong as the character writing of the series but it's certainly enough to keep you at the edge of your seat.

This manga is a perfect example as to why a series should not be judged from its first couple of chapters. Once the anime comes out, I am certain people will bash on the series' early stages, drop it and miss out on the amazing latter arcs. As someone who is currently reading over half of the current lineup in Shonen Jump, I am addled as to why it consistently ranks low in the rankings nowadays. Though I must admit that I'm glad to have picked up this series despite it's subpar first impression to me.

For anyone on the fence or on the verge of dropping this series this is my plea to reconsider. Undead Unluck has cemented itself as one of the most creative and thought out series in Jump in a long time. Usually I’m not one for stories that follow a certain plot device that is utilised in this series (not going to say much more to avoid spoilers) but the author has done something truly incredible by continually expanding our knowledge of the world and our rooting interests in the characters. While I struggled at times early on to follow the systems and the many many characters introduced,the more I read the more I learned and the more I cared about everyone involved. It’s rare that a series can establish characters with limited page or screen time and make me empathetic or care about them but this series does that. The lead protagonist’s growth is something that also should be applauded. For those that say jump writers can’t write females well then I say Fuuko is one of the best developed characters I’ve seen. The author takes the generic power up in shonen battle manga and makes it feel deserving. Not going to say much more on this point but just say this is definitely Fuuko’s story and it is one to follow.

This is truly a gem of a series that gives more the longer you stay with it. I already can’t wait to reread this series and that’s very rare for me but it totally makes up for the early confusion I went through at the beginning. A series that can weave intricately character, plot and world building in such a carefully constructed way, feeling neither too fast paced or dragging its feet, makes this a series that needs to be recognised more. I have no doubts as to the author’s ability to finish this series right and make it one of the gold standard series that will be remembered for years and years to come.

I guess it's fitting to write a review now that the series ended today, and man I have to say it was a fun ride! I was recommended this manga over 3 years ago (i think) and I'll be honest, I really struggled to get into it at first. Despite the interesting premise and great power system (genuinely one of the most fun and busted I've came across in manga lmao), I didn't enjoy a lot of the character dynamics of the bat. I definitely understand why people have criticisms of the early story and that's why the anime didn't land amazingly (on top of thewoeful pacing in the adaptation). However, I have to say that after sticking through it things did steadily pick up, and I came to appreciate certain characters more and more. By the end of it, some of these characters really rubbed off on me and it was a joy to see certain dynamics play out. On top of that, the story premise evolves in a really meaningful direction at one point (no spoilers), and the plot is what I enjoyed most consistently from this manga start to finish. The ending lands pretty satisfyingly, even if certain plot elements didn't play out how I expected, and I think anyone who gets into this manga won't find themselves disappointed with the final chapter at all- it's a great homage to the fans and the 238 chapters that came before it.

Overall, I would really recommend people stick through some of the weaker volumes at the beginning. You'll find this manga has diverse fights and choreography, a really interesting plot, and great characters! It was a great read throughout the last couple years of serialisation that I followed along, and I hope Tozuka enjoys a well earned rest before hopefully returning with his next story <3

In comparison to other popular manga this has a different setting. Its not set in a world of super heroes even though the people there also have super powers, nor is it in the dark ages with fantasy elements. The story plays in the present and revolves around life and death which are also linked to the powers of the duo Fuuko and Andy. Most heroes have the goal to be the strongest but thats not their wish. They have rather very personal goals that only benefit themselves and sound rather bizarre but this wacky style is what drives the series. The art is fantasticand draws parallels to Hunter X Hunter´s Phantom Troupe Phinks for Andy at least. This really rough looking face. Fuuko is meant to display a tomboyish girl and has an interesting fresh look with her jacket and cap without showing too much skin like other shows.

The characters are really the backbone of this manga. Especially Andy has such a good and edgy humour and sometimes says whats been on the minds of the readers and you think, did he just really said that?. Fuuko, the girl, also is a relatable person with the problems of many teenagers and her ability gives this dynamic between them both an original spin and incredible chemistry. The enemies are also not all one dimensional and go through some development even in this early stage.

Overall a surprising execution of a premise that first sounded to be not long lasting but proved me wrong with the world building and combat that has more depth to it than expected.

Back in 2014 I caught up to the One Piece anime. I had been enjoying the ride quite a lot but it wasn't until I had to wait for new episodes that I really began to delve into the series. I would re-watch clips on youtube, read fan theories on reddit, scroll through fanart on tumblr, and pick up (eventually even re-read) the manga due to the increasing obsession I felt toward what would become my favorite thing on this planet (besides of course my friends, family, livelihood, etc.) Whatever day the new chapter would come out began to be the centerpoint of my week, the day I looked forward to specifically because I could read more One Piece. It's a feeling that, despite being more and more into appreciating art as the years have gone on, I've never been able to feel for another piece of media, at least not on that level. A desire to not just engage with the surface level content - to not just let it occupy my thoughts for hours on end, but to want that thing to be a matter of my daily existence; one of the core pillars that make up what it means to be me. One Piece was Unique in that regard, at least it was, Until I read Undead Unluck.

Given the absurdity of what I've just said, if you've only read the first 5-10 chapters (or watched the first couple episodes) I probably sound deranged. The manga makes an Undeniably terrible first impression that I fear turns a lot of people away. If you gave the series a shot early on and were Unimpressed let me just say this; it gets Unbelievably better extremely quickly, and the sexual assault “jokes” present in the first chapter are lessened by the second, and after ten more they are entirely gone. It's an Unrepairable stain on the beginning of the series that does not represent the whole product in such a way that I can only attribute to editor meddling. It's not hard to imagine why they thought it would resonate with their intended demographic but it's so Unnecessary when Tozuka Yoshifumi has a setting this compelling and one of the best pairs of main characters in manga today to work with. So I implore you, if you dropped the series early on, pick it back up and give it another shot. Every single chapter of its relatively short run marks an increase in the quality Unlike any manga I've ever read. By the middle of its run (just around 130 chapters), it boasts some of the most creative ideas, intriguing settings, empathetic characters, and emotionally potent moments in the medium, and the quality still only goes up from there. Not only is the meat of the story Uncommonly incredible, its core values of ‘enjoying what life has to offer’ match my own so strongly that I can't help but want to shout its praises from the rooftops; desperate for somebody, anybody else, to give this manga an honest chance. So for a little while longer, I'll do just that in the hopes that I can convince you.

The number one thing to know about Undead Unluck is its blistering fast pace. Like almost all modern Shonen there's very little fat to trim on the story, but where Undead Unluck is Unequaled is in the density of that story. There are more major, story altering, events in the first 50 chapters of Undead Unluck than some manga get across their entire run. In between those massive moments are chapters which squeeze every single panel for all their worth with meaningful character interactions, insight on the world, or Unabashedly cool art. This makes it an endlessly fun story to think about, as a lot of plot points, character motivations, and mechanics of the world are all waiting to be Untangled by the reader. This would all be for naught if the large cast were Underwhelming, but luckily Tozuka has done a phenomenal job fleshing out almost everyone with moments both big and small. If you are a fan of ensemble casts but are generally disappointed by how many characters are Unceremoniously sidelined, then Undead Unluck may be the manga for you. What really sets all this apart though is the Unsung level of creativity on display on nearly every level of the manga; not only is the story packed with details, that detail is practically Unopposed in its innovation. All this to say, I've never wanted a piece of art to be enjoyed as badly as I want this manga to succeed.

One Piece has stayed in my mind for 10+ years, and even though Undead Unluck has only been with me for around one year, I've already daydreamed about it for countless hours, poured over my favorite sections multiple times, and re-read the entire manga since I just couldn't get enough. It has been Unabated in its warpath through my mental and digital lists of favorites that as long as it finishes properly, I don't see it landing anywhere outside of my top five “things” of all time. The only thing I can hope is that by writing this review I can convince at least one more person to support the series, as otherwise, it would simply be Unfair to the manga-going masses to miss out on this masterpiece of the medium.

Reading this, as of now, quite short and not extremely popular manga feels like watching Lebron as a rookie. This series is a complete breathe of fresh air. Do not judge by mediocre first chapter(s), it evolves from a mediocre gag manga with an interesting premise to qutie possibly the second (behing one piece of course...) best series in Jump. It evolves into a manga with an immensely interesting setting, incredibly unique and fresh ideas. It has the brains of Hunter x Hunter, with the cool designs of Bleach, and the unthinkably high stakes of a JRPG. And thats not even mentioning the fantastic MCduo/relationship of Andy/Fuuko, one of the freshest, most interesting, and cutest relationship in jump. Nothing in the manga is flat- but it does this without becoming too heady and uninteresting. Reading this- especially considering its lack of extreme popularity- feels like reading a modern classic in the making, one that is as of now going ludicrously unappreciated. If you make it past the nonplussing first few chapters and enjoy shonen even a little bit, this series has virtually anything for anybody. I cant reccomend this series enough, and with full confidence think by its end it will be spoken of amongst the likes of Fullmetal Alchemist, Hunter x Hunter, and Jojo (i shy away to compare it to One Piece, an untouchable piece of fiction by anything not named Game of Thrones, and Naruto, due to its sheer difference from Undead) as the greatest shonen of the 21st century.... This is all considering it maintains its current upwards trend in quality and doesent fizzle into nothingness like Demon Slayer or toilet dive like Food Wars or The Promised Neverland. (The art, while cartoony and stylized, is also great, and we are blessed with frequent spreadpages)

For anyone thinking about picking it up - it get's REALLY good as the chapters go on, even reaching peak fiction at one point. It's not for everyone and the beginning will make you wanna drop it (I dropped it twice!) but if you stick with it there is a payoff later in, with interesting story twists and great character development. I'd argue that Fuuko character development is one of the best done I've seen in manga (like top 10 rather than top 3). So if you are looking for something that will be immediately good - it's not for you, but if you are lookingfor something that will reward you later on, this manga is perfect. I kinda cannot believe how much it improved later on and how interesting it got.

If the start was better I'd say its 9/10..but I kinda cannot ignore it (along with some other weird aspects in the beginning that are a bit creepy) so final score 8/10

(Review up to ch. 39, score subject to change) I've fallen a bit out of touch with what's new in manga and anime over the past couple of years, so I decided to cop a subscription to the Weekly Shonen Jump app to get an overview of up-and-coming series. I already have a few ongoing series on my radar, but I started with Unluck x Undead at the suggestion of a friend. Sure, it's another shonen joint about eccentric, superpowered demigods, but I was intrigued by its central concept of Negation. The abilities of UxU's protagonists subvert the laws of universe, which can be a helpor a hinderance depending on their user's creativity.

My first impression of the series was the frenetic pacing of its first few chapters, which rarely lets up. There's very little in the way of exposition and world-building, which means by the time you've reached the fifth chapter, you'll get the gist of the story, the cast, and the stakes. It's a welcome alternative to a cookie-cutter backstory and one-by-one introduction to characters, and the dynamic between protagonists Fuuko and Andy is original enough to create interest off the bat. As the pair are adults, we're spared your typical high school setting and puerile antics for a more complex relationship with romantic tension that's directly linked to their powers.

Unfortunately, because UxU never really lets off of its plot-driven gas, Fuuko and Andy feel wooden as individuals. The latter's design is generic, and his overconfident veneer is only occasionally removed via an artificial plot device. Fuuko's the more interesting protagonist on paper, though as other reviewers have suggested, we could spend more time getting to know her better. Shonen jump already has a dearth of multi-dimensional female protagonists, and having Fuuko play sidekick is a wasted opportunity. She's also the butt of some ecchi gags leave a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily, UxU gets significantly less horny as the story progresses: it's better for it.

Where the series succeeds is in its willingness to take wild risks and flirt with meta-referential humor. The central conflict between the union of Negators and God itself leads to an onslaught of ridiculous plot twists (including the earth expanding into an entire galaxy, each country occupying a different planet), and the weirdness of it all is a running joke in the story. Where I've left off in the series, our heroes are in pursuit of a mangaka whose writing has predicted the events of the story thus far — which may explain some of the existential confusion that I've experienced while reading. It's not as successful a deconstruction of shonen tropes as, say, Mob Psycho 100, but I've found UxU to be pretty promising. I forsee it continuing to improve as it goes on.

No major spoilers, general character and theme discussion only. I started with the anime, then picked up the manga due to getting invested in the story. The pacing is tight, the humor hits just right, the action panels are thrilling and there is just enough romance to not be too heavy. Almost every arc feels important, and it all pushes the story forward or adds depths to the characters in ways that stick. This is not just a story about chaos and cool powers. It’s about purpose, memory, identity and freedom. The worldbuilding is great but never overwhelming, and the power system is full of clever twistsand interesting ideas. As the stakes rise, the story remains focused and clear. It never forgets its roots and carries it all the way through. This manga is excellent at shifting between comedy, drama and tragedy to make it feel natural and adding to the story as a whole.

Character development is one of the strongest parts. The main character Fuuko especially. After a certain chapter, she becomes more than just a lovable main character. She starts taking the lead, showing real strength, compassion and confidence. Her growth feels real and 100% earned, but she never loses the charm that made her so lovable to begin with.

Andy is personally my favorite character from this series. He’s wild, funny and totally over-the-top, but there is more to him than that. Underneath the chaos, he is someone trying to understand what it means to live and protect the people he trusts and cares about. He is a character that can smoothly shift between comic relief and serious emotion, and that mix becomes a key part of what makes the story work.

The supporting cast is handled really well too. Almost no one fades into the background for long. Most characters get clear motivations, personal flaws, and satisfying yet high stake story arcs.

The art is amazing and always full of energy. Action scenes are bold and very creative, emotional moments are mostly given time and space to land properly, and the character expressions are always the best part. You just can’t help but smile. The panels can sometimes become a bit muddled, but it is for the most part easy to follow what is happening, even when things get intense.

What starts off feeling chaotic and kind of silly grows into something more emotional and thoughtful. The amount of ecchi in the beginning was a little worrisome, but luckily they dropped it rather fast in favor of a kick-ass main character duo. The tone shift does not feel sudden. It feels natural and well earned. There is real emotional weight behind everything, but the story keeps its sense of fun and heart all the way through.

This manga series is honestly an underrated gem. It comes out strong and only gets better the more you read. If you’re into stories that mix character depth, wild powers, rising stakes and unpredictable twists, you will probably have a great time reading Undead Unluck!

And as Fuko says at the beginning of the story, now that I've finished my favorite manga, it's time to finish with me hahaha. If you're looking for a fun action-packed work, with touches of romance and drama, as well as great characters, Undead Unluck is what you should read. Undead Unluck takes us on a somewhat peculiar story from the beginning, we are introduced to this duo of very charismatic protagonists in their own way, one who destroys everything she touches and another who just wants to be completely destroyed. It is certainly a manga with detailed drawings that hooks you from the moment you reada couple of chapters.

The story gets better and better and at the same time more complex, going from being just a simple comedy to having certain touches of drama as the reasons for the existence of the deniers are explained, in addition to highlighting the balanced and interesting power system that the work has.

The characters are great, you don't feel like you have any of them and each one has a personality that will make you empathize at some point in the work.

Although the end of the work was rushed due to editorial issues and the chapters of the last arc had to be cut a lot, despite this, Undead Unluck knew how to overcome this and leave a more than worthy ending for all the readers who follow this great story week after week.

Never has the phrase "let them cook" had more relevance. Undead Unluck is a series that flew under mine, as well as way too many other's radars, for way too long. And with the anime's release I gave it a shot, since I couldn't contain my excitement about seeing more of the story. I could not stop reading. Before I knew it it was tomorrow, and I was caught up. As you may have heard, the beginning is admittedly very rocky, it takes a while for the ball to truly start rolling for the story, which happens at around chapter 40. But when I reached that pointit was over for me.

As an avid shonen fanatic that consumes all from mid to peak shonen, I've come to gain a taste for what makes a shonen more enjoyable and consistent in it's enjoyment. Fights, characters and third is story. The better these three, the better the shonen. Undead Unluck's fights cut out a unique style of their own, in regards to the incredibly creative power system of the series, only chained down by the person's own perception of reality, as well as their own creative vision. This makes combat a crucible for new possibilities, where the reader can follow and try to imagine what will come next alongside the author, it's incredibly fun. The power-scaling and growth of the respective characters is also very well-paced and consistent, extremely satisfying.

Then, the characters. In many shonen I've read, there comes a point where the roster of characters lose relevance, some of them always fall off or lag behind as others excel due to their own narrative circumstances. In Undead Unluck, this doesn't happen. Every character is respected and given the time to be developed as people, fully with proper backstories and motivations for who they are as people and why they've become who they are. The author doesn't forget a single important point. And if a character hasn't had their time yet, then it's definitely coming in the future chapters of your read.

Most important is naturally the dynamic duo of the story, Andy and Fuuko, who have risen from characters I've left on the backburner to some of the most well-developed new-age shonen protagonists on the block, rising up to take the spot of Nr.1 in my eyes. Their development as characters to themselves and towards each other is incredible to read each step of the way and the catharsis is palpable.

And then, the story. Undead Unluck might have the most enjoyable story I've read in a shonen as of the recent years. The way the story is built up and designed has become one of my new favorite narrative angles to read. I will keep it spoiler-free, but the story twist that comes in Undead Unluck (you'll know what it is when you experience it, dear reader) solidifies itself as one of the most intense and investing hooks of my shonen reading life. And the story utterly soars after this point. If you can put down this story after this point, you are superhuman.

I also must mention, the world-building of Undead Unluck is stellar. The tools that characters use, the locations, the entire world and the rules that govern it, it all has an impact that flows throughout the entire world, far outside of exclusively where our characters are. If something happens, the effects of it possibly echo throughout the entire world, and the applications of powers and tools serve to enrich the world itself and how the characters approach it. Once again, the powers serve to become a tool where the reader can clearly follow and theorize the coming story while the author creates it, the participation as a reader is so much fun.

To summarize, this manga is incredibly slept on. It doesn't have a solid opener, but if you give it the time, and LET IT COOK, I can guarantee you that the time you've spent will be paid back to you multiple times over. If you keep reading through the opening bore, you'll be hooked. If you keep reading after that, you'll suddenly realize you will stay with this manga until the end, no matter what.

Quite bluntly, I'm sad that this manga started as a funny, unpredictable action manga and slowly became a mess where tension has been lost and the plot twists seem contrived now in chapter 56. The sexual harassment fanservice played for laughs wasn't very funny as well. Art was always good. After a while, in my opinion, the story became too meta. The emotional and deep moments also weren't because they felt forced. All in all, I think the story slowly ran out of energy. I still think that people should read this manga. It was greatly executed for the first 20 or so chapters. Have fun reading :)

Here's the elephant in the room: There's always that guy who runs around naked with a censor bar on his groin area. And for the girl, she's really unrealistic. She has these huge boobs that look like huge rocks or tumors on her petite frame, and her hair was too long at first, which could easily break her neck. How did she fit all that hair into a beanie without it falling off? And she claims that nobody could cut her hair because all of them would die, but her hair wasn't always that long, so she could have easily cut it herself. A lotof the characters are way too cliché and filled with obvious shonen tropes. The story feels like the same few formulas just in a different skin. Things look morally questionable when the undead guy tries to kidnap the unlucky girl. Even though there are some Chinese phrases said by Shen, those are really inaccurate because they aren't how Chinese people actually speak in real life. Who the heck says 谢谢 (thank you) all the time? That's too monotone, too robotic, not like a real person. And for the stick thingy he uses, it's supposed to be 金箍棒 (jīn gū bàng), and the author made the character say something that sounds like the Japanese version of pronunciation hanzi while saying it in a Chinese way, so it sounds like nonsense. And why is that guy called Shen? The word is 真, whose Chinese pronunciation is zhēn and the Japanese pronunciation is shin. It seems to meet in the middle to create this word (shen) that nobody actually understands.

Audit Result: Failed. The series suffers from anatomical nonsense (unrealistic proportions/hair physics) and deep linguistic inaccuracies. The 'Chinese' representation is robotic and phonetically nonsensical (the 'Shen' logic hole). It relies on tired Shonen tropes and morally lazy character introductions. Not recommended for readers who value cultural or physical realism.

This series totally subverted my expectations. At first, I had assumed it was going to follow the usual shounen plot route, but no. To think there was a point where I had gotten bored of the anime and almost dropped it - until I reached the Autumn arc. Up until the Unknown and Autumn arc, I felt absolutely no attachment to the characters - if you killed Fuuko, Andy, or any of the other Union members at that point I wouldn't have really cared. It wasn't until I reached those last few episodes of Season 1 that I thoroughly enjoyed and started wanting to rootfor the characters of this series.

After the first season of the anime finished, I binged the manga until around Ch 200 last August 2024. All I can say is I'm so happy I didn't go through with dropping this when I mistakenly presumed it was another typical shounen story. What it lacks in style (I mean, even the author acknowledged that his art style's sort of outdated for a manga published in the 2020s), the manga makes up for with an ABUNDANCE of substance. This series is one of the best I have encountered since the pandemic.

First, UxU has one of the most unique power systems and world-building elements I've seen in a manga. I thought the negation abilities were confusing at first as some characters would technically break the conditions required for their negation abilities to work (and there would be little to no explanation for it other than "s/he expanded their power/range/interpretation of his/her abilities"). But after Andy's power up in the Autumn arc and the end of the first loop, I developed a deeper appreciation for the "it's all about perception" message the author was trying to push.

Point is, at some point the author made me forget about all the technical stuff and just enjoy the series for what it is.

For those who want to start reading this series, I think it's best if you go into it not dwelling too much on the world's mechanics. When I was still trying to get into UxU before the Autumn arc, the existence of universal rules as UMAs and the nature of "Revolution" as Ragnarok made it difficult for me to follow and reconcile some of the technical aspects of this show with what I know intuitively about the world. I'm not sure, but something about the exposition felt lacking and too axiomatic to me at the time which made me want to drop it. But again, I'm so glad I didn't. EVERYTHING makes sense now.

Lastly, UxU doesn't have the most unique ability users, but it does have one of the BEST and most LOVABLE ensemble of protagonists there are. The author has the uncanny ability to write arcs that will make you appreciate every single union member, even if there are over two dozen of them.

- On a side note: some will think Andy's new perception of "death" after meeting the Fuuko in his memories to be cliche and overused. But what I can say with 100% certainty is that this series, through Fuuko and everyone's interactions, really made me think long and hard about what Andy's definition of "death" means to me and makes me want to go out in the world in search of the greatest death possible for myself too!

Tldr: UxU is wicked sick, please go read it.

Undead unluck has more to offer then what it seems. It's a roller coaster of emotions both positive and negative. Suffering from some typical tropes and cliche it makes up with a good solid cast and growing character. At first, the story seemed to be simple and felt it would not pick up the pacing for long. Purposefully dragging some elements but it allows the author to introduce us to the whole cast of character that a absolutely necessary for the plot to move on later on. You might feel like dropping it on the first 60 chapters with the lack of growth from our main protagonist beingFuuko.

But fear not, like Naruto and a lot of shounen you will be surprised by the growth of the character in terms of personality, resolution and motivation. No character grow instantly when exposed to such weird and supernatural circumstances.

I rate the side character and main character a solid 8/10. I did remove a few points for how "optimist" and how forgiving they can be but I did grow liking them.

The plot is yet to be fully explained and we have yet to see where we are going. We never know with those authors. They can suddenly flip the plot upside down. You can pull so many references: Blood Vlad, tsugumomo, naruto, HunterXhunter, One Piece, Rosario Vampire second arc and many more.

The art still and direction feels heavily inspired by many other works. With over the top exaggerated action and humor.

The ecchi part of the manga is barely noticeable. It's more a comedy relief then the male or female protagonist craving for some skin contact. No naruto bleeding nose or weird groping that feels motivated by lust. There is groping, but it's more to allow Fuuko to activate her power.

The theme of life and death remains vague, there is death. But a lot of it is motivated by a reason which is later explained and discovered.

Without spoiling at all, I recommend it as the later arc gets absolutely more depth and entertaining. You can feel the author growing and improving his story telling and consolidating the plot. Moving away from the typical shounen formula that plague some other works.

Enjoy this rodeo as it is an absolute fun ride.

overall i thought the manga was great. the pacing was really quick which i actually loved because it made it super easy to keep reading each day. i thoroughly enjoyed it and seeing fuukos character development throughout the story was amazing. watching her go from someone who was scared of her own ability to someone much more confident and determined was really satisfying i also really liked the dynamic between fuuko and andy and how their teamwork carries the story there were a couple things i didnt enjoy as much though. sometimes there were just too many rules and mechanics with all the umas, quests and theway the world works which made it a bit hard to follow at times. because the story moves so quickly i also found it a bit difficult to keep track of some of the other characters and their development

that said i still thought the concept of the power system was really cool. the whole negator vs umas idea was super unique and it kind of reminded me a bit of opm and jjk

but yeah overall i really enjoyed it

The art is very good, it's nothing amazing, but it's very clear and generally pleasant, unless we see a side shot of the face of any character in which case, it looks horrendous. The art is very consistent, until one point, which is the only time we really get a major change in the style, chapter 130-131, the fact it comes in so late makes the change so much more meaningful and gives the events that relate to it so much more power, it is amazing. Okay, the 10 first chapters are just perfect. It is so funny, the characters are so intriguing, every new unlockis stupider than the last, the plot is so ridiculous, the way the fights are structured with an "information gathering" phase and then the actual fights is fascinating, the pacing's great. If the manga was just that, it would easily be a high 8.

After that, once Andy and Fuuko join the Union, it slows down for a bit and the more serious story starts to take its place while the jokes take a backseat (though the ones we get remain very funny) and we get a second introduction of sorts, it's still good, just not as good in my opinion as the first 10 chapters and that applies for the rest of the manga I think.

However, we do start getting more characters, which are all absolutely amazing, their designs are each super great and distinct, their personalities are all very interesting. This truly applies to every character, including characters like Rip or Top who present archetypes I usually hate, or Creed who is unbelievably simple, yet still super interesting.

If this manga was nothing but the story of each of the character's backstory, it would be a 10/10, their stories are just this interesting and present such emotionally powerful scenes, I just want to learn more about them, all their misfortunes are so unique! Every time the story goes back to a misfortune that has already been presented to add detail unto it, it feels great. Every character interaction is just a joy to read.

The action scenes are good, but I personally feel that action scenes in general have a sort of hard cap on how good they can be without being animated (for instance Demon Slayer or Mob Psycho II) or being absolutely insane (Chainsaw Man or Goblin Slayer), since the Unluck Undead manga offers neither (until the God fight when Undecrease comes into play, HOLY SHIT, just thinking about it puts a smile on my face), they are good, but nothing more really. However, the non-conventional fight scenes like the fight against Spring are very good (but not amazing).

The setting is underdeveloped I think. We barely see any interactions with Apocalypse or any explanations relating to his rules, we don't see many artifacts and see even less of them being explained, Umas are explained in a way that doesn't make sense if we take into account what rule they are supposed to represent and how the world was before their existence, some rules seem to exist before their Umas do (Insect for instance (if we compare the 101th's loop's earth to the one where Insect was killed)), some Umas have rules that make no sense (Move or "Kain" for instance), some Umas seem to exist without Apocalypse, etc. The one chance we had to see a lot of Apocalypse is used to skip 26 years, there's so many little holes that feel like they could easily be patched up if the author just took the time to explain them properly.

This leads me to my next point, negators are a mixed bag, most of them are pretty self-explanatory, like Unluck negating luck, Undead being unable to become dead, Undecrease being unable to run out of things, Unrepair making things impossible to fix, but others feel a little wonky like Untruth making people do the opposite of what they want (the part about them saying the opposite makes sense though), Unfair... just... I get it, but... why? Unruin and Unfade also make very little sense. That's not to say negators aren't great, most of their abilities are really interesting, but some others feel out of place like Umas.

The pacing is pretty bad honestly, it gets better during the 101th loop, but the problem is that the story seems to be too focused on doing 1 thing at a time, so we'll get 10 or more high speed, combat focused chapters before 5 or 6 slower chapters, but the fact that they are often so grouped up makes it so that the highs don't feel like highs (cough cough Spoil fight cough cough), because they are surrounded by other highs, and the lows don't feel like lows, because they are surrounded by other lows. It's a lot better when it mixes it up like during the Autumn fight or while Fuuko is looking for other negators.

The 101th loop is just god tier, the time skip feels like a huge shame, because it's more of my biggest problem with this manga, we don't see enough of the small things (artifacts, Umas and the world in general outside the main plot) to truly be able to appreciate the world, but what we do get is taking what the 100th loop did well and polishing it until no impurities remain, we don't just see the flashbacks about the misfortunes that every negator has, we see the misfortunes take place, it's so good. We get to learn about the characters we couldn't learn about in the previous loop, every little spec of information from the first part comes back into play, it's just amazing.

It's a mid 8. Because of the terrible pacing, while reading it, I was thinking more of giving it a high 7 or low 8, however, thinking back on it, it has so many memorable moments and such a powerful and interesting plot, I just can't give it any lower than a mid 8.