Growing up in the UK, I have always had a deep fondness for murder mysteries, from Agatha Christie novels to the countless book and television detectives whose quirky storylines have delighted generations of amateur sleuths. Sherlock Holmes is, of course, a national treasure, and it’s no coincidence that the tiny lead of the Detective Conan series borrowed his creator’s name to form one half of his famous pseudonym: Conan Edogawa. However, British fans of the series have often been left behind, with only part of the Detective Conan series available for viewing on Crunchyroll and most of its spin-offs being completely out of reach. That finally changes this month with the theatrical release of Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram!
Despite being the very first UK cinema outing for the series, Detective Conan – or as it’s sometimes called in translation, Case Closed – might seem like an intimidating prospect for new viewers. Its television adaptation has been running even longer than One Piece (and has even more episodes), and to make matters worse, this is its twenty-seventh spin-off movie! Films don’t become the highest-grossing release of the year in Japan by shutting out new fans, however, and Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram has made sure to keep its story accessible to newcomers as well. But is our first shot at a cinema outing for this much-loved mystery series actually any good?
Detective Conan is something of an institution in Japan, frequently parodied and instantly recognisable wherever it pops up. For a lot of potential viewers in the UK, I imagine that the biggest hurdle is going to be coming into the Detective Conan world so late in the day without prior experience. It’s worth bearing in mind that the majority of Japanese fans won’t have seen every episode either, and while there are little nods for those following ongoing developments this movie is extremely newbie-friendly, with a self-contained central mystery which has some decent meat on its bones. Conan narrates a simple summary of the main storyline at the beginning and everyone important to the film is introduced properly; if anything, not being familiar with the series regulars might make the mystery even more exciting, since it won’t be so obvious which characters are most likely to be villains.
I am not completely up-to-date with the television series but I recognised the characters who were involved in the story, and the one plot thread which was new to me was introduced seamlessly, with everyone’s roles made obvious through their dialogue. I watched the film with somebody who had only ever seen a couple of episodes before and he had no trouble keeping up. Detective Conan movies are, like James Bond films, spectacles which invite viewers to spend a little time in a world of deduction, gadgets and high-stakes crime; absolutely no in-depth knowledge of what came before is required to jump on board. While your experience will be enhanced by recognising people and places, it’s never essential.
With regards to Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram specifically, I should also state that no knowledge of Japanese history is required but if you know a little about the end of the Bakumatsu – or if you happen to be a fan of period-inspired series like Hakuouki, Rurouni Kenshin, Gintama or Golden Kamuy – you will recognise the nods to historical events and figures, most notably the celebrated Shinsengumi warrior Toshizou Hijikata, whose legacy is intertwined with the main plot. There are also numerous references to landmarks local to Hakodate in Hokkaido, the real-world setting of the film, which will delight anyone who has travelled to northern Japan before. The Detective Conan series often incorporates educational tidbits into its storylines and this movie takes great pains to root the central mystery in its setting, both historically and geographically.
The Detective Conan films tend to be structured like extended feature-length episodes of the television series and that’s exactly what happens here. A brand-new mystery is introduced right at the beginning of the film and by the time the credits roll, it has been neatly solved thanks to Conan and his talented friends. Our hero has a wide network of contacts with all kinds of talents, enabling him to pull surprisingly diverse pieces of trivia together in order to follow the trail of clues and take even the most unbelievable twists in his (tiny) stride.
Despite being unrelated, Detective Conan‘s formula is probably most similar to that of the wonderful Ace Attorney adventure game series in terms of its whimsical presentation and comically cavalier approach to fictionalised crime. By this point in the series Conan has personally witnessed and solved hundreds of murders in his fictionalised Tokyo suburb, along with foiling countless thefts and conspiracies, yet nobody has become jaded or lost their appetite for meddling. And as with Ace Attorney, the colourful cast of supporting characters contribute heavily to the series’ enduring appeal.
Rather than solely focusing on Conan himself, this time the pint-sized detective shares the spotlight with two of his long-time associates: Heiji Hattori, the ‘High School Detective of the West’, and Kaitou Kid, the infamous phantom thief who loves to announce his heists in advance. While Kid the Phantom Thief originally hails from a completely different series, he’s popped up a few times over the course of Detective Conan so that by this point, he’s become a part of the scenery, occasionally emerging to wreak havoc with his flamboyant capers. It shouldn’t work in a world that’s as devoted to law and order as Conan’s, yet it does; Kid gives our hero somebody to pit their wits against who isn’t actively trying to murder people and it’s always entertaining to see them face off.
Heiji Hattori, on the other hand, is a different kind of rival for Conan. He’s one of the handful of characters who actually knows what happened to the tiny detective, and while they share a professional competitiveness as a pair of young prodigies from different sides of Japan, they also share a deep mutual respect for one another. In many respects, Heiji is the star of this film, playing an important role at every step of the investigation and being critical to its climax. His presence also gets around the awkwardness of somebody who looks like a child being unable to participate in investigations, and gives the lead somebody to talk to about the case so that viewers can follow his deductions without falling back on internal monologues. Fans of Heiji’s ongoing (and extremely frustrating) romance storyline will also love – and hate – some of the developments here.
While Heiji’s heroics are often centre stage, Kid’s contributions to the film are also important. While it’s one of his robberies which brings the cast together and sets the story in motion in the first place, his ambiguous moral compass continues to add a much-needed counterpoint to the other leads’ steadfast pursuit of justice thereafter. He’s fun to watch in every scene in which he appears, always the showman and never entirely clear with his motivations. This movie casually reveals a few major plot points relevant to the ongoing Phantom Thief storyline, so it will definitely be interesting to see where they take the characters’ relationships in future.
The downside of balancing the story between three leads with major roles is that some of the other side characters – like Conan’s exceptionally patient girlfriend Ran – barely have any screen time at all in this film. It’s unavoidable now that there are so many cast members, because nobody wants to watch a two-hour parade of minor characters popping up with nothing to tie it all together, but fans of the Mori family or the Junior Detective kids should be aware that they don’t get much opportunity to shine this time around.
The animation is simple compared to other theatrical anime, fitting in well with the glossy style of the later television episodes and saving its budget for a handful of action-packed set pieces near the start and at the climax. One of my few criticisms is that quite a few characters in this film have very similar designs. With the simple art style and sheer number of characters appearing over the course of the mystery, it’s important to pay attention to the details in order to avoid getting mixed up. The character artists have done their best but it’s an inevitable problem with blending the worlds of Magic Kaito and Detective Conan together; the main cast of both series look alike due to the manga artist’s style. While Kid and Conan are easy to tell apart, some of their companions are not so fortunate!
The voice actors are all established veterans at this point and turn in their usual polished performances, with jokes which land well and emotional scenes where it counts. Legendary seiyuu Shuuichi Ikeda appears for a surprise cameo and it was a treat to hear Yoshitsugu Matsuoka making his series debut as one of the guest stars. Composer Yugo Kanno provides a solid soundtrack to accompany the visuals, though the highlight for me was hearing the latest remix of the classic Detective Conan theme music playing in the background.
The subtitles, which are displayed in both English and Chinese, are well-translated and capably convey all of the details, even when the subject matter benefits from cultural knowledge. There was one instance where characters were briefly speaking in English and this scene wasn’t subtitled. The spoken English was clear and understandable but for the sake of hard of hearing viewers I would like to see all content subtitled in future releases. On the rare occasions when multiple characters are speaking simultaneously, the subtitles are positioned side by side instead of placing the most important line above the other, which is an unconventional choice (and probably comes from the Chinese subtitling). Thankfully, the original names are used for all of the characters instead of the anglicised versions from the ‘Case Closed‘ adaptation, so the names properly match the spoken dialogue and we don’t have to endure the strangeness of ‘Jimmy Kudo’ and his American-sounding friends solving Japanese-themed mysteries in urban Hokkaido.
The Detective Conan series is generally family-friendly in the same way that many of us grew up watching murder mystery shows as family entertainment; there are some harrowing themes but if a kid is comfortable with that then the narrative is pitched for all ages, and some episodes take it a step further by putting the younger characters in the spotlight. However, it’s worth mentioning that people do frequently die, the shadowy villains are quite threatening and in this film in particular, swords are central to the plot. Although the BBFC 15 rating might limit its reach the rating is earned due to scenes of violence and criminal antics. Conan’s cute character design might make it look like a film for children but while I would be personally comfortable showing this to younger people with supervision, it makes sense that the warning is there. Sensitive viewers, take note.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram and was on the edge of my seat for the whole runtime, which is all that I ask of any mystery film. Director Chika Nagaoka has done a wonderful job of giving us an extended episode of the television series with enough hints to advance ongoing plots that it doesn’t feel like filler. If you’re already a fan of the series then you owe it to yourself to take the rare opportunity to see this on the big screen, and if you’re yet to dip your toe into the world of Detective Conan then why not take this opportunity to check it out? I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for future releases from Trinity CineAsia so that we can revisit this world again one day. More, please!
Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram comes to UK cinemas on 27th September 2024, courtesy of Trinity CineAsia.
