Hive took offense at the screenshots again, so I posted them here: https://postimg.cc/gallery/kbwZMKy
I wrote about "Detective Conan" several times on my blog. Sometimes joking a little, less seriously. I was joking about the number of episodes and how little progress the story had made. I don't remember the "seriously" statement anymore, so I won't be making it up. As far as my contact with DC is concerned, the first time I came across this title was a dozen or so years ago, when I watched openings and endings placed on the CD added to the Kawaii magazine. I liked them, but since I don't like titles (and not only anime), which focus on police work, detectives, catching thieves or other criminals, I have never watched it. And probably this state would continue until today, if not for the fact that Karol (privately my good friend who helps me with the correction of texts or serves as substantive support in various topics), insisted on convincing me to this anime. I am not going to touch the TV series, because soon I will be 32 years old, and thus, every year there are more and more responsibilities and less and less time to watch cartoons, movies, series. But I can watch movies, specials or OVAs that don't require me to know Lore Conan. Before I go any further - I know, Episode 0 was on TV and it is not a movie, but for the sake of simplicity I will call them films, keep that in mind. So far I've watched 3 and all I can say is ...
God, it's fucking good. I don't know about the TV series, but I really liked both of them. The third one as well (I don't remember its title, but the plot was focused on Conan and Lupine's fight), but due to the fact that the creators had to divide the action more or less equally, they had to impose some restrictions on themselves. In both productions there is what I like to watch in anime, i.e. brutality, interesting and well-created characters, intriguing plot, dynamic action and noticeable creativity of the creators. As far as I know everything from Karol's statements, I was surprised by the brutality. I did not expect such bold scenes from the title as tearing someone's head off or quite a lot of blood. Although this is not a WSJ manga, it is also not a comic book intended for an older audience - seinen. If I had to classify it somehow, I would compare it to HxH - a more mature title, written more for older teenagers (14-16 years old) who can afford a bit more than DB, "Bleach", "Naruto". It is also important that the comic is published by Shogakukan, not Shuiesha. From what I've heard, though I might be wrong, Shogakukan doesn't have the strict standards Shuiesha does, and allows more authors to publish their series through them.
Exceptionally, I will write earlier about the technical aspects than the script. This is due to the fact that I have liked the author's line for many years, which is further exacerbated by the fact that cinema films are usually better than TV series in terms of graphics and animation. Maybe I am not a particularly zealous fan of TMS studio, but I have watched a few of their productions in recent years and there has probably not been a single case that would disappoint me. It is no different with both films. They recreated Singapore very nicely and in detail in the 23rd film. A part of the city looks majestic, even though it is only an animated film. If you want to find out for yourself, don't stop the screening after the end of the movie - TMS has posted videos from Singapore, which boast about how well they reproduced this city. In fact, this is the case in every cinema film, which I found out after sending the text for substantive proofreading. In both cases, we get a great story and a quality show that keeps us in suspense until the very end. The episode zero was unfortunately not as effective as the film, but apart from technical aspects, which I treat as insignificant details, it does not differ in any way from the full-length production. I mean the direction, the pace, the story told, the performance and the development of the characters. I had no reason to complain, and if it weren't for the fact that I had to watch both works in installments (I was not able to see both at once), I would have enjoyed them. When it comes to the line, let me say this - a dozen years ago I considered it average, unremarkable, a bit later I was a bit amused by the fact that the author likes simplified drawings (maybe I'm wrong and I misspelled my feelings) and sharp edges. Today I like it and I don't think I will change my mind. It is true that some character designs still make me laugh, such as Haibara and her square hydrocephalus, which hides a brain weighing 2 kilograms, but this is not because they were poorly drawn, but because of an unusual sight. I like how Aoyama draws girls - despite the line similar to "Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor", they look feminine and cute. At the same time, which makes me very happy, the author does not abuse perverted jokes (apart from those that write themselves - e.g. women do not mind that Conan will sometimes peek up their skirt or press him to their breasts), and are not sexualized, as many heroines that expose their breasts, ass, etc. They look like ordinary girls, which is not a common sight.
The story will be brief and general, because I do not know the title. I will try not to lie on this occasion. So it looks like this - young high school student Shinchi Kudo is an amateur detective who helps the police with difficult cases. In a way, he can be compared to Batman - since he is not a policeman, he can afford activities that officers cannot use. The similarities with Bruce don't stop there - Conan has a guardian who supplies him with various gadgets and technology. Well, continuing, Shinchi had the misfortune to run into the people of the Black Organization one day. An organization whose goals are unknown. For now, we only know that they recruit specialists in biology, chemistry, computers, technology and finance research from the resources they have stolen. As a result of this encounter, he receives a dose of a deadly drug that should kill him, but ends up rejuvenating him for about 10 years. The organization thinks he died, but it didn't. Shinchi changes her name to Conan and sets out to find out who the members are. It has been going on for many years, the main thread of the story has not made much progress (compared to several other manga, such as "One Piece", "Naruto", "Hunter x Hunter"), which may irritate some. From what I learned from Karol, it is because if the plot of the comic was mainly focused on this one theme (+ adding a few side plots so that the manga would not be as empty and straightforward as, for example, "Demon Slayer"), it would have lasted 3-5 years. On the other hand, there is some justification for such a slow pace. Although Conan is above average intelligent and has a professor who provides him with great gadgets, they do not have the finances, know-how and other possibilities that the FBI, CIA or even our Polish ABW have. Also, Conan doesn't know much about the Black Organization, and it can be compared in some way to a needle search in a haystack, which was very well visualized during the Netero vs Meruem duel in HxH. This procedural approach to plot writing has its supporters and opponents as well as advantages and disadvantages. As far as I am concerned, I do not mind several or a dozen episodes (depending on the length of the anime), which are aimed at better presenting the characters, expanding the universe or just extending the session. However, it bothers me when there are more of them than episodes focusing on developing the main plot. Therefore, even though I like "City Hunter", "Gintama" and rather "Detective Conan", I am not really drawn to watching these 3 TV series. I will watch a few episodes, the plot will not make much progress (or at all) and start looking for a different title because I'm bored.
As for the characters, so far I've liked all the important ones that have appeared in these films. As some time has passed since the screening, I have forgotten most of my conclusions about them. I would not like to describe them too briefly, because I would be dissatisfied with it + Karol would like to know my opinion on them. I will come back to this thread when I watch 2-3 DC movies in the near future (i.e. this year), also hide this Karol's hammer, you will hit me with it on another occasion. But I can say a few words about Kaito and Conan. I liked both of them in a short time, you could say they won my affection in a matter of minutes. Although they both look almost identical (ie the older version of Conan), they differ in terms of character. Conan aka Shinichi is a more polite, more composed boy, while Kaito is overconfident and arrogant. You could say he's just a Chad, but without a muscular build and with a little more empathy. They are also different in that one of them is a thief and the other a detective. In addition, they both use technology - Conan from the professor's inventions, and Kaito from his equipment used for illusions, deluding unaware people with his tricks. I know, a modest description, but I don't want to spoil the next movies, so I don't ask too many questions to Google and Karol.
All in all, I had a great time. I did not expect from these films that I would like to continue my adventure with this anime. This is a nice change from WSJ manga-based movies. It is a breath of fresh air, both in terms of creating the characters and writing the script, in terms of what I was used to by the publishers from DBZ, OP and HxH. It is more mature, more interesting, and despite the smaller amount of fantasy elements, equally intriguing and pleasant to watch. Especially since the author of the manga clearly likes martial arts, which is a convincing element for me, because I love hand-to-hand combat. As I said, I will definitely not watch the series (unless someone pays me a lot of money, I will change my mind), but some cinema films? Of course! I recommend it to anyone who is already bored with the titles served by WSJ and is looking for some fresh solutions. From what I've heard from several people, most notably from Charles, Detective Conan is a well-developed franchise. I rate both films at> 8/10, I don't want to think about a specific number, but I can safely rate them at 8/10. Btw. most of the screenshots are from the 23rd movie because it just looks nicer.
Thanks to Karol for his help in writing this text.