Murder

sothis Apr 20, 2008

6.7

StoryAn entertaining parody at heart, Murder shows us a murder scene which is solved in a variety of different ways by a variety of different people. The only recurring sequence is the beginning of each scene, in which a woman opens a door, sees a dead body, and screams. What happens afterwards is anyone's game! Though short in length, Murder is a treat to watch. Each segment is cute on its own but as a whole, they form a whole that is amusing at the very least. From vampires to James Bond, plot elements help paint a unique picture that will appeal to a variety of fans. There isn't much else to say without spoiling the entirety of the ten minutes; Murder has an interesting story, though I've rated the score down a bit due to how niche its target audience may be. AnimationWell, it's from the 60s, so it's fairly inevitable that Murder's animation would be extremely dated. What's so great about Murder, however, is that in only ten minutes we see many different visual (and aural) interpretations of the same scene. One segment is based on an art school piece and thus the characters are flowy and abstract; another is styled to look like James Bond movies; and yet another is constructed to look like a vampire classic. Each different set of animation is appropriate for the desired style and is amusing to watch.Across all segments, the animation is extremely minimal with basic lines and generally no background shading. Movement is jerky and non-fluid, but that's what should be expected of something this old. A solid 7 for the variety of animation styles and decent appearance for the time, but the dated aspect keeps the score from being higher. SoundLike its animation, Murder's audio is extremely dated - but still very effective. Each segment has its own appropriate melodies that fit the tone in question, from an old vampire film to James Bond. There is no dialogue in Murder, but a woman (or really, a chorus of people) screams at the beginning of each tale in a cheesy bravado. CharactersThere are only two recurring characters: the screaming woman and the dead guy. Each murder solver is a little different than the one before, yet the same villain is always apprehended each time. My favorite variation on the characters is the victim who turns out to be a vampire, and the detective who kills him with a garlic clove and wooden stake! In general though, the characters are all entertaining and fit their segments well.OverallMurder is solid in every way for its time, though is very dated compared to today's standards. Murder mystery fans will appreciate Murder's parodies of every form of the genre, and anime history buffs will appreciate the antiquity of the piece. Most other people should probably steer clear; the score of 6.7 indicates what I feel would be the enjoyment level of the majority of anime fans out there.