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Nov 27, 2024
Undead Unluck is one of the most interesting, creative, and emotionally moving stories Ive had the pleasure to READ, not watch; though the anime is still solid overall. The anime hits a lot of the same highs as its manga counterpart, but is watered down by incessant recaps, underwhelming 3d effects, and a few altered scenes. And unfortunately like the manga, you will need to get past the first couple of episodes which have some mild notes of sexual assault, which is promptly dropped less than 5 episodes in, never to return again. All that being said though, it is still absolutely
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worth a watch, if for no other reason that it will be a gateway to get more people to read, and I mean this when I say it, one of the greatest manga of all time. If you want a more in-depth look into my thoughts on the series, my main review of Undead Unluck is on the manga's page.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 26, 2024
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 center
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point 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.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 23, 2019
Never been a huge fan of these types of stories. Harem's generally speaking, but more particularly stories with content that doesnt seem to "matter".
What I mean by that is, stories with this kind of structure have you going through the motions until the pre-determined end. That being the MC ending up with one of the 5 sisters. In this story, they make that super obvious. So the "point" of the story is to see which one he gets together with. The enjoyment you then derive form watching/reading is picking a girl and then hoping she wins. However,
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that is where I think this falls flat, not just for this story, but a lot of them.
Giving each girl screen time is necessary to keep up the illusion of a contest, but it comes at a huge detriment to the overall narrative. If each girl is having these life altering revelations over this one guy, then it can be hard to root for a single one. It also devalues the next life alerting event to a certain extent. It creates this endless merry-go-round of who "deserves" to be with MC which gets messier with each pass. This show covered about 32 chapters of the current 98 out right now, and that sounds absolutely exhausting to me. I imagine it just constantly goes back and forth between girls until you dont know who you want anymore. Each nice moment is overshadowed by the next until nothing holds weight anymore. Thats what I mean by content that doesnt seem to matter. You are completly at the creators whim, who likely already picked who it would be before even starting the story.
I dont know, maybe these kinds of stories just arnt for me. I didnt hate it, but it just seemed so pointless to me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Dec 22, 2018
Goblin Slayer is mediocre in every way, shape, and form. The only notable thing about it is its depiction of rape, which, surprise surprise, is the only thing anyone ever talks about. I personally couldnt give a shits less about it, so that is the last time I will mention it in this review.
On the surface, I like the idea of this show a lot. Taking a typically weak monster, and boosting it up to be the main antagonist of the show is a really neat concept. It gives a lot of interesting realism to a fantasy story. Sure, its
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just one child sized goblin with a rusty knife, but that wont make getting stabbed any less painful. If done better, I think it could be really interesting.
However, in order to make this concession work, so much has to be waved away. Why is Goblin Slayer the only dude who knows how dangerous they are? Why does no one seem take issue with all of the stolen girls? Why do other adventures, who seem to be scarred the same way our MC is, not seem to care anymore? Where is the military in all this? They mention it multiple times but the stories reason is "oh theyre just goblins". No fucking way would anyone take that position in this universe, given how truly evil the goblins are. This is my main complaint with the show. The concept is good, but the execution raises more questions than it deserves.
All of this might be forgivable had anything else in the show been able to carry it. Every one of the characters, save for the sword maiden and maybe the priestess, is boring and one note. I dont know what it is about fantasy anime having boring protagonists, but Goblin Slayer sure is a snooze fest. The "quirk" that he only repeats the same three things is funny once, but again, the concessions needed to have him be like that completely obliterates any intriguing dialogue for the whole show. It can even be harmful like with the sword priestess where the audience didnt know what the fuck was going on since he cant have a normal conversation. The side cast is just as one dimensional. Elf is a tsundere, lizardman likes cheese, dwarf likes alcohol, cowgirl likes GS, guild girl likes GS, the adventurers like... adventuring. Thats it.
The visuals are whatever. Half of the time, GS is 3D and it looks like garbage. Some of the action is pretty sweet, but the rest sucks. I wont comment on the rest, like sound, music, backgrounds, etc, since I just dont remember any of it. Guess thats all I really need to say, huh?
To end, Ill list what I liked. The DnD backdrop is cool, and it lends itself to the theme really well. Like previously mentioned, some of the action is good. The strategy that Goblin Slayer uses to slay goblins is usually fun. The OP is alright. Goblin Slayers red eye is rad as hell. Guess thats about it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jul 24, 2018
This review encompasses season 1 and 2.
I want like Nanbaka a lot. The biggest positive is without a doubt the style of the show. The "content" itself is just ok.
I love the way everything looks in this show. All of the character designs are super distinct. This makes a huge difference for me, as theres nothing more I hate then trying to figure out which high school girl is which by the color of their hair alone. These guys are vastly different heights and sizes, with transitional hair, different teeth styles, uniforms, eyes, number placements, accessories, etc.
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Its undoubtedly the best part of the show. So if youre interested, just google search the characters and if you think they look cool, then watch it.
The comedy part of Nanbaka is fine. I was never rolling on the ground, but some of the jokes were pretty good. The show unfortunately falls into a typical, shounen plot line by the end of season 2, which it leaves on a massive fucking cliffhanger.
I enjoyed my time watching Nanbaka, but past the style and a few jokes, its just alright.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 24, 2018
This review encompass season 1, 2, and 3.
The thing that bothers me most about the show is the main character. If the wish fulfillment bullshit was absent in the show I think it would be a jolly good time. Nothing particularly deep or well written, but with fun action, a neat world to explore, and interesting characters to meet.
The main character is by far the worst thing in this show. All his faults can be boiled down to two points.
1. The way the NPC's interact with him. Re-writing the main hot chick to love you is
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stupid and cringy. But the worst thing about it is its totally unnecessary, since all of the female NPC's, even the male ones sometimes, want the MC's dick anyways. Adding this only serves to make the MC out to be a complete weirdo, which IS the point of his character, but it messes the whole dynamic of the show up for me. Since every character already acts like this, it ONLY serves to taint my opinion of the MC and the Albedo. Her whole character is just devoted to being in love with MC, and MC just becomes a creep.
I have a problem with this because it ruins a theme that could actually be really interesting to explore, which they hint at. And that is the dynamic between creator and creation. Having the NPC's love the MC because he helped create them and then stayed with them when all of the other guild members left is a really cool idea. Especially if they found out what Ains is really like. That hes not the "overlord" but just some nerd. I think that could be really fun, and heartwarming. For them, it would be accepting that their creator is a weirdo, and for him allowing himself to show his true side. But that is all ruined by the fact that albedo is demoted to being just a slave with a sole personality trait that every other character has anyways.
2. Ains is fucking boring. I like the joke that this guy does not know what hes doing. I genuinely think its funny. But just imagine, if he was allowed to have emotions on top of it.
It boggles my mind that this guy is not allowed to have emotions by some bullshit green lights. I simply cannot wrap my head around the justification for restricting him to being generic and vaguely evil.
Just imagine, Ains being allowed to react in a way that might get him into some hot water. Like he gets embarrassed by some social interaction and he has to justify it to the people loyal to him. He could pull out some BS, make it out to be a positive, and everybody would love him for it. This happens already, but just at the absolute base level, and without much of Ains' input at all.
When the joke stops being funny, you can pull back the veil, and you can do the interesting character stuff from my last point. I think that would be great. As it stands now hes just a boring, husk of a character. Again, they hint at this concept, allowing us to hear his inner thoughts. But actually allowing him to stumble, then try to pick himself up would be 10x better.
The rest of the show is pretty alright. Season 2 onward raised this show from a 3 to a 5, with its emphasis on other characters besides Ains. Season three broght it back down to a 3.
The world and characters are pretty fun to learn about, its just a shame the main character drags the whole thing down so much.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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