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animehouse-moe · 9 months

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Undead Girl Murder Farce Episode 5: The Immortal of London

I know, you know, we all know. Undead Girl Murder Farce sits atop this season twirling its crown around its head. Rather than resting on its laurels and taking credit for all that it's done, it reaches higher, it digs deeper, bringing us closer to the goal of the Oni Hybrid and Bodiless Immortal. And by God if I don't want to gush about how much I love this episode more than anything else in the world at this moment.

The episode opens with Arsène Lupin stealing The Phantom of The Opera alongside a specific ruby, so we're treated to quite the farce of a conversation. A really great personification of the sentiment of this story, and an interesting opposition to Aya and Tsugaru. Also Mamoru Miyano as Lupin is just an insanely good fit.

Also also, if it wasn't clear, both these people are not explicitly human. They weren't exactly all that subtle about naming conventions here, as Arsène Lupin translates to "Male Wolf". Though I should also say, it isn't this anime that gives Lupin his namesake, but French author Maurice Leblanc.

It's right about now that I started getting goosebumps about where this piece was going. Arsène Lupin is frequently stated to be the French counterpart to Sherlock Holmes, who just so happens to be working this case. Not only that, but we have Aya Rindo in on it.

This is Yugo Aosaki putting his wit in contention with the greats of the detective world. An arc all about challenging himself as a creator by pitting his characters against the giants in the history of detective novels.

I don't know if people really understand that. It's like if you made a superhero and placed them in the same story as Superman and Batman. It's like if you stuck a character of your own making in between Mickey Mouse and Popeye. The sheer confidence. No, not even. The scale of the challenge in balancing the world of the greats alongside your own is something else entirely. It's not Aosaki borrowing the personalities of authors for the basis of their characters, but bringing in historical greats to provide the foundation for the detective equivalent of Dark Horse and DC vs Marvel.

Anyways, rant over, take a look at these super pretty layouts from Lupin and The Phantom.

The idea of Lupin being in Sherlock's silhouette/shadow is just such a great piece. I love it. Also, the consistency in characterization through visuals? I actually can't get enough. Lupin and The Phantom are almost always shown from a side profile. It's just so subtle yet so good. Such a great detail to provide life to a character through things as simple as positioning and angles.

Anyways, look at Tsguaru's silly little walk here. The man is so deeply unserious and showboat-y that you can't help but love him.

In terms of more serious pieces though, I loved this pseudo first person view of Tsugaru from a perspective similar to Aya's. The camera movement really sells the fact that it's supposed to be her looking up at him.

And finally, we reach our first rival. And he doesn't disappoint at all. Right away, his quick wits and observations are put on full blast as he analyzes Aya, Tsugaru, and Shizuku at a glance. It's such a great cut that immediately sells this character's observational ability. The way he looks over Shizuku sharply, reasoning that she carries a weapon, while Tsugaru is a more casual gaze that traces his blue vein. It tells the story of the fact that Holmes (who we do not know is Holmes at this point in time) is wary of the empty handed maid carrying something large, and is more relaxed about the person carrying a bird cage.

The entire approach to how analytical Holmes' is is just impeccable. I love it, all the little details and the focus on his gaze and how it shifts and softens or hardens depending on what he's presented with.

And then of course there's this scene of the unknown duo from Aya's perspective. Absolutely love how they dance around the fact that it's Sherlock Holmes and Watson in this whole exchange. So creative and well done.

Anyways, our pair of duos gets apprehended by Scotland Yard and they become frenemies in their brief carriage ride together. Absolutely love how they compare and contrast Aya and Holmes through various cuts and that they are in competition with one another. Aya is the first to make note of the redness on the hands of an actual pair of delinquents, while Holmes is the one that correctly deduces what it is they were carrying. Really commendable work to have such a solid back and forth.

Also, the fact that Aya is looking downward while Holmes holds his gaze upwards. Just great visuals to set in stone their rivalry and opposition to one another.

Moving forward, the reveal of Sherlock Holmes is made in the carriage, and is quite funny at that. But it does its job and doesn't linger. Rather, we move onto a pair of characters we've only been teased about, our duo of vampires shown at the end of the previous episode. It's interesting because at least between the two of them, there doesn't seem to be any sort of incredibly strong bond or history. Which is even more surprising due to them both being vampires. Of course, the piece that gets me with this moment isn't the odd conversation between the pair, it's the ending cut of Moriarty. It's hard to convey with just a gif, but the way that the woman vampire greets Moriarty at the beginning of the cut, and it continues up until where it ends, there's just something so satisfying with how it reaches past where you expect it to.

Alright, so we now arrive at the mansion that is the source of this mystery: Phileas Fogg and the Penultimate Night. There's a lot to take in, but this cut is absolutely my favorite. The way it makes use of the conversation and building layout to create something so simple yet so striking is just wonderful.

From here however we flip to and from Lupin and The Phantom and our group at Fogg's mansion. For the sake of clarity I'm going to see through the cuts of the former before returning to the latter.

We immediately open with our two phantoms in a very unique layout. Definitely adore the depth of the layout, but more than that appreciate how they immediately immerse us in Lupin's sensibilities as we see (presumably) stolen art in the room alongside all sorts of plans regarding the mansion.

Now, how did they get plans for the mansion? As it turns out that question is answered later on in the episode as Fogg bought it from the Temple Church, rather than having it built himself.

The layouts in this sequence are just plain satisfying as Lupin and Erik dance around one another in conversation. Also, for those that are curious about the order of events, there's conveniently a clock placed in the room during Erik and Lupin's conversation, and we get a few looks at Big Ben throughout the episode.

Alright, back to the mansion. Right away, it's established how crowded and full this mystery is with people eager to solve and stop it before it can occur. While not of the highest fidelity, the bold decision to separate the characters on the x and y axis rather than just one of them provides a more loose sense of how "together" this group is. That is, they're joined by circumstance, not purpose.

Also, here's a really interesting scene. Yes, the chairs obstructing parts of the characters is one thing, but pay attention to the layering of characters here. Our newest addition, the one that thinks themselves above shaking the hand of Fogg is the one that appears at the front of the group intruding upon Fogg's mansion. Following that we have Holmes and Aya on the same layer, then their subordinate/partner in Watson and Tsguaru. Following that we have the loose stragglers alongside Shizuku, who always separates herself when involved in mysteries.

Speaking of that congested and overfilled feeling, this cut of the group walking in a cramped hallway conveys it incredibly well.

As I'm running out of space for images, I'm going to speed things along and just make mention of loose ideas.

Firstly, there's an interesting detail on the massive pillar that exists in the middle of the massive basement lurking beneath Fogg's mansion. To me, it seems like two people (possibly even children) holding hands. Considering that the space is called the Chamber of Additional Crimes, one can only wonder. Especially since there's only a sole throne within the massive empty space.

What is more interesting however is the fact that the silver box, the throne that it's sat upon, and the pillar that creates the exterior of the chamber all share similar design language. Apparent on the exterior of the chamber and on the silver box is the design of flowers. An oddly specific choice considering they should have nothing to do with one another.

Breezing onward, Aya reads aloud the inscription (which pertains to werewolves) on the Penultimate Night that Fogg produces from the silver box, and we're treated to some very out there visuals once more. The confidence in the exploration of color and oddity to complement detailed exposition is really something else. Works incredibly well to keep viewers engaged with what they see as well as what they hear.

During an explanation on the history of the gem, we also get treated to a surprisingly stylized piece of art depicting the battle between werewolves and dwarves. Was very surprised to see it, but I really like the style.

We make a brief stop back in with Moriarty for some conversation, and get treated to a wild Edward Allen Poe (alongside others). Nothing of note really, but I did want to point it out.

We quickly return back to Holmes and Aya, and a really interesting exchange (if you can call it that) takes place. Holmes talks confidently about his observations and their meanings, while Aya takes the silent backseat and explores the details of the chamber. It's a great and subtle piece regarding the approaches of each of the detectives and how their personalities influence their interaction in regards to the mystery.

It's also during Holmes' explanation that we get this interesting piece. For whatever reason Watson and Holmes are shown separated by Tsugaru's hand. I know it's not at all likely, but given the separation I can't help but feel like there's a chance it's trying to tell viewers that Watson is a traitor/spy.

And the episode's end. Ishikawa Goemon. For those who don't know (like myself 15 minutes ago), Ishikawa Goemon is Japan's Robin Hood equivalent. More specifically though, Aya is undoubtedly referencing a Kabuki play in which Goemon appeared in. In my research the only one that remains popular to this day is The Golden Gate and The Paulownia Crest. Realistically, it does make sense as the chamber has a golden gate. For those interested I'd definitely recommend taking a look into the plot of the play.

Either way, we've reached the end. I've talked about so much and so many different pieces here that I can hardly tell up from down and left from right in the thoughts. It's a damn good episode. A damn good episode. And I think I'll leave it at that.

#undead girl murder farce #アンデッドガール・マーダーファルス #mystery anime #supernatural anime #anime recommendation #anime review #anime and manga #anime

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