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Overreading Undead Unluck
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Ch 59: Tetsuzanko
Little Shen negotiating his demands with his teacher is just so wholesome and pure. Here's this kid who is wearing rags and robbing adults for money all while telling his sister that he's the strongest in the world, and he enters a tournament and gets beat, thus proving he's not the strongest, but it doesn't affect his self-confidence at all.
He's still so confident that he proposes conditions for allowing someone to teach him, and it's not that he's being egotistical or delusional, because he admits he got beat at the tournament.
His leverage in this negotiation is offering the opportunity to train the boy who will become the world's strongest. That's how sure he is that he'll achieve his dream!
Shen: "Do it for the exposure! It'll look great in your portfolio!"
It's still not clear what kind of person Shen's teacher is at this point. We know he's interested in strong students and that he's smiling at Shen, but he seems eager to push Shen to his limits.
FENG?! That Feng?! It all makes sense now!
Feng is waiting on his student to surpass him and needs him to get as strong as possible so that he can have a fitting opponent someday. You know, like a certain other "Best in the World" from another series:
Each of them promise to wait as long as it takes for their student to reach their level, too! Feng has an even more Mihawk-ish quote later in the story, one that almost matches word for word.
But unlike my beloved Mihawk, Feng specifically promised not to age, which is a bit of an odd thing to say unless it's related to his negation ability.
Back to the battle, Shen immediately uses Untruth as he and Feng charge at each other with the sun shining over both of them as in the panels from the previous chapter.
Oho.
Feng is surprised, but Untruth doesn't seem to throw him off his game too badly. Narration boxes explain how Shen's ability isn't foolproof. He has to keep in mind everything he knows about his opponent's skills, tendencies, mood, and the chances of his ability backfiring--all in real time during a fight. He basically has to think for two people during a battle.
That last panel is so pretty!
Shen realizes that this guy is going to be more trouble than he'd thought! He begins to put the puzzle together:
Andy and Fuuko hadn't had a chance to tell Shen about Life Is Strange and its anti-aging abilities because the battle started almost as soon as they arrived.
Feng's style name is written on his outfit. It has the Under symbol and then 八极 "baji" in simplified Mandarin.
Baji is short for Bajiquan, a Chinese martial arts style. Feng has his own variant style of baji, but we haven't yet learned its name. When Feng uses the Zhen Jiao step-in, Shen recognizes it as one of the fundamental moves of baji and it adds to his suspicions that this mystery opponent has the same fighting style as his old master.
It's a quick, explosive, close-quarters kind of combat that's honestly terrifying:
youtube
After escaping with the step-in, Feng soars high above and shields himself with one of the jiangshi. Shen remarks that using a "human" shield to block attacks is something his old master would do--we're slowly learning more and more that Feng might not have been a very caring teacher...
Feng, wearing a hooded robe the entire time and concealing his identity from almost everyone in the series: "Heh, I suppose it's no wonder you don't know who I am!" Yeah, no shit. That's how disguises work!
Shen proves once again that he has no sentimental reservations about punching the zombified corpse of his former rival, but Feng spins away from the punch and lines up for his next wicked sick move.
Bajiquan's most famous move is the tetsuzanko 鉄山靠, "iron mountain lean," a kind of shoulder check/throw/battering ram. Feng's version is called hakkaizanko 捌廻山靠 "eight cycle mountain strike/lean."
youtube
It's a well-known baji move with Feng's own spin on it. He hits Shen so hard that he has a flashback!
"Aren't schools supposed to be free of dummies" is hilarious, but in just a few pages, Shen says that he can't go to school because he's a dummy. Poor kid! He doesn't even think he belongs in school! He has a lot of confidence in his strength, but not in his smarts. It's especially sad because we know that Shen's actually not dumb at all! T.T
Was Feng really joking though? He's so hard to read!
The siblings go outside to train under the full moon. Mei learns the tetsuzanko and appears to master it in a short time-- but the sfx covers up her joyful moment in the last panel, and it continues across each panel of the flashback as Feng's true nature is revealed.
"Rather than having three disciples, what if I just have one extremely traumatized disciple?"
Feng was never interested in training Shen for Shen's sake. He wasn't trying to get all the glory for himself, either. I mean, he could've won that tournament hands-down if he wanted to, but he didn't even try (and we see here that he could easily beat the current champion). All that Feng wanted was to train someone who could get strong enough to give him a good fight, and he was willing to hurt that person as much as he could in order to make them into a meaner, stronger version of themselves.
The story cuts back to the present and we FINALLY see Feng's face! Noooooo, he's handsome! How can I hate him now?!?!
I don't think we've ever seen Shen look like this before. He has the same wild look in his eyes as he did when Feng first recruited him! Now Feng is hoping to use that wild side of Shen to create his ideal opponent. Is Shen just taking the bait?
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Ch 58: Eyes of the Dragon
This chapter starts with three lead pages before the title page, which I think is a new record for UU. Tozuka's like HERE TAKE THIS FLASHBACK, TOO! WE CAN MAKE IT FIT!
He really makes the best appetizers, too, bc Shen's origin story is guaranteed to be interesting. Unlike some of the other Negators, his life was already rough even before his ability awakened; maybe that's why he relies on his physical strength more than his ability since it's just second nature to him.
It turns out that Shen was once a fighting street urchin with a heart of gold! Notice how Mei is telling him in this scene and the scene from the previous chapter that she already has enough and Shen doesn't have to fight. But Shen isn't easily satisfied!
Little Shen was a streetwise orphan who wasn't content to just exist. Something was always driving him to try to create a better version of himself and the lives of those around him.
Unfortunately, Shen wasn't able to win the tournament. Still, his showing as the untrained-but-incredibly-gifted-kid was enough to gather the attention of someone.
Shen has a Xianxia origin story: A plucky orphan who has some kind of unquenchable drive for strength, plus a dependent sibling and "eyes of the dragon," is recruited by an old master whose current #1 student is poised to become an unwilling rival, and so he joins his mysterious martial arts school to train to become the very best. We're still missing some Chinese magicians, alchemy, and immortal hermits to complete the genre lmao. Tozuka may yet surprise us!
His teacher's ability to sense strong chi/ki/talent will be important to the story later.
But first, the title page:
Poor Shen! He really would've enjoyed training that way! He just can't sleep at night knowing that there might be strong opponents out there.
"Hey, Shen, I heard you're pretty strong!"
Shen's like a little brother trying to get all the JUICY DETAILS about Andy's EXCITING ADVENTURES and TALES OF COMBAT while Andy's like "Actually it was extremely traumatizing. So anyway, about the firework monsters..."
A mysterious staff appears! And is that Summer's core?
The Summer arc has so many gorgeous panels. I really like the white space in the next one.
It's Feng! And he's put the core into one of the Juniors before setting them loose to cause destruction.
The UMAs take off and shoot vertically up the skyscraper. Andy tells Shen to stay back and fight Feng, but Shen's already gone!
Fuuko and Mui both get caught in the crossfire of the guys yelling at each other.
Feng scoffs at Shen because he eagerly chased after the Juniors instead of recognizing that Feng was the greater threat. It seems that Shen hasn't yet mastered the ability to sense a person's strength.
Another zombie fight! Feng's prayer beads produce four jiangshi who take fighting stances. Shen hits that subscribe button right away.
This is finally Shen's chance to fight the great fighters of the past, just like he wanted!! Just look how happy he is!
The jiangshi attack at the same time with a variety of styles, kind of like the enemies Bruce Lee faces as he fights his way up the tower in the movie Game of Death. He also fights Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which is totally worth watching.
Interestingly, Game of Death is an unfinished movie. I believe that fact gives us a clue about the Artifact of the same name in UU, but I'll have to come back to that later.
Shen uses his ability in a fabulous double spread. He's literally punching their faces in! That's our boy!
But something interrupts his smile...
Even though he beat all four easily, both Shen and Mui are unsettled. He has a dark shadow on his face instead of his usual grin, and she's worried what this means for Shen's future.
Holy shit! It's that guy who beat Shen at the tournament in the flashback! And Feng killed him at some point?! If Feng has already killed off Shen's old rivals, then Mui is right to be worried.
This spread is so cool. Feng was testing the waters with Shen, asking if his emotions would affect his fighting. Shen reassured Feng that he was just here to test his own strength and find satisfaction in the battle itself, and Feng grinned right back at him. These two seem like a perfect match!
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Ch 57: Jīngcǎi
The chapter starts with a flashback to Shen's childhood. We're used to seeing him as a grinning battle maniac, but as a child he looks serious and sad. He still has the same confidence and protectiveness though!
We don't get to see the fight between Shen and the bullies, but he's hardly moved at all in the aftermath. The girl behind him is in the same pose, too. Did lil' Shen just clean sweep all three of these ADULTS?
Shen's been baiting bullies into fights and then taking their money! What a little schemer! But he still looks so sad even after he's won the fight...
Shen's little sister is Mei, and she looks and acts a lot like Mui. He's just as protective over her as he is with Mui, too. The panel with the sun over his head represents his wish to be the strongest under heaven-- and it's still there over the adult Shen in present day.
These panels are so gorgeous! Since Shen is usually smiling, his worried frown really drives home how painful those memories are.
Summer's Juniors look like smoke bombs or mortar fireworks with little fuses for mustaches.
While he's lost in the flashback, Mui saves him from a Junior! We finally get to see her fight! Look at her go!
And as soon as we learn about Shen's backstory and see him making a hilarious face we've never seen before, we also get to see a different side of Mui.
In most of her appearances, Mui has been following Shen around and fretting over him as she takes orders. But now, she's going out of her way to protect him and even going behind his back to do so! I'm digging proactive!Mui and dying to know about each of her eight (!) Artifacts.
Mui and Shen look so cute here. She tries to explain that she only wants to help, but Shen won't hear it. However, he doesn't make her give up the Artifacts or promise to stop trying to fight-- instead, he punishes her with a childish game that doesn't really seem to help either of them...
And it's a gag, but also not a gag. Up until now, it would be reasonable to assume that Shen came from a wealthy family of storied martial artists and that Mui is the servant who's sworn to protect him but also secretly in love with him.
Instead, we learn that Shen was a street orphan with a little sister who was pretty similar to Mui. So just how and why did Mui find Shen and decide to follow him? Why is she so devoted? Why does he treat her like a servant if she's actually not obliged to him?
There's a bit of tension and confusion in their relationship. They go back and forth between lord/servant and standing on equal footing with each other, and this page ⬆️shows the entire process: Shen believes that he wields all the power in the relationship, but hearing Mui insult him brings him to tears, and she can further equalize the gap between them by becoming a fighter. Their relationship is not as clear cut as it once seemed and there's a lot of flux going on in the background.
Their "are they or aren't they??" relationship is similar to Rip and Latla's.
How does Mui speak Chinese already? The answer is clearer in Japanese! Her Chinese speech is written in katakana, as if she's still learning how to pronounce it. Shen's been teaching her Chinese! There's also a cute "Mui's Chinese lesson" extra in the volume.
Also, Andy and Fuuko's faces are hilarious. They're watching this whole weird double-masochism ritual like, "Oh wow, these people have a weird relationship. Not us though. Nope."
Fuuko tries to clarify:
So neither Fuuko nor Mui know that Shen has to be fond of his target in order to use Untruth! Why all the secrets??
Before I go off on a tangent about the timing of this chapter, please stop to appreciate Top and his hands in his pockets as he boings across the rooftops of Taipei.
The dossier says that Summer seeks out gunpowder and fuel, so the Union is waiting near the Taipei 101 building, which has been rigged with fireworks for New Year's Eve. When this chapter came out, Tozuka had the timeline wrong and he had to issue a correction where Fuuko and Andy are holding a press conference to apologize!
The page above is the original version that assumed January 1 had already passed, and the page below is the corrected version from the volume that says NYE has not yet occurred.
No matter what time of year it is, Shen is always ready to goad Andy/Victor into a fight!
Didn't he learn anything from the last time Victor got out and ran rampant?! Shen just can't help himself from wanting to fight Victor bc Victor represents the pinnacle of strength to him. (But since Mui can hurt him so easily, maybe she's the true rival for Shen!)
Also this entire chapter has really pretty use of light and shadow. Tozuka is really great at using (and not overusing) tones!
Suddenly, a large Junior appears, and Shen is eager to watch Andy fight it. Andy mentions that it's odd that this one is so big when there shouldn't be any fuel available for it.
Shen uses his ability to force Andy to attack.
Lol poor Andy! But Shen didn't do it because he's a slacker--he did it because he wants to push Andy/Victor into the strongest form.
We see who's been feeding the Juniors. It's Feng!
The Junior explodes into fireworks, signaling the start of the battle. Interestingly, Shen repeats the same word as Feng with a little frown on his face. What happened to his eager smile? Is he dismayed to see how much stronger Andy has gotten?
In the battle with Autumn, the Union had to team up with Under to win, but this fight will be against Feng and Summer. What kind of tricks does he have up his sleeve? And when will we see his face??
Masterpost
#undead unluck#overreading undead unluck#sorry my posts slowed down for a while#should be back on track now#so busy lately!
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Ch 56: Because You Believe
Three chapters ago, Billy claimed not to have any tea.
However, this chapter is overflowing with 100% undiluted tea, including shocking and unimaginable teas that we didn't even know existed. WHERE DO HIS LIES END?!?!
Prepare yourselves, because this chapter is wild!
It starts with a redraw of the final scene of the previous chapter, except this time Juiz adds, "I thought you betrayed us." The fact that Billy isn't acting like the villain and fighting her to the death has upset Juiz's clear-cut sense of right and wrong. She's torn by the possibility that he's not fully committed to this divergent course.
In other words, she's saying that if he wants to be a villain, then he should act like one.
And then HOLY SHIT BILLY'S BEEN PLAYING THE LONG GAME! How villainous!
Never once?! Up until now, it seemed like Billy's rebellion might have been a rejection of Juiz's leadership or maybe he had a different idea of what the Union goal should be. It was plausible that he only decided to rebel and form Under due to some grievance.
BUT, NO, HE'S BEEN PLANNING THIS FROM THE START?! Incredible! Preposterous! Outrageous!
And yet, the flashbacks that follow aren't of him scheming and pouting over the years... He looks happy!
We see Juiz giving him his sunglasses, Nico giving him his spurs, and Billy laughing with his team. Was it all a lie?
"Simply the ammo that I need to defeat God."
Has Billy been collecting abilities all this time to add to his arsenal? Just how many has he copied? And why does he want to defeat God? If his reasoning is the same as Juiz's, then what's the point of rebelling?
Even saving Tatiana was just a ploy? How could he be so cruel to a little kid?!
He says that finding Andy and Fuuko granted him a full arsenal and allowed him to move forward with the rebellion. He keeps describing this in military terms like a general who's had everything planned out, but it's looking like he spent too much time collecting weapons and resources when he still lacked A LOT of information about the nature of the world.
Juiz has heard enough! She's gonna call his bluff and force him to fight for his beliefs. She still sees herself as his boss, and she wants to bring him back to the Union nest like a mother cat.
Juiz charges toward Billy. He's stated his beliefs--almost purposefully laying out his "vision of justice" for her, and she believes him. Knowing that, she believes that her ability will cause him to attack himself or Tella, giving her an opening to non-lethally behead him.
But unfortunately, Juiz has been tricked again. Alas.
Instead of harming himself or Tella, Billy SHOOTS OFF JUIZ'S ARM!
And everyone is stunned except Billy. He won't even look. This is horrible!
Shooting Juiz went against Billy's sense of justice, but how? I see two possibilities:
Billy's justice wanted to kill Juiz, but Unjustice caused him to only wound her.
Billy's justice didn't want to kill Juiz, but Unjustice caused him to shoot her anyway. He mitigated the damage by aiming at her arm instead of a more deadly target.
And Billy is still trying to kill her even after she used Unjustice, so it seems he really does want her dead (or at least wants her to believe that he wants her dead?)
He couldn't use Unjustice because she believed in him? He used it on Tatiana, and she definitely believed in him! Just what exactly is the condition for Billy's copy ability?
Juiz calls for UMA Move. I never realized Move could work that fast!
"Hello, dearies. If it's not too much trouble, might you find the time to staunch this trifling little inconvenience I'm experiencing? It's just a minor issue, no worries." Oh Juiz, always trying to take too much on herself...
She's still keeping secrets! Nico is rude, but he's not wrong. And how the hell is she gonna hide a missing arm?!
Billy's plan keeps moving forward after the interruption from Juiz. Just how far has he planned?
Billy is betting that Feng can defeat both Fuuko and Andy (plus the rest of the team on the Summer mission?) He needs Fuuko's ability if he's going to be able to defeat God, but it's still not clear what the conditions are for Billy's copying.
Juiz's sword and arm are left behind. Without her weapon, how can she fight Billy when his motives are still so unclear?!
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Ch 55: Use Your Rules
Oh fun! An old-fashioned human+monster 2-on-2!
I'm not sure what this kind of mixed-doubles fight genre is called, but it's different than regular summoning where the humans just sit back and watch--Otherwise I would've filled this page with tokusatsu gifs like I really wanted to
The chapter title "Use Your Rules" already reminded me of this meme and then Tozuka had to go and give Spoil that face, so this happened...
I am so sorry everyone the doctors say my brain is spoiled
Poor Spoil. He's really going through it!
Juiz tells him that even if she eliminated him, another rule would compensate for his loss. That's an interesting idea in UU and it explains why they had a concept of "years" even though they didn't have Revolution in place.
The idea that the world will "fill in the gaps" if a rule goes missing raises the question of what is considered a necessary or sufficient aspect of the world. In Ch 14, Spoil claimed to be a necessary rule ⬇️
Maybe he just has an inflated ego and he's not actually necessary. Or is Juiz just bluffing when she says that he's replaceable? He might just be jabbering, though. He was in a very different situation when he was bragging to Fuuko!
Wow, Juiz is scary!
She immediately informs him that he's at a disadvantage-- it's crazy how many steps ahead she's already planned for. She knew Billy's plan, his goal, his weapon, etc, and she knew how their Pokemon would match up.
Spoil's such a brat! I love him! He's not even looking at Burn when he shoots; he's looking at Juiz because he's about to say, "See? I told you!"
But he gets socked in the jaw by Burn instead.
Poor lil feller
Billy tells Tella to stay back and that he'll handle the situation. Is he really planning to kill Juiz?!
It looks like Billy might be thinking the same thing Tella's saying.
Juiz's focus and speed with her saber is ridiculous!
My love for Mihawk knows no bounds, but Juiz did that with a smaller sword and at a shorter distance, j/s. Then again, he's lazy and she's a go-getter, so it makes sense.
I love the layout on the next page.
Unfortunately, that's kind of true for Juiz as far as Union leadership, as well. Because Juiz is so honest to her own sense of right and wrong, her actions can be predictable.
She uses Unjustice on Burn, who GRRR?s back at her. Can Burn not speak at all?
Acting against his sense of Justice, Burn blocks Billy's bullet from hitting Juiz, revealing that Burn really is on Billy's side, and not just a hostage. Spoil can't resist trolling.
"Mr. Stubble!" I'm glad someone acknowledged it! Billy's been out here in the wild for a while now...
What's the favor that Burn is paying back to Billy?
Concept-types seem to be more overarching and multifaceted compared to phenomenon-types. Winter has more going on than just being cold, for example.
Is this why Spoil has a chip on his shoulder? Does he have a bit of an inferiority complex caused by God's favoritism and phenomenon-types being snobby to him? Or maybe he's just kind of a SPOILed brat and so he likes to complain about others-- it won't be clearer until we meet more UMAs that show inter-UMA dynamics lol.
To illustrate his point, Burn shines a bright light into the sky. It seems the favor he owes Billy is that Billy has given him a chance to meet his "maker."
Interestingly, Spoil can understand Burn! I wonder if Billy also had a way to talk to Burn and negotiate their partnership. Could he have used a version of Tella's equipment to allow Burn to speak?
The "childhood memories" line cracks me up. It hadn't even occurred to me that UMA would have life stages.
Use your rules to make humans suffer? WTF, God? Because it seems like some of these rules could be used to help humans under the right circumstances, like Burn providing warmth or Clothy making clothes. So if there's a specific directive to be malicious about it, then it means that God really is only interested in making the humans miserable to force them to try to overcome their circumstances.
Billy assumed that Spoil was aiming at him, but the beam actually hit the ground. From the way Spoil thinks aloud, ("So I can start shooting once he uses Unstoppable, was that it?") it's obvious that Juiz has instructed him on what to do here, and he's surprisingly obedient.
Her plan worked, and Billy gets hit with the Spoil beam. Tella is AGHAST. Billy had told him he'd take care of everything, and Tella never doubted him. Even so, he doesn't rush forward to get involved--he stays back and follows orders.
We know that Billy can use Unjustice because he used it on Tatiana. So why won't he use it on Juiz? He claims that her mindset is predictable and easy to read, so it's probably safe to assume what her vision of justice is, yet he still doesn't try to negate it.
If Billy is holding back, it could be that he simply doesn't want to kill the person who has the most information about the way this world works. Juiz's tears are sincere, but Billy's still hiding something...
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Ch 54: Hope
Tozuka likes to visually contrast his characters and this chapter has some great moments. I love how the light plays on their faces on this cover-- Juiz looks divine and Billy looks human.
Billy's friend is named Tella, and it's kinda obvious what his Negation ability is. I love how his antenna looks like the Under logo. In just a few panels, we learn a lot about him.
Tella is extremely loyal to Billy and follows him unquestioningly. As the radioman, he would've needed to stick close to Billy constantly during their mercenary days, so they were already quite close before Under began. If Billy is concerned that Tella could be an easy target for Juiz's ability, it's because Tella's loyalty to Billy is especially strong and pure.
Juiz plays narrator in this scene, standing straight and tall as she explains Billy's plan while he sits in silence, mostly avoiding eye contact with her.
What does Billy want to do with Ark?
The only way he could've thought that would make a decent trade is if he doesn't really know how the Loops work...
Juiz doesn't hold a grudge against him for the rebellion. She'd rather keep working together to collect Artifacts so they can reach their true goal of killing God.
Billy looks surprised that she'd offer to forgive him. His eyes look like he can't forgive himself, either.
Billy is unshaven-- scruffy, even--sitting down and side-eyeing Juiz. His face is drawn with a lot of worry lines and tired creases. Juiz's face is as smooth as a doll's and her eyes look straight ahead.
OK, first of all THAT HEART! What's that?! We've seen all of the other Artifacts in this panel, but the little heart is something new. I really hope it's a D. Gray-Man reference, but it could be Sailor Moon or something entirely different. It kind of looks like folded paper, so maybe it's a Valentine??
And the lore keeps coming! The Artifacts were created by God to defeat God?! Is God just that much of a masochist?
If UU is a metaphor for writing and God is the author, then it would make sense for them to have given the characters tools they could use to challenge the plot and to keep things interesting. A little bit of danger and tension to move the plot along...
It's curious how they seem to be parts of a suit of armor. Are they intended to used by one character who wields all of them or divvied among many characters? Does each Negator have an ideal Artifact?
Back to the conversation, IMO Billy's right to be resentful of the way Juiz has hidden this info for so long. These people were trusting her with their lives, and yet she was the only one who knew the whole story. I don't blame him a bit for being pissed. As a mercenary, he trusted his crew fully, as we can see with Tella.
Juiz has a traditional, top-down style of leadership that depends on a hierarchy (despite the fact that it's called a Round Table). She gives the orders, and the Union follows them even if they don't fully understand the situation until after the mission. When they report to her, she says things like, "That's what I thought..." but there doesn't seem to be any reason for her to have been so cagy.
Billy asks her how she even found out about the origins of the Artifacts, and she opens an entire new can of worms by talking about Ark.
EXCUSE ME?!?
The loops don't just go on forever?! Ark has a limit? Why? How? WTF even is Ark?
I love this page.
The backgrounds, the expressions, the clothes and hair--even how tightly their coats are fastened is contrasted here. It gets even more topsy-turvy because both of them are acting outside of their usual personalities: Juiz has begun to be honest with Billy while he's let his cool, no worries, gunslinger persona slip into a slightly vulnerable, sullen, and wounded version we've never seen.
What will happen when Ark runs out of gas? Does that symbolize an author giving up on writing a good story? What happens to God if this world is destroyed for good? What happens to Victor?
Juiz tells him that Ark can only take one person and informs him that there's no way he could make enough progress to gather Negators and Artifacts in just one attempt. After all, she's looped enough times that she knows what would change about the world and what wouldn't, along with how to use all the Artifacts.
For the first time in the conversation, Billy stands and meets her gaze, demanding to know why she kept all this info to herself.
Now she's the one avoiding eye contact.
(Also, it kinda sounds like she explained it all to one person, but it didn't work out so she just never tried to tell anyone else. Is that true? She never explained everything to anyone except Victor? Not even in any of the other Loops?)
Victor such a bossy pants. (Also that flashback in black and white representing their black and white outlook...)
I wonder what happened that made Victor say it was all too much for her. What was the straw that broke the camel's back? Could it have been that Juiz and Victor had some major setback or defeat? Was it that the Lincoln assassination wasn't prevented??
Or was it that Victor somehow knew that the Ark was running out of fuel, so he wanted Juiz to go live a regular life and just give up on the idea of killing God? Maybe he thinks ignorance would be bliss and the Negators should just do their best to live normal lives without worrying about all this stuff going on behind the curtain.
Juiz is so pretty I can't even
He just wanted her to be happy and not have to live with the burden of being the leader of the Negators and having a near-impossible mission Groundhog Day existence. That's really sweet, but... killing God would allow everyone to be happy and live without so much suffering.
FINALLY, Juiz tells Billy that she'll tell him everything. It's cool how she extends across two panels on this page like she's stepping outside of her usual comfort zone.
How much does Juiz really know about Billy's ability? Was she already aware of it from previous Loops? How much does she know about the potential of all the abilities?
FUUKO IS THE ONE! Victor knows it! Juiz knows it! Andy knows it! Akira knows it! Fuuko is our special miracle girl! And with that revelation, Juiz asks Billy to rejoin her.
But Billy seems uninspired. And his expression changed to something more certain and determined.
He calls out to Tella to pass him a cube, and Tella immediately springs into action. He's so incredibly dependable, PLUS this means he's been listening to the entire convo and was never out of the loop (hehe) on what was being said. It implies a level of transparency he has with his team (or at least with Tella) that Juiz didn't have with hers.
I love his line here. "You've always been right. But that's not good enough." Absolutely ice cold.
UMA Burn eats the cube and begins to transform. Meanwhile, Juiz pulls out her own pokeball and feeds it a cube. Spoil, that delightful imp, immediately begins trash talking. Bless him.
Billy and Juiz face off with these almost-smiles on their faces like they both knew it would come to this. They each know the other is too stubborn and idealistic to back down.
And they're not just going to let their UMA battle it out, since they each draw their weapons. Juiz admitted earlier that Billy's power was more useful than hers. Does she really think she can overpower him here? And will we be getting more sassy Spoil one-liners?
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I'll be back soon-- currently battling UMA Spring allergies
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pretty pretty Rip Tristan in ch 53
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Ch 53: Have Any Black Tea?
Latla is trying to keep Bunny from dropping the core while Fuuko helps Andy get up. Everyone else is doing post-battle things, but Rip is just staring sadly...
Andy's making a point that the six of them didn't just win the battle-- all six of them survived, even Akira.
Rip tells Latla to take the Soul Caliber that remained after Anno Un disappeared, and Fuuko surprises Rip by thanking him and suggesting that he should join the Union.
Fuuko's a very motivated recruiter! She's like a corporate headhunter or a college recruiter. Rip, we offer competitive performance bonuses!
But that's just how Fuuko is! She always wants to work things out and resolve differences. She has a real unconditional love for others.
Rip had tried to recruit them when he visited them at Chikara's school, but his motivations were probably not based in his love for humanity--just look at how he treated Sean after recruiting him! Rip only wants allies to help him achieve a certain goal:
"From Under her" lol
He's not wrong. Juiz has kept a lot of information from people while expecting them to risk their lives for her cause. She's tried to shoulder it all herself, and in a way she's treated her team as if they couldn't handle the truth or might throw a wrench in her plan if they knew the truth.
And speaking of honesty, Rip and Fuuko are having a really sincere conversation right now! Neither she or Rip hold grudges, it seems.
Latla's "..." is interesting. She's basically devoted herself to Rip and yet he considers someone else to be his everything. Rip and Latla seem like a couple sometimes, but she knows that his heart belongs to her sister and that Leila is his true goal. Poor Latla!
Bunny returns Fuuko's gun and Autumn's core, which have been put into white spheres that Bunny labels with a squeaky marker, which is a cute detail.
Fuuko makes amends with Bunny and uses her catchphrase back to her. She's always so good with kids!
Latla hands Fuuko the broken pieces of the G Liner pen. Rip had only told her to get Soul Caliber, but she made a point to get the pen also and to present it to Fuuko. That's really thoughtful of her--she knows how painful loss can be and how keeping a memento can help. After all, Rip wears the earrings that Leila wore.
Rip asks Andy who Anno was and Andy answers that he was a Negator with the power Unknown. Once again, Andy is great at figuring out other people's abilities. He analyzes everything to try to discover what rules govern their power.
Rip says he hopes they meet again, and then Fuuko collapses in exhaustion onto Andy's chest. Oh yes, she does.
YES! Cuddling outside of battle! It's finally happening!
"Only ten years'' is still a crazy long time to be inside the hyperbolic time chamber book. Now they know each other even better than before and can work together seamlessly. Also, Fuuko's not as embarrassed to be close to him anymore and it's just so sweet how much they trust each other.
Juiz and her team are still in Taipei hunting UMA Summer. She's also still looking damn cool in her regular Union uniform.
The team is fighting some sort of little round creatures (Juniors?) that are causing chaos. She explains her theory about Akira.
UMA Information sounds kinda cheap tbh. How are you gonna put all that information inside "something" and then not reveal what or where that "something" is?! Juiz is right--God is actively working against humanity.
And then God takes it one step further-- even if you DO manage to find the artifact, you'll be stricken with a Negator ability that prevents you from sharing it. God is such a whiny baby. A goalpost-mover. A cheat!
That fits in with my theory that UU is about writing. Authors often nerf situations or characters because they've written themselves into a corner or have poorly set up a plotline. I'm not saying Tozuka is a bad author, btw (I think he's a genius) but this does reflect the way audiences react when things like that happen in manga.
But Akira found a way to work around the obstacles God had given him and used a loophole to get his message to the Negators. I like to think that God had no clue what Akira/Anno were up to because they thought they'd been successfully fridged.
We get another adorable page and a gag that gives our stoic Juiz a sweat drop of concern.
Say what?!
Andy didn't offer any clarification.
She tells them to head to Taiwan to help fight UMA Summer. The little round creatures are definitely up to something!
A friend??? And also, she looks great in that coat.
The story cuts to a snowstorm in the mountains. Someone has been watching the battle with Autumn.
Someone who uses a speaker to communicate is talking to another person. It seems they want to come down harsh on Rip's team, but the other person defends them.
Oh snap, it's Billy! He's the "friend" Juiz went to meet. Billy says he already sensed that she'd arrived. Interestingly, they both realize the importance of Fuuko's power.
We're also reminded that Billy can see now since there's two panels of him side-eyeing Juiz.
Billy and his accomplice are sitting around UMA Burn's core to warm themselves. They must be searching for UMA Winter, but they certainly don't look to be in any hurry. Is there anything she could say to change his mind at this point?
Masterpost
🍀☠️🍀☠️🍀☠️🍀☠️
PS: I couldn't help but notice all the pretty pretty bishounen Rip panels in this chapter. Tozuka is definitely doing this on purpose! He revealed that Rip is only a villain in order to save a person who's everything to him, then drew him looking all dreamy for half the chapter lmao. The perfect formula.
Anyway, I made a gif for the Rip lovers out there. To You, From Me!
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Ch 52: To You, From Me
Rip: "Want me to pick you up, too?"
Latla: "I hope no one tags me in this..."
And that boy's name was Abraham Lincoln.
This chapter is all about Akira/Anno Un. For plot purposes, UU focuses on how his manga helped the Negators, but there are surely a lot of regular people who love it, too--Fuuko's mom, for one! It holds the record for the longest-running shoujo manga for a reason.
Andy and Tatiana both enjoyed it before they knew about its importance, too. It stands on its own as a story even if the reader doesn't know that it predicts the future, because it's a great story! Fuuko told Top that it was the "gold standard for long-running shoujo manga" and both she and Tatiana were SHOCKED that a young person like Top hadn't heard of it. I wonder what the normal fans would think if they learned its true purpose!
I just realized that if little Akira hadn't been a manga fan, he might've done something else with the story he saw, like make it into a movie or children's books or a spoken word album or an interpretive dance or something. Or even just kept it to himself! And if that had happened, there's a chance that Fuuko would've never known about it, Juiz would've never put the puzzle together, and the people who needed to hear the story might not have ever encountered it.
But the fact that the object he picked up was a G Liner seals the deal. It's for drawing manga! It's like God/the Author/whoever put it there was gently nudging him to make this story into a manga instead of any other medium.
The flashback continues in narration boxes while the current story moves ahead. Rip is running along Autumn's claw while Latla and Bunny get in close.
"Despite that, he never gave up on life, in part because of his mother's desire for him to stay alive. But the other reason...."
TOZUKAAAA!!!! Yes!! I love this!
He had to have a close relationship with a good parent or else the manga may have never happened. What if Akira hadn't overheard her hopes for him? Or if she'd given up on him?
It's all set up so perfectly! And Akira having a loving parent is the key to all of it working out. He wrote all of it with her in mind, even the title! And it did find its way to her, though Anno Un was too late to meet her in person.
I just love that he prefaces the fact that the characters kept him alive with "AND HE HAD A WONDERFUL MOTHER." It's nice to see that.
That's a lot to put on a kid! Poor Akira!
If the bad ending was that the world ended because Fuuko died, it's probably bc killing God is only possible with her Negation abilities and personality, but also hear me out: (ch 16⬇️)
Fuuko's death may have broken Andy, too, and with him weakened, Victor would come out to try to kill Juiz, and then who knows who would ride the Ark!?!
The one-shot contest Akira won was likely in the 70s, judging by the name of the magazine, so by now he's had like 30 years of drawing these characters and writing stories for them. He's their #1 fan! He loves them! How could he not? He doesn't want to see them defeated.
(And that's the difference between Anno Un and God/The Author in the UU-verse. Anno Un knows they're real and wants to help them. God may or may not know the characters are sentient, but only wants to see them defeated...)
Akira found a loophole to his ability by manifesting Anno Un to do the work for him! Has he just been following Anno everywhere all these years?
It seems like Akira may have taken out his soul with Soul Caliber and put it into Anno Un, but I still have questions:
If Akira's body was without a soul, then was his body just hanging out unnoticed somewhere like Fuuko's was when she was in the book?
How did Akira's soul get back into his body at the end of this chapter?
If you have theories, please send them!
Meanwhile, Andy and Rip begin the main attack on Autumn in a very wicked double spread
Hit 'em with the double moons! Without Rip, they couldn't have pulled this off!
The pen shattering as a punishment for changing the future is just cruel! Did God just expect him to live with that knowledge and not try to change it? Or was God afraid of what else Akira might tell them now if he could?
Latla swoops in on her broom-cycle with Bunny and Fuuko and Bunny grabs the core as Andy sets up a Volcano Unluck Bullet.
All of those pieces had to work together and maximize the way their skills could combine for Autumn to be captured. But now that Latla has the core, will the Union be able to get it back?
Awww, that's what Fuuko told Cap'n Andy at the cabin in the book! It makes sense that Andy would be the one to reach out to Akira. He knows what it's like to lose people and how alone Akira must feel.
In the anime, the voice actor for Anno Un, Akira, and the narrator are all the same person, so these narration boxes are Akira's voice speaking and talking about himself in 3rd person.
And we finally see Akira as an older man. He hasn't been acknowledged by another person in so long! Granted, Andy calls him "Anno," which is probably just how it has to be since no one can know about Akira. Still, a fist bump is a fist bump.
"To You, From Me," was a phrase that summarized Akira's feelings toward his mom, but it's also what Andy is giving back to him. Akira's ability forced him to live in a situation where he could only GIVE, never receive. He gave advice. He shared his work. He gave life to a drawing, then gave that drawing his name, his soul, and his fame.
But he couldn't receive things from others because no one could perceive him. Andy's fist bump is the first thing he's received in so long! I wish The Union could find a way to contain his ability and let him live a normal life, like what happened with Tatiana, but his requirements are so strict that there probably isn't a way around it. Still, it would be fun to see him stick around.
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Ch 51: Hero
Teacher just assigned a group project and then left.
The chapter starts with a Fuuko flashback:
The way her parents are looking at her in the picture 😭
Fuuko's grandpa's hat! So that's where she got it! That's too sweet. She's lucky to have had such a thoughtful person to look after her once her abilities manifested. He shaped the way she thought about herself and how she dealt with trauma, too.
You-Me was with her even when she was all alone. It was there whether she was happy or sad, and it was full of people she could care about without worrying about hurting them.
Too relatable. Anno Un gave Fuuko a reason to keep fighting, and Fuuko had unknowingly given Akira a reason to keep fighting decades before. Writers sustain readers and readers sustain writers.
Rip calls Anno Un a man here, even in Japanese. It's the first time we've heard him gendered. Everything about him has been so ambiguous!
Speaking of ambiguity, we're beginning to see another side to Rip. Maybe he's just being curious, but it seems like he's acting a little more vulnerable around the others now.
Fuuko lists all the things Anno Un did for them even while he called them the "heroes."
Fuuko is right about those things being necessary to defeat Autumn, but they're all a smaller part of defeating God! Will Rip's team join the Union cause?
Andy's definitely a Teamster.
Anyway, the point is that despite the fact that Anno Un called them heroes, Rip doesn't want to play that part.
We see Rip, Latla, and Leila at some point in the past walking in a forest of maple trees. Rip has a doctor's coat and is smiling while pushing Leila's chair. Note the leaves on either side of Leila--one is upside down and the other right side up.
Leila is smiling back at him and wears a plaid scarf and at least one of the earrings current Rip wears. Latla has on what looks like a high-neck, ankle-length dress, which means she's either rich or goth, lol. Probably rich, judging from the way she currently dresses. I really love how she looks in that top panel. So soft!
Andy takes the lead and assigns roles for the group. He's already analyzed how to best use everyone's abilities and how to use them in a complementary way. Bunny agrees right away, but Rip and Latla balk at being told what to do.
Andy has the best one liners!
Autumn absorbs its Juniors to level up! And things get weirder. Phase 2 Autumn attacks Andy, and he almost gets crushed in a book. Meanwhile, Rip is remembering Leila.
This might be crazy, but we've had maple leaves appear a lot in this arc. Of course they're a symbol of Autumn, but look how the one in the last panel of Leila resembles the Under symbol Latla wears in her hair!
Also, the Under symbol is the kanji for "Un-" 不 turned upside down. Doesn't it kind of resemble a maple leaf? It's so perfect for this scene!
So that's why Rip was so shocked when Anno Un called him a hero! Does he attack out of anger, or out of newfound commitment to being a hero??? (Also, Andy's face)
Such a cool spread! A rare sly smile from Latla, too! Her reverse-prediction restored everyone's spirit. And we finally get to see the broom-cycle up close! I wonder how they acquired it.
Looking back through this chapter, there are so many new facial expressions from Rip. There's a side of him that he doesn't show--we as readers see it, but Latla is the only other person who really knows him. He's cultivated this image of someone who can drop others in a heartbeat, but that's only because of someone he can't forget.
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Ch 50: It's Up to You Now
Failure Is Not An Option: A Shoujo Story About Love and Monsters
UMA Autumn has gotten both bigger and stronger from eating people while Fuuko and Andy were in the book. Andy suggests that it's starting to enter its second phase and busts out a new move:
Autumn can regenerate! That's perfect for Rip, except...
he can't even injure it in the first place because he's still just a kid!
We get to see Latla's ride, and it's a motorized broom of some kind. I hadn't really thought of her as a witch before this, but I guess it makes sense since she can predict the future. Her side-saddle riding is so cute. Is Latla a magical girl now?
She's got her back turned to Autumn both because it's gross and so she can make a quick getaway if she needs to. I don't blame her tbh.
Anno Un says they'll draw an Artifact that can capture Autumn while the group distracts it. Rip asks Latla to fact check Anno Un and we FINALLY get an explanation for her ability.
Also, I kinda can't believe Viz hasn't fixed Andy's typo in the first panel. I wonder if they fixed it in the print edition. UU is usually pretty clean, so it caught my eye.
Anno Un reflects on their strange life as they draw the Artifact with the G Liner in their mouth. The first object Akira manifested from a drawing was a little car, and that discovery led to the creation of Anno Un.
Once they had a human avatar, they tried to visit Akira's mom, but she had already passed.
Akira couldn't bear to even look, and so Anno Un did the grieving for him. Anno Un did all the things that Akira couldn't, including drawing those characters that little Akira had been so eager to show her:
Each character is described by their relationships and loyalties to other characters. It's their relationships and interplay that make up the core of the story, no matter what the plot is.
Beyond the fact that his mom likes handsome (adult) characters, I think she would like Rip because Rip also lost someone. I don't believe there's ever an explanation for what happened to Akira's father, but it must've been a loss at some point, whether through death, divorce, or abandonment.
Akira's mom took a different path than Rip by devoting herself to those who remained instead of pining for the one who left. After all, she had a kid to care for, and there wasn't anything supernatural she could do to bring Akira's father back, unlike Rip using the Ark. But she probably understands his feelings very well. After losing Akira, I'm sure she'd do anything to find him again.
Anno Un uses the Life Is Strange Artifact on Rip and turns him back into an adult. Latla's expression is hilarious:
With his prosthetics getting taller and his shorts shrinking, Rip's kinda got an Absolute Area/zettai ryouiki thing going on! (Which reminds me to add that Tatiana's ability is named after the A.T. Fields in Eva, which are protective barriers like Tatiana's that expand around the users. Which of course, got turned into a stocking fetish by otaku...)
ANYWAY, Rip already knows how the Artifact works because it's the same thing that Feng used on him when Andy almost killed him. It causes the user to age 10x whatever they aged the target.
Rip has a moment of pure kindness and offers to use the Artifact on Anno Un to try to even out the damage, but they won't allow him. The look on Rip's face in this bottom panel is a turning point.
It's like he realized how much they knew already and how much they really did care about him. Rip has a hard time understanding selflessness and altruism, like when Fuuko saved Chikara. And here's someone he barely knows--someone he was recently trying to kill--and they're willing to sacrifice themselves for his sake. Rip's expression is childlike, which is funny since he just got aged up.
Rip is still stunned as Anno Un fades away, leaving only the tracksuit, Soul Caliber, and the broken G Liner. The unlikely team of five will have to fight the rest of the battle without their advice. Will we ever see Akira again?!
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Ch 49: It's All Ours
Using this panel instead of the chapter cover bc I don't like how many Sean spoilers are on the cover but also because I can't get enough of this dynamic duo pose. Look at them! They just reunited and they're ready to take on the world!
The chapter opens with a post-mortem Sean infodump:
Not being able to see while using the power is a huge disadvantage! How was he doing murders and robberies without being able to see?
Sean using his ability for crime goes back to what Andy said in Ch 22:
He was recruited by a street gang, then by Under. Poor kid! If the Union had gotten to him first, he could've had a better ending.
The lines about, "Rip captured him and forced him to join Under" and "grafting a third eye to his forehead under Rip's orders" explain why he wanted to outshine Rip at Under. It also implies Under is in a hurry and rushing to get their team together.
His concern about seat rank is pretty moot though. Like, the world is going to end soon, so who cares? Does he even know about the Loops and Ark? I wonder what Under told him!
Rip: "He died, but he kinda sucked..."
Damn, Rip is cold as hell. I get that he and Sean weren't exactly friends, but still. Is this how they would've treated Chikara, too?
I think the Rip's callous reaction to Sean's death is what sets off Fuuko's nausea here. The realization that someone just died might not have been so sickening if Under wasn't so blasé about it.
But Fuuko's been through a lot lately! Beyond seeing Sean bisected and Anno Un dismembered, she witnessed all the losses in Andy's past and just saw a battle featuring two guys who use their bodies like blood jet skis, so she's actually held it together pretty well!
Andy's reasoning is, "better him than you," which really clashes with how Fuuko views the world. The story started with her wanting to die just so she wouldn't harm others. Her selflessness and compassion is one of her defining traits! She always tries to see the good in people. So for Andy to tell her to "get over it" seems a bit disingenuous. He knows she won't just get over it. The best she can do is to try to postpone her feelings for now and keep trying to make the world a better place.
Fuuko is suddenly confronted by a very normal child in a bunny suit who wants her gun.
Bunny/Backs snatches Fuuko's gun with her bunny ear, and Fuuko slaps some Unluck into her.
And the gun is absorbed into the bunny costume in a sort of Blob-like absorption or assimilation process?!
But Bunny/Backs falls into a crack in the floor caused by Fuuko's Unluck! They're still fighting in Anno Un's house, which has been halved by Dead-Line btw.
Rip's reaction to what happened to Bunny is similar to how he reacted when Sean died. Rip doesn't even check to see if Bunny is OK! Fuuko's expression is a mix of shock and disgust, but look how she handles it:
Instead of trying to kill Rip, she tries to understand him and bring him over to her side. She believes they share a common goal and can minimize the suffering if they work together. It's a lot like how she acted when she first joined the Union in Ch 9⬇️
And in both cases, Fuuko's attempts to make peace were met with harsh realities: Juiz telling her that they had already gotten 98 Rules added, and Rip telling her that his goal isn't to kill God. Both times, Fuuko was lacking information about the true goals of the organizations.
I don't mean that Fuuko is naive or a Pollyanna, but she IS an idealist. Naivete implies a sort of "ignorance is bliss" stagnation mentality, and she doesn't have that. She's always looking for the best solution to any situation in order to improve the world around her. That's why it's so difficult for her to stifle her feelings when she sees Rip acting unconcerned about others.
Finally, we have some more substantive goals than "Under is just mad at the world and wants to punish normies."
Rip explains Under's various goals and goes on to say that he would work with Fuuko if she gave him info about Ark, but otherwise he might as well kill her. Rip only seems to care about people he can use.
Oh snap. Not only does Anno Un know what he's trying to do, they're telling him that it won't work and that Latla will die! And why does Rip want to ride Ark? Time for a flashback.
They both blame themselves, and they're both Negators. Did their abilities awaken at the same time?
Rip wants to have another chance to save Leila from dying! And just like that, Rip switches from being a villain to an antivillain. He's got a sympathetic cause and wants to atone...It's just that his methods are a bit suspect.
Damn, Rip has already lost his legs and some life span for this goal?! That's both impressive and horrifying. He's so blinded by his love for her that he can't see the point of caring about others (or the larger issue of killing God so he doesn't have to live this way).
But Latla feels the same way! And she arrives on a motorcycle frame attached to an electric motor? We get a better look at it in the next chapter.
Autumn is heading their way because it's been attracted by Andy's thick, long, and satisfying BOOK. Can they all work together to capture Autumn, and will that still count for the Union quest?
We have six Negators taking on Autumn. Do they have the right combination of skills to take it down?
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🏆Most important image of the day
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Ch 48: A Story I Won't See Coming
Sean makes his move
And Sean is bad, even for a bad guy! He won't take orders from Rip, and he's trying to move up the ranks at Under by killing the harmless and endangered Fuuko.
It seems like Under, (a collection of Negators with different goals that blossomed from a mutiny, lacks a clear endgame, is picking up clues piecemeal by following the good guys around, and doesn't seem to have any overarching philosophy other than anger and resentment) is having trouble with group cohesion and loyalties. Chaos is guaranteed!
The story cuts back to Akira Kuno, who is now a serialized author, and his decision to go look for Andy in Japan. And he finds him!
Andy is studying iaido in the mountains with a woman named Yusai. We learn that she's the one who taught him the Moonlight style!
Learning how to do quick-draw styles is how Andy is keeping Josh alive in his heart. So sweet!
Aaaaaaaaaand he's found another woman who wants him all to herself lol. He sure has a lot of...ardent female supporters.
DO NOT THREATEN AKIRA'S OTP! RED ALERT!
Yusai is an awesome samurai woman with tears in her eyes begging Andy to make dojo heirs with her, but it's unclear how Andy feels about her. At this time, he hadn't met Fuuko and didn't have the second set of "what-if" memories, either.
I wonder how much time they spent together! Was it just the two of them? And how did he find her? He agrees to marry her on one condition:
Yusai is like another possible ship for Andy. It's kind of hilarious how many shipping opportunities there are for him when the main story depends on him and Fuuko being a pair. I don't really get into shipping much myself but I think it's fun to imagine different pairings.
I also wonder if this is God/the Author's way of throwing a wrench into the story in an attempt to keep Andy and Fuuko from falling in love, because that's the only way to defeat God. Like, "what if I just throw a whole bunch of potential love interests at Andy and see if he goes for one of them instead of Fuuko?"
It's interesting that Yusai is in the panel where it says Negators have hard lives. Is she a Negator? We don't see much regarding her abilities.
There's another clue that she's a Negator in Chapter 29, where someone who looks a lot like her working with Under.
What happened to Yusai? And is she fighting with a fan instead of a sword? (Also I love the way Rip, Andy, and Fuuko are almost on a theater stage in front of a backdrop in that panel.)
As Akira watches Andy walk away, he thinks about the tragic fate of all Negators and how they're unfairly destined to suffer. We see the tragedies that befell four different Negators: Billy, Shen, Top, and Nico.
Billy is sitting at a grave in the rain, surrounded by bottles. Shen is reaching for someone who's fallen off a cliff, and someone else is standing behind him. Top is crying at the feet of someone in a wheelchair, and Nico looks like he just woke up from a nightmare.
All of the Negators in UU have traumatic power awakenings that set their lives on new courses. Is it the same event in every Loop? I'm curious to find out what Victor's and Juiz's tragedies were.
Speaking of which, Akira thinks about the future he knows in which the Union is defeated, and we see Victor crying next to a dead or severely hurt Juiz, all while the sun bears down to begin the world's destruction.
Akira knows they're going to lose?!
But Akira found a loophole! If he can use his pen-name to publish the story, he can leave clues for the Negators to help them grow in a way that changes the future. It's like he didn't want to spoil the ending!
He knows the characters have to evolve naturally, and simply telling the story as he knows it won't spur any growth from them. It's a lot like how an author has to put characters through challenges in order to develop them believably.
He focuses on the battle with UMA Autumn as the pivotal time to intervene. We see him visiting the Union library to do research and going into a swamp to find the Soul Caliber Artifact.
I love how we have two characters with such similar powers in this arc: Sean's invisibility and Akira's imperceptibility.
Back in the present, Sean takes his chance to kill Fuuko. At the same time, Anno Un calls out to Andy to use Dead-Line.
Insane! So if Anno Un hadn't rescued them from Autumn, Sean would've killed Fuuko! And if Andy hadn't learned Dead-Line from Victor, he wouldn't have been able to save her!
Sean was cut in half and we can finally see him a little. He has a third eye under his baseball cap! And a butterfly knife, like all cool juvenile delinquents. Rip is stunned!
It looks like Fuuko has finally awakened, too! Anno Un says that they don't know what will happen now that the story has been changed. What will become of Anno Un if they can no longer draw?
The Union still has to capture UMA Autumn and deal with Rip and the bunny suit person. It sure would be nice to have Anno Un to tell them how to do it!
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Ch 47: Akira Kuno
This is the first cover with plot content we've seen in a while. It reminds me of the Ch 14 cover where Fuuko's reading on the pillows. Tozuka makes a point to show characters enjoying reading, even if it's a villain like UMA Autumn.
And Rip is acting like a manga spoiler fiend:
Wait, how does Rip know about the missing arcs? We know that Under members followed Fuuko and Andy to Vancouver, but did they visit Shueisha, too?
"You've got it all wrong." Could it be that Anno Un is actually not trying to save them, but trying to kill them? Or do they mean it like, "I'm not saving them, they're saving me?" Or a third thing? Just when it looked like Anno Un was on the protagonist's side, they go and say something cryptic like this!
Rip slashes them with Blade Runner, which cuts UMA Autumn's claw in half and Anno Un's arm clean off! The story cuts to Akira's flashback.
So far, the visions we've seen from Artifacts (the revolver and Apocalypse) have shown scenes from past Loops, but the G-Liner is interesting because it shows the past and the future for the current Loop. It only shows the visions to the first person who touches it in each Loop.
Akira, first AnFuu fanboy
In his excitement, he bumps into a stranger, and the readers realize that something has changed about him, but he's not sure what's going on just yet. The way he stops to apologize is so sweet. Another character might've just said, "Sorry!" and kept running in their excitement, but Akira is established as a considerate person early on.
Moms love Rip.
Seriously though, I think there's another reason he thinks his mom would like Rip, but it's a spoiler for now. I'll explain at the end of this arc.
He even hands her Rip first!
But she can't see, hear, or perceive him at all. It's not just that he's invisible; no one can sense him in any way.
He's such a good kid. A lot of characters would use this as a chance for mischief, but he just sits and worries with his mom. His mom is selfless, too. She doesn't ask God to bring him back--only that he's happy wherever he is.
Akira feels inspired by Fuuko and Andy and decides to carry on. He survives by taking bites of other people's food, and his hair grows long like Fuuko's did.
He chooses Anno Un as a penname and names the manga Kimi ni Tsutaware, (君に伝われ "To You From Me," meaning like "Conveyed to You" or "Getting Across to You") as a message to his mom that he's still out there.
He wins the one-shot contest, which means he has to really commit to being Anno Un now. And his mom finally gets to read it!
Now we know what Anno Un meant at the beginning of the chapter when they talked about saving Andy and Fuuko. They wanted to save the characters who gave them enough hope to keep living.
There are a lot of characters who have that kind of effect on people IRL. A fictional story can change someone's entire outlook, and great authors know how to use them to convey a message on more than one layer.
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Ch 46: See You in the Here and Now
"AND THEY WERE LOOPMATES!"
Captain Andy suggests that Fuuko try to go check out what happened in 1865, but Fuuko thinks it might be better to talk to Victor directly, so they tell him to come out of the time-out ball they'd finally restrained him with. And so he does!
And that's how Fuuko discovered a way to defeat Victor.
He has an easy solution to the problem, though-- Just imagine whatever clothes you want!
Does Victor prefer the Union uniform, or is it just the most comfortable and most familiar to him?
They're characters in a book, in a book. Of course they can just imagine whatever they want! I'm not sure if it's considered "reality bending" since they're not technically in reality right now, but manifesting desires and breaking down assumptions about what's possible is becoming a theme in many areas of the story.
Fuuko always tries to find the good in people. She doesn't write people off as "bad."
Please note that past!Victor used to wear shirts that actually fit.
Victor knows that the only way Fuuko could've seen something like that is if Apocalypse showed it to her, since it's the oldest Artifact. Victor and Juiz must've formed the Union so many times, but the only other witness would've been the book. Why does Victor consider that to be something Apocalypse shouldn't show? Why is he so damn secretive?!
The way he looks down at his Emblem like, "Ah, my foolish past in which I dared to believe in love and hope..." Beyond being Andy's shonen rival, he also fills the role of Disillusioned Former Hero Currently in Despair or a kind of antivillain that used to believe in the protagonist's cause.
He's a realist; Juiz is an idealist. But every now and then, we get these clues that he wasn't always a cynic.
Victor so rude! But imagine all of those things reversed and directed with heart bubbles toward Juiz, because that's what he's implying...
Fuuko and Victor, both members of the jacket-tied-around-the-waist club.
In the Round Table flashback, we can see Victor, Apocalypse, Juiz, Nico, Gina, and Void. We don't know much about Void yet, but Nico and Gina have both been said to be older than the other Union members. Andy mentioned the Union's "anti-aging" technology kind of jokingly in the fight with Gina, but it's probably an actual necessity.
The five Negators at this table may have been the five that Juiz and Victor could count on finding every Loop-- the core members of the Union who existed within a timespan where they were all recruitable. Keeping them alive while continuing to build the team would've been really important, and I assume Nico came up with the technology to do it.
Victor: "Reject Looping, Embrace Nihilism"
Giving up on trying to fight God is just like opting out of what you were assigned to do, Victor! Of all the souls in the world, he has Undead, plus Juiz, plus all of the knowledge from past Loops, and he's just going to give up?!
The line about dancing in the palm of God's hand reminds me of characters who won't do what the author asks of them. He's like a performer who refuses to perform! What broke Victor? What made the strongest character we've met just say, "I can't?"
YIKES, Victor! He wants to put her down like an animal?! Give her a euthanasia? That's not really up to you, Victor. She's pretty capable of deciding for herself if she wants to keep fighting or not, and your discomfort with it isn't her problem. Sorry, but Victor's line of thought really grates on my nerves. Who put him in charge of deciding when people have to be put out of their misery?
ANYWAY, the fact that Victor would even consider such a thing shows up just how disillusioned and cynical he's become. He's lived countless lifetimes and seen the entire planet destroyed and rebuilt over and over. He's lost more people than Andy and even Juiz have, and he's probably lived through the dinosaur days, the Black Plague, and a lot of other things that have made him the way he is.
What took Victor out of the game was his despair. Watching the person he loved suffer broke his heart. It's also what he thought would take Andy out of the game. In Ch 16, he asks:
In Victor's opinion, the worst thing he can imagine happening to Andy--the event that might break him forever and allow Victor to take over--would be Fuuko's death. That says a lot about how strongly he feels for Juiz.
And luckily, he's starting to feel a change of heart about his plan to kill her.
Fuuko can make customized Unluck now! It's not just meteors and lava over and over; it's specific to the target. And that means that she might be the key to defeating God.
OK, but how does one "research and figure out God?" You'd have to study the world they created to try to find what they fear, what they hate, what they ignore, etc. But what do you do with that information?
"I'll interfere no longer" FINALLY! He sees the light!
Fuuko better ask Juiz about 1865, because all of us need to know at this point. The way he says it doesn't matter anymore makes me think it was about his love for Juiz, and it doesn't matter anymore because he's already told them about it. But how does that tie into Abraham Lincoln??
Knowing that she can now customize her Unluck, he tells her to kiss Andy while thinking about what death would be to him.
And wow what a panel! Suitable for framing. Print it out and paste it all over town. Buy billboards for it. Send it to your mom. It's so good. I've been looking at it for like 10 minutes.
The blue, cloudy sky and the wasteland beneath. His finger on her chin. The way her hair moves. The way their shoulders look together. Victor all alone, going his own way. The way the "dead" part of Andy's tattoo kind of looks like a heart.
She had to kiss him to leave the book, because her leaving was the worst thing that could happen to him. If she were to die, he'd fall into despair. T.T
Andy tells us all not to cry:
I love how the world in the book is still a fiery wasteland and he's just like, "I'll be fine! Bye!"
Fuuko and Andy's powerups are going to bring them even closer to finding out how to kill God. But what's been going on in the real world while she had a sidequest? Under doesn't even know what they're going up against!
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