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We present you the list of Detective anime you should watch right now.
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Top 20 Detective anime you should watch right now. [2025 List]
- 20. Death Note
- 19. Kusuriya no Hitorigoto
- 18. Ameku Takao no Suiri Karte
- 17. Cowboy Bebop
- 16. Monster
- 15. Detective Conan
- 14. Bungou Stray Dogs
- 13. Hyouka
- 12. Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season
- 11. Pluto
- 10. Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei The Animation
- 9. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
- 8. Mushishi
- 7. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- 6. Undead Girl Murder Farce
- 5. Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri 2nd Season
- 4. Ghost in the Shell
- 3. Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri
- 2. Shoushimin Series
- 1. Kemono Jihen
20. Death Note
A shinigami, as a god of death, can kill any person—provided they see their victim's face and write their victim's name in a notebook called a Death Note. One day, Ryuk, bored by the shinigami lifestyle and interested in seeing how a human would use a Death Note, drops one into the human realm.
High school student and prodigy Light Yagami stumbles upon the Death Note and—since he deplores the state of the world—tests the deadly notebook by writing a criminal's name in it. When the criminal dies immediately following his experiment with the Death Note, Light is greatly surprised and quickly recognizes how devastating the power that has fallen into his hands could be.
With this divine capability, Light decides to extinguish all criminals in order to build a new world where crime does not exist and people worship him as a god. Police, however, quickly discover that a serial killer is targeting criminals and, consequently, try to apprehend the culprit. To do this, the Japanese investigators count on the assistance of the best detective in the world: a young and eccentric man known only by the name of L.
Death Note has finished airing and it has 37 Episodes. It is also Known as: デスノート, DN
19. Kusuriya no Hitorigoto
Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she’s sold as a lowly servant to the emperor’s palace. But she wasn’t meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she’s making a name for herself solving medical mysteries!
The Apothecary Diaries has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: 薬屋のひとりごと, Drugstore Soliloquy
18. Ameku Takao no Suiri Karte
Ten’ikai General Hospital’s Supervisory Department of Diagnostic Pathology handles cases other physicians deem too difficult to treat. It’s also where bizarre mysteries surface, from unexplained illnesses to strange murders even the police can’t solve. At the center of it all is Takao Ameku, a brilliant doctor determined to reveal the shocking truth behind these anomalies.
Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 天久鷹央の推理カルテ, Ameku Takao's Detective Karte, Ameku Takao no Suiri Karute
17. Cowboy Bebop
In the year 2071, humanity has colonized several of the planets and moons of the solar system leaving the now uninhabitable surface of planet Earth behind. The Inter Solar System Police attempts to keep peace in the galaxy, aided in part by outlaw bounty hunters, referred to as "Cowboys". The ragtag team aboard the spaceship Bebop are two such individuals.
Mellow and carefree Spike Spiegel is balanced by his boisterous, pragmatic partner Jet Black as the pair makes a living chasing bounties and collecting rewards. Thrown off course by the addition of new members that they meet in their travels—Ein, a genetically engineered, highly intelligent Welsh Corgi; femme fatale Faye Valentine, an enigmatic trickster with memory loss; and the strange computer whiz kid Edward Wong—the crew embarks on thrilling adventures that unravel each member's dark and mysterious past little by little.
Well-balanced with high density action and light-hearted comedy, Cowboy Bebop is a space Western classic and an homage to the smooth and improvised music it is named after.
Cowboy Bebop has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: カウボーイビバップ, COWBOY BEBOP
16. Monster
Dr. Kenzou Tenma is a renowned brain surgeon of Japanese descent working in Europe. Highly lauded by his peers as one of the great young minds that will revolutionize the field, he is blessed with a beautiful fiancée and is on the cusp of a big promotion in the hospital he works at. But all of that is about to change with a grave dilemma that Kenzou faces one night—whether to save the life of a small boy or that of the town's mayor. Despite being pressured by his superiors to perform surgery on the mayor, his morals force him to perform the surgery on the other critical patient, saving his life and forfeiting the mayor's. A doctor is taught to believe that all life is equal; however, when a series of murders occur in the surgeon's vicinity, all of the evidence pointing to the boy he saved, Kenzou's beliefs are shaken. Along his journey to unravel the true identity of his little patient, Kenzou discovers that the fate of the world may be intertwined with the mysterious child.
Monster has finished airing and it has 74 Episodes. It is also Known as: モンスター, Monster
15. Detective Conan
Shinichi Kudou, a great mystery expert at only seventeen, is already well known for having solved several challenging cases. One day, when Shinichi sees two suspicious men and decides to follow them, he inadvertently becomes witness to a disturbing illegal activity. When the men catch Shinichi, they dose him with an experimental drug formulated by their criminal organization and abandon him to die. However, to his own astonishment, Shinichi is still alive and soon wakes up, but now, he has the body of a seven-year-old, perfectly preserving his original intelligence. He hides his real identity from everyone, including his childhood friend Ran Mouri and her father, private detective Kogorou Mouri, and takes on the alias of Conan Edogawa (inspired by the mystery writers Arthur Conan Doyle and Ranpo Edogawa). Animated by TMS and adapted from the manga by Gosho Aoyama, Detective Conan follows Shinichi who, as Conan, starts secretly solving the senior Mouri's cases from behind the scenes with his still exceptional sleuthing skills, while covertly investigating the organization responsible for his current state, hoping to reverse the drug's effects someday.
Detective Conan is currently airing and will have Episodes. It is also Known as: Meitantei Conan, 名探偵コナン, Case Closed: One Truth Prevails
14. Bungou Stray Dogs
For weeks, Atsushi Nakajima's orphanage has been plagued by a mystical tiger that only he seems to be aware of. Suspected to be behind the strange incidents, the 18-year-old is abruptly kicked out of the orphanage and left hungry, homeless, and wandering through the city.
While starving on a riverbank, Atsushi saves a rather eccentric man named Osamu Dazai from drowning. Whimsical suicide enthusiast and supernatural detective, Dazai has been investigating the same tiger that has been terrorizing the boy. Together with Dazai's partner Doppo Kunikida, they solve the mystery, but its resolution leaves Atsushi in a tight spot. As various odd events take place, Atsushi is coerced into joining their firm of supernatural investigators, taking on unusual cases the police cannot handle, alongside his numerous enigmatic co-workers.
Bungo Stray Dogs has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 文豪ストレイドッグス, Literary Stray Dogs
13. Hyouka
Energy-conservative high school student Houtarou Oreki ends up with more than he bargained for when he signs up for the Classics Club at his sister's behest—especially when he realizes how deep-rooted the club's history really is. Begrudgingly, Oreki is dragged into an investigation concerning the 45-year-old mystery that surrounds the club room.
Accompanied by his fellow club members, the knowledgeable Satoshi Fukube, the stern but benign Mayaka Ibara, and the ever-curious Eru Chitanda, Oreki must combat deadlines and lack of information with resourcefulness and hidden talent, in order to not only find the truth buried beneath the dust of works created years before them, but of other small side cases as well.
Based on the award-winning Koten-bu light novel series, and directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto of Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu, Hyouka shows that normal life can be full of small mysteries, be it family history, a student film, or even the withered flowers that make up a ghost story.
Hyouka has finished airing and it has 22 Episodes. It is also Known as: 氷菓, Hyou-ka, Hyouka: You can't escape, Hyou-ka: You can't escape, Hyoka
12. Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season
Guild has entered Yokohoma city. Along with the city, they want Atsushi of The Armed Detective Agency too. As Port Mafia want the city for themselves, a three way war seems unavoidable. While fighting, Atsushi & Akutagawa find help in strange places. And in the background, Dazai continues his endless scheming.
Bungo Stray Dogs 2 has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 文豪ストレイドッグス, Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season
11. Pluto
A murder occurs in an orderly world where robots are unable to kill humans. The robotic Europol investigator Gesicht takes the case, but the mystery deepens when he finds no trace of a human at the scene of the crime. As he pursues the truth, Gesicht uncovers the most evil manifestation of hate that history ever seen, one that is bent on bringing destruction to the world ...
PLUTO has finished airing and it has 8 Episodes. It is also Known as: プルートウ, Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka
10. Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei The Animation
Hope's Peak Academy is an elite high school that accepts only the most talented students. Individuals who successfully enroll receive their own unique titles, suitably reflective of their skills and traits. Of the fifteen candidates admitted to the peculiar school that year, Makoto Naegi is a completely ordinary individual who has been accepted by sheer chance, with the title of "Super High School-Level Luck."
Naegi and his fellow classmates are initially ecstatic to be chosen to study at this prestigious institution, but these feelings of happiness are short-lived. They are soon confronted by Monokuma, the principal and resident bear, who traps them inside the school. The pupils' hopes of escape and graduation hinge on one of them successfully murdering one of their peers without being discovered. However, if the killer is caught, he or she will be executed, and the remaining survivors will be left to continue the deathmatch until only a single victor remains.
Danganronpa: The Animation has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生 THE ANIMATION, Dangan Ronpa: The Animation
9. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai continues the story from the first series and sheds light on many of the dark mysteries prevalent in the first season. The young group of friends in the town of Hinamizawa continue to have terrible conflicts with one another in their never ending summer of 1983, often ending with the brutal murder of one of their members. With the help of her spiritual friend, Hanyuu, Furude Rika tackles these challenges over and over, trying her best to keep their lives from coming to a tragic end. With no end to the torture in sight, Rika must call upon the bonds of friendship and trust among her friends to discover the true villain of this eternal June.
When They Cry: Kai has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: ひぐらしのなく頃に解, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2nd Series, Higurashi no Nakukoro ni 2nd Season, The Moment the Cicadas Cry 2
8. Mushishi
"Mushi": the most basic forms of life in the world. They exist without any goals or purposes aside from simply "being." They are beyond the shackles of the words "good" and "evil." Mushi can exist in countless forms and are capable of mimicking things from the natural world such as plants, diseases, and even phenomena like rainbows.
This is, however, just a vague definition of these entities that inhabit the vibrant world of Mushishi, as to even call them a form of life would be an oversimplification. Detailed information on Mushi is scarce because the majority of humans are unaware of their existence.
So what are Mushi and why do they exist? This is the question that a "Mushi-shi," Ginko, ponders constantly. Mushi-shi are those who research Mushi in hopes of understanding their place in the world's hierarchy of life.
Ginko chases rumors of occurrences that could be tied to Mushi, all for the sake of finding an answer.
It could, after all, lead to the meaning of life itself.
Mushi-Shi has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 蟲師, Mushishi
7. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Keiichi Maebara has just moved to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa in the summer of 1983, and quickly becomes inseparable friends with schoolmates Rena Ryuuguu, Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, and Rika Furude. However, darkness lurks underneath the seemingly idyllic life they lead.
As the village prepares for its annual festival, Keiichi learns about the local legends surrounding it. To his horror, he discovers that there have been several murders and disappearances in the village in the recent years, and that they all seem to be connected to the festival and the village's patron god, Oyashiro. Keiichi tries to ask his new friends about these incidents, but they are suspiciously silent and refuse to give him the answers he needs. As more and more bizarre events occur, he wonders just what else his friends might be keeping from him, and if he can even trust them at all.
When madness and paranoia begin taking root in Keiichi's heart, he will stumble straight into the mysteries at work in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, a story that is told across multiple arcs.
When They Cry has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: ひぐらしのなく頃に, When the Cicadas Cry, The Moment the Cicadas Cry
6. Undead Girl Murder Farce
The 19th century — a world inhabited by vampires, golems, werewolves and other paranormal creatures. Immortal beauty and disembodied head Aya Rindo, along with half-human-half-demon "Demon Killer" Tsugaru Shunichi and her loyal maid Shizuku Hasei, travels through Europe as supernatural detective "The Cage User," solving supernatural mysteries while she searches for her lost body.
Undead Murder Farce has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: アンデッドガール・マーダーファルス, Undead Girl Murder Farce
5. Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri 2nd Season
The second season of Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri.
Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions Season 2 has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 鴨乃橋ロンの禁断推理 2nd Season, Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective 2
4. Ghost in the Shell
2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together with her fellow agents from Section 9, Kusanagi embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.
Ghost in the Shell has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: GHOST IN THE SHELL（攻殻機動隊）, Koukaku Kidoutai
3. Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri
This unusual duo brings the hidden truth into the light! Ron Kamonohashi, a private investigator with serious issues, and Totomaru Ishiki, a pure-hearted but dim police detective, team up to solve the most baffling mysteries! A thrilling detective story for a new generation from Akira Amano, creator of "Reborn!" and "Ēldlive"!
Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 鴨乃橋ロンの禁断推理, Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective
2. Shoushimin Series
Kobato decides to become an honest, humble citizen after enduring a bitter experience known as “wisdom work.” He forms a pact with Osanai, his classmate with the same goal, and they plan to enter high school leading quiet lives. But for some reason, inexplicable events and disasters keep happening around them. Will Kobato and Osanai ever manage to live ordinary, peaceful lives?
SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary has finished airing and it has 10 Episodes. It is also Known as: 小市民シリーズ, How to Become Ordinary
1. Kemono Jihen
When a series of animal bodies that rot away after a single night begin appearing in a remote mountain village, Inugami, a detective from Tokyo who specializes in the occult, is called to investigate.
While working the case, he befriends a strange boy who works in the field every day instead of going to school. Shunned by his peers and nicknamed "Dorota-bou" after a yokai that lives in the mud, he helps Inugami uncover the truth behind the killings—but supernatural forces are at work, and while Dorota-bou is just a nickname, it might not be the only thing about the boy that isn't human.
Kemono Jihen has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 怪物事変, けものじへん, Monster Incidents, Kemono Incidents
