Graveyard Party is the latest in the lineup of (planned) multimedia series by Mochagatari/Gatari & Friends (aka A Patchwork Scholar). Like the series Confictionery!, it's the second series to have little relation to the main story The Genjitsutouhi Series.
This series takes place in the Mousouzenian country of Yamikuni (also known as the Dark Lands), a place known for it's perpetual nighttime and monster population. Within this land lies Graveyard Town, a small village in the outskirts of the country, where the protagonist Pumpkin Franks lives. Pumpkin is a Frankenstein's Monster trying to live a good life with her creator and schoolmates, though she wishes something exciting would happen.
And then her creator is kidnapped.
Pumpkin then enlists the help of her school friends Willow Song, Simon Clawdens, and Layla Nomore, as well as the help of the mysterious crow avian Jettison Crowe and reaper Nellie Winchester, to find her creator and bring him home. However, as their journey continues, Pumpkin finds herself mixed up not only in the kidnapping, but a whole conspiracy...
The series was conceived originally on October 2 in 2015, was forgotten due to lack of stable (or compelling) plot. It was brought back with the current plotline and characters on March 23, 2017. It's been a work in progress since.
Graveyard Party contains examples of the following tropes:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Clarice to Randall.
- Action Girl: Nellie is the biggest source of asskicking in the main group (until Pumpkin gets mad), but Rue, Gretel, and Peep also qualify.
- Affably Evil: Clarice, and to an extent the Fool Trio.
- Alien Blood: Pumpkin's blood color varies depending on where it's coming from due to being sewn together.
- Willow's blood is black due to being undead.
- Ambiguously Evil: Jettison, though not exactly by his choice.
- Animal Motifs: Jettison is heavily associated with various kinds of blackbirds.
- Baize Craft, the Sewing Witch, is associated with doves.
- Animesque
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Clarice. And Willow.
- Attractive Zombie: Wild certainly doesn't look like your everyday zombie, that's for sure.
- Author Appeal: To add to her long list of aesthetics, Mochagatari had planned to create a Halloween-themed series due to it being one of her favorite things.
- Ax-Crazy: Chadwick.
- On second thought, most of the characters are capable of going ax-crazy in some shape or form.
- Badass Adorable: Pumpkin.
- Badass Longcoat: Jettison sports one that looks a bit like plumage.
- Big Bad: Vix Damien, a demon woman whose plan is to become close to Weasel as to assassinate him and start an invasion of Yamikuni. She also kidnapped Pumpkin’s father for disobeying her and planned to torture him to death.
- Big Good: Weasel and Viktor.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Everyone seems to run on this to some degree, as since Yamikuni is full of monsters death and morality is taken much more lightly than in other places.
- Butt-Monkey: Poor Jettison.
- Carnival of Killers: Taken literally with the Fool Trio and their posse, who are tasked with hunting down the main group.
- Cast Full of Crazy
- Cheerful Child: Pumpkin, and Parcheesi.
- City of Adventure: The capital, Hallows City.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Gretel is this to her brother Hansel in a non-incestuous way; it's just one part of her embodying envy.
- Creepy Child: Hansel and Gretel and the Fool Trio.
- Deal with the Devil: Layla's parents made one in the past, which is why she's followed by Sullivan.
- Disappeared Dad: Pumpkin's main motivation in the story is to find out who kidnapped her creator and father.
- The Dragon: Randall is this to Vix.
- Evil Counterpart: Parcheesi can arguably be called this to Pumpkin. Both were Living Weapons created to help spread destruction across the country, though Pumpkin was treated like a real child by Viktor and was removed from her unsavory origin while Parcheesi was treated as a tool by Fitzwilliam and taught that only her functionality matters.
- Fantastic Science
- Genki Girl: Pumpkin and Willow.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Happened to Jettison for a short time after finding out about his death powers, causing him to briefly lose control of them and end up killing his father.
- Hero Secret Service: The Skeleton Guard.
- Horror Hunger: Chadwick's been craving some human meat for a loooong time...
- Intergenerational Friendship: Pumpkin and the kids (who are elementary to middle school-aged) make friends with Jettison and Wild, who are both adults.
- It's Always Spring: It's always autumn in Yamikuni, and it's always night.
- Laughably Evil: For how much of a raging, wild maniac he is, Chadwick is hilarious.
- Laughing Mad: Chadwick most prominently, but Berserk Wild and even Dr. Franks are prone to this.
- Loves the Sound of Screaming: Oh, Chadwick.
- Admittedly, Gretel and Wild have a liking for pain and suffering themselves.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Clarice.
- The Fool Trio are more effective, but Fitzwilliam still considers them F-grade minions.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Jettison.
- Monster Clown: Parcheesi, who is more of a Child Robot Monster Clown.
- Only Sane Man: Nellie in regards to the main crew.
- Our Demons Are Different
- Our Ghosts Are Different
- Our Werewolves Are Different
- Our Zombies Are Different
- Perky Goth: Everyone given the theme, but Willow is the straightest example due to actually dressing in goth punk.
- Plucky Girl: Pumpkin.
- Psycho for Hire: Chadwick was eventually hired by Randall and his lackeys to seek out and kill the main crew after they initially escaped from him.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Chadwick.
- Save Your Deity: The final part of the plot involves Pumpkin and friends trying to stop Vix’s assassination of Weasel.
- Schizo Tech
- The Sheriff: Wild is the captain of the Skeleton Guard and the local police chief.
- Silly Spook
- Terrible Trio: The Fool Trio, Parcheesi, Chesspiece, and Pierrot.
