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Following Andy and Fuuko both learning more about each other in Undead Unluck episodes 21 and 22, Undead Unluck episode 23 showcases the results of the literal soul-searching journey the two went on. This, however, only encapsulates the end of the episode.
Nearly the entirety of Undead Unluck episode 23 is dedicated to the story of Akira Kuno, aka the real person behind Anno-Un's appearance. A story about the unsung hero who will probably never be seen due to the G-Liner pen artifact's effects.
As usual for Negators, Akira Kuno's story is bittersweet: he helps the heroes out tremendously and his power to make whatever he imagines and draws into reality is a very interesting one but they will never know his story.
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Undead Unluck episode 23: Anno-Un's untold origins
Akira Kuno's tragic past
As all Negator origin stories begin with a happy life interrupted by tragedy, Undead Unluck episode 23 shows Akira Kuno's is no exception. Kuno was always a peculiar kid, wanting his mother to read manga to him at bedtime. As a result, he gained an active imagination for storytelling and loved the smiles it put on his mom's face.
His imagination soared upon encountering the Artifact Pen G-Liner. Its effects were instantaneous upon contact: Akira got a flood of memories from the pen, showcasing the past and future of The Loop, the story of Undead Unluck, Andy and Fuuko, and everything else in between.
The drawback, which wasn't immediately apparent to Kuno, was that Kuno now exists outside of reality: he cannot be perceived by people as himself.
He only discovered this as he spiraled further into despair since no matter how hard he tried, screamed, and cried he couldn't interact with his mother or other people. It was especially hard on his mother, not knowing where her kid was.
Creating To You, From Me, and Anno-Un
Despite being severely depressed, something clicked in Kuno when his mother wished for his safety and for him to continue creating manga. He left home and started to draw out and plot To You, From Me while also documenting all his memories that he got from the pen.
Kuno decided to create To You, From Me as his first, oneshot story and not expecting it to sell or be picked up. It won the Shueisha contest, got picked up, got him a million yen, and Anno-Un was born as a pen name from the words "Unknown" and "Nobody Knows".
As Anno-Un, Kuno enjoyed much success. You-Me was enjoyed by everyone from The Union's Gena, to Fuko, to Tatiana, and even his mother.
But Kuno couldn't help but wonder if everything he had seen in the artifact pen was real. He journeyed into the wilderness, trying to see if Andy was in Japan learning quick draw sword techniques as the pen had shown him.
Back to the Present and saving the future
As it turns out, Andy was learning quick draw techniques in Japan to honor of one of his old teammates' wishes.
This confirmation of everything Kuno had seen in Undead Unluck episode 23 offered him a dilemma: if everything he'd seen was real, that meant that the heroes would lose when Fuko died if the premonition he had seen went forward uninterrupted.
A brief, horrific flash of this was shown, with Victor standing over Juiz's dead body as God destroyed the world as Victor promised in episode 22. From that day onward, Kuno decided to keep writing and to intervene during the UMA Autumn battle.
It's revealed that, though people cannot perceive him, he can manipulate objects: he stole an encyclopedia from The Union about UMAs, created Anno-Un as an avatar, and purposely left out Billy betraying The Union and Andy's Past.
The results were, on December 5, 2020, Anno-Un intercepted Fuko and Andy in episode 19. As events catch up to the present, with Fuko emerging from Andy's massive book after being in Andy's past in episode 21 and 22, Anno-Un defends Fuko and Andy's bodies so that they can complete their mission.
It costs him his right arm, but he's successful in buying enough time for the two to fully return.
Union vs. Under: Round 3
The first scene in Undead Unluck episode 23 is the one-armed Anno-Un defending himself, Fuko, and Andy from the Under strike team consisting of Rip aka Unrepair, Sean aka the Negator Unseen who was kidnapped and conscripted into Under, and a young child in a bunny suit named Backs aka Bunny.
When Fuko emerged from the book and Andy regained control of himself as the book closed, Anno-Un ordered Andy to use the Deadline move he'd learned.
The result of this quick warning was Unseen dead from being sliced in half, with Under and Backs barely dodging the lethal blow and averting Fuko's death.
The fight then began in earnest, with Rip and Andy clashing as Fuko and Backs clashed. While Fuko's revolver got stolen by Backs' unnamed ability, Backs got sent through the floor thanks to Fuko's Unluck.
Fuko attempted to negotiate with Unrepair, trying to get him to see they have a common enemy in God, the UMA Autumn, and preventing Ragnarok.
Her pleas fell on deaf ears, as the true nature of Under was finally revealed in Undead Unluck episode 23. Unlike the Union, who all fight toward the same goal, Under's members all have different goals: Billy wants to kill God as stated during his betrayal, the minigun-using Creed wants to rule the world, the mysterious and hooded Feng wants to collect all the Artifacts, and Latla and Rip want Ark to revive a loved one.
A long post-credits sequence and final thoughts
Undead Unluck episode 23's post-credits sequence is long and shows off the above-mentioned action between Andy, Fuko, and Anno-Un against Under's agents.
It also shows Latla warning everyone that Autumn is headed directly to them. All the able-bodied participants take to the air to meet the massive spider's charge as the episode ends.
The preview for the season finale is unique in that it doesn't feature any narration and simply features flashes of all the characters engaged in battling the UMA and Akira Kuno's manga title To You, From Me as the episode title.
Undead Unluck episode 23 is much like Chikara's, Tatiana's, Fuko's, and the other Negators origins that came before with people having to live with powers that come with lifechanging drawbacks.
Fortunately, Kuno's powers don't kill his parents or loved ones. Unfortunately, he's dead to the rest of the world. Since the future has been changed, it might mean Autumn's demise next episode.
It will also get to show off just how much Andy and Fuko have changed. All because of an author who wanted to help.
