Best Mystery and Suspense Anime of 2023 Rankings

Anime Corner recently held its annual awards poll throughout different categories and the votes are in! In this article, we’re highlighting the Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023 voted on by you the fans. Here are the results:

Rank 5th Place – Pluto (Votes: 6.65%)

Ranking fifth in Anime Corner’s Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023 is Pluto from Studio M2. Pluto is a manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa that was published in Big Comic Original magazine from September 2003 to April 2009. It was based on the famous Osamu Tezuka’s work Astro Boy—one of the main characters of Pluto named Atom closely resembles Astro Boy. The Pluto manga has over 10 million copies in circulation, even winning the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2005. The anime adaptation directed by Toshio Kawaguchi is currently available to watch on Netflix.

VIZ Media licensed the series in English and describes the series as:
In an ideal world where man and robots coexist, someone or something has destroyed the powerful Swiss robot Mont Blanc. Elsewhere a key figure in a robot rights group is murdered. The two incidents appear to be unrelated…except for one very conspicuous clue – the bodies of both victims have been fashioned into some sort of bizarre collage complete with makeshift horns placed by the victims’ heads. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to this most strange and complex case – and he eventually discovers that he too, as one of the seven great robots of the world, is one of the targets.

Rank 4th Place – Tengoku Daimakyo (Votes: 11.95%)

In fourth place for the Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023 is Tengoku Daimakyo (Heavenly Delusion) from studio Production I.G. Tengoku Daimakyo is a manga series written by Masakazu Ishiguro that is currently being published in Monthly Afternoon magazine. There are currently 10 volumes published with no release date announced for Volume 11. The anime adaptation was directed by Hirotaka Mori and aired from April 2023 to June 2023 on Hulu and Disney+.

Denpa licensed the manga in English and describes the story as:
Within the safety of the walls, youths are raised in a nursery-style setting by robots. While life there may appear stale on the surface, the children are full of potential and curiosity. In many ways it is like a slice of heaven. The outside world is a hell-scape. It is almost entirely void of anything mechanical and is now inhabited by bizarre, yet powerful super-natural beings.
Maru, with the aid of Kiruko, is out there crisscrossing what was once Tokyo for heaven. But after searching for so long, maybe heaven is more of an untenable dream than a potential reality.

Rank 3rd Place – Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 (Votes: 18.53%)

Taking third place for the Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023 is Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 from Studio Bones. Bungo Stray Dogs is a manga series written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa that is currently published in Young Ace magazine. The ongoing manga currently has 24 volumes published with no release date announced yet for Volume 25. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 not only brought the series third place for Best Mystery/Suspense Anime, but the series also won 2023 Anime of the Year. All seasons of Bungo Stray Dogs are available to watch on Crunchyroll, along with the film Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple.

Continuing from the last season of Bungo Stray Dogs that aired during Winter 2023, Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 focuses on The Armed Detective Agency as they continue to be on the run from the Hunting Dogs. Detective Rampo Edogawa plans to prove the Agency’s innocence and save the world from chaos by doing one thing: capturing Kamui, the leader of the Decay of Angels. Rampo and fellow Agency colleague, Atsushi Nakajima, enlist the help of Hunting Dog’s Captain, Ouchi Fukuchi, hoping his past with their president, Yukichi Fukukawa, will help them. However, Fukuchi might not be the man they thought of him to be.

Rank 2nd Place – Hell’s Paradise (Votes: 18.72%)

Hell’s Paradise from studio MAPPA took second place for Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023. The anime is based on the manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku that was serialized on the Shounen Jump+ app from January 2018 to January 2021. There are 13 volumes in total that have also been published by VIZ Media. The anime adaptation aired from April 2023 to June 2023. Luckily, Hell’s Paradise isn’t over yet as a second season of the series has been announced.

Crunchyroll is streaming the anime and describes the series as:
Gabimaru reigns as the strongest and most ruthless assassin in his village. But now finds himself on death row—with only one way out: retrieve the Elixir of Life from a sinister island. Longing for freedom, he accepts the challenge. But with fellow convicts vying for the same prize and demonic beasts lurking, how will Gabimaru survive this harrowing quest?

(Fans in Asia Pacific can watch the series on Netflix.)

Rank 1st Place – The Apothecary Diaries (Votes: 18.85%)

Finally, ranking as the Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023 is The Apothecary Diaries from Toho Animation and studio OML. The Apothecary Diaries is a light novel series written by Natsu Hyuga and illustrated by Toko Shino that is published by Shunfunotomo. There are currently 14 volumes published for the light novel (10 in English). It inspired two manga adaptations titled The Apothecary Diaries (13 volumes, 10 in English) and Mao Mao no Koukyuu Nazotoki Techou (17 volumes). The anime ran for a total of 24 episodes over two cours that began in October 2023 and ended in March 2024. With each episode filled with suspense and mysteries, it is no wonder why it consistently appeared on Anime Corner’s Weekly Top 10 polls.

Crunchyroll is streaming the series and describes it as:
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!

Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023 Results:

Below is the full list of Anime Corner’s Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023:

Rank	Title	Votes
1st	The Apothecary Diaries	18.85%
2nd	Hell’s Paradise	18.72%
3rd	Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5	18.53%
4th	Tengoku Daimakyo	11.95%
5th	Pluto	6.65%
6th	Undead Girl Murder Farce	6.5%
7th	Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions	5.01%
8th	Link Click Season 2	4.91%
9th	Spy Classroom	4.59%
10th	In/Spectre Season 2	4.28%

We would like to thank the fans for voting for Best Mystery/Suspense Anime of 2023! We have been treated to fantastic shows in 2023 within the mystery and suspense genre that it’s hard to choose! Let’s hope that this year, we will see even more amazing shows filled with tons of mystery and suspense. Also, be sure to check out Anime Corner’s other results and rankings: