Rec Post for AA's Sister Media: "Who's The Murderer?"
...I'll bite.
I know what you'll say. What are you even talking about. No one has heard of "Who's the Murderer?" here. It's true. It's obscure media here. It doesn't know of Ace Attorney. It's not a show about lawyers. And yet it is Ace Attorney's soul sister if there ever was a soul sister for pieces of media.
--So, what is Who's the Murderer? anyway?
It's a murder-mystery variety show produced by MangoTV, available in full for free, on their official Youtube channel. Until recently, it was fully subbed in English save for some eps. Unfortunately, this varies now, but S1, S5, S6, S7 and S9 are always fully subbed.
Most episodes are self-contained murder-mystery games, in which one or more Detective(s) solve a murder or more with the help of a group of suspects and evidence left on the scene. Murderers can lie, others cannot.
--And why should I, an AA lover, care?
Because these two pieces of media are soul sisters who don't know each other. If you like AA, there are big chances you will find Who's the Murderer? charming (and will sometimes feel AA-level of kinship in the shenanigans).
1. Investigate and Argue
At its core, AA is a murder-mystery. Takumi Shu initially set out to write a detective's story and it shows. Who's the Murderer? is a not-so-classic, excellent murder-mystery, but it also has rounds of investigations to search for evidence, and then rounds of "group discussions"...in which the cast often ends up arguing about the meaning of evidence and what not. In terms of format, those two are more similar than they have business being.
2. The fucking Whimsy
We've all screamed at AA physics and "oh my god, he's interrogating a parrot", and the orca is a witness and of course, Phoenix twists his ankle after hitting his head on a telephone pole, of course.
Crank that up a few levels and you get the spirit of Who's the Murderer?. It is wholly unapologetic about its crack (but serious with its physics?). And the uninhibited silly leads to genius.
3. Beloved Characters
Most people ultimately love AA for the characters. Who's The Murderer? mostly does self-contained episodes, so you'd think it'd be hard to love characters. WRONG. I am frequently devastated and in love with WTM characters, even outside of the few recurring verses.
Also, the cast (or players of the game) is recurring. This means, you end up liking the cast, who have their own dynamics overlapping with characters. It's an extremely good cast, led by a middle-aged fox and the most middle-aged babygirl you will ever see.
4. You didn't ask for Queer but have it anyway
Neither AA nor WTM purport to be queer. But well, AA has its ships and its myriad of lines that lend beautifully into queer themes. Who's The Murderer? has its own stories that lend into queer themes, including trans-mercreatures (plot relevant), two dads raising a daughter for 10 years (plot relevant), monsterfucking and too many queer ships to count.
5. "Romain Letouse" x 1000
This one does present a language barrier issue. But both AA (Frank Sahwit, the cure for Incuritis, Romain LeTouse....) and Who's The Murderer? adore their homophones.
You know the post about Harry Styles being an AA name for a barber? WTM really had a hair stylist whose name was Justin Barber.
It is true. It is happening. I love this stupid show.
--
Also, both AA and WTM tell compelling stories in the original form of game play. Twice the amount of fun! You can solve the murder and/or enjoy the story! This is true of most VNs, of course, but with WTM and AA, the whack...the genius...the shenanigans....the genuine emotional devastation...
--Um, okay, if admittedly I wanted to start...
I don't recommend starting with S1, because it was their beginning. It's good for nostalgia but not representative of what they became.
Aside from that, you can start with any episode in any season. Just type "Who's the Murderer Eng Sub" and some random numbers. My "starter" recs include:
S5E1-S5E2: Pianists on the Sea (pianists on a fucked up boat. s5e2 might be my fave of all times)
S6E1-S6E2: Midnight Hotel (an eerie hotel run by brothers is reminded of its past. beware of horror elements and CW for discussion of child abuse/s/a in S6E2)
S6E9: It's All Beauty's Fault Again (the Meraktis Clinic, but so much worse, runs into a weird murder with a dissolved corpse)
Or you can shoot me an ask for more recs if you're looking a vibe in particular. Sci-fi? Mermaids? Idol AU? Roaring 20s? chances are, WTM has it. Have fun.
