Geek It: Anime Review: The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited (2020)

Crimes, sex, booze and money (lots and lots of money) — this was our first impression of THE MILLIONAIRE DETECTIVE BALANCE: UNLIMITED (2020). But with its lavish sophistication and supposedly M-rated content, were the visuals and gangster vibe just for show? Let’s find out!

Without a doubt, THE MILLIONAIRE DETECTIVE BALANCE: UNLIMITED is one of the most interesting series to come out of year 2020. In this CloverWorks production, the story revolves around the successor to the Kambe fortune, Daisuke Kambe. He gets partnered up with a Metropolitan Police Department member, Haru Katou, who is repulsed by Daisuke’s snobbiness and materialistic ways. Coming from two different worlds, they are forced to work together on various police cases despite their differences.

Every time we sit down and watch an anime directed by Tomohiko Ito (Erased, Silver Spoon), it is always a unique experience and The Millionaire Detective was no different.

From explosive detonations to James Bond chase scenes, the overall direction is fabulous in its own way. Accompanied by badass opening and ending theme songs (‘Navigator‘ by SixTones and ‘Welcome My Friend’ by Okamoto), the anime honestly could not do any wrong in our eyes. Sleek, snazzy, and flamboyant — this is the hype and adrenalin that we crave for in modern Japanese animation.

Besides the animation and direction style, we also love the spotlight on the two polar-opposite male leads. Whether it be a personality clash or morality issues, both Daisuke and Haru continuously challenge each other and engage in comedic yet ruthless banter.

On one hand, we have the suave Daisuke who has the latest technologies to hack and access everything. He also has the ability to manipulate and blackmail people in order to get what he wants in a fashionable manner. And of course, we are constantly reminded that Daisuke is a millionaire thanks to his ‘unlimited’ balance which becomes a gag for the show. Then we have Haru, a former First Division detective who was demoted after an embarrassing but traumatic shooting incident. Quick-tempted yet compassionate, Haru is the total opposite of Daisuke and does his best to see that justice is always served.

However, despite The Millionaire Detective’s strong reliance on Daisuke and Haru’s banter, this bromance wasn’t enough to hold the fort down with its ‘cops and robbers’ subplots.

What happened to the vibing visuals that are splashed across the theme songs? Did the audience get robbed of our initial expectations? Can Daisuke and Haru’s bromance save the fleetingly directionless story?

Luckily, out of the blue, the story begins to run towards a different light that unexpectedly derived from a minor police case. When Daisuke’s HEUSC rejects Daisuke from accessing information during a mission, this triggers Daisuke to investigate further since HEUSC is a Kambe product. Leading to something bigger and ominous, this was the start of a storyline that no-one expected — and the revelation of Daisuke’s decision to join the Police.

Twists, red herrings, deaths, action, and family secrets … the highly anticipated adrenalin finally made its red-carpet arrival for the finale. In addition to this, we also witness a sea-breeze change between Daisuke and Haru. Or did we?

RATING: 7/10

After a few bumps along the way, THE MILLIONAIRE DETECTIVE BALANCE: UNLIMITED finally won us over towards the end. This series might have been a slow-burner but after testing our patience, it ended up overcoming our initial disappointment. If you’re up for some flashy animation and fun banter between characters, we recommend you to tackle on The Millionaire Detective in your own time.