Best Mystery Anime of 2011

Kazuya Kujou is a foreign student at Saint Marguerite Academy, a luxurious boarding school located in the Southern European country of Sauville. Originally from Japan, his jet-black hair and dark brown eyes cause his peers to shun him and give him the nickname "Black Reaper," based on a popular urban legend about the traveler who brings death in the spring. On a day like any other, Kujou visits the school's extravagant library in search of ghost stories. However, his focus soon changes as he becomes curious about a golden strand of hair on the stairs. The steps lead him to a large garden and a beautiful doll-like girl known as Victorique de Blois, whose complex and imaginative foresight allows her to predict their futures, now intertwined. With more mysteries quickly developing—including the appearance of a ghost ship and an alchemist with the power of transmutation—Victorique and Kujou, bound by fate and their unique skills, have no choice but to rely on each other.

Long ago, after a brutal world war ended, humanity sought refuge in six city-states that appeared peaceful and ideal—at least outwardly. Shion, an elite inhabitant of No. 6, had his view of this world transformed by a chance meeting with a mysterious boy called Nezumi. Nezumi was one of many who dwelled in the desolate wasteland beyond the city's walls, far from the so-called utopia. Despite knowing that Nezumi was a fugitive, Shion decided to let him stay for the night and offered him protection, which brought about severe consequences: due to his actions, Shion and his mother lost their elite standing and were sent elsewhere, and the city's darker side began to reveal itself. Now, a long time after that life-changing first encounter, Shion and Nezumi are finally reunited. The former elite and the boy on the run are about to set out on an adventure that will, in due course, expose the devastating truths hidden within No. 6.

During the day, Saya Kisaragi lives as a quiet high school student, but at night, she becomes a fearsome hunter of monstrous beings. Wielding a sacred blade given to her by her father for ceremonial duties, she destroys any creature that endangers her tranquil village. Yet her understanding of reality is shattered when she hears the monsters speak of a broken pact, a secret she was never told about. Soon after, a mysterious dog appears and challenges her regarding her vow to safeguard the village, questioning what might happen if she were to break it. Haunted by strange visions as her world unravels, Saya sets out to find the truth in a village where nothing is as it seems.

For second-year economics university student Kimimaro Yoga, money is power—and without it, life holds no value. Living in a country plagued by economic collapse, he struggles to get by while watching his peers enjoy relatively comfortable lives. Everything changes when a man in a top hat named Masakaki appears at his door late one night. Masakaki invites Yoga to the Eastern Financial District, a place overflowing with money for those willing to put up their "future" as collateral. Though hesitant, his greed overcomes his caution, and he accepts, becoming an Entre. Unbeknownst to him, this world of wealth is actually an alternate realm modeled after his own, where Entres are forced into weekly battles called Deals, wagering their collateral. Facing off against his fellow countrymen and fate itself, Yoga must quickly learn to survive in this new reality—fighting to protect both his fortune and his future, and discovering what money is truly worth.

The Takakura family lives under a destiny that turns like an unending wheel, swinging between joy and sorrow before moving on to the next person who makes a wish. Without their parents, twin brothers Kanba and Shouma care for their beloved younger sister Himari, whose fragile health cannot afford any more decline. When Himari is finally allowed a temporary leave from the hospital, her brothers take her to the aquarium to celebrate. There, the family's supposed fate arrives with her sudden collapse. But when Himari is mysteriously revived by a penguin-shaped hat from the aquarium gift shop, the hand of fate keeps ticking faithfully onward. Her miracle recovery comes with a price: a new presence now resides inside her body, and its condition for holding off her doom sends the brothers on a frantic search for the enigmatic "Penguin Drum." As they hunt, they must follow the threads of fate emerging from their own shocking past and into the lives of other wishmakers who also seek the Penguin Drum, each hoping to land upon their chosen destiny.

In the quiet town of Inaba, a string of serial murders has baffled the police, who have made little progress. Amidst this unsettling atmosphere, Yuu Narukami relocates to the area to stay with his uncle for a year while his parents work abroad. He begins attending Yasogami High School, where he quickly becomes friends with Yousuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, and Yukiko Amagi. One day after school, the group tells Yuu about an urban legend called the "Midnight Channel"—a TV show that supposedly airs only at midnight on rainy nights when the viewer is alone. Intrigued, Yuu decides to check it out that night. Instead of the expected broadcast, he sees the face of the next murder victim. Stranger still, he feels a strange pull toward the television, which sparks the curiosity of his friends and leads them to investigate further. Yuu eventually tumbles into the strange realm inside the TV, a place shrouded in thick fog and filled with dangerous beings known as "Shadows." Convinced that this alternate world holds the key to the murders, the group forms the Investigation Team, determined to solve the mystery behind the horrifying incidents.

Narumi Fujishima appears to be an ordinary high school student, but deep down he is a cynical loner. Because of his father's job, he has moved between schools so often that he never truly fit in anywhere. After his cheerful classmate Ayaka Shinozaki forces him to join the gardening club, Narumi meets Alice, a brilliant hacker who lives secluded above Hanamaru, the ramen shop where Ayaka works part-time. He learns that Alice runs a private detective agency, and her colleagues all call themselves "NEETs"—Not in Education, Employment, or Training. When Narumi gets involved in a criminal case that hits close to home, he joins the NEET detective agency. Soon he is pulled into a series of dangerous investigations led by this mismatched group of sleuths, all while trying to uncover the crime syndicate that seems to have mysterious links to Alice.

In the city of Stern Bild, individuals with special abilities are known as NEXT, who may use their powers for either heroism or villainy. A select group of NEXT appear regularly on Hero TV, chasing criminals to bring attention to their sponsors and earn Hero Points, all while competing to become the next King of Heroes. Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, also called "Wild Tiger," is a veteran hero whose performance has recently declined, partly because of his difficulty cooperating with other heroes. After a lackluster season where most of his peers far outperformed him, Tiger is partnered with a new hero who goes by his real name—Barnaby Brooks Jr. Barnaby, nicknamed "Bunny" by his carefree partner, wastes no time making it clear that the two could not be more opposite. Even though they mix like oil and water, Tiger and Bunny must learn to work together, both for their careers and to confront the growing dangers lurking within Stern Bild.

In a future dystopian Tokyo, detective Shinjuurou Yuuki—known to some as the "Defeated Detective"—solves mysteries across the city. With the help of odd associate Inga, Shinjuurou's keen insight and cleverness crack cases, particularly homicides, leading to numerous solved mysteries and captured culprits. Yet Inga seems to harbor darker intentions for those caught, and the truth behind the assistant's identity and motives stays hidden.

Half a year earlier, Lord Hugh Anthony Disward, commonly called Huey, lost his unusual grandfather, Sir Wesley Disward, a famous collector of rare volumes. According to Wesley’s will, Huey must assume responsibility for the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian—a library containing prohibited knowledge—and look after a mysterious young woman named Dalian in order to inherit the estate and everything within it. After settling into the mansion, Huey receives a meeting request from an old rival of his grandfather. Dalian, aware that this rival killed Wesley, accompanies Huey and learns the murderer wields a Phantom Book—a cursed text Wesley once tried to contain. When the book endangers them both, Huey realizes that the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian and Dalian are identical, and she gives him the key to access the knowledge stored inside her. Together, Dalian and Huey seal the book away, launching an unlikely collaboration as they resolve mysteries sparked by other Phantom Books.

Kaito Daimon is a typical high school student, except for one remarkable trait: he is a "demon" when it comes to solving puzzles. His brilliance is such that when he is asked to take some "special" tests of his unique ability, he immediately suspects that the test itself is a riddle. Kaito suddenly finds himself swept into a deadly Philosopher's Puzzle created by the sinister group POG—a lethal maze of trap after trap, where failing to solve the secret correctly means death. Fortunately, Kaito's skills prove up to the first challenge, both for himself and for his childhood friend Nanoha, who is also caught in the deadly scheme. But now that he has been designated as a Solver, he is pulled into a new existence where he must travel the world alongside other Solvers, attempting to solve the latest deadly enigmas left by POG. There is a new conundrum around every corner, and each deception could lead to death, but once a riddle is presented, Kaito can be counted on to unfold, unravel, and unlock it.