https://v.animethemes.moe/UndeadGirlOP1. You cant tell me this wasnt the best OP of the season. Unmute for vibes. 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. Theres 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 its difficult to create something memorable out of the vast sea of mystery media choice and Im happy to say that Undead Murder Farce stood out nicely so come one come all into the pseudoMeiji 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 Ive 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 Arsne 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 its 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. Dialogueheavy 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 duos 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 Kaguyasama: 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 isnt particularly pretty and I suspect the budget for this show wasnt huge at all but Omatas directing really elevated the shows quality to greater heights as theres just a distinct uniqueness about how the show looks. The camera work and the storyboarding really embodied a style that felt extravagant suiting the shows setting very well. Furthermore it has a sense of rakugo in it and you can tell that Omatas previous directing endeavours helped shape the way this show was directed as well. https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/7e742481b42504b857af4c30949661bb.mp4 Omatas direction commands the viewers attention through its unique art styles and camera work resembling a stage play 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 thats a testament to how much faith I had in the director. Man this show really flew by didnt it?