REVIEW: ‘Undead Unluck’ Episode 11 — “Rio de Janeiro”

Everyone’s favorite duo, Andy (Yûichi Nakamura) and Fuko (Kahara Moe), is headed off on another adventure in Undead Unluck Episode 11, “Rio de Janeiro,” and this time, they find themselves journeying to South America. Their jet-setting adventures have taken them all around the globe on various missions, and now, they will enjoy the beauty of Brazil as they hunt down Unburn and Unrepair.

The longest-running gag in Undead Unluck has been that Fuko is always a fish out of water. Undead Unluck Episode 11 continues that right from the start here. There is a great comedic sequence where Andy and Fuko are in a menswear store in Rio de Janeiro and Fuko is clearly out of her depth. When her facial reactions are shown, the expectation now is that there is some sort of battle about to happen. But in reality, she is just stuck waiting for Andy to purchase new clothes to help him fit in at a black market auction they are headed to. It is a lighthearted moment with no real stakes, which makes it such an enjoyable scene between the two main characters.

Andy and Fuko are sneaking into a high-class black market auction that only allows celebrities to enter. They have to don disguises to fit in, which Fuko is not too excited about. It again allows a handful of comedic interactions between the two who have polar opposite approaches, and keeps things light before it all starts to inevitably get heavier. These brief moments of comic relief do such a great job of mixing up the tone of the series, and they also allow Andy and Fuko’s characters to continue to develop outside of just the extremely dramatic events they have to go through.

The best part of Undead Unluck Episode 11, however, is the character development we, and other characters, get to see from Fuko. She started the series as a character with no real importance. She was someone who couldn’t contribute much—more just along for the ride. She had her moments against Victor, but it was not always clear if the rest of the Union recognized her worth. Thankfully, this episode provides a great exchange between Juiz, the leader of the Roundtable, and Fuko.

Juiz originally saw Fuko as a hindrance—an obstacle that needed to be eliminated. While some of the less important characters started to see Fuko’s value, it was always going to be most important to see if Juiz ever noticed a way Fuko could contribute. The two have a meaningful conversation where Juiz tells Fuko she can envision a world where they can use Fuko’s Unluck ability to kill God, a drastic change of opinion on how useful Fuko can be. The big caveat is that they will need to be able to control Fuko’s ability, which is easier said than done. Fuko also needs to find ways to connect to Andy more and increase the power of her ability, something that is going to continue to play out as the series advances.

There is a similarly important interaction between Andy and Fuko as they prepare for the auction that shows how far their relationship has come and how much further it still needs to go. Andy is his typical self, crossing the line and triggering a terrible stroke of Unluck, but he also reveals a bit of his fear about Victor. This gives Fuko a chance to tell him how committed she is to helping him and keeping him safe, which would seem odd, considering Andy is the stronger and more confident of the two. What it shows is that the duo has come to rely on each other in different but equally important ways, and even though there is still plenty of work to do, they care about each other more than either is willing to completely admit.

Once at the actual auction, Undead Unluck Episode 11 takes on a bit of a spy thriller feel to it. Andy and Fuko are two agents deep undercover in one of the riskiest places they could possibly be. Plenty of tension develops as they learn more about their mission. And as more of the mystery around them starts to unravel in truly interesting ways, new opponents appear right at the end, setting the stage excellently for what the two will have to face in the next episode. Now that the stakes are clear, it makes the build-up that much more enjoyable.

Undead Unluck Episode 11 continues to build up the tension as Andy and Fuko hunt down Unrepair. There is plenty of great character growth as well as some excellent dramatic moments that set up for even more action and intrigue going forward.

Undead Unluck Episode 11 is streaming now on Hulu.