I loved Undead Unluck: Season 1, I can't wait for Season 2 and I might buy the manga, despite its page count of 27 volumes and 239 chapters. (It ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2020 to 2025. The anime's first season reached chapter 52 or 53, so there's still lots of material to come.) Anyway, this special comes after Season 1... and it's an original story! The manga's creator, Yoshifumi Tozuka, designed a new UMA created called "Balance" and contributed to its story, although the final scripts are by the anime's usual scriptwriter. This kind of special can often feel standalone, but that's not the case here. On the contrary, its confrontation between Juiz and Billy is huge and you'd never dream of skipping this if doing an Undead Unluck marathon. If you enjoyed Season 1, watching this is mandatory. Simple as that. The subsequent fight with Fuko and Andy is more disposable, mind you, and I suspect only exists because we all love them and wanted to see them centre-stage. That includes me, by the way. I liked the Juiz-Billy material, but they're not who I was waiting for.

1. The special begins with a long recap of Season 1. It's a really good summary, actually. It's complete, satisfying and easy to follow. You could start with this and jump straight into Season 2 without feeling you'd missed anything.

2. Billy gets dark backstory. Wife, daughter, trauma as a war veteran... Tragedy is normal with Negators in this show. We only return to the present day around the twenty minute mark, which I'd been waiting for. Andy, Fuko and Shen! Characters I loved... are only glimpsed briefly, then Juiz d'Arc goes looking for Billy.

3. Andy and Fuko have a fight that starts on a plane. No, not "in". Andy employs a battle tactic that's wild even for someone whose combat style has always been bugnuts crazy. I love how much Fuko's evolved since we first met her. Also, the fight animation here is outstanding.

This is a pretty good special, but it's only semi-standalone. I'd recommend watching it as part of a marathon after Season 1. Billy is a big deal in Undead Unluck and this special recontextualises him, making him a more complex figure... but you'll miss that if you watch this special on its own. You'll just be wondering about this fairly ordinary-looking bloke. Overall, this is another strong instalment of a standout series, showcasing its characterisation, drama and wild action scenes. If you have any interest in anime whatsoever and haven't yet watched Undead Unluck, look for it now. If you like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, throw that show as far away as possible and compare it with another shounen anime that's far better, i.e. this. Mind you, it's not on Crunchyroll. Try Hulu, Disney Plus, Fandango at Home and/or Apple TV, depending on where you live... I don't recognise all those, but I definitely want people to watch this series.