Mei Tantei Conan

Kudou Shinichi was a bit of an odd-ball high school student who loved mysteries and acting as a high school detective; much like the Hardy boys if you will. He loved Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and indeed like Sherlock Holmes, pursued soccer as a means of relaxation; as Holmes did with fencing. (Unlike Holmes however, Shinichi is rather tone deaf). Unfortunately, as his fame grew, so did his enemies, until when out on a date with a good female friend (but not yet actually going steady with), he crossed paths with the "Men in Black" (the Kurozukume). Clearly, these people had much to hide and so, the great high school detective decided to follow them and investigate.

While spying on the Kurozukume, he failed to notice one more henchman in hiding, and as a result was apprehended. Not having much time to deal with the interloping Kudou, the Kurozukume decided to feed him the poison APTX (apo-toxin) 4869. This toxin ended up changing Shinichi's body, reducing his body back to that of an elementary school child. Because of his greatly changed appearance, and in order to protect those whom he cared for, Kudou Shinichi was forced to change his identity to Edogawa Conan; Conan in honor of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author and creator of Sherlock Holmes.

With the appearance of a six year old, Conan can no longer live on his own in his house and as such is staying with his (Kudou's) girlfriend, who is unaware of his true identity, and her detective father. Few people know Conan's secret, for if those who had wreaked the change on Shinichi ever found out that he was still alive, they would return and try to finish the job. Likewise, they would not hesitate to harm Shinichi's loved ones either.

However, while few and far between, Conan has a few friends in the know including: Agasa Hiroshi, a scientist who helps Conan by making him new gadgets, and also by helping create Conan's new identity, Hattori Heiji - a rival high school detective, and Haibara Ai - one of the members of the Kurozukume who, in order to escape from the gang was also forced to take APTX 4869. Ai's older sister was also a member of the kurozukume however, she was killed by her fellow henchmen when she refused to hand over a large sum of money which had been stolen in a previous heist.

Being the first episode in the Mei Tantei Conan series, we are quickly introduced to the main characters of the series. Kudo Shinichi - not quite your typical high school kid, fellow classmate Mouri Ran - not quite Shinichi's girlfriend, Agasa Hakase - mad scientist and Kudo's neighbor, Megure Keibu - the police detective, and Mouri Kogorou - Ran's father. Shinichi has been rapidly making a name for himself and becoming rather famous as he solves case after case for the police, working fairly closely with Megure Keibu. Of course, Shinichi's fame is not without cost. Mouri Kogorou, Ran's father, is rapidly losing customers due to Shinichi's sleuthing abilities. Ran, however, isn't all that upset about her father's deteriorating business. Afterall, it isn't as though her father's business woes are Shinichi's fault so much as her father's.

While out on a date, Shinichi and Ran become embroiled in an unusual accident while riding on the Mystery Coaster attraction at Tropical Land. Through some unusual circumstance, one of the riders of the rollercoaster ride ended up being decapitated. How did this accident come about, and is there more to this accident than meets the eye? Could it be that somehow, one of the other passengers of the roller coaster could have somehow killed the poor victim, and if so, how? It's Kudo to the rescue of the police in determining the truth behind the incident. However, Kudo himself is not without enemies. Just who are the two strange men with cold-blooded eyes all dressed in black who happened to be on the ride at the same time as Kudo and Ran, and why are they in such a hurry to leave the scene of the crime?

As a first episode, we are quickly introduced to the main characters for this series. Despite meeting a fair number of people, they are introduced in an easy and logical manner which makes it easy to keep track of everyone; possibly due to the targeted age group for this series. While this first episode features high school students, the true target group would be much younger in the pre-teen to teenage range.

As an introductory episode, the story itself is not particularly strong and is more centered on fast paced action - almost as though there was too much of an agenda to be covered in the first episode. Indeed the rapid disclosure of the murder and the means by which it had be perpetrated is both a strength and weakness. While there is no threat of losing viewer interest if the intended audience fails to notice a key clue, at the same time, as a mystery show, it could give away the ending without allowing the viewer any real chance to do any major sleuthing on their own. We shall see if this is true only for this first episode or if this will be a common trend throughout the series. That's not to say that this episode doesn't any show promise for the series as a whole. The music itself is quite good with different background music as well as some very bouncy music when determining the truth behind an incident. Likewise, as with most TV animations, the opening and closing themes are done by J-pop groups and have a tendency to be a bit too catchy. Also, we find that there is a trailing scene at the end of the episode which makes us wonder just what's going to happen next time. Shinichi has regressed to being an elementary aged boy? How's he to continue as a (high school) detective?! Afterall, how many adults are going to listen to a six year old boy about a murder case? Leading us to this series one major weakpoint in story. There's no way that a six year old child (let alone a high school student) would be allowed into a crime scene. However, if we ignore that minor detail, this series promises to be a fun and light mystery show for pre-teen to teenaged children. Likewise, to make things easier for the intended viewing audience, a hint for the next show is given at the end of each episode so that people can try to solve the mystery on their own before Conan reveals all.

Recovering from having been hit over the head, Kudo discovers that his body has regressed to the point of being an elementary aged child of 6 or 7. Returning to his home, he encounters his neighbor Agasa Hakase and enlists his aid to try to regain his original form. Ran, unsure of what happened to Kudo decides to go to Kudo's home and make sure that he is alright. Upon arriving at Kudo's home however, Ran, instead of finding Kudo, meets Agasa Hakase and the newly changed Kudo. Asking his name, Kudo replies that his name is Edogawa Conan; taken from two different authors' names written on the books behind him; Conan, for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes series of mysteries. Agasa Hakase, deciding that Conan would have a better chance at finding the Kurozukume with the Mouri's, asks Ran to take care of Conan for the next while. Afterall, Ran's father is a detective which could make it easier to hunt down the Kurozukume who gave Kudo the unusual medicine in the first place.

In the meantime, the 10 year daughter of a wealthy businessman has been kidnapped and the kidnapper has demanded that the company owner must close shop for one month. However, when the owner is asked, he indicates that the kidnapper has demanded 300 million yen. The facts just don't add up given the story from the butler who witnessed the kidnapping and the company owner's story from his phone call with the kidnapper. A second phone call from the kidnapper clinches matters. There was not just one kidnapping incident but two. The first, possibly by the butler, and the second by an unknown individual who saw a quick and easy way to make some money. Will Conan be able to figure out where the kidnapper is hiding, before Akiko comes to any harm? And if he does, will he be able to take care of the kidnapper when he does; afterall he's just a kid now.

Episode 2 of this series once again gives us some fast paced action as well as character development on the part of Kudo/Conan who has now regressed to the point of being in a six year old child's body. With the "introduction" of the true main character Conan, and his subsequent introduction to his new "family" the Mouri's, things promise to get interesting between Conan and Mouri Kogorou - Ran's father. Afterall, Conan is used to being able to solve mysteries on his own whereas Ran's father's deductive abilities are suspect at best.

With this second episode, we have some minor character development which makes for some very interesting overall story development, but greater concentration being given to a basic mystery case. Again, given the target age group, certain aspects of reality are by necessity put on hold; afterall, most six year olds are generally too big to ride pony style on a dog; especially for any great distance or length of time. At the same time however, there is a lot of light-hearted humour and high action which combined with a basic mystery, promises to maintain viewer interest in the series. While it is a bit of a shame that more attention isn't given to the overall story development itself at this point, at the same time this is hardly surprising given the targeted viewing audience.

It's now 3 days after Conan's body has become that of a 6 year old child's. Poor Conan however, not only having to deal with having become so young, has also now started attending school again; elementary school that is. Once again being subjected to learning the multiplication tables, Conan is more than a little bored to say the least. That's not to say that Conan is without friends however; Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko have decided that they will befriend the new transfer student.

Mouri Kogorou has just gotten a new client; Okino Yoko, the popular idol star. Apparently someone has been entering her apartment, moving things around, and playing various pranks on her. She has no idea who it could be however, and has decided to hire Mouri Kogorou to look into her problem. Little does she realise how much of a fan Kogorou is of Yoko's. However, upon reaching Yoko's apartment, the detective and party find that a murder has taken place. The victim, Fujie Akiyoshi had been stabbed in the back by a kitchen knife. Who was Fujie, what was he doing in Yoko's apartment, and why was he killed; let alone by whom? With three suspects including, Yoko, her manager Yamagishi, and a rival idol star Yuuko, Kogorou has his work cut out for him. Mind you his unwavering belief in Yoko does not help matters any...

Overall the story in this episode is good with some character development between Ran and the "absent" Kudo; more specifically with respect to developing the relationship between the two. Likewise, watching Conan try to investigate the mystery at hand, let alone get the adults' attention, proves to be most humourous at times. Conan and Kogorou are likely to have some serious run-ins unless Conan can find some way to give Kogorou hints of pertinent information to solve the murder on his own. Although, given Kogorou's current tendency to accuse everyone in sight, it could prove rather difficult to nudge him in the right direction.

With respect to the murder itself, we find that Conan shows some very pertinent information as it's discovered although every now and again the overly dramatic music and reactions of characters to Conan's comments make it very clear that what he'd said is extremely important. Also, being partisan to Conan's thoughts helps to keep viewers on the right track as to important details about the murder. While the slow revealing of information is fairly smoothly done, Kogorou's lack of logical thinking and his tendency to accuse everyone in the room of being the murderer tends to be annoyingly distracting. If he's supposed to be a private detective, shouldn't he be a little more circumspect in trying to discover the identity of the murderer? This is a consistent weakness in this series which is also the basis for the story. Afterall, if Mouri Kogorou was a capable PI, Conan wouldn't have any real chance to solve mysteries before the PI himself.

All in all, to date the series has been proving to be interesting with some good character development especially with the growing relationship between Kudo and Ran. The humourous contrast between Conan's coolly logical thinking and Mouri Kogorou's lack thereof could prove to be most entertaining as this series continues. Likewise, the slow revealing of pertinent information in the mystery being presented could make this series a favourite for mystery lovers.

Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko seem to have succeeded in getting to know Conan a little better since he first transferred to his new elementary school. A visit to the local museum and seeing various displays of gold and other treasures from around the world has Conan and friends dreaming of hunting for treasure. Little do they realise how their wishes would be granted... to *hunt* for gold that is. Keeping it might be another matter.

While leaving the museum, Genta finds an unusual slip of paper with various shapes and the word ORO. Could ORO be as Mitsuhiko suggests standing for "okii rich o-takara" (big rich treasure)? Or could it be another word from another language? What do the symbols stand for and where exactly has the treasure been hidden? Conan and his friends race against time and the Italian robbers in their hunt for the gold.

As we continue into this fourth episode, we can see how Conan has become such an extremely popular series in Japan. While the stories are not particularly deep, the mysteries are easy to understand and try to solve without relying on trivial knowledge or having a strong background in science or other fields. Conan having a dual identity with Kudo Shinichi means that kids from elementary through to high school can enjoy the series as well as parents watching the show with their kids. The only warning for parents would be that since this is a mystery show relying quite heavily on murder mysteries and crime, there is some violence and blood in the series.

This fourth episode involving the treasure hunt plays on every kids (and many adults) desire to go treasure hunting and going on an adventure to find something that no one has found or done before. One strength of this show is that we get to watch Conan work on solving a mystery without having to compete with adults for information or otherwise being pushed to the side as an "annoyance". Likewise, we see the characters of Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko develop a little more clearly into who and what they really. Genta's general cluelessness, Mitsuhiko's trivia and attention to detail, as well as Ayumi's perceptiveness and sweetness all start to show more in this episode. Likewise, Conan develops more and more into the "suiri-otaku" or mystery lover that he is.

Another major plus for this series is the music. Well suited to the action and having a good range of different melodies, it does a good job at enhancing the overall story being told in the episode. While the animation quality still isn't the best (it is after a TV series), there is still some good detail overall. The voice acting in this series is truly above par with the voice actors delivering their lines well within character and not sounding as though they are merely reading their lines.

Perhaps the main weakness in this episode is the lack of credibility for certain aspects of the story. Really now, are robbers going to hold off of stealing back a slip of paper which leads to their hidden gold? Likewise, the use of aural markers in the music when a major clue has been uncovered is a little annoying from time to time. Even so, the overall premise to Conan makes for an above-average start to a series which will be very popular with people of all ages.

Kana Amusement group is putting out a new CD for pianist Tenma Gerald and is holding a party for the release of the CD. However, the wife of the company president, Kana Yoshinori, has been receiving some threatening letters and crank phone calls. Whoever is sending the letters is aware of the party which is to be a private affair. Who could be responsible for these cranks and why are they threatening Kana Misaki?

It's up to Conan, with Mouri Kogorou and Ran in tow to solve the mystery at hand. Posing as the Yoshinori's childhood friends, the three pose as the Morita family in order to hide their true identity. Afterall, it wouldn't do to know that the famous detective Mouri Kogorou were present at a contract signing party. At the party, we are introduced to the company heads of Kana Amusement Group who, despite being related, seem at times to barely be civil with each other.

An interesting start to this episode, but at times it seems a touch difficult to keep the identity of Mouri Kogorou straight. Is he Mouri, or Morita?? A slip when talking to Misaki makes it unclear as to who exactly he is supposed to be. And if you miss the first few minutes of the episode, and the whole concept of being undercover... well needless to say, it is very definitely confusing.

The main weakness to this story is that Conan is left alone in the room where the attack had taken place despite being a guest in the household. It seems a little unusual that a child of 6 or 7 years of age would be left alone in a room without being noticed until much later; let alone to be allowed to wander through a host's home unsupervised. However, the idea of using the different meanings of flowers as a means of conveying a message is an interesting idea bringing to question if the flower meanings in Japanese are reflective of the meanings in the Western world.

Another weakness to the story is that given the clues which abound in the murder, it seems strange that the police would ignore the evidence of how the murder must have happened and still accuse a person who could not possibly physically carry out the murder as seen. However, the revealing of facts hold the viewers interest as we watch the characters relationships develop and the motive for the murder becomes clear.

Katsumata Kengo struck him over the head with a vase after being angered by the man and moved his body into the utility closet. However, Hoshino Haruyuki likewise admitted to murdering the man after being told that Yumiko would never be his by Komiyama and then hit him over the head with... a vase. While at school, Niikura Yumiko admits that Komiyama made a pass at her and came after her at the school and getting frightened, struck him over the head... with a vase.

I wonder how many lives a man is really supposed to have? Cats are supposed to have 9 lives but.... Needless to say, this episode of Conan has an intriguing concept to this murder mystery. Story-wise, this episode is somewhat lacking in action as the story itself revolves around needing to solve the mystery from the information and clues at hand. However, on the positive side, we are spared having a small child (sic Conan) being at liberty to roam through a crime scene. Naturally, the one who is being asked to solve the crime is Mouri Kogorou, and his inability to solve the crime itself makes for some interesting hesitations and some decent voice acting. All in all a solid story.

Perhaps more than just that however, is that in revealing the clues to the murder mystery, this episode truly gives the viewing audience a chance to solve the mystery before the actual murderer is fingered. Most people will be able to spot key clues as they are revealed and the ordering of the events is what will instead prove to be the true challenge. All said, the story itself is well conceived and at least half of the solution can be determined easily by the viewers.

From the original evidence to the final revealing of the truth, the mystery of the Man Who Was Killed Four Times makes for a fun episode for the viewers to watch. While there is some minor running about by Conan, the main concept to the story here is much more based on the idea of learning of the clues and trying to piece together the actual sequence of events. There is much less suspension of reality or of belief as we work towards the solution to this murder mystery. -- JYN 00.06.15