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 surely tells 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.
▶ Video #####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?
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