With so many different anime adaptations of manga being announced recently or soon to be released, it's a surprise that there's still no word on whether Shonen Jump's Undead Unluck would be receiving one too. This is something of a travesty, as the series is currently one of the best titles on the market, especially in its genre.
Undead Unluck follows the two "titular" characters Andy and Fuuko, also known as "Undead" and "Unluck," respectively. Andy and Fuuko are Negators, individuals that can negate the rules of the world. Andy's "Undead" ability gives him an insane healing factor and makes him immortal, whereas Fuuko's powers give anyone she makes skin contact with have incredible strokes of bad luck, such as a meteor strike. While at first hunted by an organization of Negators known as the Union, the duo eventually joins their ranks in an effort to stop the world from a potential oncoming world-ending disaster that only Negators know about or can stop.
While stopping the world from ending is a common trope for manga and anime, Undead Unluck has managed to do it in a really cool and unique way. The Union has a book known as Apocalypse, which is directly related to the disaster the group is trying to avoid. Apocalypse gives the Union tasks to accomplish, and if they fail, they receive a penalty. After receiving enough penalties, the world will face its doom. This is an interesting and unique concept that really helps set the series apart from others and makes the world even more intriguing and perfect for an anime adaptation.
The protagonists of the series are also fantastic. Andy and Fuuko are a really interesting and fun pair with a dynamic that, while not the most uncommon, is still very fun and entertaining to see. There is a certain degree of classic romantic tension between the male and female leads, but there is also a very clear friendship at the heart of it. Even though Andy does most of the fighting, he never once considers Fuuko weak and actually relies on her help to win battles due to how powerful her ability is. This helps make Fuuko a more likable and integral part of the story and not just another damsel-in-distress, which anime needs way more of.
Speaking of powers, this series also does a lot of cool things with them. As every ability is a "negator," each power has some specific rule(s) that it can break. Andy's, for example, is "Undead," which makes him completely immortal. Regardless of how much damage his body takes, whether it is a lightning strike or even a crashing meteor, he will not die and his body will always repair itself back to normal. All the powers in Undead Unluck follow this kind of logic, and it creates a lot of interesting moments, especially when readers are introduced to new Negators, as there is always some sense of mystery to their powers and how they work.
These powers also help create some really incredible fight scenes. While the power to heal fast might seem as unexciting as it is useful, Andy actually uses this power in some really crazy ways that really push the limit of what a healing factor can do. He can control his healing enough that he is able to fire off parts of his body like bullets at his enemies. He can even use his healing factor to have the parts he's fired grow into fully functioning clones that can aid him in combat.
Andy even uses his powers in tandem with Fuuko's by having her make him as unlucky as possible while in close proximity to their foes. Andy can heal from whatever happens but their enemies cannot, which has made for some interesting fights so far. To see any of them animated would be a spectacle worthy of the time.
While there are a lot of series that are deserving of an anime adaptation, few have earned it as much as Undead Unluck. With an interesting premise, great characters, and a unique power system, the manga is already one of the best on the market. With the right studio at the helm, Undead Unluck could easily become the next big anime, and rightfully so.
