Studio: CloverWorks
Episodes: 8 (ongoing) out of 11 episodes
Director: Tomohiko Itou
Genre: Mystery, Comedy, Police
Summary
Daisuke Kanbe, a man of extraordinary wealth, is assigned to the Modern Crime Prevention Headquarters as a detective. It is there that he gets partnered with Haru Katou, a humane detective who values justice above all. The two are polar opposites, and their morals clash time and time again. Haru despises Daisuke for using monetary wealth to solve cases, as he believes that money isn’t everything. The two will have to combine their efforts, however, to solve the mysteries that are coming their way.
[Synopsis taken from MAL Rewrite]
Our Thoughts
The story starts off as an episodic anime that focuses more on the absurdity of Daisuke’s wealth and Haru’s sense of justice. Post-episode 5 however, the story starts to have a deeper mystery plot that revolves around the Kanbe family. The anime then focuses heavily around the interactions between Daisuke and Haru, and the revelation of their motives through their backstories.
The detective work in the show can be over the top at times, but it serves to add comedic value to the series. The humour usually comes from Daisuke’s tendency to use money to solve everything that gets in his way. On the other hand, the mystery element starts out quite weak, but it gets more interesting and less one-dimensional as the show goes on.
The animation by CloverWorks is clean and vibrant. It isn’t bad, but there’s also nothing praise-worthy. However, it suits the style of the story and the characters within it. The voice acting in the series was also done well despite it being Onuki Yosuke’s (Daisuke Kanbe) first-time in the voice acting industry. His pitch and intonation portray Daisuke well as a character.
Trivia about Balance: Unlimited
- The anime is adapted from the novel series Fugou Keiji (“The Millionaire Detective”) by Yasutaka Tsutsui, which ran from the year 1975 to 1977. The author’s other works, Paprika and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, have also been adapted into popular anime movies.
- This anime was actually slated to be released during the spring season of 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series’ third episode was delayed to July 30.
- When the series was first released, Daisuke Kanbe became one of the top trending topics on Twitter worldwide.
- At the end of every episode, the total incurred cost of Daisuke’s expenditures will be shown in the form of a cheque.
Verdict: Watch it!
Overall, The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited is a fun and quirky anime that delivers the phrase ‘cash is king’ well. With 3 more episodes left at the time of writing, the current ongoing mystery in the series definitely lives up to the hype the series started out with.
If you’re a fan of crime-solving comedy with a dash of clashing personalities, you’ll definitely enjoy this.
