To what extent should ambition be valued over execution? It’s often said that you should shoot for the moon because even if you miss you’ll end up among the stars, but does that justify failure? Undead Unluck’s ending is a perfect example of this: exciting in concept, yet ultimately disappointing in practice.
This article contains spoilers for the entirety of Undead Unluck up to chapter 239.
It should be noted that I’ve been a fan of Yoshifumi Tozuka’s series ever since it debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump back in 2020. While many elements fit into the standard battle manga mould, it also stood out on account of its zany power system, dynamic visuals, and larger than life characters. There was real heart there too: not only was watching Fuuko fall slowly in love with Andy very cute, the Autumn arc featuring the character of Akira Kuno was perhaps one of the most emotional stories I’ve ever read during a serialization.
Nevertheless, everything changed in chapter 132. Believing that only Undead and Unluck could break the cycle of loops and defeat God, Juiz relinquished leadership of the Union to Fuuko so that she could use the Artifact known as Ark. Although this would allow her to survive with her memories intact into the next universe, this also meant that she would have to rebuild the Union from scratch on her own with reincarnations of the Negators. To make matters worse, the 101st Loop was also humanity’s last chance, so the pressure was on.
In concept, this was a great idea. Not only would resetting the universe and performing a timeskip add weight to the world and a sense of scale like it does in many long-form stories, forcing Fuuko to take on a central role was essential for her character development. When she was first introduced, she was on the literal verge of killing herself, so to see her gain self-confidence and even the strength to encourage others was satisfying to say the least. I’d even go as far as to call her the best protagonist in Weekly Shonen Jump since Senku from Dr. STONE, but things weren’t all rosy.
One of the unfortunate consequences of resetting the universe between the 100th and 101st Loop that ultimately brought down the ending was the sidelining of the core dynamic of Undead and Unluck. This was explained in the story as Andy needing to hold the Ten Master Rules at bay with his immortal body, but the justification doesn’t make up for the fact that one of the relationships that had made the earlier part of the manga so compelling was largely missing. It didn’t help that Yoshifumi Tozuka gave other, less interesting characters more focus instead: exploring the backstory of Unburn as a ramen chef or Unfeel as a literal child simply didn’t hold a candle to what came before.
To make matters even worse, Undead Unluck’s ending also suffered from a large array of pacing and execution problems. While Sick, Beast and Language all starred in separate arcs as main antagonists, all of the other Master Rules were simply thrown into the final battle without much buildup, making their significance as final bosses not that obvious. Certain plot developments were also mishandled, such as Fuuko choosing to sacrifice her memories to use the Artifact known as Heart, only for Yoshifumi Tozuka to decide to undo this in the penultimate chapter for no particular reason.
As a result, the shadow of imperfection looms large over Undead Unluck’s ending. This is unfortunate as the final chapter itself is pure fairytale fluff: everyone alive, everyone in happy relationships, and absolutely no one surprised at the fact that Andy and Fuuko are late to their own wedding. One last reveal at the end even suggests that the entirety of the manga was written in-universe by Akira Kuno to tell the story of how his friends saved the world, but none of this is enough to wash away the taste of the mistakes that came before.
In many ways, the word fairytale is important here. From the very first scene where Andy suddenly appears to stop Fuuko from killing herself, the series has always had a fanciful streak where big emotions often trump plot logic or mechanics. Although this is kind of ironic when you consider that the power system is based around very specific words and their antonyms, it does mean that the somewhat utilitarian nature of the ending wasn’t exactly unexpected.
Will the quality of the ending impact Undead Unluck’s legacy? Looking online, it seems like many fans are satisfied in spite of the shortcomings outlined here, but the series still has plenty of opportunities for fine-tuning going forward. The first season of the anime only just finished airing last year and hasn’t even made it halfway through the 100th Loop story yet, so perhaps Yoshifumi Tozuka can get more involved with the production now that the serialization is over.
For now, it’s worth reflecting on the crazy journey that this series has undergone. Back in 2020, who would’ve thought that a manga about a naked zombie and a suicidal otaku would go on to run for over five years and more than 200 chapters? Regardless of the quality of the ending, there’s plenty to love about Undead Unluck, so I hope that future generations can continue to discover what makes it so special for years and decades to come.
To you, from me.
You can read Undead Unluck in English for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.
