History Main / PrivateDetective

* Raidou Kuzonoha from ''[[RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzonoha Vs King Abaddon]]'' is sort of a cross between this and a Film/{{Ghost Buster|s}}.

* Film/RockSlyde is a FilmNoir detective [[AffectionateParody parody]]; from having a decanter of mouthwash on his desk, to using online auction feedback to boost his self-esteem. He still narrates in a [[TheComicallySerious serious]] tone of voice.

* ''AceVentura: Pet Detective''

* In ''Lethal Weapon 4'', Leo Gets becomes a licensed PI. This garners much comedy for Riggs and Murtaugh.

* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' Kogoro Mouri, Heiji, and main character Conan Edogawa/Shinichi Kudo
** In fact, Kogoro has often been shown to do stuff that people usually hire private detectives for - tracking people suspected of Adultery, trying to track down someone who is lost (but not officially considered a missing person, think deadbeat dads or former friends.)

* Shotaro Hidari of ''KamenRiderDouble'' is a PrivateDetective. However he isn't as hardboiled as he likes to think he is, leading to his fellows referring to him as "half-boiled". Both major characters refer to themselves as "two detectives in one": Shotaro does the field investigations while his partner Philip (named after Philip Marlow) does the research back home. Prior to the two meeting Shotaro worked for another, much more hard-boiled detective whose death helps to kick off the events of the series.

* In the ''{{Anime/Animatrix}}'' segment ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Detective Story]]'', Ash is hired to track down a computer hacker by the name of Trinity. A mash of FilmNoir and Literature/AliceInWonderland {{Shout Out}}s ensues.

* Film/RockSlyde is a [[AffectionateParody parody]] of a [[NoireFilm noire]] detective; from having a decanter of mouthwash on his desk, to using online auction feedback to boost his self-esteem. And it's all narrated in a [[TheComicallySerious completely serious]] tone of voice.

Although it's more common for a Private Detective these days to be treated as just one step away from the AmateurSleuth (or often, particularly if seen from the point of view of the police, as rather sleazy bottom-feeders usually involved in some kind of criminal activity and frequently ex-cops kicked off the force for some kind of corruption), the classic {{Archetype}} of the Private Detective - and the one that has generally stuck in the mind of people when they think of the profession - is either the GreatDetective or the HardboiledDetective. In RealLife, the PrivateDetective is often viewed as a PunchClockVillain for his or her use of SinisterSurveillance. The fact that they are officially licensed to go on a StalkingMission to track whoever they are hired to investigate (often for non-criminal activity like [[YourCheatingHeart adultery]]) puts them firmly in the camp of SociopathicHero, or a PsychoForHire with no respect for other individuals' privacy, depending on who you ask. In RealLife, some private investigators may also function as BountyHunters, as the two professions are incredibly similar.

Although it's more common for a Private Detective these days to be treated as just one step away from the AmateurSleuth (or often, particularly if seen from the point of view of the police, as rather sleazy bottom-feeders usually involved in some kind of criminal activity and frequently ex-cops kicked off the force for some kind of corruption), the classic {{Archetype}} of the Private Detective - and the one that has generally stuck in the mind of people when they think of the profession - is either the GreatDetective or the HardboiledDetective. In RealLife, the PrivateDetective is often viewed as a PunchClockVillain for his or her use of SinisterSurveillance. The fact that they are officially licensed to go on a StalkingMission to track whoever they are hired to investigate (often for non-criminal activity like [[YourCheatingHeart adultery]]) puts them firmly in the camp of SociopathicHero, or a PsychoForHire with no respect for other individuals' privacy, depending on who you ask.

Although it's more common for a Private Detective these days to be treated as just one step away from the AmateurSleuth (or often, particularly if seen from the point of view of the police, as rather sleazy bottom-feeders usually involved in some kind of criminal activity and frequently ex-cops kicked off the force for some kind of corruption), the classic {{Archetype}} of the Private Detective - and the one that has generally stuck in the mind of people when they think of the profession - is either the GreatDetective or the HardboiledDetective.

While the comparison with the AmateurSleuth is common, in many ways the stories work the opposite ways. The AmateurSleuth, such as MissMarple, tend to cozy locked room mysteries, where everything starts complicated and uncertain, but slowly works its way down as a logic puzzle, with a tidy solution where the killer is unmasked. The PrivateInvestigator tends to start simple, but as the investigation will unravel an ever more complicated plot, and the ending is rarely tidy. MinorCrimeRevalsMajorPlot is a common thread. The killer may be unmasked, but larger problems tend to stay unsolved.

While the comparison with the AmateurSleuth is common, in many ways the stories work the opposite ways. The AmateurSleuth, such as MissMarple, tend to cozy locked room mysteries, where everything starts complicated and uncertain, but slowly works its way down as a logic puzzle, with a tidy solution where the killer is unmasked. The PrivateInvestigator tends to start simple, but as the investigation will unravel an ever more complicated plot, and the ending is rarely tidy. The killer may be unmasked, but larger problems tend to stay unsolved.

* ''DetectiveGrimoire''.

** [[DickTracy Duck Twacy]] in ''TheGreatPiggyBankRobbery''

--->Riggs: "Excuse me, private investigator? Could you investigate my privates?"

--->'Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only one in the world. I'm a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is. Here in London we have lots of government detectives and lots of private ones. When these fellows are at fault, they come to me, and I manage to put them on the right scent. They lay all the evidence before me, and I am generally able, by the help of my knowledge of the history of crime, to set them straight.'

** [[SherlockHolmes Doorlock Homes]] in ''DeduceYouSay''

* SherlockHolmes is often described as the 'first consulting detective', thus making this OlderThanRadio. Private detectives existed prior to Holmes, but he claimed that being a "consulting detective" was something different:
--->"Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only one in the world. I'm a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is. Here in London we have lots of government detectives and lots of private ones. When these fellows are at fault, they come to me, and I manage to put them on the right scent. They lay all the evidence before me, and I am generally able, by the help of my knowledge of the history of crime, to set them straight."

* [[{{Shaft}} Who's the black private dick, that's a sex machine to all the chicks?]]

* ''ComicBook/MsTree''

* The title of [[Psych]] refers to the name of the "private, physic detective agency" main characters Shawn and Gus run. They often get hired as offical police consultants as well, however.

* Jennifer mays from ''TheMazeAgency''

* Helen Walsh in ''[[Creator/MarianKeyes The Mystery Of Mercy Close]]'' is one as well as a DefectiveDetective in that she's severely depressed but still does her job anyway. It's mentioned by her sisters that Helen through a variety of jobs before settling into her career as a private detective

* The PlayerCharacter from the DarkParables games is a detective who specializes in solving mysteries related to {{fairy tale}}s.

* Kyle from ''HotelDusk''.