Undead Murder Farce: Season 1/ Episode 2 – Recap and Review (with Spoilers)

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General Information

This section Includes information about the Director, Writer, and Cast.

Plot Recap

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The Murder Of The Lady In The House – Jean, Annie

It’s 1898, two years since the first episode, and relations between the supernatural and humans remain complicated. From what we’re told, Count Dracula has fallen, but Jean, a vampire, has long been an ally to humans. For 20 years, he hasn’t drunk human blood, but this doesn’t make people any less suspicious.

Which is why the death of his wife, Hannah, a former human, is very suspicious. News reporters from all around gather to get a comment or a scoop. However, while they are the ones who seem like real bloodsuckers, 14-year-old reporter Annie Kerber of EPOC News seems different. Maybe it is because she is young, and her curiosity isn’t laced with animosity? Either way, Jean makes it clear to her that he wants justice for his wife’s murder but seems to believe he won’t get it from the human world. So, with that in mind, he is securing the assistance from a duo from the east who investigate monster cases.

Your Reputation Precedes You – Jean, Aya, Tsugaru, Shizuku, Raoul, Claude

Despite gaining quite a reputation since leaving Japan, it seems most aren’t aware that Tsugaru isn’t a detective, nor is Aya without a body. Like Tsugaru, upon meeting Aya and Shizuku, the assumption is that Shizuku, like a ventriloquist, can talk without moving her lips. This makes Tsugaru lifting the veil from the bird cage shocking for Jean, Claude, and Raoul. They gawk, question, and Aya handles it all with grace.

The Timeline Is Off – Jean, Aya, Tsugaru, Charlotte, Giselle, Alfred

While Alfred sets up rooms for the night, Aya goes straight to work. She wishes to see where Hannah was killed, asks Jean multiple questions, and something is missing, wrong, or strange when all is said and done. Aya questions why Hannah looked so peaceful despite a stake going through her heart? Never mind, with her being a vampire, with heightened senses, why are there no signs of her awakening? Also, taking note of her being a vampire, why would anyone attack them at night when they are at their strongest?

The list goes on to ask why did the murderer leave their holy water at the scene, how did they know a silver stake from a hunter was in the storage room, and why did they put the stake back? Aya has so many questions, and with two points left, who knows if Charlotte’s caretaker, Giselle, might be mentioned, or Alfred, who has been around since Jean stopped drinking human blood.

Review

Highlights

World Building

Going from Japan to Europe, France specifically, and establishing monsters exist worldwide makes it clear this isn’t just some phenomenon local to Japan. But, what also is of interest is the question of what are the rules regarding the series’ monsters. Jean is a vampire, but he can walk out in sunlight. Silver still affects him, yet he goes to church on Sundays, where there are surely crosses. He doesn’t drink human blood, but it isn’t clear if other animals are a substitute or, even in the late 1800s, if he may have come up with something synthetic.

A lot of questions are triggered beyond the murder, but with being coy about some things and going against the grain in others, it is hard to not be rather interested in the world “Undead Murder Farce” is developing.

Developing A Interesting Case

I don’t know about you, but I’ve become accustomed to episodic cases, whether it is medical or investigatory. This isn’t to say I like it, but with most shows trying to be accessible and where people can jump in at any time throughout the series, this is what happens. It seems “Undead Murder Farce” doesn’t want to do that. This entire episode is about building up Jean’s case and establishing who is who in his household.

Mind you, what we end with is just Aya giving her observation of what doesn’t make sense after hearing Jean’s story. She hasn’t started to investigate in the form of interrogating anyone, going into too many areas to have Tsugaru look for what Jean may have missed much, just a general observation about what is not adding up.

This means this case has to be at least two to three episodes, which is it pays off? Oh, we are going to be in love!

On The Fence

Wondering If The Investigations Will Draw Out Justice For Our Leads

While we are overjoyed about the first case we get to see, two previous cases are noted but were handled during the off-screen time jump, it does leave us to wonder what is going to happen with Aya and Tsugaru getting justice for themselves? Is the idea by investigating crimes done to other “Monsters,” they may find the one who did them wrong? If it has been two years and they haven’t found them, what are the chances they may have gone to the Americas, Africa, or somewhere else in Asia? The world is big, and finding one man is not going to be an easy task. So does this mean we should expect it to be multiple seasons, which is never guaranteed for any anime, to get a resolution?