Mcsuper

Undead Murder Farce screams exuberance and stylistic achievement from its very first moments, with no qualms about being absurd or perhaps even corny, and as mysteries go, that is the uniqueness that is to be desired. There’s so much media revolving around mystery, from your Agatha Christie novels, to your Conan Doyle stories, to the plentiful mystery anime and tv shows, so it’s difficult to create something memorable out of the vast sea of mystery media choice, and I’m happy to say that Undead Murder Farce stood out nicely, so come one, come all, into the pseudo-Meiji era, and enjoy the fun! The anime title surelytells you nothing, but believe me, this is one of the most unique takes on mysteries I’ve seen a while, combining a wide range of mysteries with compelling action and witty humour, and also adding some major figures in mystery media, like Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin, and many more. It kind of felt like the “Mystery Avengers” in a way, but with less action than your typical superhero flick, but much more focused on dialogue. To give a gist of the premise, it’s set in an alternate Meiji era, where an unlikely duo, an Oni Slayer, and a head in a cage suffered the similar fate of their humanity being stolen by the same person, and thus, they chase after this villain, encountering mysteries along the way, making a name for themselves. Dialogue-heavy shows can be a slog, but this anime certainly manages to capture your attention without being boring, to the extent of each episode flying by in a matter of what you think were just a few minutes. The characters command each scene very well, and the voice actors are certainly to be praised, especially the two main characters in Tsugaru Shinuchi, and Aya Rindou, voiced by Taku Yashiro and Tomoyo Kurosawa, respectively. Tsugaru kept my attention because of his cheeky personality, often making fun of his partner Aya, as well as not taking things too seriously. His humour is witty, perhaps corny, but he definitely made me laugh quite a few times. Aya commanded each scene so well despite only being a head in a cage. Who needs a body after all? Her voice actor, Tomoyo Kurosawa, really nailed the role, as she had such a presence in each scene she was in, with her deduction skills and her tone of voice that captured every bit of my attention. The duo’s dynamic is in my opinion, the best part of the anime, as it brings forth such contagious eccentricity and energy that sucks you into the world around them. Another main positive about this show was definitely the directing prowess of Shinichi Omata, who previously directed Kaguya-sama: Love is War, and Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, coming into play once again. The whole show feels like a stage play, with the characters feeling like actors, the dialogue bouncing off each character with such ease, the general flow of the story just so fantastic. The art and animation itself isn’t particularly pretty, and I suspect the budget for this show wasn’t huge at all, but Omata’s directing really elevated the show’s quality to greater heights, as there’s just a distinct uniqueness about how the show looks. The camera work and the storyboarding really embodied a style that felt “extravagant”, suiting the show’s setting very well. Furthermore, it has a sense of rakugo in it, and you can tell that Omata’s previous directing endeavours helped shape the way this show was directed as well. From the compelling mystery, humour, and incredible directing, this has been one of the hidden gems, and potentially the best of the Summer 2023 anime season, and one of the more unique anime of this year. Was I surprised at how good this anime turned out to be? To be honest, not really, and that’s a testament to how much faith I had in the director. Man, this show really flew by, didn’t it?

KANLen09

Undead (Girl) Murder Farce: the most underrated Summer show of the season that we, the audience, DON'T deserve. for a series where every episode feels like 5 minutes, that it is the literate definition of a binge-worthy show from start to finish. Clearly the definitive Dark Horse of the Summer season, novelist Yuugo Aosaki's Undead Girl Murder Farce may be a dramatic historical fantasy work for the ages, that if you bring to the typical anime director who is just content with the bare minimum, this show would not have worked out the way that it has been these past 3 months. But it really seemsthat with one sole person (which I'll get to later in the review), all the cards were clicking towards the right path, and soon, the light shines in the darkness, ever so subtly to deliver a work that has become one of my low-key favourite shows of the season that the anime community have gravely missed out on. “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle; Corrections and Editor Edgar W. Smith; Illustrators, The Hound of the Baskervilles Historical shows exist for a reason, where the greatest minds of the past lies in fame and honour of their work and contributions for the masses. And if literacy has anything to do with it, fiction can bring about the best of friction and development for the future. It's with this exact same thinking that Yuugo Aosaki opted for the ever-so-cliché alternate timeline, where humans and supernatural beings (such as vampires and Oni) co-exist alongside each other. And one such figure is Tsugaru Shinuchi: an experimental half-human, half-demon young man who hails from Japan. True to his name, which means a light haven/port hitter, his demonic characteristics enable him to be highly skilled in combat, which is why people call him the "Oni Slayer" participating in caged circus acts fighting other demons. One day, he comes across an unassuming maid holding a bird cage, which holds the head of a girl who calls herself the immortal detective Aya Rindo with her loyal servant Shizuku Hasei. Coincidentally, Aya's story about herself, who has already been in this beheaded state from someone dismembering her body and leaving her head as is, and Tsugaru's story about being injected with oni blood which gives him his signature combat skills, both came from the same man who had done these services to them. So, together with the girl akin to a night/evening crow doing a ring/loop around a hall and her maid who clearly exhibits a quiet expression but is well-endowed to serve a well/pit's worth of a feast, and also carrying her signature Spenser 1865 Carbine-inspired bayoneted rifle she calls "Tachikage", the trio acts as a detective group to take on Europe's supernatural mysteries, with Tsugaru being given yet another persona moniker: The Cage User. “Every mystery novel I ever read, the great detective was such an arrogant fuck you could replace 70% of his dialogue with 'Are you stupid?' and the conversation would still make sense.” ― NisiOisiN, Zaregoto, Book 1: The Kubikiri Cycle The undead (or undying, rather) favour of the man who always gets ridiculed by the maid who treats him with disdain, his spiteful yet arrogant, cunning personality — that's what I love about Tsugaru's character. Despite calling Aya his master and always engaging in lighthearted conversation with the beheaded girl, what sets Tsugaru apart is his, get this, jibe for all things Rakugo. Basically, in every scenario that opens up to his offences, he's able to concoct a fictional story thanks to what Aya has already set up for him, and being the unapologetic prick that Tsugaru is, he gets his job done efficiently and effectively. Other than the fact that he always has to French kiss with Aya to swallow her "immortal" saliva to stop his demonic growth, the Oni Slayer himself is both interesting and entertaining to watch from a spectator's POV. And despite all of the classic European stories featured like the detective mysteries of Sherlock Holmes and his greatest rival of James "M" Moriarty, to the supernatural werewolves, the girl in the bird cage, Aya, easily holds a candle over the rest as the unknown player in a dogfight showdown of good and evil, as well as Shizuku with her trusty Tachikage bayonet rifle that displays both skill and finesse for someone who always shows facial expressionlessness. There is simply no character cast here (save for the usual evildoers and "Justice League" wannabes) that feels wasted, and as William Shakespeare's poem goes: "All the world’s a stage; the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances." “There are, fortunately, very few people who can say that they have actually attended a murder.” ― Margery Allingham, Death of a Ghost The only saving grace that Undead Girl Murder Farce very much needed was a director who is skilled at his/her craft, someone who can manage the staff team well and create a well-rounded and cohesive work that leaves you wanting for more. And I have to say that they really got the man for the job: director Shinichi Omata or going by his famous penname of Mamoru Hatakeyama. The director who brought us works like Winter 2012's Sankarea (which serves as his directorial debut under studio Shaft), Winter 2016's Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, Winter 2018's Grancrest Senki a.k.a. Record of Grancrest War, and the more recent Kaguya-sama: Love is War series, so you know that he has quality riding on his back and demands nothing but the best. And you know what? Calling Undead Girl Murder Farce one of the best shows of the season that's sadly underrated, no 20/20 hindsight is needed to call this a near masterpiece work that Mamoru Hatakeyama has ever done. The way that he adapts and directs anime series is simply unparalleled, and you need to just look at either Rakugo Shinju or Kaguya-sama to know that he's got the talent backing his incredible reputation, along with his staff team serving so fervently under the small studio that is Lapin Track. That said, this is the studio's first full-fledged, independent, full/complete TV series production in almost a decade, if you don't count the god-awful 2-minute short of Winter 2022's Atasha Kawashiri Kodama da yo a.k.a I'm Kodama Kawashiri. Apart from producing shows that were co-animated alongside more prominent studios (e.g. Spring 2019's Sarazanmai and the Tama and Friends series' spin-off of Winter 2022's Uchi Tama?! Uchi no Tama Shirimasen ka? a.k.a Uchitama?! Have you seen my Tama?, both shows with MAPPA), Lapin Track most likely raked in experience from the production collaborations, then used that experience to showcase one of the best Sakuga-worthy productions of this season with dark art styles, and sleek animation to boot. I can't help but be floored by the visuals, which flow with seamless audacity at the chock full of crisp animation that's a delight to watch and never took my eyes off the action, not even once. “There's only one truth” ― Gosho Aoyama, Detective Conan And that one truth, lies in the music, which all for intents and purposes, suit the anime to a T, it's perfection across the board. With that said, I'd now like to coin the term: "K-Pop strikes again on J-Pop!" If you do not know or have been living under a rock, K-Pop boy/girl groups have been slowly integrating themselves into the world of AniManga, and not just adaptations of Webtoons in general for years now (I still remember the first time hearing a K-Pop "Japanese-ified" Anisong through Black Clover with Tomorrow X Together back in 2020). The OP sung by girl group CLASS:y (suggested through a Korean reality show, and inspired by its members' "classy" charms that references "class" and "highest grade"), I've gotta say that I have never vibed THIS much with a K-Pop Anisong to indefinitely confirm that "Crack-Crack-Crackle" is a catchy, upbeat, banger song of (literally) class and the highest of grades, that I can listen to over and over again. In my opinion, it's undoubtedly my OP song of the season. Anna's "reversal" for the ED is also a cool song with some great storyboarding with its muted, dark tones and scaling that works seamlessly and linear to its themes. Overall, I really can't find any faults on the music aspect. “Only once in a generation does anything as fresh as a vomiting detective come along.” ― Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas And the quote is true: only once (in a blue moon) that there're works that does anything as fresh as a beheaded girl conducting detective stuff with a monster of a human who is flawless with his stints, only in Yuugo Aosaki's Undead Girl Murder Farce will you have an experience that can only be felt as if you're watching either Rakugo Shinju or Kaguya-sama all over again. To the undead girl using murder as a farce, you're NOT a farce. You're a force to be reckoned with, because you're worth more than the attention we give to you, and more people SHOULD watch your show because you're absolutely worth the time. Major, massive props to director Shinichi Omata and his staff team for achieving the near impossible with Undead Murder Farce, it's an addictive cynical, yet entertaining show where the murder mysteries of questions and answers keep you glued to the small screen for what's to come, even when you least expected it. Bravo, excellente. Wow, wow, WOW. My unexpected Dark Horse of the season turned AOTS.