Manga 'Undead Unluck' Ends Serialization

To repeat my thoughts on the matter from the chapter discussion:

This has certainly been a tumultuous run: From its first year where it felt like it was on the verge of getting axed at times; to accolades from (mostly Western) readers more immersed in the magazine's culture which gave it a sort of cult status; to the interesting second half where Fuuko took over as sole lead during a simultaneous release of the anime (which sadly flopped sales-wise despite being a decent enough adaptation helmed by David Pro); up to the final battle that seemed to be cut drastically short by a change in leadership in the WSJ editorial from Nakano to Saito.
Recounting it like that makes one realize that UU was ironically a very lucky series, as it had plenty of chances to just get cut short or axed without fanfare.

Its survival and the esteem it garnered are well deserved: Tozuka is an excellent artist and while UU was characterized by its breakneck pacing, it also managed to develop an interesting ensemble cast, had a unique high-concept power system and took its readers on a daredevil ride ride covering all kind of wacky situations. I really hope that whatever Tozuka releases next appeals more to the casual readerbase of the magazine, as he has the chops to create an era defining work. Then again, some may argue UU already was one, being one of the first new Jump series in the 2020s and arguably the start of the 2020-2022 crop of series that shape the magazine right now (Akane-banashi, Ayakashi Triangle, Blue, Box, Roboco, Sakamoto Days, The Elusive Samurai, Witch Watch, etc.).

I will miss it as well, it was one of the series I consistently looked forward to the most when I sat down each Sunday and started reading the entire magazine.

@Nidhoeggr im an anime only, but eventually plan on reading the manga. Would you say that the manga had a satisfying ending with no (major) loose ends? Like i can tell it was rushed, but i hope it didnt get "axed" or it ruined the ending

@Anime_Luv It got axed similar to Bleach and many other manga that got told to wrap it up fast at some point by the editorial department. However, it still stuck the landing for many of its plot beats and it feels conclusive enough.

The author found out that Yozakura decided to end and this killed his motivation to continue despite the controversial sales too?

@yamiyugi101 @Nidhoeggr In a world where an Oshi no Ko ending exists, you simply can't write a bad rushed or axed ending unless it's so bad that it's WORSE than that.

@RobertBobert it doesn't change the fact that kubo literally had years left to write the final arc and had to end it because he was constantly hospitalized and near death now jump let's him publish whenever he wants and he got to make the full version in the anime he's writing the 1000 year blood war script additional content

@yamiyugi101 Tell this to Aka, who for various reasons has lost motivation and interest in his project of passion, so he poured it along with his career with gasoline and setting them on fire to play the battle royal shooters and write mediocre fantasy romcom, which are unlikely to live a year. People can joke all they want about how Kubo is trolling their fandom or complain that Horikoshi ignored the BL shippers who made MHA iconic, but at least they didn't spend a whole month on MMO shooters instead of writing the final of their AAA work at the most critical moment.

@RobertBobert it don't read oshi no ko so I don't know all I'm talking about is kubo and the lies that persist about his work

@yamiyugi101 I'm not going to justify or protect the Kubo. I just want to say that this is far from a ceiling of career self-destruction, which the author could achieve.

@RobertBobert well yeah UU had a good ending that was thematically sound if not a bit rushed I'm rereading the final arc now

@yamiyugi101 I am more interested in whether there was any connection between the completion of UU and the Yozakura precisely at this moment, since both mangs were known for a specific will to life despite mediocre sales.

@RobertBobert nah yozakura started it's final arc earlier than UU and the villains in UU tried to start the final arc once before the final arc began the final arc was meant to start where it started and ended where it needed to end

@yamiyugi101 So, just a funny coincidence?

@RobertBobert yep life is weird that way lol I'm personally going to miss both but new series will come to fill the void

@yamiyugi101 If only you knew how desperately I am looking for a series that can fill the void in me from Oshi no Ko...

@RobertBobert yeah not many deep stories about the acting industry act age filled the niche before but the writer was a pervert

@yamiyugi101 It seems fate is unusually cruel to all showbiz stories that are not shoujo or all-male/all-female media franchises. Although I think that the Act-Age story was especially sad, considering that the cancellation of the manga was only indirectly dependent on the actions of the author and that, according to rumors, an adaptation of the manga was already in the plans.

@RobertBobert yep very tragic 😥 I sincerely hope you get one one day

@yamiyugi101 Thanks for support. Well, I don't know if UU will get a full adaptation, but at least now I can tackle the anime more calmly.

@Anime_Luv It got axed similar to Bleach and many other manga that got told to wrap it up fast at some point by the editorial department. However, it still stuck the landing for many of its plot beats and it feels conclusive enough.