Some murder mysteries take longer than others to resolve, such as in Undead Murder Farce. Despite having an extremely interesting premise, great characters, and fun gimmicks aplenty, it can lose some of its excitement when those are overlooked in favor of exposition. Dialogue is crucial when writing a compelling mystery, but there are still reasonable limits. Here is our review of Undead Murder Farce Episode 3!
The Curious Incident of the Vampire in the Nighttime
Undead Murder Farce Episode 3 follows similar directions set by Episode 2, which makes it a bit trickier to review while looking for fresh observations. Aya and Tsugaru maintain their ghoulish chemistry, and playing house guests to sophisticated, seemingly benevolent vampires also feels familiar.
The central purpose of this seems to be to keep us comfortable while they seek out the murderer, which it mildly does with some goofy banter between Tsugaru and Aya, and some entertaining sleuthing. The murder itself is at this point the most interesting part, and the episode serves to tease, but never satisfy, my curiosity about it.
You Know My Methods, Shinuchi
Aya Rindo remains the most interesting character in the series. Every scene is one she chews up, and gimmicks around the script and character interactions focus on her, the classy, Japanese talking head. While it may start to feel a little played-out at times, such as people still checking under the table in disbelief that she has no torso attached to her head, it’s understandable: wouldn’t you be in denial?
Either way, the suspension of disbelief angle aside, Aya’s knack for sleuthing was by far the most interesting part of this episode. In Episode 3 we see her eliminate multiple suspects from her list on account of simple physical details like blemishes, while others she doesn’t suspect due to logical reasons like their proven physical location at the time of the murder. It’s here we see a nice little mix of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot being channeled.
Is This an Episode Most Foul?
I don’t think Undead Murder Farce turned in a bad Episode 3, but it didn’t feel as fresh or clever as in my review of the first 2 episodes. It introduces interesting new characters and flashbacks into the mix including Hugo and other mysterious people you should keep track of. It incorporates plot developments and keeps track of the murder’s details down to the last morsel.
However, it also retreads familiar ground. While it’s entertaining to see Aya and Tsugaru riff off one another with more jokes about her being a talking head it’s…getting exhausting too. We need some proper conflict, not just something that can be so easily swept away by Aya’s charm or deductions.
Episode 3 was also loaded with exposition, meaning you will need to pay extra attention to the installment, but it felt less compelling than previous entries. This is due in some part to not many new characters joining the fray, but it was also a necessary lull: you can’t build to a climax in the story without episodes like these, and if it’s pulled off, a great twist could happen later to force viewers to see this episode in a different light.
The Verdict
For those following along with Undead Murder Farce, this episode might cause some viewers to drop off a bit. Given the amazing characters that are still slated to appear, and who have even been mentioned already in the show, it’d be a waste not to continue.
But if UMF wants to maintain similar levels of hype and presence as that of other shows in the 2023 Summer Season, it’ll need to give us something to sink our teeth into with the next episode.
This review of Undead Murder Farce Episode 3 was made using a screener provided by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures. Undead Murder Farce Episode 1 premiered on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at 10:25 AM PT, and is available to stream weekly on Crunchyroll.
