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How is Undead Unluck? Community score: 4.1
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How is Undead Unluck? Community score: 4.2
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How is Undead Unluck? Community score: 4.1
©Yoshifumi Totsuka/Shueisha/Undead Unluck Production Committee
Let’s get the elephant out of the room first, shall we? And no, I’m not talking about the giant trunk that our Undead boy Andy is swinging between his thighs. The sight of a fat, squishy censor bar popping up in every episode of Undead Unluck will probably always be funny, and you won’t find me complaining about it.
No, of course I’m referring to the most obvious and obnoxious hurdle the story has presented since the very first episode of the series: The way Andy decided that was the only way to take advantage. Fuko’s unfortunate power is constantly trying to grope and harass her. It’s a stupid, juvenile joke that stands out as a bridge too far even in this show, an anime that is already loud and proud to say “Stupid and Juvenile.” years!!!” The monstrous flag flies as freely as Andy’s flagpole. Of course, individual tolerance for this kind of intentionally stupid and offensive comedy will vary, although I don’t blame anyone for getting sick of it before finishing the first three episodes. This fairy of Undead Unluck.
Personally, it’s at least something I can look past at the moment, and that’s for a few reasons. First is that manga readers have told me that Undead Unluck quickly completely removes this shtick, so I don’t expect it to become a constant flying ointment like Tamaki’s treatment in the Fire Force anime. (also produced by Studio). David, as it happened). The second reason I was willing to grudgingly accept the show’s worst jokes was because of the very eccentric and abstract tone the show aimed for. While framing himself as the deranged Japanese love child of the Grindhouse movies and Looney Tunes shorts doesn’t automatically make Andy’s treatment of Fuko okay, it does frame the relationship between the brothers. Our heroism is something we should not take too seriously.
It helps that, for all of Andy’s “funny business,” Episodes 2-3 of the show make it clear that his complete insanity doesn’t make him a bad person; he and Fuko are both deeply dysfunctional and damaged people, in their very different ways, and they’re learning to care for each other in a way that would probably make any of the other dysfunctional members of normal society seems a bit crazy. At least, Andy made it clear in Episode 2 that he’s not willing to sleep with Fuko if she doesn’t really want to, and Fuko is developing a real relationship with her naked, limb-exploding kidnapper. her toss, and that’s…well, it’s something, I guess.
This is what the first few episodes of Undead Unluck did a great job of showing us, despite everything: Beneath the blood vessels and other nasty fluids is something extremely funny, bizarre, creative, and entertaining cartoons. The fight that Andy and Fuko engage in with the two League guys in Episode 2 is filled with exciting and novel action pacing that takes full advantage of the banana rules that seem to govern this universe. In episode 3, we see even more of the world-building and character-building, which makes it clear that there was some real thought put into the strange story of Undead Unluck, no matter how stupid it seems in the first place. The way the show just so casually reveals that we’re operating in a reality where we don’t even know what the stars are is such a great way to upend our assumptions about the setting that I can’t help but fascinated to see where everything goes.
Hell, the way Andy explained and explored the limits of the powers of the various Negatives, including Fuko’s Bad Luck, got me invested in the battle presentation. I almost never care about battle exposition. However, as the show connects the dots between Fuko’s emotional investment in the type of contact she receives from others and the relative distance of any nearby disasters she will be pulled into her orbit. her, I found myself leaning forward on the sofa and stroking my chin and thinking, “Now that’s interesting!”
Because of all this, I’m willing to give Undead Unluck the benefit of the doubt now that we know where Andy and Fuko’s Bogus Journey will take us next. I just hope that the big guy can learn to keep his hands to himself (or at least read the room and wait for enthusiastic consent) before too long.
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Undead Unluck is now streaming on Hulu.
James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop culture, which you can also find on Twitter his blog and his podcast.