Best Mystery Manga of 2006

Reminiscent of a broken toy box, the mystical Abyss is a terrifying realm home to monstrous creatures called Chains. Most believe it to be only a fairy tale, used to scare children who misbehave. Oz Vessalius, the cheerful and mischievous heir of the noble Vessalius family, is one such individual—until, at his coming-of-age ceremony, the mysterious Baskerville Clan arrives and condemns him to the Abyss for a sin he neither committed nor knows anything about. Oz then forms a contract with Alice, a unique Chain who can take on human form, in an attempt to escape from the Abyss. As Oz struggles to unravel the mysteries behind his sin, the Abyss, and a tragedy from one hundred years ago, he and his companions find themselves confronted by the Baskervilles and ghosts from the past. Meanwhile, his journey back home is plagued by relentless despair.Included one-shot: Volume 8: Pandora Hearts (pilot)

Tucked away in the English countryside lies the ominous manor of the Phantomhives, a family which has established itself as the cold and ruthless "Queen's Watchdog" as well as the head of London's criminal underground. After a tragedy leaves the Earl and his wife dead, many are shocked when their son, a young boy named Ciel, claims his place as the new Earl of the Phantomhive house. At first, many perceive him only as a child surrounded by a few eccentric servants. But they soon begin to realize that it is foolish to meddle with Ciel and his demonic butler Sebastian. Taking place at the end of the 19th century, Kuroshitsuji follows these two as they face countless mysteries and dangers that plague England and threaten the Queen, uncovering the truth about what really happened to Ciel's parents in the process.

As the conflict between Kenji Endo, his childhood friends, and cult leader "Friend" comes to an end, two mysteries remain—Friend's true identity and whether the threat of an "anti-photon bomb" before his death was legitimate. Hoping to find an answer, Kenji, alongside the United Nations, decides to use a virtual reality program created from Friend's childhood memories in this conclusion to a long journey that will span decades.

This is a story, a "ghostory" of sorts, about scars that bond, monsters that haunt, and fakes that deceive. The story of Koyomi Araragi begins through a fateful encounter with the all-powerful, blonde-haired, "hot-blooded, iron-blooded, and cold-blooded" vampire, later introduced as Shinobu Oshino. Their tragic rendezvous results in the end of Araragi's life as a human and his subsequent rebirth as a vampire—a monster. However, this encounter is only the start of his meddlings with the supernatural. Koyomi's noble personality ultimately sees him getting further involved in the lives of others with supernatural afflictions. This is his desperate attempt at returning to a normal human life, in a paranormal world filled with nothing but tragedy, suffering, and inhumanity.This entry includes the first season of the Monogatari Series.

A serial killer terrorizes the streets of Los Angeles. This brilliant psychopath commits seemingly perfect murders, brazenly challenging the police with cryptic riddles. The enigmatic and world-famous detective L has been hired to crack the case. However, to keep himself out of the public eye, L seeks out FBI agent Naomi Misora to carry out the investigation for him. Misora agrees to aid L's endeavors, but soon finds herself caught up in an intense battle of wits between L and the culprit. Who is this mysterious killer, and why do they leave clues for the LAPD to decipher? Death Note Another Note: Los Angeles BB Renzoku Satsujin Jiken follows Misora on her journey to solve these mysteries and bring the indiscriminate murders to an end once and for all.

The Sonozaki family of Hinamizawa has kept twin sisters Mion and Shion apart for as long as they can remember. Mion will become the next heir of the Sonozaki family, and Shion will attend St. Lucia Academy, away from her dear sister and their relatives. But Shion escapes the school and returns to Hinamizawa, unaware of the cruel tragedy awaiting her. When she reunites with her sister and gets a part-time job—while pretending to be Mion—she meets Satoshi Houjou, a boy her age with whom she falls madly in love. But when she learns about Satoshi's horrible family situation, she begins to resent everyone in his household—even his younger sister, Satoko. When tensions escalate and Satoshi abruptly goes missing, Shion begins to suspect that her own family may have had something to do with his disappearance. A year later, Shion meets Keiichi Maebara, Mion's crush. Her sister's infatuation with Keiichi stirs up her old feelings for Satoshi, and awakens a vicious desire to find out the truth behind his disappearance once and for all. However, Shion's quest for the truth will send her spiraling down a dark path of madness and despair.

Detective Mamoru Akasaka is used to catching criminals and solving fast-paced cases in Tokyo, but he has never imagined that his job would send him to the quiet village of Hinamizawa. Disguised as a tourist, Akasaka decides to take in the sights, all while gathering information for his true mission: to find a kidnapped child. The dam construction project in Hinamizawa threatens to decimate the village, and a group of villagers has kidnapped the grandson of the Minister of Construction, holding him ransom in exchange for the project's cancellation. Akasaka must find the boy before things get too out of hand, all while trying to keep his cover. Taking place a few years before the main storyline of Higurashi, Himatsubushi-hen follows Akasaka as he navigates a village where enemies abound. However, he finds a friend in a young girl named Rika Furude, who knows far more than she should about their present situation, and about what might happen next...

In the summer of 1983, Rena Ryuuguu and her friends are enjoying their days the way they always have: playing games and living a life of contentment in the village of Hinamizawa. But darkness is forming in Rena's heart, and even her closest friends may not be safe from it. Rena's divorced father has recently found a new girlfriend, a sleazy woman named Rina Mamiya. Rena's hatred of her is solidified when she discovers that the woman and her true boyfriend are trying to swindle Rena's father out of his money. After a tumultuous confrontation with Rina about what she has learned, Rena realizes that she must resort to desperate measures to keep her father safe. When her friends notice that she is acting rather strange, they investigate what she has done, but instead of abandoning her as Rena assumed they would, they band together to support and help her. However, when she discovers a shocking snag in her plans, Rena realizes that she may have trusted the wrong people, and begins to become highly suspicious of her friends and the other townspeople. And as she uncovers the truth about the town's long history of murders and disappearances, she realizes that only drastic actions can save the village from utter destruction.

Twenty years ago, a poisonous gas erupted from a nearby swamp and killed thousands of people in the village of Hinamizawa. In the years since the "Great Hinamizawa Disaster," people have avoided the town and prefer to forget that it ever existed. However, on one particular night, five strangers find their way to this abandoned village tucked away in the mountains. In Yoigoshi-hen—a possible future outcome of Tsumihoroboshi-hen—Mion Sonozaki, a former resident of the village, arrives at Hinamizawa's now-dilapidated Furude Shrine, seeking shelter from the rain. Along the way, she meets Akira Otobe, whose friends have disappeared. As they enter the shrine, they find others already there, also taking shelter. But when a murder takes place among them, suspicions run high, and some begin to suspect Mion herself: after all, Mion died in the Great Hinamizawa Disaster 20 years ago.

Konoha Inoue lives out his days as a normal high schooler, hiding his dark past as a best-selling author who wrote under the guise of a 14-year-old girl. A member of the literature club, he writes improv stories that serve as snacks for third-year student Tooko Amano, the only other member of the club and a self-styled "book girl" who literally eats written words. Konoha is forced to tag along with Tooko as she seeks out strange, literature-filled cases to investigate. One day, the book club receives a request from Chia Takeda, who asks them to help her write love letters to her crush Shuuji Kataoka. What appears to be a simple request for love advice soon turns into something more sinister when Konoha delves deeper into the matter.

In our world there are objects that go by the name of "Relics". Not antiques or items of classical art, but mysterious things like a stone that brings luck, a doll whose hair grows night after night, or a mirror that shows your future appearance. The world is big and so there happens to be a shop that offers such suspicious items — the Tsukumodo Antique Shop (FAKE). But as the name suggests, only fakes can be found there. To make matters worse, the shop assistant is a girl whose attendance couldn't be blunter, so the store hardly has any customers at all. However, from time to time a real Relic appears and makes things interesting. Very well, now let us talk about those who have obtained one of these mysterious items.

Erin is a young girl who lives with her mother in a village which raises war-lizards, called Touda. We see her daily life, which changes as she grows up. Meanwhile, there is growing tension between the two provinces of the country she lives in.