ShyBlueNight

I’m actually bewildered by my enjoyment of this one. 

I’ll be completely honest and say, I did start watching this one during my first go through of these movies, but the animation with the instruments in the opening scene made me immediately close my laptop and go, “Nope, I’m not watching this.” However, I gave this movie a second chance because a) I want to be thorough and watch all of these movies and b) I genuinely don’t think any of these movies can be worse than the previous movie.

And, in the end, this movie surprised me with its quality.

… Well, let me get my main complaint out before we start talking plot.

What were they thinking with that animation? Seriously. If you were turned off from this movie because of the opening 5 minutes, I wouldn’t blame you (I was both times lol). The animation of the people playing the instruments looks so… stiff? Stilted? I don’t even know how to describe it. It just looks so awkward. It’s not even the odd implementation of 3D instruments mixed with 2D animation, though that didn’t help. It’s more just how awkward the hands look moving along the instruments. I eventually got used to it and it stopped hindering my enjoyment of the film, but it was all still rather noticeable.

(I know this clip is long, but it's to demonstrate my point. Also, this is from the first like 3 min of the movie and it's by far the worst in regards to the hand animation.)

Anyway, the mystery… I think this is the first mystery since One-Eyed Flashback where I was genuinely invested in what was going on and where the mystery was going. The majority of my notes for this one was just me spouting off observations and theories. Heck, my brother was there for the later half of the film and he kept giving me odd looks every time I paused the movie to spout off a new random theory. Like, one of my theories was a dead guy wasn't actually dead and was attempting to get revenge on his would be killers (... it wouldn’t have been the weirdest thing this franchise has gotten away with, okay?!). My point is, I really liked the mystery of this one and the progression of said mystery was fun and engaging (at least for me).

I normally don’t do this, but I wanted to highlight one of the original characters for this film. Reiko Akiba, when she was first introduced, is the biggest rich b**** I have ever seen in one of these movies. She legitimately pissed me off. She had this energy of self importance that only rich entitled people have. However, as the characters spent more time with her and she dropped some tidbits about herself, the more I sympathized with her and just kind of understood where she was at. Does it excuse her behavior at the beginning of the film? No, but it made it more understandable why she was so irritable and just generally a… well, a b****. However, this movie does what I wish Phantom of Baker Street followed through on; they gave her character development. Like, she doesn’t change super drastically, but by the end, I actually liked her. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but something changed and made her a much more likeable person by the end and I was rooting for her. That and she sang a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace to stall for time when she could have easily run away and let everyone die. I liked her and her being the center of a lot of the most intriguing parts of the mystery definitely helped engagement wise. 

Also, I know this is really random, but I really appreciate the use of Amazing Grace throughout this film (especially the end). It seems thematically appropriate, especially in contrast to the culprits goals and why they are doing what they are doing, and is also a kind of reflection on Reiko's development. How it's tied to Shinichi and Ran is kind of dumb, but I can't complain about it's implementation with those too either. I'm also just a really big sucker for Amazing Grace, so that probably helps lol.

Anyway, the other characters were also really fun and just added to my enjoyment. The kids were, again, not the most prevalent or even necessary characters for this plot to work, but I really liked their involvement anyway. Genta was the highlight though. For some context, early on, he accidently drinks a debilitating drug that was meant for Reiko (which, dude, you don’t just drink other people's stuff without their permission! Especially after she’s previously told you no! What are you, six? … Oh wait-) and he completely loses his voice for the rest of the film. This then turns into a gag of him trying to communicate various things to the group in increasingly hilarious ways. He made me genuinely laugh so much in this movie. Like, you decided that instead of clapping at a concert, using a recorder to do so was the better option. Granted, he was also using basic musical code too to communicate, but it still made me laugh. Then they use it during the finale, which also made me laugh, but it was also rather clever. 

There were a few dumb things this movie did, like insinuating that Conan, a character who can’t sing for the life of him, might have perfect pitch… Why and how? Bro, we have a perfect pitch character right there, why did we need to potentially give it to him too? Like, it makes sense, just knowing Conan as a character (he would have learned how to identify pitches purely because of a past murder case, I bet you), but again, just why? Also, what the heck do you mean no one could hear the building exploding? I don’t care if the concert hall is well insulated, if the cast outside could hear it from miles away while inside a helicopter (which are freaking loud!), then the people right on the other side of a couple of walls should be able to hear it too (they surprisingly bring up this exact point and try to wave it away with an explanation, but both my brother and I called bullcrap on that one). 

While this movie is nowhere near perfect, this is the most fun I’ve had watching these films in a bit (that’s what I get for watching all the highly recommended movies first lol). If the animation bothers you, I totally get it, but I honestly think it's worth a watch if you can ignore it. Overall, I give this movie a Was a Fun Time ranking!

Rating: Was a Fun Time (B)

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As I stated in a post earlier this week, I'm so sorry for vanishing for a bit there, but I'm going to need some time. With Artfight coming up and just my private life being really busy, I'm going on break starting today and going throughout the entirety of July. That means the next review (Movie 13: The Raven Chaser) will be posted August 2nd.

I'll still be around if anyone wants to talk, but for now: The Case Closed Movie Ranking is officially on hiatus!

I heard this one was the worst of these movies.

I didn’t think it would be super bad, since even the worst of these movies (in my opinion) have been entertaining in some way, even if not in the way they were intended. And I’ve seen some really bad movies in the past (my brother likes to watch those channels that watch really old/very indie, obscure, bad movies, and I’ll watch with him sometimes), so I didn’t think this would be that bad.

However…

… I unironically have nothing to say about this film. 

There is nothing to say, because there is nothing in this film worth talking about. Nothing happens in it. Nothing overly positive. Nothing overly negative. Just. Nothing.

This movie made me feel nothing. 

And that is somehow worse than any of the previous movies that have pissed me off in some way shape or form. It’s somehow worse than any of the terrible movies I’ve watched with my brother! At least those made me feel something. At least I got to sit there and feel something, even if those feelings were super negative or ironically hilarious. 

… I don’t think I’ve ever watched a movie that has made me feel like I wasted more time watching it than this one has.

How do you make a plot about pirates and treasure hunting boring?! Genuinely how?!?!

Okay, okay, I do have some extremely minor things to talk about. 

Sato and Takagi were great in the very limited screen time they had. Sato has no right being as cool as she was during the extremely short car chase at the beginning of the film and Takagi is the most golden retriever coded man I have ever seen. They make me happy, and they get, like, two scenes to do anything.

The only other semi-positive thing I have to say is Ai pointing in a random direction to get Mouri to turn around for two seconds, just to make a clue more obvious, got a chuckle out of me.

… That’s all I got. 

The mystery? Predictable as hell and just overall uninteresting. You have the most obviously obvious evil dudes that don’t give a shit that their buddy died and just proceed to look for this stupid treasure that someone is trying to clearly sabotage them for. And the twist? Not even a surprise and it was probably the most obvious twist they could have gone with. They also don’t do anything with it. There isn’t even really a confrontation. Conan goes, “You are the mastermind behind the murder and all the other weird stuff!” And the guy basically goes, “Yeah, pretty much, now can you get me out of this cave? I don’t want to die.”

The treasure hunt side-plot? Uninteresting and not fun to follow at all. You can’t solve any of the puzzles before the characters do, since it’s based on various locations on the island we don’t really explore aside from the clue sections as their being explained/discovered (which like, they are visiting this island, how the hell do they find where the clues are talking about like at all? These clues are for people who are, at the very least, familiar with the island and it's lore. These kids shouldn't be finding these clues as quickly as they are, unless this island is far smaller than I was led to believe), and it’s not like the explanations of the puzzles were that fun either. It was just kind of another element to keep track of in this film. That and the solution to the main clue of the treasure hunt is so dumb. Why did the mastermind give this 300 year old puzzle to children to solve when he couldn’t even do it himself? It wasn’t even that much of a puzzle!?

I don’t know how they made character interactions boring… but they sure did! I genuinely can not think of anything specific anybody did with another character this entire movie aside from what I’ve already talked about. I think Sonoko teased Ran at some point at the beginning of the film about Shinichi, but that’s pretty much it (except for the really forced, “the two female pirates/friends fought back to back” bit at the end, but it was so predictable, weirdly written, and out of pocket that I’m not counting it). 

… I genuinely can’t think of anything else to say. 

This was a complete waste of time and made me feel empty, inside and out.

Do not watch this one, wholeheartedly. It is not worth your time.

Rating: Burn In Hell (F)

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Sorry this one was so negative. I genuinely try to be positive with these reviews or at least get my grievances out in either a constructive or funny way, but this movie just literally had nothing going for it. Next week will be more positive, I promise.

Deep breath in….

Deep breath out…

…

Let’s do this

We’ll start this off with the complaints.

The mystery. It was stupid. Like really stupid. I genuinely cannot express how bored I was throughout the entire film in regards to the mystery, purely because of how they handled it. This was handled similarly to The Phantom of Baker Street, we have more of a how-done-it/characters figuring out the mystery we are already aware of. Similar to my feelings on Phantom of Baker Street, I don’t think this approach works very well with this movie. Like, it could have worked, as I kind of like following the characters as they figure out what we already know… but this was somehow worse than Phantom Baker Street. You want to know why? Not only is the investigation really boring, but they try to throw in an “interesting” plot twist that makes absolutely no sense. 

So, early on in the film, it’s made fairly obvious that the culprit’s assistant is at least an accomplice. They even make a comment about it before pushing that possibility out the window for some stupid reason. But whatever, if they want to go in that direction, maybe they’ll do something interesting with it. And they do… in the worst way possible.

Instead of being an accomplice, the culprit's assistant saw the guy making his plans and went ‘Oh, I can get my revenge using this plan!’ She then proceeds to steal the kill of all the people the not-culprit was already going to kill, and hides the fact that she did so from the guy by pretending to be the target she had just murdered. She then helped the fake culprit not get murdered and hid that fact from him as well, making him think he killed both targets when he actually didn’t. 

…

I’m sorry?!

Why would she do any of this?! Like this guy was already planning to murder these people. If she really wanted to kill the people herself, she could have just become an accomplice and talked to the guy about implementing her into the plot. But no. She decided to make her own flipping plan, get her own hands bloody for literally no reason and make this overly complicated plan to do so. Why? Genuinely why? WHY NOT JUST WORK WITH THE GUY WHO ALREADY HAD A SOLID PLAN?! NOW YOU ARE GOING TO JAIL FOR TWO COUNTS OF MURDER WHILE HE GETS AWAY WITH (at worst) TWO COUNTS OF ATTEMPTED MURDER!

*sigh*

Moving on. 

The amount of stupidity that some of these characters exude in this film actually drives me up a freaking wall. Like the fact that the police get into a boat to catch up to the kids after the chase sequence (we’ll come back to this), proceed to scold them (rightfully so), and then remember, “Oh yeah, there are bombs going off on the ship, we should probably do something about that.” Did y’all really forget that bombs had just exploded on the ship or the fact that the smug asshole of a culprit admitted that there were more bombs? Seriously?

Ran. 

I love you.

I really do. 

But why the actual HELL are you going back for a freaking BRACELET, on a RAPIDLY SINKING SHIP! ARE YOU STUPID?!?!?!?!? 

And then they don’t wait for her to come back? Or question the fact that she never returns until it's almost too late to do anything? ARE Y’ALL MORONS!?

Going back to the chase sequence quickly… What the actual hell was the purpose of that? They chase the fake culprit in motor boats for literally not even two minutes… Did we really need to do that? It wasn’t even that cool. It kind of just happens and ends as quickly as it starts. 

Also, before we move into the positives, this isn’t a complaint, but why is there a morgue on this cruise ship? Like why would you need one on a cruise liner of all things?

(Post Shy here. Did a little research, and yeah, this is actually a pretty normal thing you can find on major cruise liners. This is because death, while not commonplace, can occur and the morgue is used to handle these extreme situations discreetly and efficiently, … this movie made me learn something… congratulations.) 

Okay… Positives.

Returning characters. I liked them. I liked them a lot. Honestly, only redeeming quality. And I’ll admit, it’s a BIG redeeming quality. Like, looking back through my notes, the majority of them are about character interactions up until the last half hour. 

I’ll start with Ran and Shinichi/Conan. They were fun. Aside from Ran’s stupidity at the end of the film, they were just very cute throughout the film. I find it hilarious that we weren’t even five minutes into the film and we were already having a ShinRan flashback. The scene was adorable, so I’m not complaining. Ran is so down bad for her deduction freak, it’s not even funny and vice versa. I also find it hilarious that Conan is awful at Hide and Seek (the irony of this is hilarious), while Ran is an absolute master if Shinichi isn’t seeking. I find it really fitting for both of them. They were cute, ‘nough said.

The kids. I don’t think they really needed to be here plot wise. They didn’t really do anything for the investigation whatsoever, aside from starting the hide and seek game. However, I really like the vibe they brought to the entire film. I just like seeing them be friends with everyone and their sincerity (The fact they all call Conan out for his very obvious crush on Ran made me laugh out loud). Not the best implementation of them, but I like them here more than I have in films like Phantom of Baker Street, Crossroad in the Ancient Capital or even Last Wizard.

Sonoko was fun too. Similar to the kids, she didn’t really do anything plot wise aside from accidentally witnessing part of the crime and then confirming the fake culprit. But also, similar to the kids, she just brought good vibes. While she isn’t one of my top favorites, I love Sonoko and I don’t think I’ve watched a movie where her implementation hasn’t been fun, even if she isn’t necessary for the plot to progress. So, she was great, as usual.

The absolute highlight, character wise, surprisingly goes to Kogoro in this one. I don’t know if I’ve made it clear in past reviews, but I like Kogoro when he’s written in a way that portrays his competence despite him not being as much of a super genius as the kid/teenage detectives he accidentally surrounds himself with. And this movie does a really good job of that. Don’t get me wrong, I get he’s supposed to be a rather dim character to contrast how smart the other characters are and give Shinichi a way to deduce things without making it redundant, as well as being the butt of jokes, however, I love when they show that he is a respected detective for a reason and can be really good at it when he actually puts in the effort. You can just tell throughout the movie that Kogoro is onto something. They don’t spell it out. They don’t even bring much attention to it. There are just moments in this film where Kogoro stops and stares for a moment before they make a joke of it, usually because a lot of what he was observing were women. They then turn it on its head when he directly confronts the real culprit during the climax. I was genuinely cheering when Conan wasn’t the one making the deduction, since we already know how Conan deduced who the culprit was. We get to see how Kogoro deduced what had happened and used what he and he alone could have observed to reach the conclusion he did. Then the culprit beats the shit out of him which then leads to Kogoro freaking one shotting her. It was awesome.

I was unironically going to put this in the Not For Me Tier purely because of Kogoro, but I just can’t put this any higher than What Did I Just Watch. I just can’t. Even though I think the characters do a decent job of carrying this film, the other main parts of these movies (the mystery and the action set pieces) are either really boring at best or infuriating at worst. And while I did like the characters and the various moments of their interactions in this movie, the in-between parts are just plain forgettable and the mystery was predictable/horribly handled. I did not enjoy the majority of this film. I’m sorry if you like this one. Rating: ...What did I just Watch (D)

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This is another movie people apparently really like…

Uh…

…

Kaito is in this one.

Anyway, actually moving into the review.

This is a Kaito heist film, at least to start. 

The opening bit with Conan freaking the frick out because his grown ass self just kind of shows up with no warning is really funny. The fact that Conan also just sputters over himself while trying to explain that ‘Shinichi’ wasn’t Shinichi without giving up the reason why he knows this is really amusing too. Kaito is such a menace for pulling that crap. He gets to be so smug behind everyone’s backs and openly flirts with Shinichi’s girlfriend (crush?) because he knows Conan can’t call him out at all. It is hilarious. And then the small chase? Chef’s kiss (though Conan, I question your methods. Yeeting yourself off a building to snipe the guy who would try to save you? While falling from a tall building?! You reckless little squirt!).

Also, can I mention how cute the nickname “Sneak-Thief” is? I want more Sneak-Thief content, plz (🥺)!

After this entire sequence though, we kind of fell into the problem I had with the first few films. The middle was so dang slow! As soon as they make it onto the air plane, straight up nothing happens for a solid 20 minutes. Sure, you could say it’s set up for the coming mystery, but we’ll get to my problems with that in a second. Let’s just say that those 20 minutes are almost a complete waste of time.

Also, why were the children invited to the cast’s exclusive after party? Ran and Conan I get, since they are with Kogoro, and Sonoko I also get, because she’s freaking rich, but the children? The professor? Why?! These rich jerks didn’t invite their own cast members, so why are these (to them) random children invited? That brings up the additional question, why was Eri necessary in this film? I get that Ran wants to try and get her parents back together, but Eri is only here for one actual plot point reason (which, again, we’ll get to) and she falls under the category of, why is she allowed in the first class exclusive flight? None of these characters are really necessary for this film to work and are kind of just here for being here sake. 

Also also, Kaito’s disguise is so freaking obvious. Conan, why did you not immediately spot him and call him out, especially after realizing Kaito’s calling card was in relation to the plane ride? It is actually ridiculous how long Kaito lasts before anyone even brings up the fact that he is there. 

Then, literally out of nowhere, the main lady (who is an absolute b**** by the way) freaking dies. This is the mystery of the film. And it gets solved in 10 minutes. I’m not even joking (I timed it). 

The mystery of this film, you know, the thing that puts this franchise in the mystery genre, shows up and is solved within 10 minutes… 10 minutes of a 1 hour and 45 minute film. Are you kidding me? On top of that, as soon as they brought up that cyanide was used, I knew exactly what and who had killed the woman. So, for me at least, the mystery, straight up, wasn't a mystery whatsoever. This entire sequence is used to set up the climax, but it is so stupid and quick, I was left blinking at how quickly everything was resolved. 

This is also the only reason Eri is here… which she honestly doesn’t even need to be here for. Kogoro was literally right there! Eri’s existence is literally to be used as a puppet to solve this mystery and then she is passed out for the rest of the film. She is, quite literally, written out of the rest of the film. WHY WAS SHE HERE?!

And then the two pilots go down… 

…You know what? I’m just going to put here what I wrote in my notes, word for word, because it completely explains my opinion of the following scene:

“Wait, how do you (Conan) know that the pilots kissed her (the lady’s) hand? From where you were sitting, you shouldn’t have been able to see that entire interaction! There is an entire curtain and door blocking your view!” 

The scene:

What Conan can see of said scene:

The math ain't mathing, chief.

“Are we just not going to question the fact that we’re letting a 7 year old help fly this plane? Like, Kaito I get because he knows who Conan actually is, but everyone else? You're all just going to let this literal child fly this plane with a whole ton of innocent lives at stake? SERIOUSLY?!”  

After this point, we hit the climax portion of the film, and, like everything else in this film, it’s just kind of alright. Kaito and Conan banter is fun, if brief. The fact that everything starts to go completely wrong because some clumsy geezer accidentally hits the absolute worst button to press is kind of ridiculous, but on par with this franchise. I find the tension of not only losing fuel but also the imminent crash stressful and interesting. And then we get to Ran and Sonoko having to land the plane.

Kaito is such a troll. He calls over Ran, basically goes, “Okay, I’m done here, have fun,” and then proceeds to yeet himself out of the plane. I love this little sassy drama queen so much. Highlight of the film right there. 

Also, the fact Nakamori was basically chasing a cosplayer for the majority of this film is hilarious to me. Not really that relevant to the review, but it was funny enough to be mentioned lol. I love how Kaito uses this little side plot to assist the girls in landing the plane. What a gentleman. 

After that, the movie is pretty standard. Ran is a badass, with the addition of Sonoko (yay!). There is a kind of last minute love confession that’s really cute, if a bit tacked on (I’ll let it slide this time (≖_≖ )). We then get the little wrap up of the culprit from the earlier murder getting arrested and quick check in with everyone. The film officially ends with a fun little interaction between Kaito and Ran.

Overall, this film is mostly just fine. This feels more like an extended episode than an actual movie aside from the fact there are higher stakes than normal by the end of it. I actually think it would have been better that way, as it would have cut a lot of the meaninglessness of the middle portion out of the film. I also think they should have spent more time making a more interesting murder case as it just wasn’t important to what the film was going for, which kind of made all the new characters (who were supposed to be suspects) completely pointless, even as suspects, simply because of how quickly the murder gets solved. Or not including a murder at all and turning the mystery of the film into a guessing game of who is Kaito Kid.

I don't have much else to say honestly. Sorry if you like this one, but this one just wasn’t for me.

Rating: Wasn’t for Me (C-)

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(Yo, current Shy here! For a bit of context, I took about a month long break in between watching last film and this one. During that time period I decided I wanted to handle how I go about reviewing/ranking these films a little differently. So I started taking notes while watching the films, to help keep track of thoughts, theories and important details. As you'll probably notice, this has changed how I format and write future rankings. Nothing extreme is going to change but I figured it was worth mentioning for future installments of this series)

So, after taking a month long break from these movies (as of writing this), I’m back for the second go through to watch all the movies I originally skipped over. And this one wasn’t that great of a start lol. 

Let me get the positives out of the way first before I start complaining. 

Heiji is in this film… ‘nough said. 

In all seriousness though, Heiji is probably the main reason I have any positive opinion about this film. I’m biased because he is my favorite character, so him showing up at all is immediately a plus. However, I just think he’s a really fun character to follow, even if some of the stuff they do with him in this film is kind of stupid (we’ll get to that). Him and Conan interacting is gold. They are such trolls to one another. The banter these two have is just really good, like always, and they just, in general, work really well together, both as detectives, but also friends. They’re a ton of fun, no matter what movie they are in. 

I also get to watch Heiji kick ass and get his ass kicked, so… automatic win for badassery and whump! Like, this kid has absolutely no self-preservation. Bro goads a killer into trying to slash his throat after he loses his weapon. Then he later proceeds to escape the hospital he was just admitted to due to passing out from his injuries, just to run around and save his best friend and girlfriend. How can a character be so smart and observant, but simultaneously be so incredibly stupid and reckless. I love him so much. Also, the baby version of him, from the various flashbacks, is really cute!

Kazuha was also fun. I don’t have as much to say about her, but I generally like her character. Seeing her run around this movie being incredibly down bad for her best friend while also being jealous is really funny. I like her and Heiji’s dynamic. I know they get together eventually in the manga, so I’m happy for them. They are cute, your honor (I don’t care if they are basic, they are cute). 

That’s where my praise kind of ends. I’m going to be kind of jumping all over the place for this, so bear with me a little bit…

This case is so incredibly slow and boring. I felt like most of what was going on was either not that interesting or wasted time. Nothing was really happening for a while and then Heiji almost gets shot, which brings a bit of intrigue as to why he is potentially a target. But they don’t really talk about it until Heiji almost gets murdered a second time twenty minutes later. And that’s what happens with 90% of the clues. I don’t know, I don’t have a lot to say on it aside from the fact that I just did not engage with the mystery whatsoever, nor did I care. 

I normally love chase sequences, especially with vehicles. If you do them right, they are high octane, adrenaline rushes that are quick, snappy, and usually visual delights. The two in this one were extremely lame. It does not help that some of the chase sequences are done with CGI. There is nothing wrong with that, as I feel like Detective Conan typically uses CGI decently well in their movies for quick cuts and backgrounds for high speed action. This was not the case in this film. Usually I can just ignore it, especially in action pieces, but in this movie, it was just really distracting. It was clunky and really in your face, so I couldn’t ignore it, and it made watching the scenes kind of aggravating. 

Also, can we talk about how the culprit took out a bow, mid motorcycle chase and tried to shoot someone point blank?! Like what the actual heck!? I don’t care how skilled you are at bow and arrow, that’s just ludicrous! 

Some of the characters really didn’t need to be here. Kogoro and Ran are kind of a necessity, so they get a pass for being here. Sonoko also gets a pass, because she’s just a joy to have along for gossip. But everyone else? Why were they here? Megure and his group don’t really need to be here, because we have the Chipmunk detective and the Osaka police, so Megure’s group feels like they are just there for familiarity (though I will say that Shiratori is my favorite police adjacent character. I don’t know why. It’s just what my notes for this movie said). The kids really didn’t need to be here, along with Haibara and the professor (they were literally here for one purpose, and, oh, we will be getting to that). They all either felt really tacked on or that their purposes were already being fulfilled by a different character and they felt redundant as a result. 

As much as I like Heiji in this film, the whole thing with his “First Love,” was really stupid. I think the only really good thing that came out of it was the fact that Conan makes fun of him for it near the beginning of the film (he did the exact same thing I did when I first realized where this was going). I also immediately called the “twist” that Heiji just saw young Kazuha. I think it would have been more interesting if Heiji had accidentally witnessed the robbery without really realizing it and the kid he saw happened to be someone involved with the crime or something. I don’t know, it just felt kind of stupid and didn’t go anywhere that interesting, aside from the fact the entire misunderstanding surrounding the “gift” he found at the scene and later looking for this “first love” led to him having a target on his back. It was just really dumb.

Also, why the hell did we bring Shinichi into this film? I felt like a lot of this film had a lot of elements that were tacked on for run time sake and fanservice, but this one just takes the cake. As soon as I realized that Conan had taken a temporary cure my reaction was (and this was taken directly from my notes), “Are we seriously pulling the Kudo card right now?!” I guess they were hinting about this possibility throughout the film with all the times Ran reminisces about Shinichi showing up just when he is needed, but really? This is the situation we feel like is necessary for a temporary cure?! A temporary cure would have made sense during movies like “Black Iron Submarine” or even freaking “Requiem of the Detectives,” but this is the movie we pick to use that plot point in? Seriously?! It was really stupid and frankly unnecessary because Heiji literally shows up not even five minutes later.

And the scene with Ran and fully grown Shinichi? Normally, I can let that go, because I generally like their scenes since it's usually a cute interaction. But this one? This one just pisses me off. Oh hi Ran! Sorry I got to dip after literally seeing you for one second. Proceeds to knock her out. Was this scene really necessary to put in the MIDDLE OF THE FREAKING CLIMAX!?

Speaking of the climax, it was really dumb too. We already talked about Shinichi, but the rest of it was kind of dumb too. Conan’s grand plan to draw attention to the temple was to set the forest on fire. You know, the temple everyone was going to anyway. The temple that had a clear path up to it… Yeah, real genius plan there. Oh, and let's not forget the scene with Kazuha and Heiji in the storeroom. We have to find the specific sword box to stop the culprit, who is currently breaking down the door, by using the really stupid song we’ve been repeating non-stop throughout this film and the convoluted picture puzzle. NO, YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBASS! YOU ARE ABOUT TO FREAKING DIE! JUST START OPENING BOXES!! DON’T JUST STAND THERE! START BRUTE FORCING THE DANG THING!!! 

Anyway, the camera work/choreography throughout this entire sequence was either nauseating at worst or just really boring at best. Is the murder cult just that stupid? Is the culprit just that stupid? It was really dumb and the entire climax was honestly just the most lackluster climax I have seen in any of these movies, including “Phantom of Baker Street.” At least the entire train climax of that movie was mildly entertaining, even if the choices made during that scene were equally as dumb as this one. 

So where am I ranking this? 

I was honestly debating on putting this one at the bottom of “Not for Me” purely because Heiji is such a joy in this film and he absolutely carries, but, honestly, the more I think about this film and its entirety, the more I think that it fits better at the top of the “...What Did I Just Watch” tier. I had more enjoyment watching this film than Baker Street at least, even if that enjoyment is purely because of one character and finding some parts ironically funny. Maybe it’ll move up when I finish these rankings, but for now, I think it’s best here. Not a great film, but definitely not the worst this franchise has to offer. 

Rating: …What Did I Just Watch (D)

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I really liked this one. 

The setting was nice and while this isn’t the first snowy environment we’ve seen, I like the different flavor we have with the observatory. Learning about all the different technologies (the satellites, satellite dishes, star laser pointer, and the avalanche sensors) was really cool and it helped flesh out not only what was important to the mystery and later climax, but also the environment. 

The mystery was interesting and had me floored with who the culprit was (In a very good way). It wasn’t too complicated, so I had an easy time following it, despite all the new information that was being thrown in my general direction, but still had twists and turns I didn’t see coming. I don’t really have a whole lot to say on that matter without completely spoiling the entire plot, but I will say, it was surprisingly really good! The action was also really good, which I think is helped by the general animation quality of this film. There are just shots of this film that are just gorgeous or certain scenes with strangely fluid movements that are completely unnecessary but really good looking. 

I feel like these last few movies have had fairly standard usage of the kids, but this one actually used them in a way I wasn’t expecting. Like, they actually show off how smart these kids are and do something that only they can do which is a rarity for these films (And something I think the kids need more credit for). And, they just bring a cozy vibe to a rather depressing mystery too, ya know? Like, this entire case is about a theft gone wrong, suicide, attempted murder, shootings, etc. and then you have the kids in one corner just excitedly squealing about stars. I love them so freaking much. 

The other detectives were really cool, I liked them a lot. I believe they are side characters since I’ve seen them in the past, but they're one of those ones that are rare to see, so I really liked spending time with them as characters. Even though I don’t know these characters that well, I love how much we dive into each of them, even without the additional context canon probably gives you. I think my favorite out of the three is Kansuke, since he’s really cool and capable, despite his disabilities (which is badass). I like how much we dive into his background and how the mystery almost completely surrounds him, which includes the case that made him lose his eye (I don’t know if this explanation is canon or not, but it’s cool regardless). The other detectives are also neat, I just don’t have much to say about either of them. They were nice to meet and learn more about regardless. 

Also, I just have to mention that the image of Conan in the bow scarf was making rounds when I was originally doing a comb through of fanart on tumblr like two weeks prior to watching this film, and holy cow was it adorable to see this super serious kid, just walk around with this stupid bow scarf for the entire film. Like, he straight up refused to take it off because Ran did it up for him. These two give me cuteness aggression, I swear to god. 

… I can’t really think of anything super flawed here, other than maybe the two fake deaths that are obviously fake because, uh, you can’t kill off recurring characters in these movies (what would the children watching think!). I also think some of the pacing in the middle is… wonky. There were just points in the middle portion of the film that completely lost me, when it came to certain aspects that I know are just me problems. Like, at one point, in a scene with one of the two fake deaths, we get this part where one of the detectives is talking to someone who had previously died (his brother, if I’m remembering correctly), and like, the scene is nice and all, but I think it drags just a tad too long for my liking. It doesn’t really help that I didn’t really feel anything for this clearly emotional scene. I know that’s just a me issue, since long time fans probably know the context behind this scene far better than I do, and this is probably some really good character building, but I lack that context and that affects my viewing experience. Again, it was a nice scene, and I’m not complaining about its inclusion, but it just goes on for a little too long for my taste. And I felt like a few other scenes, especially during the middle portion, fall into this similar category. Again, this is just a me issue, and I damn well know that.

Anyway, I hate ending on a negative note, so, I want to discuss the absolute highlight of this film, which surprisingly goes to Kogoro. I like Kogoro as a character, but with a lot of these movies (and canon too, let’s be real), he’s usually quickly removed from the plot or the butt of a bunch of jokes (which is fine, I don’t dislike that and it’s not something that usually bothers me). However, in this movie, they do something really different with him and I think it’s the best thing this movie does. Kogoro is immediately tied into this case emotionally, in a way I don’t think I’ve ever seen from him before. Like, he straight up cries within the first ten minutes of the film. Excuse me?! He is taking this seriously from the very beginning, which the only other time where I feel like I’ve seen him even close to this serious was during Requiem of the Detectives, but I think it’s much better handled here. He took the entire case seriously, from start to finish, and he actually solved the fudging crime (like, everyone contributed to the final deduction, but this is such a rare blatant call out from Kogoro [who straight up noticed something no one else had], that I had to point it out)! He also saves everyone, not once, but fudging twice and doesn’t immediately start bragging about it afterward. He helps end the freaking climax, and then it’s nonchalantly revealed that he saved them all from the avalanche from earlier in the film, which he straight up doesn’t take credit for. Why was Kogoro so good in this film?! I loved seeing this other side to him and I hope to see it again, either in the manga, or in future films. 

Ugh, I don’t know where to rate this one! Like I think it’s better than most of the other movies in Right Up My Alley, but I don’t think it’s quite up there with Perfection Incarnate! What to do, what to do… 

You know what? This is MY list, I can do whatever the frick I want! 

New tier: Absolute Must Watch (S) and you know what? I felt pretty much the same way with The Million-Dollar Pentagram, so it can also get bumped up! I don’t know which of these two movies is better. It might just be recency bias, but I think this one might be better, but eh, that opinion could change (Current Shy here and yeah, no, these two movies keep flip flopping for me, so I still don’t know which one I like more, lol). 

Anyway, my point is, this one is really good. Give it a shot if you haven’t already. It was a really fun watch, from start to end. 

Rated: Absolute Must Watch (S)

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The entirety of this film is just loads of fun, from start to finish. 

I don’t even know where to start… Okay, that’s a lie, I know exactly where to start.

Automatic 10/10 film, it has both Heiji and Kaito in it. Like, legitimately, this movie is made for me. You have my two absolute favorite characters in this movie, interacting for more than five minutes of the film and they are both just an absolute gold mine of moments in this movie. And mixing them both up with Conan is just fantastic. 

The three of them make this movie what it is and it really shows. 

Let’s talk Heiji first, since he’s my favorite (⸝⸝> ω <⸝⸝).

Heiji is peak this movie. This film just makes me love him so much more. If I didn’t already think he was my favorite, he definitely is after this one. He’s just really cool, a funny dude, and absolute simp for his not-girlfriend. He’s such a dork. But he is also straight up just the biggest bro on the planet. And he has chemistry with literally everyone. You put him in a room with any of these bozos and it’s going to be a very pleasant interaction, the funniest thing this movie has to offer, or an extremely badass action scene. Like somewhere in the first half of the film, there is a scene where he is talking to Ran. Ran starts the conversation off by calling Heiji out on his bullcrap about chasing Kaito around the city, when in reality he was looking for a spot to ask Kazuha out on a date. He then freaking asks her, to her face, if the spot they are discussing is on par or better than Big Ben (where I guess Shinichi asked Ran out). It’s such a cute conversation, and most interactions with Heiji are similar to this in vibe. I love it.

This kid also has absolutely no self preservation skills whatsoever. My guy decides the best way to slow down the culprit during the climax of the film, was to not only play chicken with a motorcycle and prop plane but also to yeet himself off said motorcycle to grab onto the aforementioned plane… and then proceed to have a sword fight on top of the plane. Heiji, how are you so cool? This is even bringing up the chase with Kid at the beginning which was equally as cool.

Okay, Kid time.

Bro was put through the wringer this movie. First, we have his heist clearly not going as well as he had hoped, almost had his identity revealed, dealt with the mafia (multiple times), got attacked by a sword freak, and then watched his friend/rival/father figure? get shot. Give this kid a break! At least he got what he wanted by the end of the film and he seemed pretty happy, despite the horrors. Anyway, he was great. His sass and dramatics returns and I can not be more happy. I like that we get to see a more vulnerable side to him especially after the inspector gets shot. I don’t know all the characters on his side of the plot super well yet, but I’m glad I got to see them and his interactions with them despite the circumstances. My only complaint is I wish there was more of it. It was great in the dosage we got, but now I crave more Kaito Kid angst! 

However, the absolute highlight of this film was the dynamics. I already really like the Heiji and Conan dynamic (which is just reiterated and expanded upon throughout this film), but toss Kaito in there with them and you have pure gold. Heiji having a grudge against Kid for something he did prior to the events of the film (I’m assuming from the manga/anime) is really funny to me. The fact that they have to team up multiple times throughout the film, despite this fact, is hilarious. Them teaming up was really cool to see, since you have three super genius children, each with different knowledge pools and specialties, each bouncing information off of each other and giving each other hints for how to proceed. Then there is the whole thing where Kaito shows up as one of Heiji’s classmates during the beginning of the primary investigation. Heiji and Conan immediately clock his presence (like, Kaito is not even trying to hide the fact that he’s there), and then they proceed to do nothing about it except glare holes into him as he follows them around for a while. I freaking loved it. I love them all your honor, and together, they are nigh unbeatable!

Since we’re on the topic of characters, I’ll just do a quick speed through the ones I feel are worth noting. Ran, the #1 Heizuha shipper on the planet. Even though she wasn’t really active in the mystery side of things, I love that she is out just trying to get these two morons together. It was funny and really sweet (I can imagine her disappointment when finding out the plan didn’t work because of circumstances lol). Kazuha wasn’t really in the film that much, but I liked when she showed up. I’ve heard people don’t like her and Heiji’s dynamic, but I do, so both of them, as a pair, are great. Inspector Nakamori was fun with the screen time he had during the first half. The kids were kind of slapped in there at the end, but they served their purpose so no real complaints. I do not get the deal with the rich brat and her butler stalking Heiji. Are they just a new pair I didn’t know existed until this film? Why are they here? How did they get away with chasing down the mafia in a helicopter and blowing $%@# up with no consequences?!

Everything with the swords was really neat, and then how they were used for what was essentially a high stakes treasure hunt was clever. If you haven’t noticed, I like mysteries that explain the science/history behind how the main plot device works or what makes it unique/special (Like the bullet train in Scarlet Bullet). This one had both and I like how the swords weren’t only the clues to lead the group in the direction of the treasure but also the key to get it. That and they’re swords, with Heiji in the film, so of course we’re going to use them in multiple fights. Really fun usage all around (and they're just really pretty swords). 

The action, in general, was also really good. Like I just mentioned, we have multiple fights with the different swords, from the beginning heist, to the culprit attacking Heiji and Conan during the first half, the rush to get one of the swords away from the mafia, and the entirety of the final climax. There was enough action to keep the plot going, while not being overused or too much. Solid all around. 

…

*sigh*

Okay, it’s about time I addressed the Elephant in the room…

I need to be completely honest… I already knew about the “big reveal” at the end of this film, the one that apparently broke the shipping community of this fandom.

Look, I’m not a shipper by any means, and if I do ship characters, it’s usually with already canon pairings (Yes, I’m a Shinran and Heizuha shipper, sue me), but omg, I heard about this film as soon as I started diving into this franchise. You guys are crazy… I love it. 

So unfortunately, I had a bit of an expectation with this film going in… that didn’t exactly get met.

I know this is going to be super nitpicky and only a me problem, but this is literally the only reason this one isn’t going straight into Perfection Incarnate. I just don’t think they went far enough with some of the things they set up in this film, specifically surrounding Kaito and Shinichi’s family relationship. 

Like, at the beginning of the film, Heiji is fighting Kaito on the roof, right? And Heiji gets an extremely brief look at Kaito’s face, and immediately is like, “Oh, he looks like Kudo.” Cut to about ten to fifteen minutes later, when Conan meets up with Heiji to start the actual case of the movie and there is a pause, as Heiji just looks at Conan, the scene completely silent for a good few seconds. It’s plain, to me at least, that Heiji is getting a good look at Conan/Shinichi in relation to what he had seen the night prior. Heiji does ask a bit later if Shinichi had siblings, which Shin says nah, it’s just a coincidence. Heiji shrugs it off and then never brings it up again for the rest of the film (as far as I remember anyway). Both of these interactions happen within the first half hour of the 2 hour long film. I get that it's set up for the later reveal that Kaito and Shinichi are cousins, but it feels like the reveal itself is just kind of tacked on at the end, rather than something that was properly built up throughout the film (And I know other characters point out the visual connection too but like… everytime it’s brought up, it feels like another piece that was tacked on at a random point, just to bring attention to it again rather than natural interactions between characters).

I think it would have been funny if Heiji just kept bringing it up throughout the movie, completely out of pocket whenever he is with one or the other (or both) alone (“Are y’all related or somethin’?” “Are ya sure?” “Come on, it can’t just be a coincidence!”), and just not getting a straight answer from either of them (nobody else brings up the visual connection either). Or, even better, the two straight up are just like, “Me? Related to a detective/thief? No way, not in a million years,” and then getting more and more frustrated with Heiji bothering them about it throughout the investigation. Heiji remains unconvinced throughout the movie, but eventually drops it by the end (probably around the climax or directly afterward)(he feels like he’s just going crazy, since nobody else sees it and just drops the entire thing with a huff). Cut to the post credits scene where Shinichi’s dad is just like, “Oh yeah, I guess they are related. Oops, shoulda told ‘em.” I know I’m playing it off as a joke… but it's more than what the film itself did with either of these plot points!

Aside from that and the kind of annoying rich simp (that got way to much screen time, in my opinion)… I love this movie. It’s got my two favorite characters interacting with a fairly engaging plot that doesn’t lose any steam. This legitimately is just a fun ride all the way through. I just wish there was more of it. For now, I’m putting this in Right Up My Alley, but I won’t lie, this is like tipping into Perfection Incarnate. I love this film, so I highly recommend you give this one a shot. It’s loads of fun.

Rated: High Right Up My Alley (A)

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I was unironically not expecting this one to be as good as it was. 

I just want to say, before we get started, that this is a gorgeous movie. There are some shots in past movies where I think the animation and shot composition is gorgeous, but this movie has it on another level. I genuinely could make so many screenshots from this movie into the background of my laptop. It's so pretty!

Anyway, the plot didn’t really start going until like 30 minutes in, but it was still entertaining with all the stuff about the face identifying system and the underwater computer network. Like, they did not need to go into it with as much detail as they did, but I’m not complaining, it was really cool. 

But the second Hiabara gets kidnapped, we are in high tension for the rest of the film. 

It’s not the most action packed movie and it doesn’t have the best mystery this franchise has ever seen, but oh my gosh they just kind of do everything right. 

Hiabara’s kidnapping is straight up the best sequence in this film. It comes after this really nice scene of Conan reassuring Hiabara that nothing is going to happen and that he has her back, no matter what. And of course, in typical movie fashion, she gets kidnapped. But this whole sequence is just a pure rush of adrenaline as everyone rushes to try and save her from these people, even though they have absolutely no clue what these people are capable of. Ran fighting the new agent (Pinga), was awesome (I love that the detail that she gets a solid hit on them comes back later). The fact they have a sniper on their butts for a bit does not help with tension either. And then we get the entire chase sequence, which, while short, was also great. Agasa, I did not know you could be that aggressive of a driver my dude (though circumstances make this very valid). The kidnapping sequence ends with the Black Org driving off a flipping cliff into the ocean, with Conan desperately diving in after them. The moment they cut to Conan walking up to Agasa, who promptly breaks down into tears, after their failure to get Hiabara back breaks my heart. It was a really well done sequence and scene. No additional notes.

The vibes are fantastic. Everyone is high tension and super paranoid, even those not in the know. You can just tell from the energy Agasa and Conan are giving off, that they are both about to go ballistic for like 90% of this film, and rightfully so. Then Hiabara is just on the verge of a panic attack for most of the film and, again, rightfully so. This girl needs a freaking break. And, I don’t know what it is about what this movie does, but this makes me have a similar dread feeling as I did in movies like Captured in Her Eyes but cranked up to 11. I think it's just the looming threat that one of these characters could die if one of them makes the wrong move. I know that this is a movie in a long running franchise, so it’ll have a happy ending, but in the moment, you kind of forget that and go, “Oh, everyone could die if Hiabara, Agasa or Conan screw up.” It’s great and probably the best thing about this film.

The use of the black org was amazing. I don’t know if it’s just because this is the first film I’ve seen with them being the center of the plot (closest I’ve seen so far is Countdown to Heaven, but they weren’t really the main antagonist of that one, more of a looming presence), but I just really like their implementation. They are a threat and they are treated as such by everyone, even if they don’t have full context. It’s clear what they want and that they will go by any means necessary to get it. And it was a lot more horrific than I thought it would be. Like, they don’t do anything that isn’t pretty typical from canon, but  I also wasn’t expecting to hear a young woman scream her head off as she watched her father get murdered. That was a lot more horrific to watch than I was expecting… 

The other characters were great in their own right too. Agasa, I feel like I’ve talked about my feelings about him in this movie enough, but just his want to protect Hiabara, Conan/Shinichi, and the other kids is so sweet. This old man may be cheesy and a bit of a nutcase, but protect him with your life! Ran was kicking ass yet again, and I could not be more happy about it. She was great as usual. The other returning characters were also great and I’m happy to see them all in varying degrees throughout this film (I do have to ask though, since my skimming of Wiki’s didn’t really give me much, what is the deal with Amuro and Akia? They know each other through the Org, I get that, but is there something else going on there, or am I just over thinking it?). 

I actually want to give a special shoutout to Naomi. While she is a new character for this film, she was used really well. I felt so bad for her with the absolute shit she has to go through in this movie since she is just a kind young woman who wanted to make the world a better place and find the little girl who had saved her, to apologize and thank her. Her intentions, while pure, put everyone, including herself, in danger, simply because of how powerful the technology she created was. It’s sad, but I’m glad she got a happy ending in the end. Her and Hiabara are the emotional crux of this film and they are great. Their interactions, while still bound by tension, were nice breathers. They are just really cute, I’m sorry.  

The mystery element could have been better, but with everything else going on, it didn’t bother me as much as it could have. The mystery of “Who’s the traitor,” plays into the time limit we have in regards to those kidnapped, as well as the subsequent hacking and possible additional murders. It’s not the most in-depth mystery, but it gets the job done for what it’s supposed to be. 

The climax was maybe not the most memorable, but honestly, I don’t care, it was still cool. The lady’s escaping the submarine with the help of Kir was great and makes sense, based on what I’ve learned about her in this movie. Vermouth coming in clutch with the reveal of the (fake) flaw in the All-Age system, making any suspicion that Hiabara is Sherry fly out the window for the majority of the Black Org was cool. Gin essentially goes, “I’m done with this shit. Freaking kill everyone,” and then they start trying to sink the Pacific Buoy was a cool centerpiece for everything else going on. The confrontation between Pinga and Conan was also great, with Pinga revealing the fact that, yes, they aren't stupid, and with the All-Age system, was able to get tangible proof that Conan is Shinichi. Like, I was not expecting them to go in that direction, but I’m not complaining (it doesn’t really go anywhere, but honestly, I would have been a bit confused if the system hadn’t been able to do the same thing with Shinichi). And then the final rush to stop the submarine was also fantastic. It was really cool, not much else to add lol. 

And I think that’s everything! I’m surprised I had so much to say about this but, eh, it’s one of my new favorites, so sue me. This is a movie I highly recommend you watch, if you haven’t already (though, if you are a newer fan, I highly suggest you get at least semi familiar with the characters and main plot before jumping into this one).

Also, before this ends, I do have one thing to add, with absolutely no context. 

Shippers, I get what you see in them now. It may not be a ship I’m sailing on, but I get where the wind in your sails is coming from.

Rated: Perfection Incarnate (S)

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I was actually going to watch this one right around Halloween (as that was around the time I was originally bingeing these) but school and watch burnout both hit like trucks so I didn’t watch it until around Christmas. I actually think the extended break from watching these movies helped my enjoyment of this one.

The hook with the fake wedding overlapping with the one guy (Amuro? Rei? Bourbon?! He’s another one of those characters who has way too many names that I don’t know what to call him… at least all of his info is on one wiki page this time lol… I’ll just stick with Amuro) and his partner being attacked by the person with the bomb collars was awesome. It immediately got me hooked with what the deal was with both plots and how they would inevitably be connected. That doesn’t even mention the hook of how the characters actually get involved with the bomber case (Kogoro gets hit by a truck and is taken completely out of the film… give this man a break!).

Speaking of Amuro actually, despite looking him up and getting a brief summary about his existence, I’m not super familiar with him in general at this point since this is the first movie I’ve seen him in and I’m not that far into the manga yet (Current Shy here, I still haven’t met him in the manga lol), but he was fun. I like that, even though I don’t know him outside of this film, I get to know quite a bit about him because of the flashback we get with the origins of the bomber and the multiple scenes we have with him interacting with other characters. Despite being generally mysterious (that’s the vibe I’m getting from him anyway) he seems like a relatively nice dude with a badass streak. I mean he launches himself at a crashing helicopter just to make sure the culprit didn’t get away at the very end, which was raw as hell! I can’t wait to see more of him in future movies and the manga. 

The action in general surprised me. There was just so much of it and it was all pretty awesome. The above clip is an absolute highlight of this, but there is the scene at the beginning, a second bombing that happens pretty soon after that, the discovery of a third bomb which also goes off, and the entirety of the climax. And I don’t think I even got them all. It was a bit of a surprise, but I ain’t complaining. Like I said, it was all awesome. And that’s not even mentioning the kidnapping and hostage part of the plot!

The mystery was also really well done, I think. It was another one of those movies where the mystery was simple enough to follow but complicated enough where I didn’t see who the culprit was or where it was going until right before the end. I did call who it was right before the reveal with the power of process of elimination, but it’s the first time in a while where I was able to do it and feel proud of myself for it. It was all paced really well to where nothing was getting stale or boring, but it wasn’t just rushing through clues to get where we needed to be. It was just really good!

While the climax ends with a bit of a deux ex machina, it was still really fun. There’s the whole reveal of the fact that the bomb they were looking for wasn’t in the wedding building but the entire intersection below it (which I can proudly say, I called [I’m sorry but neon pink and blue are not Halloween colors, bomber.]). There’s the whole fight with the bomber on the roof which is then followed by the previously mentioned helicopter fight with Amuro. And then you have everyone working together to essentially create a giant stopper to prevent the city from going nuclear. It was just a lot of fun all the way through. 

(Sorry the clip is edited a little weird. I know I talk about the plot a lot and we do talk spoilers, but I don't really like revealing culprits, in case people want to watch the movies based off my rankings, so I edited this clip to try and take the culprit out as much as possible... all your really missing from this specific clip is Amuro decking the culprit in the face)

I did have some minor complaints but they are more me just wanting more of some things and minor nitpicks than anything else. 

For one, I wish we had more stuff to do with Sato. Like, part of the initial hook was the whole grim reaper thing. I get what they were trying to get with, all her partners wind up dead and she fears that the love of her life might be next, but it doesn’t really… go anywhere? Like they bright it up and then it’s kind of just dropped. Takagi gets shot near the end, kind of like how he gets a fake shot at the beginning of the movie, but it doesn’t get brought up there either. I just wish they did more with it honestly, because Sato being haunted or thinking she brings the grim reaper to her partners is a fascinating idea. It’s a really minor nitpick but I thought it was worth mentioning. Though, I will add, Sato and Takagi are a really cute couple. I think they are my favorites of the recurring cop characters. I love them.

My other complaint was the one Russian assassin lady. Her whole deal wasn’t really explained until the end when she wanted to shoot the bomber. They then make it a whole deal that the bomber killed her son and she wants revenge, which honestly, completely fair (wish I had known that earlier, but whatever). Conan then jumps in front of her gun and goes, “No, you can’t do that (Also I remind you of your son, so you can’t shoot me).” She then bursts into tears and gets a hug, which, again, is completely fair, but it just feels… tacked on? Like they needed this lady to have an emotional backstory but they forgot to add it until the end and just shoved it awkwardly into the middle of the climax. It was out of place, completely took me out of the climax and was entirely rushed. If they had added more to it, or made that reveal earlier, I don’t think it would have bothered me as much, but as it is, it’s probably my only actual complaint. 

Overall, while this movie isn’t perfect or even one of my favorites, I still had a lot of fun and I would highly recommend giving it a shot. It’s a blast (Pun completely intended)!

Ranking: Right Up My Alley (A)

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I have… very conflicting feelings with this movie. 

Sera is back (a lot sooner in this binge than I initially thought) and she was a lot of fun. I don’t honestly have too much to say about her other than that, since I kind of just got more of what my first impression of her was. This isn’t a bad thing though. I thought she was really cool in the last movie, and now she’s moved up to being pretty awesome. I didn’t think we needed more kickass women in this franchise, but hey, I’m not complaining. I will say, I was a little confused on what she was doing with the little girl (her mom?!?) at the beginning of the film, but whatever (After looking into who that character was (Mary?) a bit, I’m still confused, but okay, it’s not super important to the plot of the movie, so I’ll let it slide).

I haven’t really talked about Akai yet, have I. Well, I technically met him in the last movie too, but I honestly just didn’t have a lot to say about that movie, and much less to say about him (and to be completely honest, I was just very confused by his entire existence. It does not help that the wiki divides up his two identities into two separate pages… I eventually figured it out). I don’t have a lot to say about him in this movie either, but I think he’s pretty cool. He’s another one of those characters I just need to spend more time with to really warm up to him, so I look forward to seeing him more in the future (though probably more in the manga than in these movies). However, I will say, as strange as the bullet thing he did was with the coveted “Scarlet Bullet,” I thought it was really cool. No notes.

I really liked the main mystery and setup of this one! I really liked all the science stuff in regards to how the bullet train worked and it being the main set dressing for the majority of the action for the film. I also liked how the mystery of the kidnappings, both past and current, were incorporated too, even if it was a bit clunky. The fact that the culprits (yes, I said culprits) were trying to recreate the tragedy that ruined their families lives just to get back at the people who caused it was really interesting and makes sense, though I wish we had spent a little more time on that end. 

The fact that there were two culprits was a little out of left field, but also makes sense, so I’m not going to give the film flack for that. I actually think that makes it a fairly good twist. I did have my eyes on one of them throughout the entire film, but the fact that I was only half right got me. And it didn’t feel like an out of nowhere gotcha moment. It just kind of worked for me. 

Oh, I also want to add that I found it odd that the entire cast kept referring to the culprits as “killers.” Neither of them actually killed anyone (Like they tried, but they hadn’t killed anyone prior to the group calling them that [or after for that matter], just kidnapping), so I’m a little confused on why they were being called that. Maybe it was just a translation error, but it was worth mentioning.  

The climax was really good too. The tension of confronting the culprit on the train, the “scarlet bullet,” and then trying to stop the train before it crashed was really fun. Not the best action climax this series has had, but it was still a good time. It had no right having animation this awesome (this screenshot in particular is gorgeous).

So far, I’ve had a lot of positives to say about this film… so what’s the problem?

Well…

It’s kind of the everything surrounding the main plot that bothers me. 

The kids. Why the hell were the kids involved in this film? With a dedicated minor sub-plot?! They help out in the opening sequence and then are promptly written out of the mystery to go f-off at a theater, until they are conveniently needed to come up with the solution for the climax… a solution that literally anyone could have given Conan and Sera. They did not need to be here and this is probably the first movie in a while where their inclusion to the plot actually annoys me (Though Sonoko getting stuck babysitting them was really funny). 

Then there is the other sub-plot that takes up a lot of the run time. This side plot is with some guy and his girlfriend (or something). I think they are side characters from the main series, but in all honesty, I don’t know. I haven’t met them yet in the manga or in the other movies I’ve watched… or seen them in the basic run through of major characters I did when I started getting more invested in this series (even after looking him and the girl up through the power of the DCMK Wiki, I still don’t get who these people are). Regardless, it just makes their entire side plot even more stupid, because it not only grinds the interesting mystery to a halt whenever we cut to them, but it’s also mostly these two getting into uninteresting hijinx (specifically the woman who is completely drunk off her ass the majority of the film). The only tie these two have to the entire plot is literally when the guy runs into Akai at the most convenient time possible to be a chess master (and also the whole thing with Sera and the little girl she's with, but again, I don't get what's going on there or their connection and it's not ever really explained or brought up after a certain point). It is so pointless. 

Actually, I think that’s the main problem with this film. It’s a bloated mess. Anything interesting that is happening is bogged down by two side-plots that are completely uninteresting and super irrelevant to the events going on throughout the rest of the film. This is not even mentioning the amount of characters. Look, I liked Sera and Akai, but I honestly wish it was just these two. There were the kids, the guy and his cop girlfriend, the normal cast (AKA Ran and Kogoro), Sonoko, Agasa, Haibara, and I didn’t even mention all the law enforcement characters in this film (yes, I’m going to skip over talking about the FBI characters again. I’ll actually talk about them when they are more relevant/interesting to a story aside from, “Let’s catch the bad guy!”).

The movie was fun, but had some major bloat that really drags it down for me. Maybe I’ll give it another try in the future but for now, this is not one I’ll be returning to anytime soon.

Ranking: Not For Me (C-)

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