Boy Detective Franchise Still Going Strong Author: Andrew Nguyen Source: FUNimation Entertainment, VIZ Media Official Manga Site: websunday.net/conan (Japan), shonensunday.com/series/caseclosed (US) Official Anime Site: ytv.co.jp/conan, conan-movie.jp (Japan), funimation.com/caseclosed (US) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith
Shinichi Kudo is one of Japan’s most famous tantei (detective) due to his ability to solve even the most baffling cases. The press referred to him as the "Detective of the East" even though he is only a teenager. After finishing a date with his childhood friend Ran Mouri at a Tokyo amusement park, he inadvertently witnesses a shady deal between a Japanese businessperson and a mysterious man in black. But before Kudo can investigate further, he is ambushed and knocked out by another man in black. To eliminate Kudo while leaving no trace of their presence, the two men in black force-feed him APTX-4869, an untraceable experimental poison. Instead of killing him, the poison physically de-ages the teenager back to a 7-year-old child. Acting on the advice of his neighbor, Dr. Hiroshi Agasa, Kudo goes to live at Ran’s house under the pseudonym "Conan Edogawa" (inspired by the writer Edogawa Rampo, who in turn based his pen name on Edgar Allen Poe). There Conan uses Ran’s father, Kogoro Mouri— a mostly incompetent detective— to solve the numerous cases that cross his path. To catch those responsible for his predicament, Conan works behind the scenes in the hopes of making Kogoro famous enough to receive a case dealing with the aptly-named Black Organization. He accomplishes this with the use of special devices created by Dr. Agasa; most often a watch armed with tranquilizer darts, and a bow-tie that can imitate voices. Conan will often knock out a suitable prospect with the darts, imitate their voice with the bow-tie, and then let that person take the credit once the case is resolved. Most of the time, Kogoro Mouri is Conan`s candidate of choice when solving a case.
While pursuing those responsible for his condition as Conan, Shinichi Kudo realizes the Black Organization would kill anyone who discovered he was still alive. He hides the truth from Ran to keep her out of danger. But despite his attempts to remain hidden from the Black Organization, several other characters in the series beside Dr. Agasa know Conan’s real identity. Most become allies in his fight against the criminal group. They include his parents— the renowned novelist and former detective Yusaku Kudo and the famous actress Yuikaku Kudo— as well as a fellow teenage detective prodigy from Osaka named Heiji Hattori. Perhaps his most important ally is Ai Haibara, secretly a former teenage scientist named Shiho Miyano who once was a member of the Black Organization. Ai created the APTX-4869, and is now in the same situation as Shinichi... for she took her own drug to kill herself after the organization murdered her sister, but reverted to a child instead. Now on the run from the Black Organization, her main goals are to bring it down and develop a cure for her and Shinichi’s condition.
As if all this crime-fighting was not enough, Conan must also endure the trials of being a kid again, including going back to elementary school. He often has to keep his three new school friends out of trouble as they play investigator as part of a club called the Detective Boys (Junior Detective League in the English version). Created by longtime detective story fan Gosho Aoyama, DETECTIVE CONAN (??????, Meitantei Konan) first started life in 1994 as a manga serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday published by Shogakukan Inc. Two years later, the series made the transition to television with an animated program produced by TMS Entertainment and Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation. The franchise also features ten direct-to-video OVAs (Original Video Animation) as well as manga and television specials. Some of these have been crossovers with other series, including a TV special that pitted Conan against none other than the master thief, Lupin the Third. Furthermore, there is a DETECTIVE CONAN anime movie series with fifteen films to date. The events in the films are mostly in a separate timeline from the main manga and television series. All the movies have premiered in Japanese theaters in mid-to-late April and virtually all of them have been huge box office successes. Adding to the popularity of the DETECTIVE CONAN anime series and movies is the incredibly large Japanese voice cast, which includes many well-known names such as Megumi Hayashibara (NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, POKÉMON, COWBOY BEBOP), Shuichi Ikeda (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM), Kappei Yamaguchi (INUYASHA, DEATH NOTE), Akira Kamiya (GETTER ROBO, SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO), Ryo Horikawa (DRAGON BALL Z, SAINT SEIYA), and Wataru Takagi (KITARO, TRANSFORMERS: BEAST WARS). DETECTIVE CONAN has also ventured into live action with a trio of TV movies. The first of these, DETECTIVE CONAN: SHINICHI KUDO`S WRITTEN CHALLENGE (??????????????????????????????????????????????????, Meitantei Conan: Kudo Shinichi he no Chosenjo, 2006) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the anime with a tale of Shinichi Kudo (played by Shun Oguri) before he shrank to a child. The second movie, DETECTIVE CONAN: SHINICHI KUDO RETURNS! SHOWDOWN WITH THE BLACK ORGANIZATION (?????????????????????????????????, Kudo Shinichi no Fukkatsu! Kuro no Soshiki to no Taiketsu, 2007) had Conan revert to a teenager. A third drama, DETECTIVE CONAN: SHINICHI KUDO`S WRITTEN CHALLENGE: MYSTERY OF THE LEGENDARY STRANGE BIRD (???????? ?????????????????, Kudo Shinichi he no Chosenjo: Kaitori Densetsu no Nazo, 2011) aired this past April, and will launch a new live-action television series starring Junpei Mizobata as Shinichi Kudo.
Before DETECTIVE CONAN, Gosho Aoyama also created other series such as Magic Kaito (??????, Majikku Kaitoo), which also ran in Shonen Sunday and dealt with the adventures of Kaito Kuroba and his double life as the Kaitou Kid, a famous international gentlemen jewel thief. In the stories, Kaitou Kid searched for a jewel that contained incredible powers with the intention of destroying the jewel to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. However, after three volumes, Aoyama halted all work on Magic Kaito and shifted his focus to DETECTIVE CONAN after it debuted to incredible success. But he soon brought several of the characters from Magic Kaito— as well as aspects of another early work called Yaiba (????YAIBA, Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba)— to DETECTIVE CONAN. In the series, Kaitou Kid serves as one of Conan’s main antagonists, though he is harmless compared to the members of the Black Organization. Furthermore, Kaito’s father Toichi Kuroba was the acting teacher to Conan`s mother Yuikaku Kudo as well as a high-level member of the Black Organization who went by the codename "Vermouth". Finally, Toichi was the original Kaitou Kid. In this capacity, he served as the rival to Yusaku Kudo during the elder Kudo’s detective days. Kaitou Kid has also appeared in the movies and has a good idea about Conan’s identity. Aoyama returned to work on Magic Kaito with the publication of the fourth volume of the series in 2007. The recent anime TV special MAGIC KAITO: KID THE PHANTOM THIEF (??????: KID THE PHANTOM THIEF, 2010) dealt with the creation of the present Kaitou Kid. From the beginning, DETECTIVE CONAN has enjoyed tremendous popularity at home and abroad. At present, the critically praised manga has 71 compilation volumes and has sold over 120 million copies. It is regularly listed among the top selling manga in Japan and has even appeared on the New York Times best-selling list of manga for October 2010. The anime version is currently in its 20th season, and has scored high rankings on Japanese TV as well as popularity polls in anime magazines. For the 15th anniversary of the anime, the series is available on video on demand in Japan. The popularity of DETECTIVE CONAN is such that the Japanese police have used the series as a promotional tool towards fighting crime. In Aoyama’s home town of Hokuei, Tottori, there are statues of the characters from DETECTIVE CONAN as well as a museum that focused on the author’s work. On the future of the series, Aoyama has hinted in interviews that he has already developed an idea on how it will end but will not use it as of the present time.
In 2003, VIZ Media licensed the North American manga rights for DETECTIVE CONAN while FUNimation Entertainment acquired the distribution rights to the anime series, with a license for the movies following in 2006. Prior to appearing in the US, the series underwent several changes. The Japanese producers of the series requested the title change from DETECTIVE CONAN to CASE CLOSED in order to avoid copyright charges relating to either comedian Conan O`Brien or the character Conan the Barbarian. Overall, most of the changes to the show stemmed from making it more acceptable to an American broadcast partner. This included changing the names of nearly all of the characters (Shinichi Kudo became "Jimmy Kudo") as well as several locations in the series. Furthermore, FUNimation used English versions of the opening and ending songs for a large portion of the episodes that they released and the first two movies, as well. At first, VIZ and FUNimation coordinated their efforts on their early releases in terms of the names of some of the characters from the series. Eventually, as VIZ’s releases of the manga outpaced the releases of the television and movie series from FUNimation, the manga has mostly used the Japanese names and location for any newly introduced characters. However, a different track was used for the character of Ai Haibara when she finally made her first appeared in the English releases of CASED CLOSED. FUNimation used one name for the anime version (Vi Graythorn) while VIZ Media used a different name for the manga version (Anita Hailey). To date, the first five seasons of the TV series have been released on DVD in the US along with the first six movies. Premiering on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim in May 2004, the CASE CLOSED anime series was not a rating success in the US. After forty-eight episodes it was pulled from the air, and there are no present plans of releasing the later seasons. However, the Japanese version still airs on television in America through NHK’s cable network TV Japan. The six movies have done better with the result that FUNimation has left open the possibility of obtaining the remaining movies. Company reps revealed that CASE CLOSED is one of the most fan-requested titles, so it may be only a matter of time until more volumes are released on Region 1 DVD. Since 2004 VIZ Media has published the CASE CLOSED manga on a bi-monthly basis. 38 volumes have been released thus far, with the 39th scheduled for July.
DETECTIVE CONAN/CASE CLOSED Manga
Serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday since 1994. Compilation volumes also began in 1994 with seventy-one volumes published to date. The English language version launched in North America in 2004 with thirty-eight volumes released so far. Author: Gosho Aoyama Japanese publisher: Shogakukan Inc. English publisher: Viz Media
DETECTIVE CONAN/CASE CLOSED Anime
The DETECTIVE CONAN anime series debuted on the Japanese television station Nippon Television Network System in 1996, with twenty seasons (and over 600 episodes) aired to date. The series aired briefly in the United States in 2004 as part of Cartoon Network`s Adult Swim. Nineteen seasons have been released on DVD in Japan, while the first five seasons are available on DVD in North America. Production Studio: TMS Entertainment and Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation North American Distributor: FUNimation Entertainment Japanese Staff Original Creator: Gosho Aoyama Chief Director: Kenji Kodama Producer: Masahito Yoshioka, Michihiko Suwa Story Editor: Junichi Iioka, Masatomo Sudo Music: Katsuo Ono Character Designer: Junko Yamanaka, Mari Tominaga, Masatomo Sudo American Staff Producer: Barry Watson, Daniel Cocanougher Executive Producer: Cindy Brennan Fukunaga, Gen Fukunaga Translation: Clyde Mandelin ADR Director: Caitlin Glass, Chris Cason, Christopher R. Sabat, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Eric Vale, Mike McFarland, Tyler Walker Script Supervision: Jeremy Carlile Script: Andrew Rye, Christopher Neel, David Haynes, Matt Chancey, Sean Michael Teague Japanese Cast Conan Edogawa: Minami Takayama Shinichi Kudo: Kappei Yamaguchi Ran Mouri: Wakana Yamazaki Kogoro Mouri: Akira Kamiya, Rikiya Koyama Ai Haibara/Shiho Miyano: Megumi Hayashibara Pr. Hiroshi Agasa: Kenichi Ogata Ayumi Yoshida: Yukiko Iwai Genta Kojima: Wataru Takagi Mitsuko Tsuburyara: Ikue ?tani, Ai Orikasa Heiji Hattori: Ryo Horikawa Kazuha Tomoya: Yuko Miyamura Inspector Meguire: Chafurin Sonoko Suzuki: Naoko Matsui Eri Kisari: Gara Takashima Miwako Sato: Atsuko Yuya Wataru Takagi: Wataru Takagi Nizaburo Shiratori: Kaneto Shiozawa, Kazuhiko Inoue Kaitou Kid: Kappei Yamaguchi Yusaku Kudo: Hideiyuki Tanaka Yuikaku Kudo: Sumi Shimamoto Jodie Starling: Miyuki Ichijou Shuichi Akai: Shuichi Ikeda Gin: Yukitoshi Hori Vodka: Fumihiko Tachiki Vermouth: Mami Koyama American Cast Conan Edogawa: Alison Viktorin Jimmy Kudo: Jerry Jewell Rachel Moore: Colleen Clinkenbeard Richard Moore: R. Bruce Elliot Vi Greythron: Briana Palencia Dr. Herschel Agasa: Bill Flynn Amy Yeager: Monica Rial Mitch Tennyson: Cynthia Cranz George Kaminski: Mike McFarland Inspector Joseph Meguire Serena Sebastian: Laura Bailey Harley Hartwell: Kevin M. Conolly Kristen Thomas: Gwendolyn Lau Eva Kaden: Julie Mayfield Miwako Simone: Kate Oxley Henry Wilder: Doug Burks Nizaburo Santos: Eric Vale Phantom Thief Kid: Jerry Jewell Booker Kudo: Randy Tallman, John Swasey Vivian Kudo: Laurie Steele Gin: Troy Baker Vodka: Kyle Herbert
DETECTIVE CONAN/CASE CLOSED Anime Movies
Production Studio: TMS Entertainment Japanese Distributor: Toho Co. North American Distributor: FUNimation Entertainment • DETECTIVE CONAN: THE TIME BOMBED SKYSCRAPER (????????????????, Meitantei Konan: Tokei-jikake no Matenroo, 1997) US Release: CASE CLOSED: THE TIME BOMBED SKYSCRAPER (2006) • DETECTIVE CONAN: THE FOURTEENTH TARGET (?????? 14?????, Meitantei Konan Juuyon banme no Tagetto, 1998) US Release: CASE CLOSED: THE FOURTEENTH TARGET (2007) • DETECTIVE CONAN: THE LAST WIZARD OF THE CENTURY (?????? ???????, Meitantei Konan Seikimatsu no Majutsushi, 1999) US Release: CASE CLOSED: THE LAST WIZARD OF THE CENTURY (2009) • DETECTIVE CONAN: CAPTURED IN HER EYES (?????? ???????, Meitantei Konan Hitomi no Naka no Ansatsusha, 2000) US Release: CASE CLOSED: CAPTURED IN HER EYES (2009) • DETECTIVE CONAN: COUNTDOWN TO HEAVEN (?????? ???????????, Meitantei Konan Tengoku e no Kauntodaun, 2001) US Release: CASE CLOSED: COUNTDOWN TO HEAVEN (2010) • DETECTIVE CONAN: THE PHANTOM OF BAKER STREET (?????? ???????????? ???, Meitantei Konan: Bekaa Sutorîto no Boorei, 2002) US Release: CASE CLOSED: THE PHANTOM OF BAKER STREET (2010) • DETECTIVE CONAN: CROSSROAD IN THE ANCIENT CAPITAL (?????? ??????, Meitantei Konan Meikyuu no Kurosuroodo, 2003) • DETECTIVE CONAN: MAGICIAN OF THE SILVER SKY (?????? ??????, Meitantei Konan Gin-yoku no Majishan, 2004) • DETECTIVE CONAN: STRATEGY ABOVE THE DEPTHS (?????? ???????, Meitantei Konan Suiheisenjoo no Sutoratejii, 2005) • DETECTIVE CONAN: THE PRIVATE EYES` REQUIUM (?????? ????????, Meitantei Konan: Tanteitachi no Requiem, 2006) • DETECTIVE CONAN: JOLLY ROGER IN THE AZURE (?????? ????, Meitantei Konan Konpeki no Jorii Rojaa, 2007) • DETECTIVE CONAN: FULL SCORE OF FEAR (??????????????????), Meitantei Konan: Senritsu no Gakufu, 2008) • DETECTIVE CONAN: THE RAVEN CHASER (???????????????????), Meitantei Konan: Shikkoku no Chaser, 2009) • DETECTIVE CONAN: THE LOST SHIP IN THE SKY (?????? ??????, Meitantei Konan Tenkuu no Rosuto Shippu, 2010) • DETECTIVE CONAN: QUARTER OF SILENCE (?????????????, Meitantei Konan: Chinmoku no Kuota, 2011)
TV Specials
LUPIN THE THIRD VS DETECTIVE CONAN (????? VS ??????, Rupan Sansei vs. Meitantei Konan, 2009)
DETECTIVE CONAN OVAs
SHONEN SUNDAY ORIGINAL ANIMATION/ DETECTIVE CONAN SECRET FILE SHONEN SUNDAY ORIGINAL ANIMATION is a series of OVAs (original video animation) released each April to coincide with the latest DETECTIVE CONAN feature film. The OVAs have also been collected in four DVD volumes entitled DETECTIVE CONAN SECRET FILE (?????????????????). • 1- CONAN VS KID VS YAIBA: THE GRAND BATTLE FOR THE TREASURE SWORD!! (???vs???vs??? ???????!!, Konan tai Kiddo tai Yaiba Hootoo Soudatsu Daikessen, 2000) • 2- 16 SUSPECTS!? (16?????!?, Juurokunin no Yoogisha!?, 2002) • 3- CONAN, HEIJI, AND THE VANISHED BOY (????????????, Konan to Heiji to Kieta Shonen, 2003) • 4- CONAN, KID, AND THE CRYSTAL MOTHER (?????????????·???, Konan to Kiddo to Kurisutaru Mazaa, 2004) • 5- THE TARGET IS KOGOROU!! THE DETECTIVE BOYS` SECRET REPORT (????????!!??????????, Hyooteki wa Mori Kogoro!! Shonen Tanteidan Maruhi Choosa, 2005) • 6- FOLLOW THE VANISHED DIAMOND! CONAN & HEIJI VS KID! (?????????!???·??vs???, Kieta Daiya o Oe! Konan, Heiji vs Kiddo, 2006) • 7- A CHALLENGE FROM AGASA! AGASA VS CONAN AND THE DETECTIVE BOYS (????????!??vs???&?????, Agasa Kara no Choosenjou! Agasa vs. Conan & Shonen Tanteidan, 2007) • 8- THE CASE FILES OF HIGH SCHOOL GIRL DETECTIVE SONOKO SUZUKI (?????? ????????, Joshi Koosein Tantei Suzuki Sonoko no Jikenbo, 2008) • 9- THE STRANGER FROM 10 YEARS LATER (10??????, 10nen go no i Hoojin, 2009) • 10- KID IN TRAP ISLAND (2010) • 11- SECRET ORDER FROM LONDON (??????????, Rondon Kara no hi Shirei, 2011) GOSHO AOYAMA SHORT STORIES • WAIT FOR ME (????????, Chotto Mattete, 1999) • THE WANDERING RED BUTTERFLY (1999) • THE SANTA CLAUS OF SUMMER (?????????, Natsu no Santa Kuroosu, 1999) • DETECTIVE GEORGE`S SPECIAL CASE (??????????????, Tantei Joji no Minimini Daisakusen, 1999) • THE TEN PLANETS IN THE NIGHT SKY (?????????????, Yozora ni Tobitatsu Juuko no Wakusei, 1999) • PLAY IT AGAIN (????????????, 1999) • THE MYSTERIOUS MURDER PLAN (??????, Nazo no Satsujin Keikaku, 1999) DETECTIVE CONAN MAGIC FILE • DETECTIVE CONAN MAGIC FILE (?????? Magic File, Meitantei Konan Magic File, 2007) • DETECTIVE CONAN MAGIC FILE 2: SHINICHI KUDO— THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS WALL AND THE BLACK LAB (??????Magic File 2 ????? ??????????, Meitantei Konan Magic File 2 ?Kudo Shinichi Nazo no Kabe to Kuro Rabu Jiken?, 2008) • DETECTIVE CONAN MAGIC FILE 3: SHINICHI & RAN— MEMORIES OF MAJHONG TILES AND TANABATA (?????? Magic File 3 ?????????????????, Meitantei Konan Magic File 3 ?Shinichi to Ran?Maajan Pai to Tanabata no Omoide, 2009)" • DETECTIVE CONAN MAGIC FILE 4" OSAKA OKONOMIYAKI ODYSSEY (?????? Magic File 4 ??????????????, Meitantei Konan Magic File 4 ?Osaka Okonomiyaki Odessei?", 2010) • DETECTIVE CONAN MAGIC FILE 2011: NIIGATA-TOKYO SOUVENIR CAPRICCIO (?????? Magic File 2011 ?????? ????????, Meitantei Konan Magic File 2011 ?Niigata ~ Tokyo Omiyage Kapurichio?, 2011)
DETECTIVE CONAN Live-Action TV Specials
• DETECTIVE CONAN: SHINICHI KUDO`S WRITTEN CHALLENGE (??????????????????????????????????????????????????, Meitantei Konan: Kudo Shinichi he no Chosenjo, 2006) • DETECTIVE CONAN: SHINICHI KUDO RETURNS! SHOWDOWN WITH THE BLACK ORGANIZATION (?????????????????????????????????, Meitantei Konan: Kudo Shinichi no Fukkatsu! Kuro no Soshiki to no Taiketsu, 2007) • DETECTIVE CONAN: SHINICHI KUDO`S WRITTEN CHALLENGE: MYSTERY OF THE LEGENDARY STRANGE BIRD (???????? ?????????????????, Meitantei Konan: Kudo Shinichi he no Chosenjo: Kaitori Densetsu no Nazo, 2011)