Undead Girl Murder Farce

Undead Girl Murder Farce manages to catch the attention with a flashy poster and interesting premise, at the same time succeeding to keep you interested throughout the show, and never letting go of mysterious veil and the impression of farce.

Foremost, it's important to understand, that any work of art incorporates multiple genres into it, even if it claims to be only one or two. This anime is not an exception, as it closely ties immersiveness, detective action, and character-driven plot together - it's not just "fantasy & mystery", and therefore it's wrong to compare this anime to ones that are story-driven or where main characters ... are the "chosen one" and plot-armored.

The main cast of this show is not a main driving force of the plot, because not everything revolves around them; they're not overpowered and cannot claim whatever they want. Instead, universe is heavily based on supporting actors, that have their own problems and that may request the help of the main cast, or rather, help the main cast in their quest.

As an example, I can highlight, that some important encounters happen by chance in the show, like in the second arc. Their unlikeliness not only contributes to the whole "farce" that happens in the show, but also allows characters to get to know each other better in atypical situations.

The main cast, in turn, is based on the opposites of personalities (Shizuku/Tsugaru) and a layer of glue between them (Aya). Tsugaru, having an uneasy backstory is a quite extravagant and perverted person, while Shizuku is just an assertive and loyal maid who protects Aya. Some shows suffer from showing opposite personalities and making a buffoonery out of this, but this duo, fortunately, avoids this. Tsugaru, while being extravagant, is not too stupid, and only behaves mildly foolish before Shizuku and Aya, while Shizuku is enough self-composed to ignore Tsugaru's foolishness and keep herself in control. That allows for fairly realistic and not overly nonsensical interactions between the characters, while also contributing to the "farce".

Roles in their trio are well-adjusted, where Aya is not suitable for anything than being a think tank because there's essentially nothing left of her. This leaves all the hard work to Tsugaru and Shizuku, Tsugaru being the one who uses brute force to overcome the situations, and Shizuku being the one who uses the tactical advantage of a musket to take the initiative. This adds a little bit of realism to the worldbuilding and again, makes supporting characters more relevant and contributing to the universe.

The plot itself is divided into three arcs, where each "arc" can be separated into two parts: investigation and fights. The investigation part introduces the new characters that will contribute to the plot of the arc, and explains the arc's premise. The fight arc serves as a climax of the arc, where the villain is exposed, and some action occurs. Arcs are done that way, that each one prioritizes something specific, the first one being introductory to the show and more narrative-based, the second one being one that rises action and builds more tension, and the last one being "all-in-one" climax arc. Although, it can be said, that each of the arcs follows its own Freytag's pyramid.

That, along with the character-driven plot, makes you really wonder what will happen next in the show. Who will appear, will they oppose the main characters, and will they? Or, maybe, one of the characters will throw an unexpected turn in, but not the one that you predicted? This makes the show really breathtaking. But not understand it wrong: heavy reliance on supporting characters doesn't make the main cast irrelevant, it only helps them achieve what they need, like it is in practice - you do a favor for someone, and they return it back. While the first two arcs are based on explaining the world and characters, the last one progresses toward the main characters' goal, and it feels natural. Many of the shows just throw in events that drastically change the plot in an instant, while this show takes a different approach, gradually moving the characters toward their goals. It's hard to make right, but this show manages - and there's not that many similar shows.

Overall, I most liked the way Undead Girl Murder Farce develops the plot. Events don't shift the plot in an instant, and everything is adequately paced, with each moment of screen time equally contributes to the plot. I'd even rate this show 12/10 for how well it's paced and written, if I could. But so far - it is 10/10.

It was... Nice. Just nice
Definitely my vibe (I love Kuroshitsuji, Vanitas no Karte, and Moriarty the patriot - all set in victorian era, all about solving mysteries, all with an exceptionally strong and intelligent protagonist, almost all having Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper), but I feel like everything was just too chaotic. We've got few short arcs, a LOT of characters, glimpses of individual storylines, but I feel like nothing was fully developed, except the last one about werewolves.
In conclusion, it was quite an unsatisfying watch, mainly due to the lack of coherence and superficiality of the presented story
But the vibe was good, I ... guess...

It started with an intriguing premise and captivating first episode. The initial plot setup was full of potential, leaving you eager to see where it would lead. However, as the series progressed, disappointment set in. It became meandering and lost its direction.
The character designs were interesting, but with average animation and composition, it wasn’t anything special.
The animation quality also suffered, with inconsistent pacing, and lackluster fight scenes. It's regrettable that a show with such a strong start ultimately failed to deliver on its early potential.
... I would not recommend it to others due to its disappointing execution and overall lackluster animation.
The OP song was cool tho.