Intriguing Detective Anime Series for Mystery Lovers

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Thrillers, crime dramas, & supernatural anime to keep you hooked

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Detective Conan (1996)

2 Psycho-Pass (2012)

3 Odd Taxi (2021)

4 The Millionaire Detective – Balance: Unlimited (2020)

5 Death Note (2006)

6 Bungo Stray Dogs (2016)

7 Ace Attorney (2016)

8 Moriarty the Patriot (2020)

9 ID: Invaded (2020)

10 Terror in Resonance (2014)

11 Erased (2016)

12 Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective (2025)

13 Paranoia Agent (2004)

14 The Apothecary Diaries (2023)

15 Kemono Jihen (2021)

16 Gosick (2011)

17 Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions (2023)

18 Monster (2004)

19 Undead Girl Murder Farce (2023)

20 Pluto (2023)

21 Your Forma (2025)

22 The Detective Is Already Dead (2021)

23 In/Spectre

24 Un-Go (2011)

25 B: The Beginning (2018)

26 Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary (2024)

27 Psychic Detective Yakumo (2010)

28 Black Butler (2008)

29 Hyouka (2012)

30 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002)

31 Link Click (2021)

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Co-authored by Richard Moore and Devin McSween

Last Updated: July 9, 2026 Fact Checked

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Whether you like to collect clues and solve intriguing mysteries or investigate dark crimes and conspiracies, there are a lot of exciting detective anime series that will scratch that itch! From psychological thrillers to supernatural crime solvers, we interviewed anime experts to compile the best detective and mystery anime series that will have you grabbing your thinking cap and searching for evidence to crack the case. If you’re ready to solve the mystery of which anime to watch next, keep reading!

The Top Detective Anime to Watch Next

If you want a classic detective anime, check out Detective Conan, The Millionaire Detective, Moriarty the Patriot, or Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions. For a supernatural twist, watch Death Note or Bungo Stray Dogs. For a thriller/action series, check out Psycho-Pass, ID: Invaded, Erased, or Terror in Resonance.

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1

Detective Conan (1996)

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1. 
   Also known as Case Closed, Detective Conan follows a prominent teen detective named Shinichi Kudo who’s transformed into a child by the criminal Black Organization. Luckily, he retains his detective skills and continues solving cases under the alias Conan Edogawa. The series is mostly episodic, with Conan investigating new crimes, murders, and mysteries each week, though there’s an overarching plot involving the Black Organization. There are over 1,000 episodes of this long-running series, so it’s sure to keep you hooked!

   • Genres: Mystery, adventure, thriller, drama
   • Seasons: 31
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Richard Moore is an anime expert based in Dayton, OH. He's been watching anime for nearly his entire life and has been creating anime content for over 6 years.

   Ishaan Kaushal is an anime expert and digital creator based in Boston, MA, and Washington, D.C. He shares sharp analyses of anime, TV, film, and manga online.

   Michael Udayakumar is a pop culture commentator based in Las Vegas, NV. Known as @kumar_sutra online, he has been sharing content focused on anime, gaming, and pop culture since 2020.
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2

Psycho-Pass (2012)

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1. 
   Anime expert Richard Moore explains that Psycho-Pass is a cyberpunk psychological crime anime that’s set in the future, where the Sibyl System constantly scans people’s minds and assigns them a “crime coefficient” that predicts whether they'll commit a crime or not. If someone’s score is too high, they get arrested or executed even if they haven't done anything. The dark and gritty series follows a new inspector named Akane Tsunemori as she investigates and apprehends would-be criminals, all while unraveling the truth behind the Sibyl System.

   • Genres: Crime, psychological thriller, action, cyberpunk
   • Seasons: 3
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

3

Odd Taxi (2021)

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1. 
   Moore describes Odd Taxi as one of his favorite mystery anime series. While it might look a bit goofy at first, as it follows anthropomorphic animals, he says it’s an incredibly intelligent mystery show with a great setup that connects everything at the end. It’s centered around Hiroshi Odokawa, a walrus taxi driver who has seemingly mundane conversations with the animals he transports, but somehow they’re all connected to a girl who recently went missing.

   • Genres: Mystery, crime, drama
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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4

The Millionaire Detective – Balance: Unlimited (2020)

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1. 
   According to anime expert Ishaan Kaushal, Millionaire Detective is a hidden gem that revolves around a very wealthy detective. It follows the affluent Daisuke Kambe after he’s sent to the Modern Crime Prevention Task Force and partnered with his complete opposite, Haru Kato. Daisuke believes everything is about money, which disgusts Haru. So, the two have to learn to work together and solve mysteries, all while navigating their contentious relationship.

   • Genres: Mystery, action, crime, drama
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

5

Death Note (2006)

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1. 
   Death Note is a classic dark anime series that pop culture commentator Michael Udayakumar describes as a cat-and-mouse game. It follows Light Yagami after he finds a notebook that gives him the power to kill anyone if he writes down their name. He starts killing people whom he thinks deserve to die, essentially becoming a serial killer. On the other side is L, a super detective, who is trying to figure out who the killer is. The series involves Light trying to cover up his murders and L trying to discover his identity.

   • Genres: Mystery, psychological thriller, supernatural
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Netflix, Hulu/Disney+
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6

Bungo Stray Dogs (2016)

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1. 
   This mystery series follows Atsushi Nakajima, who bumps into members of the Armed Detective Agency, a group of investigators with supernatural powers, and discovers that he has the ability to transform into a weretiger. He joins the Agency and starts solving crimes and mysteries that threaten the public, as well as fighting the criminal organization the Port Mafia. It’s another dark anime that’s full of twists and morally gray characters.

   • Genres: Mystery, action, supernatural
   • Seasons: 5
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

7

Ace Attorney (2016)

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1. 
   Ace Attorney is a murder-mystery anime about Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney who fights to prove his client's innocence. Each episode focuses on a new, fast-paced case where Phoenix investigates a crime (with help from his spirit-medium sidekick Maya Fey) and defends his evidence in court. It’s dramatic and often over-the-top, which makes it a fun series to sink your teeth into!

   • Genres: Mystery, legal drama
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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8

Moriarty the Patriot (2020)

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1. 
   Moriarty the Patriot is a spin on Sherlock Holmes that follows Professor William James Moriarty, the detective's infamous nemesis. Moriarty lives in 19th-century London, where the mastermind works as a crime consultant. His goal is to tear apart the noble class that has subjected the commoners to harsh inequality. Of course, Moriarty runs into Sherlock Holmes, who’s intent on stopping the crimes Moriarty is committing. The series is a thrilling cat-and-mouse game, and you’re left wondering who you should be rooting for.

   • Genres: Mystery, thriller, drama
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

9

ID: Invaded (2020)

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1. 
   ID: Invaded is a suspenseful murder mystery series that follows Akihito Narihisago, a respected detective turned prisoner who’s tasked with using a machine to explore murderers’ minds and find their identities so the police can capture them in the real world. While Akihito helps solve standalone murder cases, he discovers a presence in all the murderers’ minds that may be behind everything.

   • Genres: Mystery, sci-fi, thriller
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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10

Terror in Resonance (2014)

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1. 
   Terror in Resonance follows two teens, Nine and Twelve, who stage bombings around Tokyo and taunt the police with videos promising more destruction under their alias “Sphinx.” Their bombings aren’t meaningless, though, and it’s clear they’re trying to uncover something even worse. When the police can’t decode Sphinx’s acts and videos, detective Kenjirou Shibazaki is prompted to take on the case and discover what’s truly going on.

   • Genres: Psychological thriller, mystery
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime

11

Erased (2016)

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1. 
   Erased follows 29-year-old Satoru Fujinuma, who has an ability called “Revival” that sends him back into the past moments before a tragedy happens, allowing him to save many people. When his mother, Sachiko, is killed after discovering important information about the kidnappings and murders of Satoru’s childhood classmates, he is sent 18 years into the past before the crimes happen. Now, as a child, Satoru has to unravel the mystery involving his classmates and stop the killer.

   • Genres: Mystery, thriller, drama
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Hulu/Disney+
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12

Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective (2025)

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1. 
   Ameku M.D. is a medical mystery following Dr. Takao Ameku, who’s like the doctor version of Sherlock Holmes. She’s the genius director of the Department of Investigative Pathology and is in charge of diagnosing illnesses and solving murder cases other physicians can’t handle. Dr. Ameku is a quirky lead who wants to figure out mysteries her way, so she constantly butts heads with hospital staff and the police alike.

   • Genres: Mystery, medical drama
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

13

Paranoia Agent (2004)

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1. 
   caption Paranoia Agent follows detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsushiro Maniwa as they hunt down an attacker nicknamed Lil’ Slugger, an elementary school boy who assaults his victims with a golden baseball bat. While Lil’ Slugger’s crimes seem random at first, it turns out that his victims’ lives improve after being attacked, which raises the question of what Lil’ Slugger’s motives truly are.

   • Genres: Mystery, psychological thriller, supernatural
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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14

The Apothecary Diaries (2023)

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1. 
   The Apothecary Diaries is centered around Maomao, an intelligent apothecary worker who is kidnapped and forced to work as a servant in the Imperial Palace. While she might not be a trained detective, Maomao learns about an illness affecting the emperor’s children and uses her knowledge of plants and potions to investigate the cause. This gets her caught up in a larger political scheme surrounding the palace.

   • Genres: Mystery, drama, romance
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu/Disney+

15

Kemono Jihen (2021)

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1. 
   Kemono Jihen follows supernatural detective Kohachi Inugami as he investigates a string of livestock deaths, which lead him to the shunned boy Kabane Kusaka, who turns out to be half-ghoul. After Kabane helps Kohachi with his case, he recruits Kabane to work at his detective agency, where the pair work to solve other supernatural cases and Kabane searches for his parents.

   • Genres: Mystery, supernatural, fantasy, action
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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16

Gosick (2011)

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1. 
   In this mystery-romance series set in the 1920s, Kazuya Kujo transfers to a new school where he meets the genius detective Victorique de Blois. As two outcasts, Kazuya and Victorique form a bond and begin to investigate crimes occurring around the academy and town, and ultimately stumble into a mystery bigger than themselves.

   • Genres: Mystery, romance, drama, historical
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

17

Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions (2023)

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1. 
   Forbidden Deductions follows Ron Kamonohashi, the top student at an elite detective school, who was expelled and forbidden from working as a detective after getting wrapped up in a case. Five years later, police detective Totomaru Isshiki seeks Ron’s help solving a tough murder case. The two team up to solve mysteries together, all while dealing with obstacles from the police and Ron’s former detective school.

   • Genres: Mystery, crime, drama
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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18

Monster (2004)

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1. 
   Monster is a critically acclaimed mystery-thriller about neurosurgeon Dr. Kenzo Tenma, who decides to operate on a young boy over the mayor, causing him to lose his respected standing at the hospital. However, several doctors are mysteriously murdered, and Dr. Tenma regains his standing. Years later, Dr. Tenma crosses paths with the young boy he saved, Jonah Liebert, who’s now a serial killer. Feeling guilty for his actions, Dr. Tenma makes it his mission to catch and kill Jonah.

   • Genres: Mystery, psychological thriller, crime
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Netflix

19

Undead Girl Murder Farce (2023)

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1. 
   Undead Girl Murder Farce follows one of the most unusual detective pairs: Aya Rindo, a severed head searching for her stolen body, and Tsugaru Shinuchi, a half-oni who wants his humanity back. The supernatural detectives travel across 19th-century Europe solving cases involving vampires, werewolves, and other monsters, all while the duo searches for the person responsible for stealing from them.

   • Genres: Mystery, drama, supernatural, fantasy
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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20

Pluto (2023)

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1. 
   Pluto follows the robot detective Gesicht as he investigates a series of robot and human deaths that seem to be committed by a robot, which should be impossible. As Gesicht dives into the mystery, he discovers that the murderer is targeting the most powerful war robots and the humans who are protecting their rights. So, Gesicht teams up with the boy-android Atom to track down the killer.

   • Genres: Mystery, sci-fi, action
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Netflix

21

Your Forma (2025)

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1. 
   Your Forma takes place in an alternate timeline, where people use a technology called Your Forma that also records everything they see, hear, and feel. The series follows detective Echika Hieda, who uses people’s Your Formas to find evidence and solve crimes. After her previous partners fail to keep up with her, Echika gets paired up with the android Harold Lucraft, and the duo has to overcome their suspicions of one another while solving the mysteries surrounding them.

   • Genres: Mystery, sci-fi
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Tubi
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22

The Detective Is Already Dead (2021)

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1. 
   The Detective Is Already Dead follows teen Kimihiko Kimizuka, who gets caught up in a plane hijacking and meets the teen detective Siesta. After successfully stopping the hijacking, Kimihiko and Siesta team up to solve crimes and mysteries around the world. Three years later, Siesta tragically passes away, and Kimihiko tries to move on. However, he’s forced to continue his detective work when he stumbles on a huge case involving Siesta.

   • Genres: Mystery, romantic comedy, adventure, drama
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

23

In/Spectre

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1. 
   In/Spectre is a romance-mystery series about Iwanaga Kotoko, the Goddess of Wisdom and mediator between the spirit and human worlds, who helps supernatural creatures with their problems. She’s been infatuated with the powerful Sakuragawa Kuro for years, and when she runs into the newly single boy, she ropes him into solving supernatural mysteries with her, all with the hopes of wooing him over.

   • Genres: Mystery, romance, supernatural
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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24

Un-Go (2011)

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1. 
   Un-Go follows an unlikely detective duo: Shinjuro Yuki, an old-fashioned and publicly ridiculed investigator, and his supernatural assistant Inga, who has the ability to force people to tell the truth. The two secretly solve complex cases while their superior, Rinroku Kaishou, spins the truth to the public to keep the peace in their post-war society.

   • Genres: Mystery, sci-fi, supernatural, action
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime, AppleTV

25

B: The Beginning (2018)

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1. 
   In this sci-fi crime series, a serial killer nicknamed “Killer B” hunts down notorious criminals, and the investigator Keith Flick is pulled out of retirement and tasked with hunting the murderer down. During his investigation, Keith partners with the impulsive detective Lily Hoshina and runs into a mysterious young man named Koku, who leads him to uncover an even more complicated case.

   • Genres: Mystery, suspense, psychological thriller, sci-fi
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Netflix
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26

Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary (2024)

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1. 
   Shoshimin follows childhood friends Jougorou Kobato and Yuki Osanai, who both stand out due to their deductive skills and tendency to involve themselves in other people’s problems. After one of his “cases” goes awry, Kobato makes a pact with Yuki to blend in and live normal lives when they enter high school together. Unfortunately, mysteries keep finding their way to them, and they’re forced to solve them while trying to maintain their ordinary appearances.

   • Genres: Mystery, drama
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

27

Psychic Detective Yakumo (2010)

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1. 
   Psychic Detective Yakumo follows college student Haruka Ozawa after a trip to an abandoned building with her friends leaves one dead and the other possessed. She seeks help from Yakumo Saitou, a student who’s rumored to have the ability to communicate with spirits. The two then begin investigating other horrific, supernatural mysteries around the college and town and dive deeper into Yakumo’s own life mystery.

   • Genres: Mystery, supernatural, horror, drama
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: HIDIVE or purchase individual episodes on Google Play and Apple TV
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28

Black Butler (2008)

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1. 
   Black Butler takes place in Victorian-era England and follows Ciel Phantomhive, who serves as the Queen’s watchdog to investigate bizarre and supernatural mysteries and crimes affecting London. He’s aided by his mysterious butler, Sebastian Michaelis, who’s actually a demon. And Ciel has a secret contract with Sebastian: the two are bound together because Ciel wants revenge on the people who murdered his family and tortured him.

   • Genres: Mystery, supernatural, action, dark fantasy, historical
   • Seasons: 5
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Hulu/Disney+

29

Hyouka (2012)

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1. 
   This acclaimed high school mystery series centers around Hotaro Oreki, who just wants a boring school experience, but is interrupted when his sister asks him to join the Classic Literature Club to keep it from being disbanded. There, he meets the curious Eru Chitanda, who’s excited to solve problems around the school. Along with two more of his classmates, the new group investigates mysteries at Eru’s insistence and stumbles on an unsolved case from 45 years ago.

   • Genres: Mystery, slice of life
   • Seasons: 1
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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30

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002)

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1. 
   This iconic cyberpunk series follows the cyborg Motoko Kusanagi as she leads a team of elite intelligence officers to solve crimes and eliminate corruption across a futuristic Japan. Motoko uses her deduction skills and military training to unravel standalone mysteries while also working to uncover conspiracies going all the way up to the government.

   • Genres: Mystery, sci-fi, action, cyberpunk
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Tubi

31

Link Click (2021)

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1. 
   While Link Click isn’t technically an anime, as it's a Chinese web series, it does have a unique mystery-detective premise! It follows friends Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, who have the power to enter photographs and travel back in time, feeling the photographer’s memories and emotions. However, they run the risk of changing events and altering their current timeline. Despite the risk, they run a business together that helps people solve mysteries, secrets, and crimes.

   • Genres: Mystery, drama, fantasy, supernatural
   • Seasons: 2
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime, Roku, YouTube TV
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