What’s better than a mystery anime set at the end of the 1800s? How about one with fantasy creatures like yokai, vampires, and goblins? In this setting, a half-Oni man and an immortal head of a girl partner up in an unlikely way. That’s the premise of Undead Murder Farce. So far, I’m quite impressed with this anime. Here are my reviews for episodes 1, 2, and 3.

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Episode 1: The Oni Slayer

In a version of our world where yokai exist, it’s the end of the 1800s. Tsugaru is an entertainer in Japan, performing a dangerous “act” wherein he battles the monsters and demons to the death in front of a crowd. Despite being called “Oni Slayer,” he is actually part Oni himself. The monster inside him is sapping away his lifespan and will one day take over his mind and body completely. Tsugaru is set to die soon.

One night, Tsugaru is approached by a maid who is skilled in combat and carries a birdcage covered in cloth. After defending himself from the maid, he hears a female voice saying she is impressed and wants to make a deal. The maid removes the cloth from the birdcage, revealing a girl’s severed head. The head introduces herself as Aya Rindou, an immortal girl who has lived for 900 years. She offers to extend Tsugaru’s life if he will agree to kill her.

Tsugaru asks for more details, and Aya explains that she can only be killed by an Oni. Apparently, she was beheaded by a mysterious enemy. She survived because the enemy wasn’t pure Oni. The half-Oni was accompanied by an old European man with a cane. This information piques the interest of Tsugaru, who is also seeking a strange, old foreigner with a cane. That man was the one who turned him into a half-Oni.

Rather than kill Aya, Tsugaru suggests they work together, go to Europe, and track down the enemy. After a bit of convincing, Aya agrees. She offers her saliva to Tsugaru, since her immortal cells can extend his life. Tsugaru kisses Aya, and the deal is sealed.

I wasn’t expecting much, but I was actually impressed with this first episode. The setting and plot for the first episode were different from what I expected, but not unpleasant. The characters seem neat, and I love the voice and general attitude of Tsugaru. The maid was also very bad-ass and cool. As for Aya, she should prove interesting since she is apparently keenly intelligent. The kiss scene at the end was rather surprising, but the dialogue led up to it in a funny way. In my opinion, the anime pulled it off well.

In other notes, the opening song is quite distinct. Despite some cringe “Engrish” lyrics thrown in, I liked the way it sounded. It’s called “Crack-Crack-Crackle” by CLASS:y. The ending song, “Reversal” by Anna, wasn’t bad either – though it was a bit bland. The art and animation are nothing stunning, but they are so far a little better than I expected. I’m excited to see where the plot goes.

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Episode 2: Vampire

A family of vampires has been coexisting with humans and agreeing not to drink human blood. There is a legal procedure for this as more nonhumans are gaining rights. However, many humans do not trust vampires, and vigilante vampire hunters have been known to kill them off in brutal murders. One fateful night, the wife and mother to the Goddard vampire family was murdered. The husband, Lord Goddard, hires a detective who specializes in monster cases: of course, it’s Aya and Tsugaru. Aya works on solving the mystery, but the episode ends before she announces her conclusion.

I liked the vampire family and the way they try to coexist with humans. It’s like Twilight without any annoying romantic subplot. However, I also think the family is somewhat suspicious. I have a feeling one or more of them are hiding the fact that they still use human blood. A family of truly “vegetarian” vampires wouldn’t make for a very exciting story. Also, speaking of suspicions, Lord Goddard is acting a little strange. I feel like some of the evidence is pointing to him and/or his butler so far. Then again, I could be very wrong, as I haven’t really thought through all the evidence points in detail.

Another nice thing about this episode was the banter between Aya and Tsugaru. They have a really interesting and fun dynamic. The humor of this show so far is generally entertaining. For example, there was the way Tsugaru messed with the carriage driver to get out of having to pay him. Although the visuals are not mind-blowing by any means, I like the art and animation so far. The character design for Tsugaru is especially nice. I know this episode review is shorter than usual, but those are the only thoughts coming to mind right now.

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Episode 3: The Immortal and The Oni

In this episode, Aya continues to investigate the family of vampires and their human servants. She concludes that someone from the mansion is probably responsible for the murder. After getting to know everyone’s alibis over dinner, Aya and Tsugaru consider their next move. One of the vampires without a good alibi was Claude, who later sees Aya and Tsugaru in the hallway. He pins Tsugaru to the wall by his throat and tells him to stop investigating the family. After leaving that threat, Claude goes on his way.

Undaunted by the violence, Tsugaru and Aya go with Lord Goddard to the woods, where a vampire hunter was recently detected. Sure enough, when they come to the right spot in the woods, a vampire hunter tries to kill Lord Goddard. The angry vampire quickly catches the hunter and would have killed him. But Aya insists on leaving the hunter alive. She also doesn’t think this man killed Lady Goddard.

After some questioning, the vampire hunter reveals the reason for his attack. It’s revenge after Lord Goddard killed his friend Hugo. But Lord Goddard insists that Hugo attacked him first. The vampire hunter, whose name is Josef, also says Hugo had an ally and was confident he could slay a vampire. Hugo was the owner of the silver stake that killed Lady Hannah. Aya and Tsugaru release Josef, and he runs away. Then Aya tells Lord Goddard it’s time to go back to the mansion and gather everyone for a meeting – she has solved the mystery.

This episode was enjoyable as the previous one and had a little bit more action and mild suspense. I’m a sad that Aya’s investigation upset the harmony of the vampire family, but it was necessary to get to the bottom of the mystery. As for the answer, I’m still not sure. However, my guess is that it was Giselle, who was Hugo’s insider ally. She seems too innocent, and the idea that the butler did it is too overused. The problem with my guess is that Giselle was supposedly singing songs with Charlotte in the laundry room when the murder happened. I don’t have an answer to that, so I could very well be wrong.

The banter between Aya and Tsugaru is something I love. They are a great duo. Tsugaru interests me as a character because he can be quite witty despite seeming like an oaf half the time. His goofiness is really fun to watch. Aya is a great character too because she’s so assertive and direct, but not obnoxious like some female leads. I’m very surprised that this anime is this enjoyable for me so far. Not only are these characters intriguing, but also, the plot moves along at a decent pace for a mystery, and the setting is perfect. I’m definitely looking forward to more of this anime!

Thank you for reading~

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PATREON