Case Closed
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''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its chapters collected in 102 '' tankōbon'' volumes as of September 2022. Due to legal problems with the name ''Detective Conan'', the English language releases from Funimation and Viz were renamed to ''Case Closed''. The story follows the high school detective Shinichi Kudo who was transformed into a child while investigating a mysterious organization and generally solved a multitude of cases by impersonating his childhood best friend's father and various other characters. The manga was adapted into an anime television series by
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the subsidiary of the eponymous Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomera ...
and TMS Entertainment, which premiered in January 1996. The anime resulted in animated feature films, original video animations, video games, audio disc releases and live action episodes. Funimation licensed the anime series for North American broadcast in 2003 under the name ''Case Closed'' with the characters given Americanized names. The anime premiered on
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swimand often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
but was discontinued due to low ratings. In March 2013, Funimation began streaming their licensed episodes of ''Case Closed'';
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
simulcast them in 2014.
Funimation also localized the first six ''Case Closed'' films, while Discotek Media localized the '' Lupin III'' crossover special, its film sequel, and select recent films, starting with Case Closed ''Episode One''. Meanwhile, the manga was localized by Viz Media, which used Funimation's changed title and character names.
Shogakukan Asia is a manga publishing company headquartered in Singapore. The company, a subsidiary of Japanese publisher Shogakukan, opened in 2014. The books are distributed in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei. Series ...
made its own localized English version of the manga, which used the original title and Japanese names. The ''tankōbon'' volumes of the manga had over 250 million copies in circulation worldwide as of 2021, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. In 2001, the manga was awarded the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award in the ''shōnen'' category. The anime adaptation has been well received and ranked in the top twenty in ''
Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Oth ...
''s polls between 1996 and 2001. In the Japanese anime television ranking, ''Case Closed'' episodes ranked in the top six weekly. Both the manga and the anime have had a positive response from critics for their plot and cases. The manga has been sold in 25 countries, while the anime has been broadcast in 40 countries.


Plot

Jimmy Kudo (Japanese name: Shinichi Kudo) is a high school detective who sometimes works with the police to solve cases. During an investigation, he is ambushed and incapacitated by a member of a crime syndicate known as the Black Organization. In an attempt to murder the young detective, they force-fed him a dangerous experimental drug. However, instead of killing him, it turns him into a kid. Adopting the pseudonym Conan Edogawa and keeping his true identity a secret, Kudo lives with his childhood friend Rachel Moore (Ran Mori) and her father Richard (Kogoro Mori), who is a private detective. Throughout the series, he tags along on Richard's cases. Nonetheless, after Kudo solves one, he will use Dr. Agasa's hidden tranquilizer to sedate Richard and then uses a voice changer to simulate his voice to reveal the solution. He also enrolls in Teitan Elementary School where he makes friends with a group of classmates who form their own Junior Detective Club (Detective Boys). While he continues to dig deeper into the Black Organization, he frequently interacts with other characters, including his neighbor, Dr. Agasa, Ran's friend
Serena Sebastian The manga series '' Case Closed'', known as in Japan, features a large number of recurring fictional characters created by Gosho Aoyama. The series takes place in modern-day Japan and follows an amateur detective Jimmy Kudo (Japanese name: Shin ...
(Sonoko Suzuki), a fellow teenage detective Harley Hartwell (Heiji Hattori), assorted police detectives from different regions, and a
phantom thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...
called the Kaito Kid. Kudo later encounters an elementary school transfer student, Anita Hailey (Ai Haibara), who reveals herself to be a former member of the Black Organization under the code name "Sherry" and the creator of the experimental drug that shrunk him. She too had ingested it to evade the pursuit of the organization. She soon joins the Junior Detectives. During a rare encounter with the Black Organization, Conan helps the FBI plant a CIA agent, Kir, inside the Black Organization as a spy.


Production

''Case Closed'' was conceived in 1994, during the rise of mystery genre
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
due to the publishing of the series '' The Kindaichi Case Files''; the first chapter appeared in Shogakukan's '' Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' on January 19. Aoyama cites the stories of Arsène Lupin,
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
and the samurai films by Akira Kurosawa as influences on his work. When scripting each chapter, he ensures the dialogue remains simple and spends an average of four hours for each new case and twelve for more complicated ones. Aoyama's older brother is a scientist who helps him out with the "gimmicks" in the series. Each case spans several chapters (except for a handful of shorter cases that only span one), and is resolved at the end where characters explain the details of their solutions in simple terms; an online database consisting of all the cases from the manga was launched in 2007. In 2007, Aoyama hinted he had an ending planned out but does not intend to end the series yet. Aoyama and his staff decided to computerize their manga creation process in early 2011, although he still draws with a pen and paper. The change began with the final page of chapter 760.


Release

''Case Closed'', written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 19, 1994. ''Case Closed'' became the 24th longest running manga series, with over 1000 chapters released in Japan, and the first series with over 1000 chapters published in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday''. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual '' tankōbon'' volumes. The first volume was released on June 18, 1994. On October 18, 2021, the series reached one hundred volumes; '' One Piece'' author, Eiichiro Oda, whose series achieved the same feat a month before, sent congratulations to Aoyama. As of September 15, 2022, 102 volumes have been published. Viz Media announced its acquisition of the series for North America on June 1, 2004. Following Funimation's localization, Viz released the series as ''Case Closed'' and took their character names to keep consistency between the two media. Viz Media released the first volume in September 2004 and began releasing digital editions in 2013.
Gollancz Gollancz may refer to: * Gollancz (surname), a Polish-Jewish surname * Victor Gollancz Ltd, a former British publishing house, now used as an imprint by the Orion Publishing Group See also * Gołańcz Gołańcz (german: Gollantsch) is a town ...
licensed and distributed 15 of Viz Media's volumes in the United Kingdom before ceasing publication of manga. (Viz Media has since re-released them). In 2014
Shogakukan Asia is a manga publishing company headquartered in Singapore. The company, a subsidiary of Japanese publisher Shogakukan, opened in 2014. The books are distributed in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei. Series ...
began its own English localization of the series for Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries as ''Detective Conan''. - Go to "Detective Conan A Modern Day Sherlock Holmes " - - Release date 6 June 2014 Laura Thornton of
CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
, citing the common Japanese ownership in both Shogakukan Asia and Viz, described the Singapore version as, compared to the Viz one, "completely identical, word-for-word, even -- save for the names and the ''Detective Conan'' logo". The manga has also been localized in other regions such as China, France, Germany and Indonesia. (Localizations in Scandinavia ceased one by one, Finland being the last in 2013, when the publisher shut down the entire manga division).


Spin-offs

Gosho Aoyama's assistants have written an
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
series of ''Case Closed'' which are released irregularly. A
spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
manga series, titled ''Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanzawa'', by Mayuko Kanba, began in the July 2017 issue of Shogakukan's ''
Shōnen Sunday S , formerly known as ''Shōnen Sunday Super'', is a monthly '' shōnen'' manga magazine published by Shogakukan in Japan. History and background Originally billed as a special edition of '' Weekly Shōnen Sunday'', titled , it was renamed in 1 ...
'', released on May 25, 2017. Another spin-off manga series, illustrated by Takahiro Arai with supervision by Aoyama, titled ''Case Closed: Zero's Tea Time'' started in issue #24 of ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' on May 9, 2018. The story centers on the agent Toru Amuro/Rei Furuya. New chapters of the manga are only published when ''Case Closed'' is on hiatus. Another spin-off manga series by Arai, titled ''Detective Conan: Police Academy Arc – Wild Police Story'', was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from October 2, 2019 to November 18, 2020. Spanning 13 chapters, it again focuses on Amuro/Furuya during his years in the police academy with his colleagues.


Media adaptations


Anime

The anime version of ''Case Closed'' is produced by Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation and TMS Entertainment. Over 1000 episodes have aired in Japan since the anime's premiere on January 8, 1996, making it the fifteenth longest anime series to date. Initially, Shogakukan collected and released the episodes on VHS video cassettes from June 1996 to October 2006. Four hundred and twenty-six episodes were released on VHS until Shogakukan abandoned the format and switched over to DVDs, starting over from the first episode. For the fifteenth anniversary of the anime series, the series was made available for video on demand. The series celebrated its 25th anniversary in January 2021, and the "Moonlight Sonata Murder Case" episode (11th episode of the series) was given the remake treatment as the first part of its celebration, which featured the latest staff and production techniques, and classical pianist Aimi Kobayashi performed Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 for the episode. It aired on March 6, 2021. In 2003, the first 104 episodes, as well as the first six movies were licensed by Funimation for distribution in North America, under the title ''Case Closed'' because of legal considerations. The ''Case Closed'' anime has also been released in other languages such as French, German and Italian. ''Case Closed'' debuted on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
as part of their
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swimand often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
programming block on May 24, 2004; no more than 50 episodes were licensed from Funimation due to low ratings. The Canadian channel YTV picked up the ''Case Closed'' series and broadcast 22 episodes between April 7, 2006, and September 2, 2006, before taking it off the air. Funimation made the series available with the launch of the Funimation Channel in November 2005; it was temporary available on Colours TV during its syndication with the Funimation Channel. ''Case Closed'' was later broadcast in North America on NHK's cable network TV Japan. Funimation lost the rights to the series in 2018.
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
began simulcasting the series in October 2014, starting with episode 754. In September 2020, Crunchyroll began streaming the first 43 episodes (the two-part episodes 11-12 considered as a single episode). A separate English adaptation of the series was made by Voiceovers Unlimited Pte Ltd. in Singapore. Another one by Animax Asia premiered in the Philippines on January 18, 2006, under the name ''Detective Conan''. Because Animax were unable to obtain further TV broadcast rights, their version comprised only 52 episodes. The series continued with reruns until August 7, 2006, when it was removed from the station. Both the Singapore and Philippines versions used Japanese character names. The California-based channel United Television Broadcasting (UTB) aired it with English subtitles from 2011 to 2014, until episode 421. Funimation also released DVDs of their dubbed series beginning August 24, 2004. Initially, the releases were done in single DVDs and future episodes were released in seasonal boxes; 130 episodes have been released in total. The seasonal boxes were later re-released in redesigned boxes called Viridian edition. Funimation began streaming ''Case Closed'' episodes in March 2013. Hanabee Entertainment licensed the series for distribution in Australia. In January 2016, 52 episodes of the anime appeared on Netflix, initially under its original title ''Detective Conan'' before changing to its English moniker ''Case Closed''. The episodes were listed as "season one", although in reality they are episodes #748 to #799. The episodes were only available in Japanese, but were subtitled. The availability was likely part of Netflix's efforts to expand its anime catalog. In January 2021, Netflix removed the episodes. As of 2018, the ''Detective Conan'' anime has been broadcast in 40 countries around the world.


Films

Twenty-five feature films based on the ''Case Closed'' series have been released. They are animated by TMS Entertainment and produced by Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, Nippon Television, ShoPro, and Toho. The first seven were directed by Kenji Kodama, films 8–14 were directed by
Yasuichiro Yamamoto is a Japanese anime director, and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the majority of '' Detective Conan''. Works *'' Space Adventure Cobra: The Movie'' (1982 Film), Animation *'' Urusei Yatsura: Only You'' (1983 Film), Assistant ...
, films 15-21 were directed by Kobun Shizuno, film 22 was directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa, films 23 and 24 were directed by Chika Nagaoka, and film 25 was directed by Susumu Mitsunaka. The films have been released in April of each year, starting in 1997 with the first film, '' Case Closed: The Time Bombed Skyscraper''. The 25th film, '' Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween'' was released on April 15, 2022. The second film and onwards were the top twenty grossing anime films in Japan. The revenue earned from the films funded Toho's other film projects. Each film was adapted into two film comics which were released in the fourth quarter of the same year. Funimation released English dubbed versions of the first six films on Region 1 DVDs between October 3, 2006, and February 16, 2010. Bang Zoom! Entertainment has begun to release English dubs of ''Case Closed'' films through Discotek Media, starting with the '' Episode One'' TV special on July 28, 2020.


Original video animations

Two
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
s (OVA) series were produced by TMS Entertainment, Nippon Television, and Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation. The OVA series ''Shōnen Sunday Original Animation'' are yearly mail order episodes available to subscribers of ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday''. The first ''Shōnen Sunday Original Animation'' was available in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday''s 26th issue in 2000, with eleven OVAs released as of 2011. The first nine episodes of the OVA series were later encapsulated into four DVD volumes titled ''Secret Files'' and were released between March 24, 2006, and April 9, 2010. The second OVA series, entitled ''Magic File'', consists of yearly direct-to-DVD releases. The first ''Magic File'' was released on April 11, 2007, and contained four episodes from the anime series. The subsequent ''Magic File'' OVAs contained an original plot with background ties related to their respective ''Case Closed'' theatrical films, beginning with the twelfth film '' Detective Conan: Full Score of Fear''.


Television special

A two-hour television special titled was produced by TMS Entertainment, Nippon Television, and Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation and aired on March 27, 2009. It was first announced in the 9th issue of ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' in 2009. The plot follows Kudo as he investigates the death of the Queen of Vespania while Arsène Lupin III from the '' Lupin III'' series attempts to steal the Queen's crown. The special earned a household record rating of 19.5 in Japan. VAP released the special on DVD and
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
on July 24, 2009. The special is followed by '' Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie'' which takes place after the television special.


Video games

''Case Closed''s expansion into the video games industry followed behind its foray into animation. On December 27, 1996, ''Detective Conan: Chika Yuuenchi Satsujin Jiken'' was released for the Game Boy. Since then, 20 games have been released with ''Detective Conan: Kako Kara no Zensōkyoku Prelude'' set for Spring of 2012 for the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
and
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
. Currently, the majority of the games have only been released in Japan, though Nobilis has localized '' Case Closed: The Mirapolis Investigation'' for the PAL region. All dedicated ''Detective Conan'' games released for the Game Boy, Sony's consoles, the WonderSwan, and the Nintendo DS have been developed by Bandai. Banpresto developed the ''Case Closed'' titles on the
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
and Game Boy Advance while Marvelous Entertainment developed ''Case Closed: The Mirapolis Investigation''.


Audio CDs

Katsuo Ono composed and arranged the music in the ''Case Closed'' animation; his works have been released on several CDs. Two image albums, comprising several songs sung by Japanese voice actors of the characters in the animation, were also released. Several theme music were performed by pop musicians such as
B'z are a Japanese rock duo, consisting of guitarist, composer and producer Takahiro "Tak" Matsumoto and vocalist and lyricist Koshi Inaba, 佐伯明『B'z ウルトラクロニクル』ソニー・マガジンズ、2003年。新型光B'zはなぜ ...
, Zard, and Garnet Crow. The first four theme music were released by Universal Music Group and all releases thereafter were by Being Inc.

''The Best of Detective Conan'' and ''The Best of Detective Conan 2'' albums collectively sold over 2.2million copies, while singles from ''The Best of Detective Conan 3'' collectively sold over 1.6million copies. On July 25, 2017, the singer Mai Kuraki was awarded a
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for singing the most theme songs in a single anime series, having sung 21 songs for ''Detective Conan'', starting with her hit song " Secret of My Heart" (2000).


Live-action drama

Four live action drama TV specials and a TV series were created by Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation and TMS entertainment based on the series. The first two specials aired in 2006 and 2007 featuring Shun Oguri portraying the teenage Jimmy Kudo and
Tomoka Kurokawa , is a Japanese actress. She graduated from Horikoshi High School on February 18, 2008. She began attending Asia University in April 2008. Filmography Drama *''Don't Forget Me , Dai Renai: Boku o Wasureru Kimi to'' (TBS / 2018) - Yuzuka Sawad ...
as Rachel Moore. The third and fourth TV specials aired in 2011 and 2012 featuring Junpei Mizobata as Jimmy and Shioli Kutsuna as Rachel. The cast used for those TV specials were used for the television series which aired between July 7, 2011 and September 29, 2011.


Other related media

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of '' Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' and '' Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', the two companies collaborated to publish twelve biweekly magazines consisting of chapters from ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday''s ''Case Closed'' and ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine''s '' Kindaichi Case Files''. The magazine ran between April 10, 2008, and September 25, 2008. Shogakukan have also produced many books spun off from the series. Fifty volumes of a film comic series were published in Japan between June 1996 and August 2000, covering the first 143 episodes of the anime, though some episodes were skipped. Five additional film comics entitled were published between July 2001 and January 2002 and covered selected episodes between 162–219. Thirteen official guide books were published between June 1997 and April 2009. Shogakukan has also published
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s, digest books, educational books, and puzzle books. In North America, Score Entertainment published the ''Case Closed Trading Card Game'' on June 29, 2005. The game entails the use of three customized decks of cards, which players buy and collect. Representing characters, events, and objects in Case Closed, these cards are used by players to fulfill certain conditions to solve a case and win the game. Certain cards are used to foil the progress of the player's opponents. An English unofficial guidebook to the series titled ''The Case Closed Casebook: An Essential Guide'' was published by DH Publishing Inc. on March 25, 2008. A collaborative themed event by Universal Studios Japan with the series, for the Universal Cool Japan 2018 attractions, ran from January 19 to June 24, 2018. Characters from the series were featured in a crossover event for the survival horror video game ''
Identity V ''Identity V'' is a free-to-play asymmetrical multiplayer survival horror game developed and published by Chinese company NetEase. It was released in July 2018 for mobile devices. It is available on the iOS App Store, Android Google Play Stor ...
'' for the game's China server in 2020, and released globally in 2021.


Reception


Popularity

The series has ranked on the "Book of the Year" list from Media Factory's '' Da Vinci'' magazine, where professional book reviewers, bookstore employees, and ''Da Vinci'' readers participate; it ranked 5th in 2012; 11th in 2014; 4th in 2015; 6th in 2016; 5th in 2017; 1st in 2018; 5th in 2019; 6th in 2020; 10th in 2021; and 5th in 2022. On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150.000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, ''Case Closed'' ranked #4, behind '' One Piece'', '' Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'' and '' Slam Dunk''. The animated adaptation of the series was also popular in Japan, appearing in the top six of Japanese TV Rankings at various times. The television series ranked among the top twenty in polls conducted by anime magazine ''
Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Oth ...
'' from 1996 to 2001. It also placed better than twenty-third in polls for the Top 100 anime conducted by Japanese television network TV Asahi in 2005–06. The series received considerable airtime in China; it was the second most broadcast animation there in 2004. In 2006, the Japanese government used Conan in campaigns to help promote crime awareness among children. Targeting the same audience, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs used Conan and his friends in two pamphlets: one to promote the ministry's mission, the other to introduce the
34th G8 summit The 34th G8 summit was held in the town of Tōyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits hosted by Japan include Tokyo (1979, 1986, 1993) and Nago, Okinawa (2000). The G8 Summit has evolved beyond being a gatheri ...
held in the country in 2010. Several characters in the series featured in the sixth installment of the Anime, Heroes and Heroines commemorative stamp series issued by Japan Post in 2006. Aoyama and his creations are celebrated in his hometown Hokuei, Tottori; a museum with exhibits of his work is located there, and several bronze statues of Jimmy Kudo, Conan Edogawa, and Rachel Moore are installed in various locations throughout the town. It also has other tourist attractions related to ''Detective Conan'', including a ''Detective Conan'' themed airport and train station, and it is promoted as ''Conan Town''. In 2018, ''Case Closed'' caught the attention of American late night talk show host
Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...
, who discussed the character Conan Edogawa as well as Conan Town in his talk show '' Conan'', and visited the town in September 2018.


Sales

As of 2021, the ''Case Closed'' manga had over 250 million copies in circulation worldwide, making it the fourth best-selling manga series, having been sold in 25 countries. In Japan, individual volumes frequently appear on the lists of best-selling manga. ''Case Closed'' was the 19th best selling manga in 2011, with 2,120,091 copies sold. ''Nikkei Entertainment'' magazine published a list of top 50 manga creators by sales since January 2010, in its September 2011 issue; Gosho Aoyama, the author of ''Case Closed'' was ranked 16th, with 3,320,000 copies sold. It was the 17th best selling manga in 2012, with 2,430,572 copies sold. In 2013 ''Case Closed'' became the 24th best selling manga, with 1,966,206 copies sold. Licensed merchandise based on ''Detective Conan'' are sold in Asia. In Japan, ''Detective Conan'' licensed merchandise sold in 2003, during 20052008, and during 20102012, adding up to at least () sold in Japan between 2003 and 2012. The first volume of ''Case Closed'' appeared thrice in the top ten selling lists, right after its premiere, the same volume has also appeared in the
Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...
's ranking list. Later-published volumes have appeared on the New York Times Manga Best Sellers lists. ''Case Closed'' is one of the best-selling manga in Vietnam, with volumes 93–96, surpassing the 1.5 million digital copies each as of 2020.


Historical and cultural significance

''Case Closed'' began its publication during the " Lost Decade", which was a long period of economic recession in Japan during the 1990s after the economic bubble of the 1980s burst. During this period, Japan also saw an increase in violent crimes committed by teenagers which was a growing cause for concern. The political and cultural turmoil of this period contributed to the widespread popularity of ''Case Closed'' in Japan, where audiences wished to escape from these crises. The "boy detective" trope made a resurgence in this decade and has remained popular since. The story of ''Case Closed'' is often read as an optimistic view of the capacity of children to improve society and to inspire hope for the future. The adult detectives and police officers in ''Case Closed'' are shown to be inept at solving crimes and it is ultimately Conan and the Junior Detective Club who solve cases and inspire the child audience to do the same. This can influence children and young adults’ perceptions of the police and other authorities. It can also generate a positive view of
vigilante justice Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
and anti-police sentiments in children that may undermine authoritative figures. ''Case Closed'' has clear influences from western and eastern cultures, and it attempts to unite the two and show a modernized Japan. The designs of the characters in ''Case Closed'' are inspired by western styles, such as Conan and Richard's suits or Rachel's hairstyle, while the backgrounds show a modern, urbanized Japanese landscape. At the same time, characters also take part in traditional Japanese customs such as using chopsticks when eating or using traditional greetings when characters return to their homes. These practices demonstrate to the audience that modernity and tradition can function together. ''Case Closed'' uses Japanese pop music (J-pop) in its opening and ending songs. Prior to the mid 1990s, anime music was considered its own genre and was separate from J-pop. ''Case Closed'' was one of the first anime programs to include J-pop specifically in the program. As a result, today J-pop is much more commonly used in anime and J-pop artists frequently use anime as a promotional platform for their work. ''Case Closed'' features Japanese landmarks throughout the show as the setting for many episodes. The characters visit religious temples, beaches, mountain ranges and many other real and fictionalized locations in Japan that demonstrate the country's natural beauty and historical landmarks. ''Case Closed'' episodes also include elements of Japanese folklore such as the Tengu and the
Shinigami () are kami (spirits) that invite humans toward death, according to Japanese religion and culture. have been described as monsters, helpers, and creatures of darkness. are used for tales and religions in Japanese culture. Japanese religion I ...
, as well as more globally recognizable figures like aliens and vampires. However, the existence of these creatures is always debunked as part of the criminal's plan in an episode.


Critical response

In the United States, ''Case Closed'' received praises from Mania.com's Eduardo M. Chavez and IGN's A. E. Sparrow for its stories—telling the mysteries and how they were unfolded by the investigations of Conan and gang. Sparrow called the style of the series a mix of Scooby-Doo and Sherlock Holmes, while Chavez believed the manga had appeal to readers of all ages. Melissa Sternenberg from '' THEM Anime Reviews'' gave the series 5 out of 5 stars, she praised its animation and plot, and described it as "what puts ''Detective Conan'' as my all-time favorite anime is the superb writing. I soak up ''Detective Conan'' like a good book, I get so drawn into every episode that everything around me just sinks away and it is just me and the episode. It is engrossing. I can not think of another word for it. Like I said, every episode is fresh, and every mystery that is solved is profound. The kid is a prodigy, and you can not blink while watching an episode of this wonderful series". ActiveAnime's reviewers commented on complex character design and the "spirit" that the series has, indicating that fans of serialized mystery shows would rather enjoy it. The series is also said to better suit the more matured audience. Lori Lancaster of Mania.com described ''Case Closed'' as "a clever series that had mysteries at every corner", noting the "bizarre" and "interesting" nature of each case. IGN's Chris Wyatt was positive to the manner the cases were set up, relating them to
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
's locked-room mysteries. He described the series as " Inspector Gadget meets
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
but in an anime style". In the United States, the dubbed series faced several negative reactions toward its changes to localize the content for international English-speaking audiences, mostly North American. Jeffrey Harris of IGN found it pointless to change the names of the characters, and ''
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
s Carl Kimlinger said that the changes of certain Japanese cultural references rendered several parts of the mysteries and their investigation illogical. The voice-overs proved to be a mixed bag for Carlo Santos, who reviewed the first DVD release of ''Case Closed'' for ''Anime News Network''; he said that while the main characters sounded like "real people", the secondary ones " ameoff as caricatures".


Accolades

The ''Case Closed'' manga series was awarded the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award in the '' shōnen'' category in 2001. It respondents in an online poll for Japanese citizens in their mid-twenties voted ''Case Closed'' as one of the top three manga they wanted to continue running in publication. In France, the series was nominated for the Angoulême Festival Graphic Novel award among the Japanese selection. The series ranked on About.com's top continuing manga series of 2010, under the title "Best Underappreciated Gem: Shonen" category. Several of the franchise's films were nominated for awards in their home country. The ninth film was nominated for the feature film category at the 5th Annual Tokyo Anime Awards, and the next five films were nominees for the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year in their respective years of release.


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

; Manga *
Viz Media manga site
* ; Anime
Official anime website
of TMS Entertainment
Official anime website
of TMS Entertainment
Official Crunchyroll anime website

Official YTV anime web site

Official ''Case Closed'' movies web site
; Live drama
Official YTV live drama web site
{{Authority control 1994 manga 1996 anime television series debuts 2011 Japanese television series debuts Animated mystery television series Anime series based on manga Detective anime and manga Funimation Japanese television dramas based on manga Manga adapted into films Rapid human age change in fiction Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Fiction about size change Thriller anime and manga TMS Entertainment Viz Media manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming