Undead Unluck
Short Synopsis (Anilist): All Fuuko wants is a passionate romance like the one in her favorite shoujo manga. Unfortunately, her Unluck ability makes that impossible. But just as Fuuko hits rock bottom, Andy sweeps her off her feet—literally! Now she’s become Andy’s unwilling test subject as he works to find a way to trigger a stroke of Unluck big enough to kill him for good. However, when the pair discovers a secret organization is hunting them, it puts Andy’s burial plans on hold.
Undead Unluck is in that sad position where everyone, from the author to the audience, knows the opening is kind of shit. Seriously the first few chapters, what will become the first 3 episodes probably, of Undead Unluck are like a completely different show from the rest. How do I know this? Because I read it, and the first few chapters were terrible, yet here I am still current on it. The same can be said for the anime. So many of the early issues are still here, from shitty ecchi gags and loads of sexual assault to cringey dialogue and Andy just being a jackass. This was all expected. What wasn’t expected was for it to actually look good?! And I don’t just mean “Above average”, I mean Undead Unluck had some of the best looking scenes of any premier so far. It’s not nearly as consistent as Frieren of course, but the entire anime-original opening scene in the snow, or everything at the airport, or all of the closeups? Did they abduct someone from Studio Shaft? Because that’s what it feels like. I had really low expectations for Undead Unluck’s opening few episodes, and while some of that was justified, it legitimately surprised me and has given me some hope for the rest of its runtime. Because the hints of what it will become, the moments of genuine care between Andy and Fuuko, were still there. And they were good.
Potential: 60%
The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons
Short Synopsis (Anilist): The Yuzuki family consists of four brothers: Hayato, Mikoto, Minato, and Gakuto. The eldest son, Hayato, happily lives every day to the fullest. There are tears, laughter and excitement at home, at school, and in the neighborhood!
Yuzuki Family is basically the definition of “Wholesome fluff”. A family of 4 brothers living together after their parents pass away, there’s no real drama or darkness or depression behind it, just some brotherly conflict at worst. As such, the main thrust of the show is more about the middle child wanting to be seen as dependable more than anything else. Of wanting to pull their own weight in the household rather than be babied. It’s a solid enough feel good show. If that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for, I think Yuzuki Family is probably the best you can find this season. Personally though, I’d have preferred if it was focused more on the eldest brother’s troubles looking after his siblings rather than the middle child’s insecurities. That’s probably because I myself am an eldest child, and looked after my own siblings growing up, so that’s what I connect with the most. Because of this, I wasn’t really able to get into it. Still, it looks like a solid entry into the genre. Just make sure you get solid subs.
Potential: 30%
UNDER NINJA
Short Synopsis (Anilist): Ninjas still exist in Japan today. They number around 200,000. The ninja organization NIN (National Intelligence of NINJA) is not controlled by the civilian government, with its elite members performing assassinations and sabotage in secret. There is an organization that opposes NIN: UN (Under Ninja). Ninja versus ninja: What lies waiting at the end of this shadowy feud?
Under Ninja was surprisingly dense, in a good way for me. While we didn’t get any fights or real displays of ninja prowess, we instead got what is basically the day in the life of a low-tier nobody with the promise of said fights down the line. And you know what? That day in the life was kind of interesting. Lazing around at home, practicing homemade blow darts, hanging out with his housemates, figuring out and doing preparation for a job without leaving the home. I was surprisingly engaged by what should have been a bunch of nothing. But something about how matter of factly Under Ninja presents its world, its characters, piqued my interest. This isn’t to say it’s perfect, I detest its potty/dick humor, the overall structure of the episode jumping back and forth in time was confusing and I’m not terribly interested in this organization or ranking system the ninja seem to have. If Under Ninja could just stay a low-ranker surviving in this cutthroat world with what few jobs come his way, I could see this being a hidden surprise. I don’t really expect it to stay that way but still, I’ll give it a few more episodes, it’s earned that at least.
Potential: 40%
I’ve heard that the Yuzuki Family Sons’ manga occasionally alternates perspectives, with some having the middle child narrate and be the focus, some having the eldest narrate and be focused on, so on and so forth, though I haven’t read it myself so I don’t know how true that is. And yeah, CR giving it the subs that it did is just sooooo unprofessional and flat-out unacceptable. How in the world did such bad subs get past quality checking???
I have no idea! They seemed like Machine Learning, like AI subs?! They were terrible! I tried my best to look past them when watching but god damn.
If you read the Undead Unluck manga you should know that the series improves greatly after the first arc.
I did, I do, and I said as much. I’m just more surprised it was this good from the start. I expected it to start very weakly but instead it was a really strong production with some great moments in spite of the shitty Sexual Assault.