Undead Girl Murder Farce, Vol. 1 takes place in a world in which humans, vampires and demons co-exist, though not necessarily in harmony with each other. Written by Yugo Aosaki and illustrated by Haruka Tomoyama, the first volume plays out like an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, complete with a lot of the same key players, tropes and plot devices typically found in Christie's novels: the genius but egotistical detective protagonist, the aristocratic family, a murder victim and a list of suspects all confined to a single location in a small town.
The story takes place in 19th century France, where a law exists affording human-allied vampires human status and protection -- provided they don’t attack humans. One such vampire protected under this law is Sir Godard, who lives in a posh chateau in a small French town called Givre. Godard lives peacefully with his vampire wife Hannah, his three vampire children -- Claude, Raoul and Charlotte -- and two human servants in his employ, a butler named Alfred and a maid named Giselle. His world comes tumbling down, however, when his wife is mysteriously murdered within the chateau. He then employs a Japanese private detective named Aya Rindo and her two assistants -- Tsugaru Shinuchi and Shizuku Hasei -- to investigate the murder.
In terms of plot development, in true Christie fashion, Aosaki and Tomoyama depict their detective character, Aya, meticulously inspecting every detail of the crime scene, including seemingly insignificant pieces of evidence. Aya takes eyewitness accounts from everyone present at the chateau at the time the murder took place and pays close attention to any inconsistencies in their testimonies. In the style of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, everyone close to the victim is a suspect in Aya's eyes, and every behavior and action is of value.
As details of the murder mystery unravel, plenty of red herrings are thrown in by Aosaki and Tomoyama to keep the reader guessing at who the murderer might be. By the time Vol. 1 reaches a climactic moment, in which every suspect is gathered in a room and all evidence is presented to reveal the identity of the killer, the reader may or may not be shocked -- depending on their own sleuthing skills. The story, however, doesn’t wrap up there. It ends on a cliffhanger that effectively entices you to keep following the story in Vol. 2.
Illustrator Haruka Tomoyama succinctly captures the gothic aesthetics befitting a murder mystery involving a spooky mansion occupied by vampires in a small, creepy French town. Her use of light and dark for both interior and exterior scenes helps set the tone, along with the design of the 19th-century chateau using elements of gothic architecture to help convey the eerie feel. The character designs by Tomoyama are equally well done. Each character is given a distinct look, unique body language and facial expressions that fully capture their personalities.
On the whole, Undead Girl Murder Farce Vol. 1 is a highly engaging, gothic murder mystery manga written in the style of a classic whodunnit novel; employing a similar cast of characters and utilizing a lot of the same tropes and plot devices to keep the reader interested in what happens next.
