Undead Murder Farce Episode 4 Review: The Game is Afoot

Undead Murder Farce is a niche anime on multiple levels, from its mashup of European and Japanese 19th-century renditions of monsters to its murder mystery plot. The latest episodes were decidedly more exposition-heavy without as much to keep the viewers engaged, but Lapin Track brought the heat with the latest episode. In my spoiler-light review of Undead Murder Farce Episode 4, there’s a clear payoff as it wraps up its first mystery, the murder of Lord Godard’s wife, Hannah.

The Stakes Have Been Raised

In the previous episode’s review, I lamented that the pace of the series was a bit slow. It was a necessary episode where Aya Rindo gathered her clues, but in Episode 4 it was worth the time investment. Aya gathered her suspects and laid out the proof and her deductions, along with the important complicating twist that the culprit, much like the victim, was a vampire. But the added twist was that the killer wanted the evidence to point toward a human assailant.

I won’t go into detail on the culprit as I genuinely urge you to watch it unfold for yourself. It’s a compelling and smart analysis of some widely-understood lore about vampires along with the tricky logistics of staging a murder in a large home with multiple residents. But it’s at the end, beyond the vampire slaying, that we find the stakes have been raised. Presenting to Lord Godard the indisputable evidence of Hannah’s murder, Aya gets information about the man who removed her head from her body in exchange.

Thinking One Step A-Head

The series continues to mock Aya’s condition, but in this case, it pays off. Her remarkable intellect shows itself immensely in this step-by-step analysis of the clues, but she remains aware of her limitations. Tsugaru achieves his first big moment in the series by defending Aya from the killer who, cornered by the truth, attacks her.

The Series Shows Monster Potential

In Undead Murder Farce Episode 4, it also becomes clear that there’s a big world beyond immortals, oni, and vampires. There are teases of characters from the Sherlock Holmes canon, Frankenstein, Carmilla, and more. This is in addition to what’s teased in the show’s opening title sequence, but it directly suggests the world is about to open up.

If you’ve been following along so far, the first small arc was a demonstration of Aya’s sleuthing prowess in a world of mythological murders. But now we’ll get to see that world populated with legendary figures from across multiple European cultures. It’s extremely exciting and could feel like an especially fresh take on the mystery genre.

The infusion of action, along with Tsugaru’s position as an outsider and sadistic Seinen traits keep things unique. His deuteragonist role alongside Aya, the star’s genius deductions, go hand-in-hand with great writing and some strong animation that crescendos to a peak when the cards are down.

_{This review of Undead Murder Farce Episode 4 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.}