As a reader who loves vampire stories, and enjoys mystery all around, this manga looked appealing right away. Boy, if my instinct was right! Just like the sharp intuitions of the peculiar detectives in here . . .

Specialized in demon-related cases, Tsugaru Shinuchi and Aya Rindo are called to solve the murder of a wealthy lady vampire who was a human ally. Imagine a world where demons and humans coexist, and vampire allies are helpful in the town where the murder takes place. Killing them can’t be good, right? So who is behind this, and what’s their motive? This is something that only the most unusual detectives ever can reveal. Their quirkiness and their own mysterious halo make you really want to know their backstories, while their smart remarks and witty dialogues keep your attention alive all the time. Who said analysing clues can’t be fun? Ask the “cage user” . . .

A lovely art style suiting atmosphere and characters really well, a quirky team, and an interesting story ending with quite the cliffhanger. Fans of murder mysteries with Sherlock Holmes’ vibes should grab this volume—and the next one—at a vampire speed!

Undead Girl Murder Farce is built upon an interesting premise: in late 19th century France, the matriarch of a family of human-allied vampires has been slain, and, after prejudiced police officers refuse to take the case, her husband, the respected industrialist Sir Godard, calls in the help of a detective known as a cage user, a bizarre young man who carries a mysterious cage that's much more than it seems.

This manga is a weird one, as one can see by simply looking at the cover (a detective who's a head in a cage isn't something you see every day). It has hints of supernatural mysteries like xxHolic or even Hellsing, but with a lighter tone, though it never truly veers into the level of Farce the title promises. The book doesn't delve too deeply into its characters, despite presenting such intriguing prospects, so one hopes in subsequent volumes some of the backstory will come to light, but the volume contains just enough of a hook to keep you caught for the next adventure. I will certainly be keeping my eye out for Volume 2, especially as the ending leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions (one could say TOO many, as while the perpetrator is unmasked by this volume's end, their motives, on the whole, are still left unexplored until Volume 2).

At times, the art can be basic, even rudimentary, but artist Haruka Tomoyama gets several opportunities to show off their prowess, especially any time there's clothing or hair involved. Indeed, Tomoyama seems to take pure delight in fashion illustration, whether it be the frills and lace of dresses, the deep creases of a turtleneck sweater, or the handsome tartan of a hunting vest, and I also greatly admired how the artist was able to make the characters' hair appear to be flowing realistically, especially that of the main detective, Aya. They also create some appealing half- and/or full-page spreads, in particular one near the beginning of Part 2 involving a deer hunt. There's an impressive level of shading throughout, used simply but effectively to add life to its characters and depth and weight to their forms. The art does dip a bit in the few action scenes in the piece, however, and it can be difficult to follow the motion at times. Though I would never say the art absolutely floored me, there were moments I would stop to appreciate a particular scene or panel that was particularly well done.

On the whole, the unique premise, smart world-building, and offbeat tone were enough to keep me interested, if not utterly enthralled, and the first volume intrigued me enough to look forward to the next, if for nothing else than the hope of getting more information on the bizarre detective trio at the heart of this story, and the resolution to many of the first volume's dangling threads.

A big thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for giving me the chance to review this manga..

This manga definitely has an interesting premise. We follow a detective who has been called upon to discover who had killed this vampire’s wife in their home. There is a peace treaty between the vampires and humans so this is an especially dire situation.

The plot seemed interesting but the actual story grew kind of boring. There was a lot of talking and not a lot of action. The ending sort of piqued my interest but it was predictable. I might continue on with this series!

2.5/5 ⭐️

TW: blood, death, stabbing, fire, dismemberment, beheading, violence.

Do you ever have those stories where it has all the elements that you like, but the storytelling doesn’t do it for you?

That’s how I feel with this manga. The idea was there! I was so looking forward to it. I love a good mystery, and the supernatural elements seemed up my ally. It’s also one of the most creative ones, too. The detective being a headless girl, and the world made me really excited. For some reason, the combination of elements failed to keep me engaged.

There was a lot of info dumping in areas, and I struggled to follow what was going on at times. The mystery was good, and the Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie inspirations were obvious, but I just couldn’t get into it.

I think this is more being not for me. I would definitely recommend, as it is fun and mysterious, but I wish it had much better story telling.

A comedic historical supernatural mystery manga... well, that is certainly a genre that I've never seen before. The plot follows two detectives (one apparently a human and the other a served head in a birdcage) as they solve crimes featuring monsters. In this volume, a vampire hires them to investigate the murder of his wife.

As is the case with many mystery manga I've seen, there's a LOT of info dumping as fast as possible, and then silly shenanigans as they investigate. The characters are not fully fleshed out (but this is volume one to be fair, and many manga take their time in such matters). Some of the jokes are extremely hit or miss (and some of the ones involving Japanese puns may be less appreciated by the readers... though I confess one of them was in my opinion the funniest joke in the book). The volume is also short. VERY short. Much shorter than I expected as the chapters were fairly long.

The art is a both very detailed at times, but also manages to look more sketched out. Sometimes it works well and others I found it a bit off. I'm not an artist and I can't really explain the art style very well, but at times I found it a bit off putting as it personally looks unfinished to me. That admittedly is a personal opinion of the art, I'm sure many others will find it an attractive style.

Overall it's an interesting start to a series. It's one that could grow into something really special... or it could fizzle out. Only future volumes will tell. 3/5 stars.

My thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

It was an ok story. However, i didn‘t really enjoy it much. It was very fast paced and a lot of info dumping. I would’ve like it more, if it had more scenes before the killer was found so that we as readers could actually guess who it is instead of getting told its this person two pages later. The art style was ok, i would’ve like it a bit more i don’t know.. mysterious?
I thought this was gonna be a fun, quick read, but I was just disappointed.
(Thank u netgalley for the e-arc!)

The creators of this story look like fans of Kyougoku Natsuhiko, the standard Japanese detective genre, and themes with vampires, demons, and fantasy historical plots. Or simply put - to have a little of everything.
The protagonist unwinds in a fictional France, where various demons and other genera of monsters have existed and still exist. Our man solves cases with the help of ... a girl's head in a bird cage.
I think the story has potential, but it would look much better animated, because it will be more effective and the huge amount of text will not complicate things (and I think there is something to be desired from the design of the characters). I may not have been in the right setting, but my focus really escaped me here.

The original opinion is in Bulgarian, I apologize for the translation errors. I am adding a link.

A supernatural mystery that is a really short short read. Volume 1 ends up with a cliffhanger. The artwork was really pretty and I am interested in the backstory of all these characters. Overall a pretty interesting read.

Thankyou so much to Netgalley and to Kodansha for allowing me early access.
I've recently got into manga and I really enjoyed this story.

Great story with a Sherlock Holmes vibe, about a vampire who's wife has been murder and the human police have refused to investigate, so they have hired a private detective.

Great, detailed artwork (definitely for an adult audience due to Blood and nude images). I liked all the characters, meeting them and finding out their past and back story.

I love the quick wit of the protagonist, the detectives. I can't wait to read the next one.

Thanks NetGalley and Kodansha for giving me this volume 1 copy but the whole story was underwhelming. It was just confusing and too fast paced for me unfortunately to be impressed by it :/

4/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for providing this e-arc!

It was a fun quick, yet slow, read! The art is pretty but feels a bit dated. Well, the ambience makes sense with it being victorian so i suppose it enhances it. The main characters are great as well! Not all for tricking workers into free labour but still.

Fun little manga with a darker side to it that pleased me a lot. The art was great, the story engaging and I'm truly curious to see where it goes. Might a new series I will follow for some time!! I recommend it!

I thought this manga was perfectly fine. The main premise of human and vampires being allies but not everyone being a fan of that was interesting to read about. I am always a sucker for the time period of the 19th century, so that was a pleasent surprise as i knew nothing going into that story. .As always for me, the charachters all seemed a bit shallow and we dont learn much about any of them, but thats just the fist volume of a series, so i am sure, there will be more to look forward to in the upcoming volumes.

3.5/5 (rated up because of the art)

This is almost a four star volume in my book, its amazing for a first volume in a series! The only reason it isn't a four star is because it started out a little confusing and there were a few spots I had to reread because I got confused again. This is a Victorian era story about vampires who are coexisting with humans and detectives who are rather strange. A murder takes place and these strange detectives are called to figure it out. This story reminds me a bit of the D.Gray-man manga, so if you like that you should check this out!

Disclaimer: I read this in advance on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

Regarding the art my rating is 5/5. There are quite a few scenes with a lot of small detail, and it is done beautifully. The character designs are also very pretty to look at, and their clothing is something that I particularly like and appreciate.

I'm not as keen on the story, but I still think it's a 3/5. It ended on a perfect clifhanger that made me want to read volume two immediately, so it's intriguing enough for me to want to continue with the story. As this is a first volume that is introducing the world and the characters, I understand that we couldn't delve too deep into the action.

At the very beginning there is a reference to the painting by Eugène Delacroix, La Liberté Guidant le Peuple, or Librty Leading the People. This is one of my favorite works of art, and as the setting of this volume is in France I thought it was a fantastic reference.

I look forward to reading this series as more volumes are released.

I have always loved anime and toyed with the idea of reading manga. When I saw Undead Girl Murder Farce 1's description, I knew my time had come to tip my toes in this universe. This story is a historical and satirical horror-mystery - All things I like.

Undead Girl Murder Farce vol. 1 starts with the murder of a wealthy lady who happened to be a vampire. In this world, vampires and humans can coexist, and killing allies is illegal, but the police decide they won't investigate this crime. So her husband hires three investigators to find out who killed his wife.

I loved the quirky, witty dialogues. Our protagonists, the detectives, were everything I was hoping they'd be and more. I cannot wait to see more of them in future volumes! They brought a lot of cheek, satire, and humor to the story.

The mystery in this volume paid homage to classic murder mysteries. The resolution was enjoyable, a proper denouement! I was afraid the content would be too violent, but it wasn't. There was plenty of humor and not too much gore! I highly recommend Undead Girl Murder Farce 1 to those new to manga and those who are already fans!

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Kodansha, Yugo Aosaki, Haruka Tomoyama, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Undead Girl Murder Farce 1.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha, Yugo Aosaki, and Tomoyama for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded like an interesting, spooky-humor murder mystery. In this world, vampires (a type of demon) have now integrated into human society (late 1800's). When a vampire's wife is murdered, the police don't seem to care. This brings the vampire in question to call in a Cage User, someone who carries a little special something around in the birdcage. Three investigators, (two) seemingly human at first, are called in to investigate. When the secret of the bird cage is revealed, so is the interesting quirk of one of the investigators who can seems to see and smell things with a very fine sense. She can track the murderer no problem, and it's probably someone to be least expected!

I really enjoyed the detective characters in this manga. They are unique, fun, and quirky, and have more to them than what they appear (more to be revealed on volume 2). I wasn't a huge fan of the vampire family or other characters, but the investigators are what this quirky murder mystery manga is all about. Very little graphic images, more humor over horror. A fun first installment.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
I think this manga tried to create an eerie atmosphere but didn't live up to what it could be? Story was slightly confusing.