I think I’ve discovered why Hatakeyama Mamoru goes by two names (on many shows he’s credited as Omata Shinichi).  It has to be because one name simply isn’t enough to hold all that genius.  I spent a while after watching this finale trying to think of the last time an anime episode left me so much in awe of the director’s choices, and I eventually settled on the finale of Tokyo Ghoul √A (directed by Morita Shuhei).  There’s been a lot of incredible sakuga since then – Made in Abyss and Tengoku Daimakyou sprang immediately to mind.  But strictly in terms of style, it was that Tokyo Ghoul √A finale that last had the same impact on me.

The funny thing is, it was only then that my mind was really blown.  Because – as I usually do after a stunner like this – I went to check the credits for the episode.  And the episode director here is Koike Yuki, a legendary name in sakuga circles.  I’ll save you the trouble of looking up the answer when I ask you who worked key animation on that Ghoul finale, because it was Koike Yuki  (among others).  Who also, I might add, was an episode director and animation director on many of Made in Abyss’ most stunning episodes.  There’s just no substitute for pedigree.

The other funny thing is, Undead Girl Murder Farce had kind of lost a step the last couple of episodes.  It was still damn good, but there was a certain sharpness that was missing.  Thus I was kind of prepared for a good-not-great finale, which made this monster a very pleasant surprise.  It’s not that there was a lot of remaining mystery, at least as far as who the culprit was – it could only have been Jutte (though some of the details were surprising in a clever way).  It was all about the flourish, the flair, the energy, the sheer joy this show has in knocking your socks off.  It was the work of artists who’re brilliant and not afraid to show that off.

There were so many great moments here, starting with another really interesting interaction between Tsugaru and Victor.  The former returns the favor in saving the latter’s life, this time from the Royce agents (life expectancy is short in that job).  And Victor fulfills his end of the deal, returning the diamond.  He even answers Tsugaru’s question about whether Aya’s body is still intact (yes), and volunteers that it’s in London.  He’s clearly an honorable creature, and I’m not even fully certain his loyalties aren’t divided.  The other thing I loved about this scene was Tsugaru dropping a Musashi/Vagabond reference (Shishido Baiken), despite the fact that the character hadn’t been invented yet at the time UGMF is set.

The whole into sequence is basically a glorious throwback to the kitchen sink days of the London arc (Chekov’s panties – or the lack of them – even make an appearance).  That’s all a setup for Aya’s grand reveal, ably assisted by Shizuku this time as she’s sent Tsugaru off on another assignment.  Again, that Jutte is the culprit is not a surprise, and I’m certain it’s not meant to be.  Not even that she and Louise were (by the end) the same person – we were meant to have pieced that together.  It’s all about the way every moment is composed, drawn, and animated.  It’s perfect, staged in ways I could never have dreamed up in a thousand of Aya’s lifetimes.  And those flashbacks!

I can’t go on forever about Hatakeyama and Koike’s brilliance here, and there are those better qualified than me to do so anyway.  But the was they use both monochrome and color to make an impact is truly remarkable.  The two main fight scenes in the episode – Carmilla vs. Shizuku and Tsugaru vs. Jutte  – are a study in contrasts, yet equally stunning.  But just the passages of Aya talking to the assembled villagers are awe-inspiring.  She’s confirming a lot of things we already know or at least surmised, but the means are interesting – like the clue provided by the moths and their scales.  And Jutte also being Nora was certainly not a given, though a possibility.

The big wrinkle here is that Jutte in fact killed only human girls, not werewolf – and that she used the corpses to engineer the escape of those girls from Wolphinhel.  And they needed rescuing because of the whole kindsführer plan, which was the reason why Rosa wanted to get Jutte out of Wolphinhel in the first place.  So in the end the werewolf villagers are hardly innocents in all this, though that doesn’t mean they deserved to be wiped out.  Which isn’t even what Jutte necessarily wanted herself, and she was more about foiling the kindsführer plan than straight-up revenge.

Tsugaru’s job, then, was to capture Jutte when she fled the scene of the reveal.  Which he does in his usual flamboyant style (zenza my ass), chaining her up when she shakes herself dry.  But Aya decides to let her go, based on the fact that she wasn’t acting out of vengeance, but trying to save girls from an evil plan.  Still, she murdered several children, so I’m not sure I’m fully on-board with Aya’s logic here.  But Aya and Tsugaru are monsters themselves (as witness Aya choosing to teach everyone a deadly lesson, and Tsugaru seeing though it), and one shouldn’t fall into the trap of antrhopomorphizing them too much – their values aren’t always aligned with conventional ideas of right and wrong.

I never felt right calling Undead Girl Murder Farce a sleeper with Hatakeyama-Omata directing, but it was certainly an unknown quantity.  The direction and overall style are the most obvious thing making this series great, but there are elements in the writing – though it’s inconsistent – that strongly contribute.  The way it depicts iconic, larger than life figures is on-point (especially compared with something like Yukoku no Moriarty).  The world-building is fantastic (admittedly Hatakeyama has a lot to do with that).  And most importantly the main trio provide a perfect foundation for the narrative.  Shizuku grew on me, but Aya and Tsugaru are two of the best, funniest anime characters of the year.  Their chemistry is totally off the charts.

I have no idea if we’ll see any more Undead Girl Murder Farce anime – there’s no reason to think we will – and normally I’d be bemoaning that about now.  But I don’t feel down about it, because that was such a spectacular finale, executed with such abandon and pure relish.  It was great fun, and it has air of something that was produced with fun firmly in mind.  Anime is many things but none more rewarding than a celebration of great individual talents, a means for them to express their genius and their love of the medium.  That Undead Girl Murder Farce is such a shining example of that is alone enough reason to call it a smashing success.