30 Best Mystery Anime With Intrigue to Unravel

The term “mystery” tends to evoke images of hard-boiled detectives tracking down criminals, but mystery is a blanket term. A lot of situations can be mysterious, and that is what can make mystery anime so very delightful. It can be a lot of different things, more so than just the standard gumshoe on the case. If you have caught the mystery bug and need something a little more intriguing in your life, check our these magnificent mystery anime recommendations.

While there may be a few on here, if you are looking specifically for detective-based shows, we have recommendations for that.

Best Mystery Anime

Durarara

Tokyo’s downtown district of Ikebukuro is awash in strange rumors, everything from colorless color gangs to a headless rider roaming town populate the rumors. For Mikado Ryuugamine who just moved there from Tokyo, he is but one witness to the district’s slew of strange events.

Durarara is a unique, albeit sometimes confusing show that introduces a number of characters without one necessarily being the main character. It explores the stories and mysteries in each of their lives until ultimately everything intersects, as these things do. As it has its supernatural touches, it bridges the line between supernatural and weirdly grounded.

Occultic;Nine

Brought together by a blog disproving the supernatural, nine unique individuals are confronted with both murder and the supernatural when they try to solve the mysteries within the city and get caught up in the events.

In the very same vein as Durarara, Occultic;Nine features a number of different characters and the mystery that ends up tying them all together. It is a show that really leaves you wondering if what is happening is paranormal or explainable in reality.

Erased

Recently the detached struggling manga artist Satoru Fujinuma finds himself going back in time just minutes before tragedy strikes around him. He has saved many lives with this power of “Revival,” but when he is wrongly accused of murdering someone close to him, Fujinuma finds himself sent back to his childhood. As he discovers the recent death in his life is somehow connected the kidnap-murder of three of his classmates, this time he may be able to use his power to save more than just one life, easing his past regrets in the process.

Erased is a time traveling murder mystery, which is an interesting concept in and of itself. However, like every good murder mystery should, Erased does a good job at misdirecting the actual culprit throughout the series until it is actually revealed. It ends up being quite gripping.

Another

Since an incident in the school’s past, class 3-3 has always been inflicted by a curse. Each year a dead student is present in their class and other students start dying tragically. To combat this, the students have since started pretending one student does not exist for the year. Unfortunately, they did not count on their countermeasures to be unraveled by a new transfer student that is not in the loop.

While the gore in Another makes it firmly seated in the horror genre, the entire plot is based around a mystery that was inflicted on one specific class. The main character tries to find out what is causing the curse, and the cause is not quite so obvious.

Danganronpa

Hope’s Peak Academy is an elite high school where those accepted are given special titles that showcase their skills. This year, only fifteen were accepted, and one of them was the completely normal Makoto Naegi who got in on sheer luck. The students are thrilled to be in such a prestigious school. That is, until they are trapped inside the school by principal and bear Monokuma who tasks them with killing one of their peers and not getting caught by the others in order to escape. However, if they are caught and found guilty in a trial, they will be executed instead.

Based on a game, Danganronpa tells the tale of kids trapped in a school and told to murder another student and get away with it if they want to escape. Danganronpa is carried by it quirky and over-the-top characters initially, but many of the murders are actually quite clever.

Hyouka

After his sister’s nagging, energy-conservative Oreki joins the Classics Club. However, he gets more than he bargained for when he is dragged into a 45-year-old mystery that surrounds their club room. Alongside his new club members, he also finds himself dragged into a host of other cases as well.

Hyouka is a series of small mysteries set in a school and a club therein that ends up investigating them. While many of the mysteries are intriguing, the pace matches the sluggishness of the main character. It is equal parts interesting mysteries as well as slice of life moments.

Higurashi: When They Cry

Keiichi Maebara just moved to a small rural town and has finally settled into his sleepy days playing games after school with his school mates of various ages that attend the small school house. However, as the village’s annual festival approaches, Keiichi learns about the gruesome local legends that surround it, namely the mysterious disappearances and murders that happen each year. When he asks his friends about it, they are all mysteriously tight-lipped.

Higurashi is a bit of a whiplash show that switches between cute slice of life moments and very graphic violence. It is that switching that draws you in. You want to know why exactly these people are going crazy and what exactly is going on in that small town.

Ergo Proxy

After the explosion of the methane hydrate layer, humanity was forced into a select few domed cities where society is strictly controlled. To assist humanity, autonomous robots called AutoReivs were spread throughout the cities. Enter Re-L Mayer, granddaughter of the regent, and charged with investigating a series of cases in which the AutoReivs have gone haywire. In her investigation she comes in contact with a mysterious monster called Proxy. After meeting a man called Vincent Law that was blamed for several of the incidents, the pair strike out across the wasteland to unravel the mysteries of the Cogito Virus.

Sci-fi can really do mysteries quite well though Ergo Proxy can be a ponderous one. The longer it goes on, the more into philosophy it gets. What starts out as a mystery about why androids are going crazy turns into unraveling a mystery of much larger origins.

Gosick

Kujou Kazuya is a transfer student to the elite Saint Marguerite Academy in the Southern European country of Sauville. However, because of his Japanese descent, he is shunned by the other students. One day in the library of the school, he ends up following a long blonde hair to a beautiful doll-like girl call Victorique de Blois who can predict the future, including their own currently entwined one. Together, the pair begin to solve the mysteries that are beginning to plague their surroundings.

Gosick is a detective mystery series about a pair that meet in a school, but often wander far abroad to investigate mysteries. The most unique thing about it is that many if not most mysteries are set up to seem supernatural in origin, but the detective unravels the very real origins of the problem.

Psycho-Pass

In the 22^nd century, the justice system has changed. The Sibyl System now determines the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for criminal intent. This has become known as their Psycho-Pass. Once criminal intent has been identified, Inspectors like Akane Tsunemori, are in charge of subjugating them. However, this tough job is not without dangers. This is why Inspectors are paired with Enforcers, like Shinya Kougami, latent criminals with just the right amount of psychopathy to keep other criminals in their place.

This is similar to crime mysteries that you may enjoy, but with a unique sci-fi twist to it. The ability to examine the criminal intent of a person really adds another layer to the crimes and mysteries in the show.

Steins;Gate

In a rickety old building in Akihabara, mad scientist Rintarou Okabe and his lab assistants work on so-called future gadgets. However, their most successful contraption to date, the Phone Microwave, a machine that can turn bananas into gel, also has the added function of sending emails into the past, thus altering the flow of history.

While it is a show about time travel, much of the show is about fixing the problems caused by time travel. It really is a Butterfly Effect sort of series in which conspiracies and other issues are uncovered by the most simple changes.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Kyon had long given up on his belief in the supernatural until he meets Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi, a strange girl in her own right, is interested in all things supernatural, but laments the lack of intriguing clubs on campus. Kyon, however, inspires her to create her own club, and thus, the SOS Brigade is born. Unfortunately for Kyon, he is also roped into joining this new club dedicated to all things supernatural.

While The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya initially presents itself as a school life show surrounding club shenanigans, you discover that there is much more at play behind the scenes. A good deal of the joy in this series comes from unraveling what really is going on.

Bungou Stray Dogs

The orphanage that Atsushi Nakajima has been living at has been recently plagued by a tiger that only he can see. Blaming him for the incident, they kick him out. Now homeless, he wanders the streets until he meets the eccentric Osamu Dazai and saves him from drowning. As it turns out, Dazai is a supernatural detective and agrees to help him solve the mystery.

Bungou Stray Dogs sets itself up as a mystery series about a team with unique powers handling supernatural occurrences. Initially, they are solving cases and mysteries, but to be honest, as the show goes on, it becomes more about the action side of things.

Monster

Dr Kenzou Tenma has the perfect life as one of the world’s most renowned brain surgeons. However, one night he is presented with a doctor’s most painful choice – to save an injured child or the mayor, both mortally wounded. Against his colleague’s advice, he saves the kid. However, when a series of crimes start happening around him, all evidence points to the child he saved.

If you enjoy your mysteries in the form of tautly paced thrillers, Monster is the top of the class. It starts out as a standard murder mystery that becomes more akin to a game of cat and mouse as it goes on.

Serial Experiments Lain

Introverted Lain Iwakura finds herself one of many girls to receive an e-mail from classmate Chisa Yomoda, even though Chisa Yomoda recently committed suicide. Averse to technology, Lain soon finds herself able to enter the Wired, a network system similar to the internet. From there, her life gets turned upside down as she finds herself the target of mysterious men and mixed up in a series of cryptic mysteries.

If you really enjoy your mysteries leaving you confused right up until the end, Serial Experiments Lain is that. It has some sci-fi elements and a deliberately slow pace that can make it a task for more action-oriented mystery fans. However, it creates atmosphere and mystery well enough to make this aged series into a classic.

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia

For 60 years, the Seikyou Private Academy has been haunted by a ghost known as Yuuko, a young woman that died in the basement. With no memory of her life, the ghost founds the Paranormal Investigation Club to find answers.

There are a number of ghost-based mysteries, but this series has the ghost more involved than most. While part of the show is about why she is haunting the school, the series also tackles other paranormal investigations so that one mystery doesn’t drag on too long.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

Hanako is said to be a ghost that occupies the third stall of the third floor girls’ bathroom in the old building. When summoned, she is said to grant any wish. Nene, an occult lover with dreams of romance, summons Hanako, only to find out that this traditionally girl ghost is a boy!

Much like Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is another paranormal mystery series that also has a decent balance between melancholy, fun school life, and mystery. It also has several moments of action to keep things spicy. The world crafted in this one is particularly enthralling since it always feels like more is going on behind the scenes.

In/Spectre

At a young age, Kotoko Iwanaga was abducted by yokai and asked to become their Goddess of Wisdom to act as a mediator between spiritual and human issues. She agreed and lost her right eye and left leg in the agreement. Meanwhile, Kotoko meets Kuro Sakuragawa, a man who just broke up with his girlfriend after a kappa fled before him. Kotoko makes her move to not only lock him down as a boyfriend, but to help her settle various disputes with spirits.

This series is special even among the crowded genre of supernatural mystery anime series. Often times, many of the mysteries are solved through talking rather than the standard route of fighting it out. Sure, it has moments of action, but the story does have its way of keeping itself feeling unique in so many ways.

Paranoia Agent

There is an urban legend going around in Musashino City about Shounen Bat, a boy that rolls around on roller blades and beats people with his bent golden baseball bat. Numerous reports of his attacks have been reported, but the police have been unable to catch him. As the investigation continues and more people fall victim, paranoia begins to set in.

Paranoia Agent mixes weird and “maybe” supernatural with completely mundane reality. It was something that Satoshi Kon was great at before he passed. It is a series that draws you in with oddness and makes you wonder why it is happening, yet explains it perfectly by the grand ending.

B: The Beginning

On the islands of Cremona, a vigilante named Killer B is running rampant taking justice into his own hands with seemingly superhuman abilities. After being unsuccessful in their attempts to capture Killer B, the Royal Investigation Service brings in Keith Flick, an eccentric detective that was exiled to the archives department after a personal trauma effected his work. However, as the crimes of Killer B begin to escalate, it becomes abundantly clear more than one person is responsible.

This series is one of those that is actually kind of insane sounding once you try to explain it, and bland sounding when you try to explain it without spoilers. That’s a good place to be with a mystery series even if it is a bad place to be as someone giving anime recommendations. It also does take a few more risks than your standard anime, not all of which end up panning out.

Moriarty the Patriot

William Moriarty is the second son of the noble Moriarty family. During the day, he is a mathematics professor, but at night he uses his keen mind in order to work as a consultant for villains with a particular need for his intellect.

Ah, what would mystery be without so many Sherlock Holmes spins. However, unlike the dozens of other spins of Sherlock Holmes in anime, this is the sole series to follow his nemesis instead. Exploring events and cases with Moriarty as the main character is finally a way to make that whole universe interesting again.

Id: Invaded

In this world, crimes are able to be solved by piecing together a criminal’s unconscious mind in ID-wells. However, in order to enter these ID-wells, you must be a killer yourself. Enter brilliant detective Akihito Narihisago. After his daughter was murdered, he sought vengeance on the killer and is currently serving his sentence. However, under the name Sakaido, he enters the ID-wells in order to help his fellow detectives piece together crimes.

Much like Psycho-Pass, Id: Invaded melds criminal drama and mystery with a sci-fi world that lets them breathe some new life into that tired old story line. Because it involves so much examination of the mind, it also becomes quite the ponderous mystery at times, but it is, in its heart, a solid thriller.

Kemono Jihen

A boy nicknamed Dorotabo lives with his aunt in a rural Japanese inn after being abandoned by his parents. One day, a detective that specializes in the occult named Kohachi Inugami arrives from Tokyo. He is there to investigate mysterious livestock deaths and takes an interest in Dorotabo. The boy ends up helping Inugami and discovers that he is only half human. Possessing skill at dispatching beast-like entities known as Kemono, Inugami takes him back to work at his agency in Tokyo.

This one is a series that is a supernatural mystery solver with a side of super powered detectives. Like Bungou Stray Dogs, but it stays more focused on the cases aside from the flashy fights. While the mystery is a bit ruined as in it is always caused by some sort of entity, the cases do have some unique twists at times.

Ghost Hunt

Taiyama Mai likes to exchange ghost stories with her friends at school, and one day she goes to the abandoned building on campus to do so. While over there telling stories, they are interrupted by Shibuya Kazuya, presidents of the Shibuya Psychic Research Company, a man who investigates ghosts. After accidentally breaking his expensive camera, Mai is forced to become his assistant.

There are plenty of paranormal mystery series here, but Ghost Hunt is the sole one that is about actual ghost hunting, the kind that you may find in real life. They use techniques and tools that ghost hunters would use and unwind the mysteries of the hauntings they encounter.

Odd Taxi

Blunt walrus Hiroshi Odokawa drives a taxi for a living which has caused him to get to know his various eccentric customers. One day, his simple life is turned upside down when a missing person case is tracked by the police back to him. Now on the run from cops and yakuza, he becomes increasingly entangled in this complicated case.

Definitely don’t be put off by the animal characters, Odd Taxi isn’t an anime – mystery or otherwise – that should be slept on. The entire series, even for as bonkers as the premise sounds, is done in an intriguing conversational tone that really helps to craft the grounded, but interesting mystery that unfolds.

Mononoke

Mononoke follows the story of a man simply known as the Medicine Seller. However, it is not medicine he sells, but rather he travels feudal Japan ridding villages of malevolent spirits called mononoke. Before he can kill each spirit he encounters, he must first learn its Form, Truth, and it’s Reason.

Perhaps the most colorful of mysteries, Mononoke isn’t hiding a lack of substance behind all those visuals. It is a supernatural mystery solver that requires specific criteria to be met, as such it really crafts quite the clever way of unraveling the various situations.

Eden of the East

On an event known as “Careless Monday,” Japan was hit by a series of missiles in a terrorist act that fortunately did not harm anyone. Months later as the attacks are all but forgotten, Saki Morimi goes on a celebratory trip to America. There she falls into unexpected trouble with a man named Akira Takizawa, a man that appeared before her completely naked. Drawn into the mystery around him, Saki’s life is changed forever.

No better way to start a mystery than having a guy show up naked and without memories. Really though, Eden of the East is a series where things unfold over the course of it. The scope starts small and grows grander as more memories are unlocked about what lead to that initial moment.

Shiki

The fifteen-year-old Megumi Shimizu dreamed of leaving her small country town behind for the big city, but those dreams died when she did. It was her murder that kicked off a summer of blood and terror in this small town where a city boy and a country doctor try to stop the epidemic of death happening around them.

Providing you don’t spoil yourself, Shiki can be a great watch about a town slowly descending into absolute chaos as a series of events unfold. It really is, unfortunately, a show that is less fun once you know the ending though.

Sonny Boy

One normal day during summer vacation, the school and the 36 students inside began to drift into another dimension. Once there, many of the students begin to develop supernatural powers. At first, the school is surrounded by blackness, but their world soon changes, and as they drift, they find their new realities bound by certain rules.

Sonny Boy is a mystery that makes you wonder what is going on, then leaves you right at that place until you finish the entire series. Even then, you have to make your own inferences about everything and what it means. Still, if you crave looking deeper into everything that is happening, this is a mystery for you.

Demon Detective Nougami Neuro

Neuro Nougami is a demon that feeds on mysteries and puzzles. However, as a demon who must remain unnoticed by humans, he pairs up with a human girl in order to solve mysteries, a job she hopes will help her solve her own personal mystery.

This last one is a detective mystery series, but one like you’ve never seen. Essentially it is about a demon that feeds on mysteries helping a girl trying to solve a mystery of her own. All around it ends up being a pretty unique show, though some of the mysteries are the likes of which you have seen in other detective shows.

There are plenty of more mystery anime series out there. If you want to leave some mystery anime recommendations of your own, leave them for fans in the comments section below.