Warning: SPOILERS for Undead Unluck chapters 130 and 131The Shonen Jump series Undead Unluck just fixed a problem that has persisted in manga ever since Goku went Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z.
Although iconic, Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time may have actually been too iconic. Countless shonen series have used Super Saiyan-esque transformations creating somewhat of an annoying cliché that few manga have tried to remedy. Typically, these transformations feature a hero seeing a friend or loved one die, causing them to transform into an unbeatable version of themselves that eventually leads them to victory.
Undead Unluck's mangaka Yoshifumi Totsuka just found a way to use them without making it a cliché. For those who are unfamiliar with the manga, it might have appeared like Undead Unluck was just indulging in this overused trope. But this couldn't be further from the truth. In chapter 130, the main ego of the series' eponymous hero Undead Andy witnesses his opponent god kill his lover Juiz and is filled with so much rage that he is able to coax an absurd amount of power from a blade that he had never used before since it required an emotion he never felt. In the next chapter, his effort actually fails, forcing the series' titular Unluck wielder Fuuko Izumo to go back to the past on a vehicle known as the Ark to try and prevent their world's destruction for the 100th time.
Why Undead Unluck's "Super Saiyan" Moment is so Different
What's so innovative about this scene is that Victor actually wanted Juiz to die. Before, Juiz had taken it upon herself to use the Ark 99 times every time she lost against god. Because she had knowledge from every one of her former lives, Juiz suffered. Victor wanted her to die because that would mean she would lose all memories of her many failures and the numerous deaths of her countless friends when the world inevitably reset again. In fact, Victor actually tried to kill her on multiple occasions to end her suffering, which resulted in the creation of his alter ego in Undead Unluck, Undead Andy. So even though Victor is able to draw an absurd amount of power from his sword because his loved one died like what happened to Goku when Frieza killed Krillin, it wasn't expected and was even welcome since readers thought that her death wouldn't affect him this way. This, therefore, allowed an otherwise cliché power-up to actually feel innovative. Moreover, such an awakening always results in the awakened hero vanquishing their foe, but Victor fails, forcing the world to reset once again.
In other words, Undead Unluck was able to successfully pander to Shonen Jump's tired trope but somehow made it feel fresh while causing its resulting cliché to fail in epic fashion when it always succeeds. Of course, some might say that Victor didn't really lose since the world is resetting back to the beginning, but it is a loss because Fuuko Izumo will still lose all her friends in Undead Unluck's future chapters. Undead Unluck might be Shonen Jump's most underrated manga, and how it handles its version of going Super Saiyan proves it.