Disclaimer: Im going to try and keep this review spoiler free but there may be minor spoilers. With the upcoming anime adaptationhttps://anilist.co/anime/154116/UndeadUnluck/ and a lack of reviews on this gem of a manga I figured Id write one. I think that Undead Unluck is genuinely one of the best Shonen Jump series of the last couple years so I hope that my review gets some more people to give it a shot. First things first. The first couple of chapters are not good and portray one of the main characters in a way that makes light of sexual assault. Its horrendous and I think the mangaka realized it since that element is completely gone by the time the first real arc starts. Afterwards the series gets better every arc. I dont want to sound like one of those it gets good 10 volumes in people but Undead Unluck picks up significantly around volume 4 and gets really good around volume 6. Something to keep in mind. Undead Unluck follows Andy an immortal who wishes to die and Fuuko who brings bad luck to anyone she touches ranging from mild annoyances to death. Andy believes that Fuuko is the key to finally laying him to rest and the two of them soon find themselves tangled up with a mysterious organization thats attempting to prevent Ragnarok. Andy and Fuuko first off are great characters. After volume 1 the author tosses some less savory aspects of their relationship and both of them continually grow as characters which I appreciate. Andy is goofy and wild and full of life but especially as the series goes on he does have a mature side that comes with his age. The mangaka has done an excellent job weaving that maturity into him while still keeping him wild and it makes him feel very wellrounded. Fuuko starts off as youd expect someone thrown into all kinds of craziness to if a tad optimistic but over time grows into a mature character in her own right. The side characters in Undead Unluck are also excellent. For a battle shonen cast theyre unexpectedly fleshed out and especially in recent chapters more and more insight into the side cast has been added. They have their own views and motives and arent all perfect happy people like in some shonen. I cant go into much detail without spoilers but when UU has backstories theyre well timed and normally reveal a lot about the character. Overall could some of the minor characters be a tiny bit better sure but Undead Unluck has done an extremely good job with them overall. In addition Undead Unluck has a good female cast Some shonen seem to have issues just making the female characters people instead of tokens but Undead Unluck avoids that pitfall. Updating this review a year later: Undead Unluck has continued to flesh out and even recontextualize its cast even as we approach the endgame and its truly incredible. I dont agree with every decision made on the characterization but I dont need to since they wind up being great in other ways I didnt expect. Wicked sick As a battle shonen Undead Unluck has taken a lot of the typical battle shonen things power system power reveals new abilities etc and done a great job with them. The power system is really good at tying a characters ability into their backstory and provides a lot of unique powers you still have some typical ones like super speed and invisibility but a lot of them are creative. I also really enjoyed how powerups and battles were really dictated by creativity in using powers rather than the power itself becoming notably stronger. The battles themselves are really fun again because the powers are creative. The villains are also generally interesting and arent just punching bags. As far as the story goes the first couple of volumes are a pretty typical and fun battle shonen but as the story goes on it becomes more unique. Continually building upon the main narrative Undead Unluck doesnt bring stuff into the story only to toss it and it doesnt really go off on tangents. It just keeps bringing new pieces into the story and it does an exceptional job weaving it all together. Tropes that are often present in battle shonen are also used well UU doesnt subvert expectations entirely but it plays around with tropes in ways that feel relatively fresh and clever. The series is also not afraid to take risks and go in unhappy directions and thats especially obvious in the current arc as Im writing this. As a side note the current arc is absolutely incredible and has been tossing out great chapters that build the world and characters almost every week for months. Update a year later: even early elements that seem unimportant have been tied back into the story neatly Little anecdotes about side cast members explanations of the power system theyre all being used really cleverly to make the final stretch satisfying. Artwise Undead Unluck isnt anything crazy but its solid enough and has some great moments especially in creating striking character designs that are still reasonable. The art improves massively after the first few chapters which look almost as though they werent inked and I think it fits the story well. Its rough but has a decent bit of detail and just like the story has gotten better as time goes on. Overall Undead Unluck is one of the best battle shonen Ive read. It isnt perfect but with great characters an interesting power system and great fights as well as a story that just keeps on improving I highly recommend it to any manga fan.