One of the coolest negators in the series.
Summary:
- Rip is a negator with the Unrepair ability.
- Unrepair prevents Rip’s opponents from healing.
- Intention and understanding play a big role in the way this ability works.
Rip Tristan is one of the negators in Undead Unluck. We first saw him in Episode 10 of the anime where he looked like a sinister and menacing villain. However, as time goes by, it gets more and more challenging to actually be upset with Rip.
Back when he was first announced for anime-onlys, manga readers promised that Rip would become an absolute fan favorite. And they were right. But why is he this great?
Rip’s abilities
Rip’s negator ability is Unrepair, which means that any damage he deals cannot be repaired, and it doesn’t matter which way the healing process is applied. Rip’s victims may die even from a minor wound because he negates natural healing, too.
Imagine someone has a small cut. It’s usually nothing to be worried about in real life because the cut will heal in a few days. However, Rip negates that and makes the cut keep bleeding.
If another negator has a healing ability, it won’t work to undo the damage Rip has done, either. For example, someone might have a regeneration ability, capable of healing even fatal wounds. But if Rip is involved, this just doesn’t work. The only way to stop Rip’s negator ability is to kill him.
Intentions and understanding matter
Rip is a unique negator because unlike others, what matters for his ability to work is the intention and understanding of other people. That’s why nothing can undo his Unrepair if the intention is to heal.
For example, let’s say there’s a negator who can heal only when significant damage has been done to them. Rip caused a minor wound to them, and their regeneration doesn’t start working yet. They then try to injure themselves even more to trigger the regeneration. It won’t work because the intention is still to heal, even though more damage is being done.
However, Andy manages to find a loophole in Rip’s ability. Unrepair effects depend on the victim’s knowledge about what healing is. And Andy purposely forgets what Unrepair really is, which allows him to heal. Rip himself mentions that not understanding his ability was the key to Andy’s success.
Still, even considering this loophole, it’s difficult to deny that Rip is an incredibly dangerous opponent. He is capable of turning any hit into a fatal wound for his opponent, which makes him a great ally and a frightening enemy.