The smartest detectives in anime

Key recommendations

• Anime detectives are essential for compelling mysteries to showcase intelligence, deductive skills, and intuition.
• Characters like Aru Akise from
  Future journal
  and Ranpo Edogawa of
  Bungo Stray Dogs
  excels at solving crimes.
• Akane Tsunemori from
  psycho-
  Pass and L Lawliet from
  death note
  effectively balance intelligence, morality, and flaws.

Who doesn't love a good mystery? There is something special about uncovering a hidden truth from the comfort of your own home and enjoying the satisfaction when the mystery is finally solved. Of course, not great anime mystery or the manga is complete without the star of the genre: Detective.

Detectives in mysteries always manage to amaze the audience with their sharp wits, incredible powers of deduction and ability to stay a few steps ahead of their opponents. The world of anime is full of smart and quick-thinking characters, but detective characters take things to the next level because no compelling whodun can exist without them.

7 Aru Akise (Future Diary)

High school genius with a talent for solving mysteries

Despite the fact that you do not have a prediction log for the future, Aru Akise from Future journal he can only hold his own against the Diary Keepers by using his wits and intelligence. He is the key to solving the mysteries behind the survival game Deus Ex Machina and Diary Holders.

Akise's detections and investigations lead to some of the biggest revelations in the series. While his motives are mostly ambiguous, he is driven by his fierce loyalty and affection towards the protagonist, Yukiteru Amano.

6 Ranpo Edogawa (Bungo Stray Dogs)

Childish and eccentric detective who works for the armed detective agency

Ranpo Edogawa is known as one of the best detectives in Bungo Stray Dogs universe and for good reason. Unlike the other members of the Armed Detective Agency, Ranpo has no supernatural powers; he is 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's not exactly humble about his detective skills either, treating everyone around him like idiots and throwing childish tantrums.

5 Akane Tsunemori (Psycho-Pass)

Naive but highly skilled rookie detective from the Criminal Investigation Department

Akane Tsunemori from Psycho-Pass he is one of the most competent and intelligent members of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Public Safety Bureau, as evidenced by his perfect test scores. Her emotional intelligence is nothing to scoff at either, as she is 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 that people are inherently good. As the series goes on, she becomes more independent and pragmatic, and learns to balance her empathy with the harsh realities of the world.

4 Heinrich Lunge (Monster)

Cold, emotionless BKA agent with a photographic memory

Inspector Lunge from Monster is a good example of a smart detective with faulty deductive skills. He is able to construct logical arguments and has a photographic memory, but once he commits to a hypothesis, he cannot give it up, even if the evidence says otherwise.

While Inspector Lunge's heart is in the right place, his obsession with solving cases ultimately leads him to neglect his family and ignore the consequences of his investigations.

3 Sherlock Holmes (Moriarty the Patriot)

Sharp, intuitive detective who is far more morally dubious than his traditional portrayal

Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, Sherlock Holmes, is probably the most famous detective in literary history. Moriarty the Patriot it gives a different twist to the character. He's still a deductive genius with sharp observational skills and a love of solving mysteries, but he's also far more emotionally and morally complex than traditional depictions.

This version of Sherlock Holmes is also much younger and “more unhinged”. He has a drug addiction and is willing to engage in morally questionable actions to get what he wants.

2 Conan Edogawa/Shinichi Kudo (case closed)

The teenage detective is transformed into a six-year-old, but manages to retain his brilliant deductive skills

Conan Edogawa from Case closed (alias Detective Conan) is perhaps one of the most recognizable characters in anime and manga. Originally a teenage detective named Shinichi Kudo, he is transformed into a small child after being fed a poison pill. Since then, he is on a mission to take down the criminal organization that is responsible for his situation and solve other mysteries in the meantime.

Although he is a brilliant detective, able to solve crimes and mysteries that the police cannot, Conan still has to deal with the hardships of having the appearance of a six-year-old boy and being underestimated by others.

1 L Lawliet (Death Note)

The world's greatest detective tasked with solving the Kira murders

death note is known for its highly intelligent characters who try to outdo each other. In opposition to the protagonist Light Yagami is L Lawlietthe world's greatest detective in the anime universe and the mastermind behind the operation to catch “Kira”, a nickname given to Light by the media.

L shows 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.