Best Mystery Anime of 2026

In the American Old West, the most renowned race of all time is about to start. Thousands of participants gather in San Diego, competing for an opportunity to travel over six thousand kilometers for a fifty-million-dollar prize. With the age of horses drawing to a close, competitors are allowed to use any kind of vehicle. Those who enter will face harsh trials, traveling up to a hundred kilometers per day across wild terrain. The Steel Ball Run is distinguished as a singular and demanding competition. Johnny Joestar, a young ex-horse racer now confined to a wheelchair, goes to San Diego to observe the race's start. While there, he meets Gyro Zeppeli, a competitor who carries two steel balls on his belt instead of a weapon. Johnny sees Gyro use one of these steel balls to create an incredible force, forcing an adversary to fire at themselves during a fight. In the chaos, Johnny unintentionally makes contact with the steel ball and feels a surge of energy rush through his legs, allowing him to stand after two years of paralysis. Determined to uncover the secret behind the steel spheres, Johnny decides to enter the race, setting off on an extraordinary journey across the continent in the Steel Ball Run.

The third season of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto begins. After the Shi Clan’s uprising, calm has finally been restored, and Maomao has resumed her former role as a pharmacist in the pleasure district. One morning, a breakfast served at the Verdigris House triggers a suspicion in Maomao, prompting her to investigate its hidden nature. Meanwhile, Jinshi—having disclosed his true identity as the Imperial brother and begun grappling with his weighty obligations—is deeply unsettled by the final message Loulan left behind: a warning of an approaching "disaster that will shake the nation." To compound matters, whispers of a mysterious shrine maiden who deceives the populace begin to circulate, once again casting a dark shadow over the land of Li. From the depths of the inner court to the city streets and across foreign borders—the world expands, and the stakes rise even higher for Maomao and Jinshi.

The year is 2029. In a near-future Japan where the world has become intensely information-driven, a vast corporate network spans the planet with electrons and light pulsing through it. Yet nation-states and ethnic groups still endure. Motoko Kusanagi, a full-body cyborg, leads an elite combat unit that includes Batou. While commanding her team, Kusanagi envisions creating a specialized task force to strike preemptively against emerging threats. Meanwhile, Daisuke Aramaki of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who had been planning to form a similar unit, recruits Kusanagi and her team. Together, they begin operations as Public Security Section 9—an offensive tactical unit known as "Shell Squad." As they confront complex cybercrimes and international conspiracies, the existence of a mysterious, unidentified hacker called the "Puppet Master" appears on the horizon of their investigation. What fate awaits Kusanagi? And what is the Puppet Master's true objective? A new era of cyberpunk action begins.

In a world where nobles stop at nothing to gain power, lying, manipulating, and extorting are commonplace. However, House Grail remains true to its principles of honesty and integrity. Constance Grail, the youngest daughter of the family, upholds these values, always acting with righteousness and aiding those in need. But her moral compass becomes futile when her fiancé betrays her by being unfaithful. He and his new lover conspire to frame Constance, silencing her pleas for justice. No one believes her except for the spirit of the notorious Scarlett Castiel, who possesses Constance to turn the tables on her accusers. This intervention, however, comes with a price. Scarlett was executed ten years prior for attempting to poison Princess Cecilia, though she maintains her innocence. Despite her blunt and ruthless demeanor, Scarlett would never commit such a crime. She seeks vengeance against those who framed her and demands that Constance, the only one who can perceive her, help carry out this mission.

Second season of Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru.

The Branch of Reincarnation is a mystical item that bestows the abilities of a person's previous lifetimes, but the price is the user's own life, as they must cut their own throat with it. Touya Senji, a high school student burdened by self-doubt, feels overshadowed by his exceptionally gifted sibling. Convinced that academic achievement is his only path to recognition, he pours himself into his studies, yet remains unsatisfied despite placing among the top one hundred in national practice exams. His life shifts dramatically when he witnesses Haito Luo Buffett, a classmate and a Returner who has unlocked her past-life abilities through the Branch, fighting against a serial killer.

A curse binds both past and present. Mao, a young mystic onmyoji living in the Taisho period of early 1900s Japan, has endured a life-altering curse that has forced him to exist for nine hundred long years. His world grows even more peculiar when he encounters Nanoka Kiba, a junior high school girl who appears to have traveled from the future. Despite her youth, Nanoka has led an unusual life of her own, marked by the traumatic loss of both parents in a grisly accident when she was a small child. When Nanoka decides to revisit that fateful shopping arcade, she is whisked away to a different time and place—a realm where supernatural ayakashi thrive in an era long before her own. There she meets Mao, whose abrupt and puzzling question makes Nanoka see herself and her strange life in an entirely new light. Now the two travelers from different eras join forces to confront the dark forces that hold sway over both their lives.

In "Killed Again, Mr. Detective," Sakuya Otsuki, the son of a famous detective, seeks to follow in his father's footsteps with the assistance of his helper, Lilithea. But there is a peculiar twist to this high school sleuth's cases—every time he looks into a crime, he ends up as the one who is killed. Despite this unfortunate situation, each time Sakuya wakes up, Lilithea is there to support him in solving the mystery. This pattern repeats when Sakuya is sent to investigate a luxury cruise ship and once more becomes a murder victim.

In the shadowy streets of Lügenberg, where humans and demihumans coexist uneasily, a unique detective agency operates beyond the reach of formal justice. Arne Neuntöte, a vampire detective, pursues the bizarre, walking the fine line between violence and the truth. Everything shifts with the arrival of Lynn Reinweiß, a noblewoman captivated by vampires despite their dangers. Together, Arne and Lynn unravel bloodstained mysteries that lurk in Lügenberg’s darkest corners, as death and betrayal simmer under the city's gothic exterior. Each solved case reveals to them that the truth often lies deeper than what initially meets the eye.

Third installment of the Mononoke movie.

The story of "The Drops of God" follows Shizuku Kanzaki, the only child of famous wine critic Yutaka Kanzaki. Shizuku was raised under a strict routine focused on wine appreciation. His father trained him intensely to master every facet of wine tasting, which only made Shizuku come to hate it completely. Eventually, tired of this lifestyle, he moved out and took a job as a sales representative at a beer company, vowing never to touch wine again. Yutaka's unexpected death pulls Shizuku back into the world he detests. According to his father's will, whoever can correctly identify the "12 Apostles" of wines and the legendary "Drops of God" will inherit Yutaka's large wine collection and estate. Shizuku has one year to accomplish this task, believing he is the only heir. What Shizuku does not know is that Yutaka secretly adopted Issei Tomine, a renowned wine critic nicknamed "The Prince of Wine," just a week before passing away. Now Issei is Shizuku's rival for the inheritance. With no formal training in wine tasting, Shizuku faces steep odds in his quest to find the elusive "Drops of God." Can he overcome these hurdles in time?

The 23rd entry in the long-running Precure series. Anna Akechi is a second-year junior high student living in Makoto Mirai Town. On her 14th birthday, she encounters a fairy named Pochitan and a magical pendant that sends her back in time from 2027 to 1999! In the Makoto Mirai Town of 28 years ago, Anna meets Mikuru Kobayashi, a girl her age who aspires to become a great detective. Meanwhile, townspeople are in trouble as their prized possessions are being stolen right under their noses—the work of a group of Phantom Thieves. To stop them, Anna and Mikuru transform into Precures! Perhaps if they solve these mysteries, Anna can find her way back to her own time?

Ritsu inherited his sixth sense from his grandfather, and with it, a demon guardian called Blue Storm. Odd occurrences keep happening around the pair, and it falls to them to uncover the truth behind each strange event. Though every story stands on its own, the same characters reappear, and you will grow familiar with them as they each find their own way to handle things that are 'not of this world'.

Three ordinary schoolboys obtain a DVD rumored to open a gateway to a parallel universe, but while they are distracted, Pyontarou's younger sister Futaba goes through it and is abducted by the aliens that have conquered that version of Earth. Realizing that their cartoonish bodies grant them superhuman abilities in the hyper-realistic parallel world, the boys set out to rescue Futaba.

The 29th installment of the Detective Conan film series. Conan, Ran, Sonoko, and Kogoro head to the Minato Mirai district of Yokohama alongside motorcycle enthusiast Masumi Sera to attend the Kanagawa Motorcycle Festival. Suddenly, a mysterious black motorcycle appears, leaping over the car carrying Conan and his companions. In pursuit is Chihaya Hagiwara of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Traffic Mobile Unit—the "Goddess of the Wind" that Ran once witnessed. However, after a high-speed chase, Chihaya's motorcycle is destroyed, and she lets her target escape at the last moment. Arriving at the Yokohama festival venue, Conan and the others observe the unveiling of a new police motorcycle equipped with state-of-the-art technology, named "Angel." Meanwhile, reports surface that a rogue "black motorcycle" has now appeared in central Tokyo, evading the Metropolitan Police Department's pursuit. The motive behind the rampage remains unclear, but the vehicle's design closely resembles that of "Angel." Authorities dub the black Angel bike "Lucifer" and continue their chase.

An anime short included with the Princess Principal: Crown Handler Chapter 4 Blu-ray release.

The internet abounds with creepypasta—stories of supernatural events, cryptid encounters, and unsolved disappearances that most dismiss as online jokes or entertainment. Yet certain unfortunate souls discover the grim reality that some of these legends are genuine. Those unlucky individuals often meet a horrific end, though their fortunes might shift if they encounter the boy in the red hood. He travels from one community to another, showing up at locations where eerie phenomena occur. Is he a beacon of hope in the darkness, or does his arrival confirm that monsters are truly real...?

Tenth season of Oshiri Tantei.