WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Season 1 of The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited, streaming on Funimation.
Daisuke Kambe is truly a man made of money. Over the course of 11 episodes of Millionaire Detective's first season, he's spent a truly tremendous amount of cash. In fact, barring the one episode where he forgot his wallet, he's spent millions and billions of yen with each escapade. So, what's the total? Let's tally it up.
Episode 1 - ¥1,369,800,000 ($13,000,292.37)
Although this is the episode where Daisuke came, saw and 'sponsored,' it’s not actually the most expensive one -- though it’s still not cheap. The costs for this episode mainly revolve around vehicles: Daisuke reimburses the damages done to the cars he pushes through at the parade, for his own vehicle, and pays more than three times the (jokingly suggested) price for the foreign prince’s car. Viewers might also remember the impressive show of cash when Daisuke asks his virtual butler, HEUSC, to pay double for the property damage costs incurred in the car chase. In a similar vein, even the manipulation of traffic lights cost a pretty penny.
Episode 2 - ¥83,006,110,000 ($787,781,937.87)
This was a spicy episode where Daisuke mainly paid others to do the work as he orchestrated everything from the shadows; viewers might remember his flashy purchase of an entire skyscraper. Once again, he showed off the fact that everything has a price, as he bought information from the comedy duo off the street (after having graciously tipped them nearly $100 earlier!). Although the show already made it clear that he paid Haru’s informer for help in the investigation, the cost summary reveals that he even prepared custom ramen just for him -- truly going above and beyond as an employer.
Episode 3 - ¥1,271,500,000 ($12,067,361.47)
Daisuke outdoes himself again with the spending in this episode. He ends up using futuristic mini smoke missiles, flexing his access to technology in front of Haru; he also gets an idol boy band to perform live right at the train platform, something not possible with the Kambe family connections. Once again, he pays double for the damages that occurred with the train, and even pays for repairs for the rail. The cherry on the cake is the fact that he was able to use HEUSC to erase all recordings and media related to the incident, ensuring the safety of the unfortunate perpetrator.
Episode 4 - ¥55,616 ($527.83)
This is the famously 'cheap' episode of the season. As Daisuke finds himself away from home without access to his wallet, he has no choice but to rely on Haru for help in terms of food and a place to sleep. Through this process, he learns a new recipe for making the oh-so-hated natto: the “Devil’s Natto Rice.” After getting Haru to buy him a train ticket to go home, he makes it back to his family. However, that isn’t the only thing that happens in this episode. Funnily enough, Haru has to foot the bill for the replacement dog that Daisuke obtained for the child looking for his pet.
Episode 5 - ¥317,000,000 ($3,008,536.05)
This was one gripping episode. Daisuke barely slipped through in one piece when he and the president of Poliador became locked into a room with a bomb, though he was there in style with his costly custom-made tuxedo and bulletproof limousine. The vehicles he arranged and security equipment also didn’t come cheap. Although Suzue wasn’t able to come to the rescue, Daisuke seems to have helped her out afterward -- her bike repairs are last on the list of expenses this episode.
Episode 6 - ¥269,000,000 ($2,552,984.85)
Daisuke played an important role in the investigation for this episode, although it ended up landing him in hot water with Kato. The costs incurred in this episode were entirely related to his attempts to get the truth about his own company from Imura: he drops millions of yen to perform a background check on her before hacking into her vehicle and the surrounding traffic lights to stage a car accident and take her into custody. In the usual Kambe fashion, he also pays for all damages in double; compensation for damages was actually the main expense this episode, overshadowing even the cost needed to hijack an expensive vehicle.
Episode 7 - ¥7,369,000,000 ($69,936,599.85)
There were so many plot twists in this episode, it’s easy to forget that it all happened with Daisuke's funds. The costs incurred include repairs for the Kambe house’s front gate, which was forced open by Haru’s car, and for the security drones that guard the house. The entire dream-like sequence with Katsuhiro turned out to be a simulation, which unsurprisingly also cost no small amount of money. In fact, the cost to perform a deep background check on the man and produce the ensuing VR video comprised most of the spending this episode. One might wonder if the people involved in making the video might have even been paid hush money!
Episode 8 - ¥798,080,000 ($7,574,297.95)
This was an episode that struck a chord into viewers’ hearts. The underground interrogation room for Katsuhiro may have cost the most money, but a rocket backpack and a car for the infiltration plan aside, most of the expenses listed in this episode are food and drink. There’s the sole meunière that Cho asks to use chopsticks with, the fancy crack-open naengmyeon noodles served to Katsuhiro in captivity and the high-quality whiskey. The fact these dishes were essentially their ‘last supper’ makes it all the more poignant when the two brave older detectives, Nakamoto and Katsuhiro, sacrifice their lives to further the investigation.
Episode 9 - ¥280,220,000,000 ($2,659,469,943.00)
While a large portion of the funds expended this episode was used for the usual futuristic Kambe technology (including modifying Daisuke’s car for extra Batman-like functionality), much of it was spent on Daisuke’s workaround for the lack of security cameras. Just as he proved in the first three episodes, people will move for money. By launching a sudden campaign to get average citizens to use their phones to show their surroundings in exchange for prize money, Daisuke managed to evade alerting HEUSC and continued to chase the truth. Perhaps it also makes sense, then, that this is the most expensive episode: Daisuke gives back to the community.
Episode 10 - ¥40,000,000,000 ($379,626,000.00)
As the climactic second-to-last episode, it might be easy to overlook what the costs were at the very end. However, it tells a story: listed there are costs of cleaning up and investigating water pollution caused by sinking the ship, restoration projects, compensation to the local fishermen, and even expenses incurred by public relations. What might be easy to overlook is the fact that reputation is being protected here: at this point in the story, even without seeing the last episode, one might be able to speculate that the culprit is someone else in the family, as they desperately want to protect the Kambe name.
Episode 11 - Unlimited
There’s no receipt at the end of this episode, only a flash of Kambe’s check as he writes out Balance: Unlimited. However, viewers can guess that Kato’s fancy new gear is probably related to the ASV (Active Support Veil) that Kambe used in the ship infiltration episode; this would probably have also cost over 100 billion yen. What makes it hard to calculate the true cost of this episode is most likely Kambe’s missile, which he rides like an ultra-speedy jet from Britain to the Bronx -- arriving in just 18 minutes.
The cost of research, construction and maintenance of an intercontinental missile is not only astronomical but also requires the support of governing entities; it’s incredibly politically fraught. The fact that Daisuke can pull off arriving in a missile is truly a testament to the power of the Kambe family.
Season 1 - ¥414,620,545,616 ($3,935,018,481.25) + Balance Unlimited
Over the course of the 11 episodes this season, Daisuke (and, in part, Haru) spent a collective total equaling about $4 billion, which gives even the famously rich Jeff Bezos a run for his money. In the end, however, the numbers aren't the most important takeaway. As cheesy as it may be, it's all about the journey: Daisuke slowly learning from Haru that life is worth living if you have a cause to fight for, and Haru learning from Daisuke to move forward from the past and be his best self.
Note: All conversions to dollars are done with the rate of 1 Yen to 0.0095 USD.
