Who is the Greatest Manga/Anime Detective?

[Vidocq]

It could be of any series besides the Sherlock Holmes or the Hercule Poriot & Miss Marple animes. Because that's just cheating. And no Psychic Detectives.

I am torn between Shinishi Kudo From Detective Conan or L from Death Note. But ultimately I would have to go with L.


3 Main reasons.

1. Even if Kudo is great and a fellow Sherlockian, his plot is very and I mean very stupid. Oh no! They gave me poison and it turn me into an 8 year old instead of killing me... Of Course! While an Supernatural Notebook that kills people isn't really that sane, atleast it dosen't crack open the laws of the universe to serve the plot (being supernatural and all).

2. It's been over a decade and Kudo isn't even close to finding out anything about this Black Organization. L found out who was Kira by Volume 3 and was sure about the logistics of it all by volume 8 (Sure he was killed in a xanatos Gambit before he could do anything about it but still, credit were it's due).

3. L's methods actually have some Sherlockian Logic to them. The way he found out were Kira was would have made the Master of all Detectives take his hat off. And while Kudo also has this crowning moments many times his deductions just don't make sense or are hilariously contrived. Case in point the first case had a girl get in a roller coaster, wait till they pass the tunnel, jump out of her seat and decapitate her former lover who was seated a few seats back without anybody noticing, including his girlfriend who was seated next to him and who was framed, all in a few seconds and at top speed. Whatever happen to just shoot the guy and run like hell? Oh how did the hero deduced all of this? He found some pearls in the floor that fell down while she was making gymnastics that any Gold medalist wont be able to reproduce. It's just not so fun to me if their is no logic behind it.

Now this isn't the case for most episodes, but for a whole lot of them. I enjoy Detective Conan but I don't watch the storyline episodes because they are frustrating and I mostly watch the Kaito Kid epsides. Why oh why don't they make a Kaito Kid anime...

Anywho who would you choose as the Best Anime Detective?

[Hitokiri]

Zenigata on pure tenacity. Seconding L. Also Detective Lunge from Monster.

[Beacon]

I’m really tempted to go with Zenigata. Sure he rarely wins but that has less to do with his incompetence and more to do with his choice of opponent. The fact that he’s even able to keep up with Lupin is a testament to his abilities.

[lOv3raku]

I think the best anime detective would be Detective Conan. Have you watched Detective Conan series? The series is very good and how it was constructed.

[sun tzu]

Originally Posted by Hitokiri

Zenigata on pure tenacity. Seconding L. Also Detective Lunge from Monster.

While Lunge is good, it's more of a "quite good", as opposed to the "holy crap that's freaking genius" of L and Shinichi Kudo. I don't think any manga detective compares favorably to these two (well, except for their own rivals within their own series, maybe).

[Grazzt]

Originally Posted by sun tzu

While Lunge is good, it's more of a "quite good", as opposed to the "holy crap that's freaking genius" of L and Shinichi Kudo.

I like Lunge as a character better than those two, but I agree it's not on the strength of his detective skills, as it is on his sheer tenacity and nearly mechanical single-mindedness.

Oh, and while we're talking about Urasawa, Detective Gesicht from Pluto. It's pretty unfair: as a robot, he can see details and process information in a way humans can't.

[Skeleton]

Originally Posted by Beacon

I’m really tempted to go with Zenigata. Sure he rarely wins but that has less to do with his incompetence and more to do with his choice of opponent. The fact that he’s even able to keep up with Lupin is a testament to his abilities.

Yes, I agree with Beacon, Zenigata is the best. Barely the fact that he chooses Lupin as opponent is a proof of his courage. Moreover, I think he never wins against Lupin just because he loves the "Catch me if you can" game too much to bring it to an end. That's also a great aspect of his character.

[Vidocq]

I think Zenigata is based on Ganimard from the original Lupin stories from back in the day. Even though their was no policeman as constant as Zenigata, Ganimard was the mos notable of all the guest policemen (Similar to Lestrade in Sherlock Holmes stories). It's been years since I read the story (I think it was the blond phantom) I clearly remember Lupin saying that he admired Ganimard because even though he didn't have the brains of the Lupins, Sherlock Holmes or Leqocs of the world, he would never give up once he set eyes on a goal and would fight relentlessly to accomplish it (or something to that effect, like I said, it's been Years).

Like Ganimard, Zenigata is able to best the worst but ordinary criminals, but he is bested to the point of ridicule by the Extraordinary criminals (and Detectives, as seen when he met Sherlock Holmes) just like any other normal person.

[sun tzu]

On L vs Shinichi: It's true, beyond any shadow of doubt, that Death Note is far more serious and realistic than Detective Conan. The latter can be pretty light-hearted, and the crimes and methods there can get pretty ridiculous at times.
But I don't think it's fair to consider Shinichi less talented because of it. He still displays an incredible ability to notice every small detail and figure out the extremely complex and non-obvious (and that's without getting into the tactical skill he displays at times). Even after more than half-a-hundred tomes, I'm still highly impressed with his intellect.

[RubberLotus]

Originally Posted by sun tzu

On L vs Shinichi: It's true, beyond any shadow of doubt, that Death Note is far more serious and realistic than Detective Conan. The latter can be pretty light-hearted, and the crimes and methods there can get pretty ridiculous at times.
But I don't think it's fair to consider Shinichi less talented because of it. He still displays an incredible ability to notice every small detail and figure out the extremely complex and non-obvious (and that's without getting into the tactical skill he displays at times). Even after more than half-a-hundred tomes, I'm still highly impressed with his intellect.

Agreed. Detective Conan at its darkest and angstiest is practically Care Bears even when put up against Death Note at its most light-hearted.

Death Note sometimes makes me wonder how the hell it got serialized in a Shonen magazine. It's probably one of the only Shonen mangas with a sociopath for a main character that's NOT played for laughs.

[Hitokiri]

Remember Fist of the North Star was a Shonen as well so it's not so much of a stretch for Death Note to be one also.

[Grazzt]

Originally Posted by RubberLotus

Death Note sometimes makes me wonder how the hell it got serialized in a Shonen magazine. It's probably one of the only Shonen mangas with a sociopath for a main character that's NOT played for laughs.

Still, there are other signs of its shonenness (for lack of a better word). The many "what do you mean its not awesome?" scenes and the relative youth of most of the main cast are good examples. Compare it to a similar seinen manga like "Monster", and the difference is obvious.

[Vidocq]

I hadn't noticed before but for a country that it's said to have a huge Holmes fanbase, Japan's anime/Manga has quite a Great Detective protagonist/Antagonist deficit.

I can only think of six.
Kudo
Zenigata
L
Lunge
Boku (From Goth. Which I'm not even sure if it counts since he is obseced with murder and only looks for killers to meet with them and not for any sense of justice, Though he did killed that guy who tried to kill Morino)
and Saguru Hakuba (From Magic Kaito)

[Vidocq]

Originally Posted by sun tzu

On L vs Shinichi: It's true, beyond any shadow of doubt, that Death Note is far more serious and realistic than Detective Conan. The latter can be pretty light-hearted, and the crimes and methods there can get pretty ridiculous at times.
But I don't think it's fair to consider Shinichi less talented because of it. He still displays an incredible ability to notice every small detail and figure out the extremely complex and non-obvious (and that's without getting into the tactical skill he displays at times). Even after more than half-a-hundred tomes, I'm still highly impressed with his intellect.

That's true in most cases, but sometimes his deductions are too out there. Take the example in the first case. His only clues were a tear, some pearls and girl who does gymnastics. But his solution is completely illogical. The method of deduction I imagine he uses is '' Eliminate everything that's impossible and whaterver is left, even if improbable, must be the truth.'' Pearls, Gymanstics and a tear is enough to make a hypothesis but not nearly enough to make an accusation. Most of the times it's Logical, particulary when he finds out how Kid did a certain trick, but there are times one wonders if japanese people know that you don't have to confess when some one accuses you of a crime.

[Libaax]

L is clearly the standout to me. He was brilliant. Not silly,unrealitistic either.