Meitantei Conan

I had read about "Detective Conan" about a year prior to the show being released in the United States, and so when "Case Closed" began airing in May of 2004 I jumped at the opportunity to see this show. I was not disappointed.

This show is a welcome relief from the Scooby-Doo inspired cartoons (not to mention Scooby-Doo itself) that presented a "mystery" that a tree slug could solve in two minutes. The stories are well thought out, the solutions are NOT obvious but can be put together by an observant (and thinking) viewer, just as Conan does, and best of all the series does not insult the intelligence of its viewers: the show is entertaining without padding 3/4 or the episode with slapstick routines and mindless running from a person in a Halloween costume.

The show's premise is that little six-year-old Conan Edogawa is actually a 16-year-old detective prodigy. He was reduced to a grade school child when a mysterious would-be assassin gave him an experimental poison that (unknown to the poisoner) regressed the detective rather than killing him. In a bit of angst reminiscent of the early adventures of "Spider-Man", Conan makes a hard discovery: You can have the most brilliant detective mind in the world, but if you're six years old, all the police are going to tell you is, "BEAT IT, KID!" In spite of this hardship, little Conan finds ways of bringing the guilty parties to justice -- although all too often, someone else takes the credit for his deductions.

HIGHLY recommended.

Detective Conan is a fun show. I've seen subtitled versions of it and it's very good. The series revolves around a teenage detective whiz who is shrunken down to the size of a child by an experimental poison. He must then masquerade as an eight year old (going to school, etc.) while keeping his identity a secret and a look out for the villains that gave him the poison. Helping him is a funny inventor who gives "Conan" (an alias the character uses as a child) cool James Bond like gadgets, like a bow tie with a voice distorter and shoes that magnify kicking strength.

The mysteries Conan solves each episode are very brain teasing, but nothing impossible if you put your brain cells together and follow the clues. Though many of the cases involve murder (and some pretty elaborate ones at that) each episode is presented in a way for people of all ages, much like how I used to watch Murder, She Wrote as a kid. If the show is ever aired or released commercially in the States, you should try to find it.

Broadcasting in he U.S. as Case Closed, Detective Conan is an interesting mystery/comedy/thriller that looks like a kiddie show but definitely ia much more to the series. Plot: a teenage detective protoge is turned into a kid by a weird poison and must help solve cases for his girlfriend's bumbling father under a alias until he can find the people who did this to him and recover an antidote. The premise, like I said, sounds kiddie but as the series rolls on things start to get messy and at times, a bit disturbing, but the cases are so ingenously planned out and executed you can't help but watch just to see how Jimmy/Conan will get the jobs done with such a small guise working against him. The animation is pretty good, bright and colorful though dated (eight years old now) but has its own style of anime. The dub isn't bad either, once again Funimation ,the folks doing the recording down here, have hired some excellent voice talent that matches each characters personalty very well though some tend to overact (the junior agency for example). Overall a great series that blends comedy and mystery very well. The only gripe being its very long (over 100 episodes) but still fun to watch. Give it a watch if you need a break from all the action animes or just a fan of Japanese cartoons in general. As Jimmy/Conan always say: "With a keen eye for detail, one truth prevails."

If you are a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work, this show is a MUST-SEE for you. The show revolves around a young boy by the name of Conan Edogawa. However, this is just the alias of 17-year-old Jimmy Kudo, Japan's most famous young detective prodigy. While witnessing a mob hit, he is knocked unconscious and given an experimental poison that, unbeknownst to his assailants, reverts him to the physical size and age of a second-grader. However, he retained his brilliant mind and vicariously solves some of the most perplexing mysteries imaginable.

This is a very intelligent and well-written show and is recommended to anyone who loves a good murder mystery.

This is a great series. Anyone who loves mysteries should see this series, subbed or dubbed. As a mystery fan, Detective Conan is truly great. As an anime fan, however, the dub leaves a bit to be desired. The voices are strong and they play their parts well (this does put it above other dub jobs I've seen), but my key gripe is the pointless Americanization of every name and location ever mentioned in the series. And I'm talking POINTLESS. I could see them renaming SOME people to keep younger American audiences from getting lost in them, but places? They call it Tokyo in the commercials, then rename Mt. Fuji to Mt. FREDERICK?!? IS this really necessary, FUNimation?

If you don't mind the pointless Americanization, the CN dub is fine. As for me, I can't wait for the Japanese language version to hit DVD.