Summary
Who doesn’t lovea good mystery? There’s something special about uncovering a hidden truth from the comfort of one’s own home and reveling in the satisfaction when the mystery finally gets solved. Of course, no greatmystery animeor manga is complete without the star of the genre:the detective.
Detectives in mysteries always manage to wow audiences with their sharp wit, incredible powers of deduction, and ability to stay several steps ahead of their adversaries. The world of anime is full of quick-thinking, intelligent characters, but detective characters turn things up a notch since no compelling whodunit can exist without them.
Despite not having a future-predicting diary,Aru Akise fromFuture Diarycan hold his own against the Diary Holders just by using his wits and intelligence. He is key in solving the mysteries behindDeus Ex Machina’s survival gameand the Diary Holders.
Akise’s sleuthing and investigations lead to some of the biggest revelations in the series. While his motives are ambiguous for the most part, he is driven by his fierce loyalty and affection for the protagonist, Yukiteru Amano.
Ranpo Edogawais known asone of the best detectivesin theBungo Stray Dogsuniverse, and for good reason. Unlike the other members of the Armed Detective Agency, Ranpo does not have any supernatural powers; he’s simply an extraordinary genius. Ranpo can solve seemingly unsolvable crimes using nothing more than deductive reasoning.
Ranpo Edogawa’s appearance and mystery-solving skills make him an obvious homage to Sherlock Holmes. He isn’t exactly humble about his detective abilities either, treating everyone around him like they’re idiots and throwing childish temper tantrums.
Psycho-Pass' Akane Tsunemoriis one of themost competent and intelligent membersof the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Department, as evidenced by her perfect exam scores. Her emotional intelligence is nothing to scoff at either, as she able to read criminals like a book.
However, Akane has one major flaw: she is idealistic to a fault. She has a strong sense of justice and morality and believes people are inherently good. As the series goes on, she becomes more self-reliant and pragmatic, and learns to balance her empathies with the harsh realities of the world.
Inspector Lunge fromMonsteris a good example of an intelligent detective with flawed deductive abilities. He’s able to construct logical arguments and has a photographic memory, but once he commits to a hypothesis, he’s unable to let it go, even if the evidence says otherwise.
While Inspector Lunge’s heart is in the right place, hisobsession with solving casesultimately leads to him neglecting his family and ignoring the consequences of his investigations.
Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation, Sherlock Holmes, is probably the most famous detective in literary history.Moriarty the Patriotputsa different spin on the character. He’s still a deductive genius with keen observational skills and a love for solving mysteries, but he’s also much more emotionally and morally complex than traditional depictions.
This version of Sherlock Holmes is also a lot younger and ‘edgier.’ He has a drug addiction and is willing to engage in morally questionable actions to get what he wants.
Conan Edogawa fromCase Closed(a.k.aDetective Conan) is perhaps one of the most recognizable characters in anime and manga. Originally a teen detective named Shinichi Kudo, he gets transformed into a small child after being fed a poison pill. Since then, he’s been on a mission to take down the criminal organization that’s responsible for his predicament and to solve other mysteries in the meantime.
While he is a brilliant detective capable of solving crimes and mysteries the police can’t, Conan still has to deal with the hardships of having the appearance of a six-year-old boy and having others underestimate him.
Death Noteis known forits extremely intelligent characterstrying to outwit each other. Standing in opposition to protagonist Light Yagami isL Lawliet, the world’s greatest detective in the anime’s universe and the brains behind the operation to catch ‘Kira’, a nickname given to Light by the media.
L displays his brilliance and excellent detective skills from his first appearance, accurately deducing that Kira needs a face and a name to kill people. Despite having a strong sense of justice, L also has a morally dubious side, and is completely willing to manipulate people for the greater good.
