 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 4:3 FULL SCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 635 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV PG | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 01/27/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 05/04/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | MARGARET VEIRA |
SYNOPSIS:
The criminal mind is a twisted one and Jimmy Kudo knows the shady corridors of humanity like no other detective in the business. He’s put more scum behind bars than just about anyone on the beat and his skills have earned him plenty of enemies, and he pays the price one dark night… Being poisoned and left for dead. But rather than meeting his end in a shallow grave, Jimmy gets a new beginning. Awakening to find himself transformed, the evil elixir of his faceless foes has changed him into a small boy – The perfect cover! Utilizing his unlikely new persona and cutting edge technology, Jimmy is hot on the trail of his assailants as Conan Edogawa. The path to justice will be littered with cruelty and madness, the worst of man on display as this sleuth cuts through the underworld in search of answers, solving one sick crime at a time. Truth is not open to interpretation. There’s no room for error when life and limb are on the line. A detective like no other. Conan is on the case!
REVIEW:
Jimmy Kudo is back as Conan Edogawa with more intriguing cases in this latest box set of mysteries. The cases range from a kidnapping of a little girl for revenge to a murder of a vampire fanatic in a most strange way. He solves the cases with the help of Richard Moore, an average detective, and his daughter Rachel. Also, since Jimmy is the size of a small child, his young friends, Amy Yeager, George Kaminski and Mitch Tennison formed the Junior Detective League to solve crimes along with him. Jimmy also receives help from one of his rivals, Harley Hartwell (who looks like the teenage Jimmy), in some episodes. In a 4 part arc (which, in Japan, was a 2 hour TV special), Jimmy’s mother shows up and takes him on a trip to solve a mystery involving his mother’s friend’s Uncle, and they end up having to solve a murder. There is some tension between Jimmy’s parents, hence the road trip. The audio is quite good, and the instrumental music on the English soundtrack is the same as the Japanese soundtrack. The opening and closing songs are translated and sung in English for the English version. The closing is different starting at episode 87, and as is the opening at episode 103. The names of the characters and locations are Americanized in the English version, while the Japanese names and locations stayed in the Japanese version. The English version was Americanized because it was aired on the Cartoon Network in the United States. The voice actors were well chosen for the characters. The anime is drawn in a simple style that really works with the way the stories are told. There is some detail, but only if it’s needed to help solve the mystery along with Jimmy. If the mystery involves a murder, the blood is shown, but not in an explicit way. The animators are careful to not make it a gorefest. Each story arc is unedited and uncut, consisting mostly of 2-parters with one 4-parter and a few singles. It’s a great anime that has mystery, comedy and adventure rolled into one!
EXTRAS:
The box set features episodes 80-105, and the extras are a character spotlight on Harley Hartwell, descriptions of two of Conan’s gadgets, the homing glasses and the solar-powered skateboard, and trailers of other Funamation releases. The soft box has Conan, Jimmy and Harley on the front and the back has Jimmy’s mother. The first disc cover has Conan, Mitch, George and Amy looking cautiously around a corner, and the inside has Conan and Rachel sitting on a park bench at sunset. The second disc cover has Jimmy and Conan and the inside has Amy, Mitch and George watching while Conan runs off.
IN SUMMARY:
Join the fun as Conan (aka Jimmy) solves all the mysteries in this latest installment of the Case Closed anime series! |
