15 Best Detective Anime That You Should Know Update 03/2024

Best Detective Anime

An old-school detective anime has a certain charm about it. From horror to humor, you won’t want to miss these must-sees!

Watching detective anime has a certain allure. Old-school mysteries in which the main character solves puzzles and tries to prove the authorities wrong about underestimating him or her are particularly enjoyable. A good mystery is worth the time and emotional investment that fans put into it, even if it’s exhausting to watch a detective anime after a detective anime.

If you’re an anime enthusiast, you should definitely check out this list of 10 detective shows (in no particular order). They span three decades (the ’90s, ’00s, and ’10s) and a wide range of musical styles (horror, supernatural, psychological, and comedy). You can binge-watch all the episodes of your favorite shows in one sitting because they’ve already been aired, making it easy to catch up on your favorite shows.

Brianna Albert’s most recent update was on September 23rd, 2020 and is as follows:

Mystery is one of anime’s most elusive subgenres, yet it is also one of its most cherished. There are a plethora of shows in the anime genre that focus on mystery, whether it’s through the eyes of professional detectives or a group of high school students in a club dedicated to hunting down the supernatural.

There are still some anime viewers who enjoy shows about detectives trying to crack a case, despite the fact that the mystery genre is not always well-liked or taken as seriously as other anime. The following is a list of 15 of the best anime with lovable detectives.

1. Psycho-Pass

Psycho-Pass

Good and evil, as well as the reasons why people act in certain ways, are examined in Psycho-Pass. With the help of supporting character Shinya Kogami, Akane Tsunemori tells the story.

How will the Sibyl System assess some people if it uses a system to measure the biometrics of the human mind, and sometimes makes choices that appear to be incorrect?

2. Gosick

St. Marguerite students Victorique de Blois and Kazuya Kujo come from very different backgrounds. Victorique is a brilliant young woman who can solve any mystery she sets her mind to, while Kazuya is a young man from Japan who has come to study in France.

They work together to solve mysteries and develop a romantic relationship over the series. Gosick contains a slew of mysteries for fans of detective anime, including a murder on a boat and a run of serial killings.

3. Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt is a Japanese anime adaptation of the popular light novel series of the same name. Mai Taniyama is coerced into joining the Shibuya Psychic Research Club when she unintentionally destroys their camera.

SPR investigates a number of mysteries both inside and beyond their school during the course of the anime and quickly uncovers evidence of paranormal activity.

4. The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited

Haru Katou and Daisuke Kambe, a police officer and detective, are the two protagonists of The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited. Daisuke uses his fortune as an excuse to do anything he wants, while Haru prefers to solve problems without spending a lot of money.

At first glance, the dynamic between the two characters does not seem to mesh well, yet the anime succeeds because of the divergent viewpoints the two characters take and the cases they take on.

5. B: The Beginning 5

The Beginning 5

This anime contains two separate plotlines going on at the same time. The first concerns a detective who is recalled to duty in order to track down a potentially lethal assassin. In the second, the stakes are substantially higher due to the presence of supernatural powers and superhumans.

This anime’s plot has enough surprises to keep viewers interested from beginning to end without giving anything away. For the most part, the surprise story twists outweigh any plot holes.

6. Hyouka

Four high school kids play the primary roles in this slice-of-life detective anime, including the perpetually bored Oreki and the perpetually curious Chitanda. Their school’s Classics Group consists of these two and their best friends, and Oreki is lured into solving one mystery after another, starting with discovering the origins of their 45-year-old club.

It’s always nice to watch characters defy expectations. There are mysteries to be solved in every episode, and each of them has a vital role to play.

7. Terror in Resonance

Terror in Resonance

This anime is a one-of-a-kind experience. Terrorist actions are carried out by a pair of young boys named Twelve and Nine to attract the attention of the public and law enforcement. Unexpectedly, these two lads are the show’s stars, and most of the drama revolves around their cat-and-mouse games with a single police detective, Shibazaki.

Greek mythology has a big role in a lot of the clues that are thrown and decoded. How can two young lads in their own city be so reckless? It’s well worth the effort to uncover their mysteries.

8. Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

Yakumo is a little boy with a red eye that is said to be cursed. This eye gives him the ability to communicate with the dead, and it becomes his duty to assist them in their transition to the other side. The series is episodic in style, but it manages to maintain a central tension between the protagonists. However, the soundtrack makes up for the lackluster animation.

Detective anime fans will enjoy this show, which has a well-crafted plot, rich character motives, and superb writing.

9. Black Butler

Black Butler (2008-2014)

Due to the program being classified as a mystery, historical, and shounen, Black Butler isn’t the first anime you think of when you hear “detective series,” yet it is one of the best. Young Ciel (Sebastian) offers to give up his soul in exchange for locating and punishing those responsible for the murder of his family.

If you dig a bit further, you’ll discover a human boy and a demon butler teaming up to solve mysteries after mysteries with the help of numerous sidekicks. An unforeseen storyline twist arose in the anime’s 2018 follow-up, the murder-mystery novella Book of Atlantic.

10. Boku dake ga Inai Machi

Satoru Fujinuma, a 29-year-old Japanese man, is the protagonist of this anime, better known as Erased in English. On the surface, he appears to be just another pizza delivery boy, but he actually has the Revival talent, which allows him to travel back in time by up to five minutes. When he’s in peril, this ability comes to life and he can’t control it.

Even so, he’s accused of murdering his own mother in the very first episode. Revival is activated, but he travels back in time by 11 years. To make matters worse, his mother has been brutally murdered and he is now trapped within the body of a toddler.

11. Death Note

Death Note

If you’re a fan of anime, you’ll have heard about this masterpiece. Many people have praised the anime for its use of psychological mind games, while Light and his team’s actual investigative work is typically underappreciated. To catch Kira, detective L relies on the strength of Japan’s police force, as well as a brilliant intellect and the power of the Death Note.

12. Detective Conan: Case Closed

It’s impossible to talk about detective anime without bringing up Detective Conan. Following an unknown toxin, Shinichi Kudo was transformed into a 7-year-old boy. He hides his true identity out of fear of being assassinated, and he uses his sharp intellect to investigate the strange happenings in his hometown. Because he’s a “kid,” the police don’t pay any attention to him. Because of this, he is obliged to adopt a more mature persona, Conan Edogawa (named after Arthur Conan Doyle and Ranpo Edogawa).

The animation is a bit stale due to the show’s age, but it’s still fun to watch.

13. UN-GO

Un-Go

It’s based on Shinjuurou Yuuki and Inga, a cynical and gloomy investigator and his eccentric assistant. After a war, Japan is on the road to recovery in this parallel reality. This odd team of investigators works together to crack cases.

Sci-fi and supernatural elements are mixed together in this show. The majority of Inga’s deductions are based on amazing futuristic technologies that don’t exist in the real world. It even raises philosophical and ethical concerns about the “humanity” of highly developed Artificial Intelligence.

14. Tantei Gakuen Q

Kyuu is a natural at deduction and reasoning, so he decides to enroll in Dan Detective School, a renowned school for producing investigators with exceptional abilities. Here, he meets a diverse group of people, each with their own unique set of skills, and they work together to solve the puzzles that present themselves.

There are a few multi-episode mysteries for people who choose to devote more time to deciphering the riddles provided in the anime. It’s a great show for people who don’t want to watch something too serious or profound because the banter is clever and the characters are entertaining.

15. Bungo Stray Dogs

Bungo Stray Dogs (2016)

In my opinion, Bungo Stray Dogs is one of the best-written detective shows out there. A tiger-morphing talent known as “Beast Beneath the Moonlight” is one of the abilities of Atsushi Nakajima, the main character of the anime. However, it is also the focus of the Armed Detective Agency’s characters.

The plot and intrigue are further bolstered by the fact that all of the characters have special powers and names derived from literary figures.