Undead Unluck Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Undead Unluck Blu-ray Movie Review

Undead Unluck is an action-adventure anime. Created by Yoshifumi Tozuka, Undead Unluck was originally broadcast on JNN and associate networks MBS and TBS. Undead Unluck first aired between October 7, 2023 and March 23, 2024.

Produced by Hiroshi Kamei (My Hero Academia, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead), Masahiro Tomobe (Cinderella Nine: The Story Continues), and Sōta Satō (Dr. Stone: New World, World’s End Harem), Undead Unluck was also streamed on Hulu in North America and Disney+ in international territories. From studio David Production (animation production) and TMS Entertainment (series production and planning/development), Undead Unluck features theme song performances by Queen Bee (opening one), Shiyui (opening two), Kairi Yagi (ending one), and OKAMOTO'S (ending two). Undead Unluck features voice performances by Moe Kahara and Yūichi Nakamura.

Fuuko Izumo (Moe Kahara) has been gifted (or cursed) with the ability known as “Unluck” and it causes a lot of chaos in her life. The 18-year-old Fuuko has a lot on her plate as she realizes the Unluck ability causes anyone who comes in direct contact with her – through physical touch – to be cursed with a sensation of unluckiness. The end result is Fuuko spreads too much “unluck” and poor experiences onto others. Distraught by her “Unluck” and what it brings to others, Fuuko decides it is time to end it all and call it quits on her life.

Despite her feelings of ending-it-all, Fuuko ends up meeting the Negator Andy (Yūichi Nakamura). Andy is unlike anyone else Fuuko has ever met before and he has a rare ability known as “Undead” that causes him to regenerate and survive death and other injuries. Andy is capable of healing any injury and surviving any death that comes his way.

As a result, Fuuko decides to keep living after all and team up with Andy for a better purpose. The two unlikely heroes team up with the Union, an organization determined to help others with the strangest phenomenon on the planet. Now Fuuko and Andy set forth on a myriad of missions and quests – all while using their unique abilities. Fuuko and Andy take on strange phenomenon in the world.

The lead characters are compelling and add to the series success in spades. Fuuko Izumo and Negator Andy are both interesting leads for Undead Unluck. The characters have compelling personalities and there is a lot to appreciate about these leads and their role in the production. The dynamics between the two heroes is something that makes the series stand out more. The element of exploring their own strengths and weaknesses through their powers and unique abilities is something that stands out for the production.

The character artwork is well done, too. The character designs by Hideyuki Morioka (Sakura Wars, Fire Force) impress in spades. The designs are fantastic and work well for the vision of the production. The designs add so much wonder to the series – the unique efforts for each leading character helps make the series more compelling.

The animation is one of the most impressive aspects of the production. Undead Unluck features top-notch animation. The series art style showcases superb art direction by Keito Watanabe (Digimon Frontier, One Piece Special – Adventure of Nebulandia). The series also highlights chief animation direction by Shun'ichi Ishimoto (Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind) and Yumenosuke Tokuda (Black Butler, Twin Star Exorcists). The animators brought something special to the table. The animation team managed to imbue a creative quality to the entire aesthetic – from the use of background animation to the entire canvas. The art style is robust, bold, and colorful (working well for the Shonen genre elements).

The cinematography by Takao Saito (The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - Northern War, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter) is a highlight of the production. The cinematography is bright, crisp, and engaging. The visuals add to the storytelling and help to highlight the animation. These qualities are impressive and engaging.

The score composed by Kenichiro Suehiro (Fire Force, Golden Kamuy) is fun and action-packed. The music is compelling and there are a lot of engaging elements to the score. The music is a wonderful backdrop to the action scenes. The sense of epic scale given to the production is all the better as a result.

Written by Yamato Haishima (Fire Force) and Sei Tsuguta (Fire Force, Sk8 the Infinity Extra Part), Undead Unluck is entertaining action-adventure for genre fans. The characters are compelling and the writing is good at highlighting strengths to the characters and their journeys. The concept is fun and finds some balance between the action and drama.

Directed by Yuki Yase (Fire Force, Hidamari Sketch × Honeycomb), Undead Unluck is going to appeal to genre enthusiasts looking for some fun action anime more-so than anyone. The action genre aspect is something that Shonen fans will find appealing. Undead Unluck features epic battles and missions in showcasing the quests. Yase highlights these aspects and brings out the best in the action series.

Undead Unluck Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by VIZ Media, Undead Unluck is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The high-definition video is excellent. The presentation looks crisp and colorful on the release. Animation is a highlight and impresses in spades. The native high-definition visuals are fantastic – adding so much to the presentation. The release capably showcases the animation: from the background art to the overall aesthetic of the production. The action scenes are well showcased and the encoding capably highlights these sequences.

Undead Unluck Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio on the release preserves the sound direction by Jin Aketagawa (anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue). The audio quality is top-notch and there is a lot of vibrancy in the presentation.

Dialogue is clear and well reproduced on the release. The score is a highlight and is well integrated into the stereo audio mixing. The sound effects (including the action effects) are well preserved. English subtitles are well-done and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

One of the key highlights of physical media is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services only offer lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. For home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles alike, the high quality of lossless encoding provides a more robust experience with higher bit-rates and better depth. The encoding allows for a more immersive sounding audio experience – something that is especially important to those with nice sound systems.

Undead Unluck Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The limited-edition release comes packaged in a deluxe chipboard art board. The high-gloss art box features unique artwork on both the front and back of the package design. The standard edition packaging is housed inside of the limited edition and features more key art-work. The release also includes a deluxe 56-page booklet.

The 56-page booklet includes Union Investigative Reports throughout the booklet: a Union Investigative Report: No. 6 – Artifact Field Guide including notes on Apocalypse, The Nyoi-Kinko Staff, Blade Runner, G-Liner, Soul Caliber, and Life is Strange. Union Investigative Report No. 5 – UMA Field Guide includes notes on Clothes, Move, Spoil, Galaxy, Autumn, and Burn. Union Investigative Report No. 4 – Union features notes on Top (Unstoppable), Isshin (Unbreakable), and Phil (Unfeel).

Union Investigative Report No. 3 – The Power of Unluck includes notes on abilities (overview), Perceived Threat, and Combat Applications. Union Investigative Report No 2 – The Power of Undead features notes on Parts Bullet, Parts Bullet Fist, Parts Bullet Head, Parts Bullet Hammer, Crimson Bullet, Blood Ring, Repair Headbutt, Repair, Crimson Waxing Moon, Repair Boost, Victor's Abilities, Parts Bullet Fingers, and Division Bullet. Union Investigative Report No 1 – Basic Information includes notes on Negators, the Union, UMA, Artifacts, Quests, and Penalty.

Several pages of notes and sketches are provided with notes from throughout the production. The production pages in the booklet provide sketches and notes with some director's commentary notes covering: UMA Autumn's abilities, Cour Two's Action, Anno Un's past, the conflict of Cour Two, the depiction of Andy of the past, portraying Andy vs. Victor-two Undead Negators, Fuuko creates her own manga, Portraying Anno Un, Depicting Billy's Ability, Explaining the world's loops, portraying the series "last boss" god, the battle of the negators – Billy's betrayal, Battles against the Negator Hunters, Action Notes: the battle against Rip and Cour One, Andy and Fuko kiss, Juiz's powers revealed, Action scenes with Victor, Action Notes: Versus UMA Spoil, Shen's ability reveal and that famous grin, Portraying Gena's ability, The art of the union headquarters, Directing episode one's pivotal scene, and special action considerations.

The booklet also focuses on character artwork and includes artwork for Burn, Autumn, Move, Spoil, Andy (past Andy), Andy's Crew, lab members Zack, Poccho, Lang, Boh, Bau. The character section also covers characters Mico, Backs, Unseen, Anno Un, Creed, Feng, Latla, RIP, Chikara, Victor, Tatiana, Nico, Phil, Top, Isshin, Billy, Juiz, Gena, Void, Mui, Shen, Fuuko Izumo, and Andy. The booklet also includes a height chart for characters, episode notes & plot synopsis information. The booklet includes an index with page notes for each section.

On disc supplements include:  

Promotional Videos (HD, 3:18)

Opening and Ending Songs (HD, 6:12)

More from VIZ (HD, 4:23)

Undead Unluck Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Undead Unluck is an engaging action-adventure anime series. The production features outstanding animation. The series has compelling lead characters and a fun concept.

The Blu-ray release features an impressive high-definition presentation, lossless audio, and an assortment of bonus features. The limited-edition version includes a deluxe chipboard art-box and a 56-page booklet. Recommended.