Anime Review: The Millionaire Detective: Balance-Unlimited

Reviewer: Kaze Shadow

Storyline: 7/10

Character development: 6/10

Character design: 9/10

Animation: 7/10

Audience Engagement: 7/10

Rating Score: 3.6/5

Anime Review: The Millionaire Detective: Balance-Unlimited is "good"

Reviewer suggestion: "Comedic, spy-like, a new concept, and engaging! Totally an anime worth the watch"- Kaze Shadow

The Millionaire Detective: Balance-Unlimited, animated by CloverWorks under director Tomohiko Ito and written based on the novel "The Millionaire Detective" written by Yasutaka Tsutsui, is a 2020 anime about an old-fashioned detection who believes in justice and traditional methods are partnered up with a new detective who has one unique talent that aids him in all obstacles: money. An unlimited amount of money. Together, they bump heads, solve the crime, and get involved in a bigger and more dangerous scheme with a mystery they can only solve.

Storyline: 7/10

The storyline is creative, and it's worth crediting the creators for. While the standard cop partner chemistry is there, where one cop strictly follows the laws and the other uses their unconventional method, the idea of creating an anime that makes having unlimited money a primary focus is engaging and attention-capturing.

The storyline doesn't take a strong focus until the second half of the season when the bigger mystery comes into question. It starts as small missions for each episode that the two encounter. This sort of writing works for this anime because it allows the audience to explore the entirety of the characters through these random episodes. After the first episode, most of the audience is strongly curious about what Daisuke, the millionaire detective, can do since he has unlimited money. If the story was narrow, it may not have been possible to experience the full potential of Daisuke's ability, which is what captures the audience's attention.

When a more prominent focus of the storyline occurs, it is introduced as connected to a minor crime where the two prevent a political disaster. While the connection does have logic, it does appear a bit random, and there wasn't much suspense built up to it. It would be beneficial if small clues hinted toward the situation through all the small missions to hint to the audience that "oh, something big is coming," making the event's impact much more meaningful. Nevertheless, the storyline, in general, is still promising, and the audience is sure to want to finish the anime to learn what to come of the two detectives.

The length of the anime is nicely done. It doesn't need more seasons or work but has the potential to add one—perhaps just episodes of them going on missions using money in more creative ways. However, if season 2 were to be added, it must be done right and be of good quality. If that cannot be done, it is better to leave the anime than to add a season that ruins the anime's current reputation. I believe the anime tidies up nicely.

Character development: 6/10

The character development is there but not as powerful as it could be.

Haru Kato is a traditional police officer who strictly follows the law but has one problem as a cop: he's afraid to shoot a gun again. Kato was a cop in the first division, a particular unit of cops that handles dangerous missions, and he was promising at his job. However, after shooting and killing a woman who appeared armed out of fear of protecting his own life, he goes through mental episodes and becomes unable to shoot a gun, hindering his performance. He was then demoted to be a civil cop who handled more minor inconveniences. Through the episodes, he finds redemption and peace in his identity after being haunted by the tragic event he endured for so long. That sounds great, except for one thing: He still doesn't shoot his gun.

While it is understandable that the lesson could be that one doesn't need to use a gun to be a good cop...it becomes an issue regarding development. Kato doesn't change. He is the same at the end of the season as he was at the start. A stubborn detective who refuses to use a gun... that's all. One can recognize that he is more at peace than before but is the same detective through and through. The only change in his methods is that he uses Daisuke's assistance, which is given since Daisuke is present, making them more likely to succeed in missions. Kato's development is only in thoughts, not in his character.

Daisuke Kambe is the new wealthy police officer who uses unconventional techniques like buying cars to destroy them because he has the money and can afford to do so. He buys everything: information, access, ranks, and more. Money is a massive part of his detective ability since he lacks social skills for interrogations, etc. There's an episode when Kambe loses access to his money and has to learn how to function without it. However, like Kato, he doesn't change except in thought.

It can be noted that the show suggests character development but doesn't show significant changes.

Character Design: 9/10

The characters in the anime are nicely designed to fit their personalities—brighter colors are for the extroverts, and dark colors are for the introverts. Kato dressed like a detective, and Kambe's outfit depicts wealth. The characters were designed to appeal to the audience and made the audience experience the event better by providing designs that express the character's roles and personalities. The voices were also nicely done, and the personalities were as intended. Our only suggestion is perhaps more variety of outfits and designs on the characters. We understand the ease and convenience of giving the characters the same outfit every episode, like most animes, but in this one, utilizing change can boost the impact on the audience. Kambe is rich, so what if he wore different kinds of well-designed suits/uniforms? Ones that would make the audience pause and stare with excitement. They could include the suit with the receipt they show at the end of every episode, expressing the significance and effects of the outfits. Only a suggestion, though.

We include characters' personalities in their designs. Character development focuses on how the personality changes and fits into the story. In contrast, character design focuses on the quality of the personality and how well it expresses the traits they are meant to convey. This is where the one point was lost. The personality is too standard or typical, not unique. Focusing on Kato, it's sometimes hard to believe he was in the first division at first. His personality is too quickly surprised and naive. He's a character who thinks justice is everything and the only way to do things. He's unrealistic. Simple. Even the most law-conforming citizens in the real world are not like he is. Any half-smart person would have seen Kambe when he joined as a person who can assist with his wealth rather than a person doing things the "wrong way." It seemed fooled that he was upset. He's that standard typical protagonist who thinks there is just "good" and "bad" instead of a gray line and strongly resents anything in the gray. He is meant to express good, innocence, etc, but that's just a lousy way of portraying good cops. Kambe is the standard pretty boy introvert with no thinking or flavor to his personality. The only people with unique personalities are the side characters... who get barely any screen time. The characters aren't flawed, but they could have better personalities; that's why this category lands a 9/10 instead of 10/10

Animation: 7/10

The animation isn't super unique or top-notch in the anime community. Some may even give it a lower rating. However, we give it a 7/10 because the animation does precisely what it is intended to do and gives the audience a spy-like feeling, which matches the anime. Flashiness like explosions and smoke at different moments of the anime and a high level of technology mobility make the audience feel like they're on a spy mission when watching Kambe. Furthermore, the anime does a great job of implementing light into its animation, giving it symbolic meaning throughout the anime. Light eases the audience's mood while helping them understand the situation. Once again, the animation isn't perfect, so it's a 7/10, but it is still good and contains a meaningful purpose. Plus, its animation is better than many amines animation so that is taken into consideration.

Audience Engagement: 7/10

The anime does a good job of engaging with the audience with few limitations. At the end of every episode, the anime shows a receipt to the audience to show them how much Kambe spent. This inclusion was creative and actively engaged with the audience, either intriguing them or surprising them with the cost of the episode. The anime also does an excellent job of using humor, a mixture of personalities (to reach different ranges of audiences), narration, and emotions to engage with the audience. The relatability is the limitation that prevents audience engagement from achieving a higher score. The characters aren't relatable.

As mentioned earlier, no one would think like Kato. Kato is unique because he is too naive; it's not something a person can feel aligned with. So, this makes Kato's decisions distant from the audience. Kambe is also not relatable. He's humorous but not relatable. His spending is too focused and "responsible," considering he has unlimited money. With the amount of money he had, his spending should have been still realistic but more extensive and more frequent throughout the show. Unnecessary spending would have also made him more relatable. When characters are more relatable, their impact on the audience is more impactful. The anime does a good job of engaging with the audience, but it could have been better.

Overall: 3.6/5

The anime is good. It can be a show worth a quick binge on a movie night. It is short enough for them to enjoy it during their free time without worrying about finishing it. Also, the anime can be appealing to some as it is similar to the famous 2022 anime, Spy X Family, as it indulges in crime while containing comedy and characters worthy of admiration (Daisuke Kambe money could be seen as admirable as Twilight from Spy X Family skills).

So, if you want to see a rich person take over the crime field with their endless amount of money while some cop who was recently demoted judges him, then go ahead and watch The Millionaire Detective: Balance-Unlimited.

Thank you to the studio for creating such an exciting anime. It is creative and worth the attention. We hope those who chose to watch it enjoy it, too.

This is our anime review: The Millionaire Detective: Balance-unlimited. Thank you for reading our blog, provided by Survival Wolves Official LLC.  If you have any thoughts, questions, or criticisms of our review that you would like to share, please leave them below in the comment section!

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