The episode opens with a lengthy recap. However, it didn’t feel like overkill, because there was a lot of details that needed to be relayed to the viewers to remind them of what happened in the previous episode. Between the murder case and the subplot with Sera, there’s a lot going on.

Right at the beginning and right near the end, the emphasis is on the murder case investigation. Professor Agasa remembers that when he was talking with the appraiser, he touched the real tray with his bloody fingers. Everyone thinks they found a way to identify the real tray and the culprit… but it turns out the murderer realized that blood mark on the real tray and added similar blood marks to the other two. Agasa then remembers the orientation of the crane compared to the blood stain when he looked at the tray. But it turns out this method of identifying the real tray doesn’t work, either. The police start calling around to look for an appraiser, but it looks like the earliest one could get there would be the next day.

The three murder suspects show just how selfish and despicable they all are when they’re informed about the appraiser. They each whine that they have to be able to leave before the day is out and how they need their tray for their respective engagement. When they’re told that potential murderers can’t be allowed to walk off and that the police will need to hold on to the trays since they’re evidence in a murder investigation, they start whining even more. They’re so wrapped up in themselves and their trays that they don’t seem to care that someone was killed. While I’m at as much of a loss as the characters as to who murdered Agasa’s friend, I wouldn’t put the crime past any of them at this point.

However, a lot of the focus on this episode is on Sera trying to get Ai to confess to being shrunk down by the poison, as well as Akai trying to protect his little sister (since he knows who she is, but she doesn’t realize who he is). Because of this detail, we get to see some very amusing interactions between the siblings. But honestly, Sera isn’t trying to be subtle when questioning Ai, and other people can hear what she’s saying. Oy!

Akai has a flashback to when he, his younger brother, and his mother are fleeing to Japan. Apparently, this was the time when Mary (their mother) decides to tell them they she is pregnant and that they have a sister on the way. Also, during this episode, thanks to Sera badgering Ai, Conan figures out that the mysterious blond girl that he’s seen with Sera has to be her mother and that she was shrunk down by the poison. Conan also makes another realization as well.

Overall, this particular episode seemed to focus more on Sera and Akai than on the actual murder mystery. Which makes sense, I guess, since there’s the plot point of waiting for an appraiser… so something needs to be going on while the police try to figure out what to do. And the story of the siblings provides important progression for the mystery behind their family that Conan’s been trying to puzzle out. I suspect that next week’s episode will be placing a lot more of its focus on the actual murder mystery. From the preview, it appears that Sera and Conan may have figured out the truth of the case. It’ll be interesting to see how this case ends up being solved.

Additional posts about Case Closed:

• Case Closed: Episode 1018 – “The Antique Tray Can’t Be Hidden (Part One)”

The episode opens with Subaru noticing Sera on her motorcycle, watching Professor Agasa’s house. We then see Conan talking to Agasa and Ai inside Agasa’s home. We learn Agasa is about to head out to talk to an appraiser friend about a potentially antique dish that he found at his uncle’s house. In the dialogue, Agasa references a previous mystery from before Ai was in the series, and there’s even footage from a previous episode that appears as flashbacks to remind the audience of what happened. If Sera’s appearance hadn’t made it clear that this was a canon storyline, having this reference back to an earlier story clinched it for me. Agasa also mentions a recent antique plate that had been appraised on a television show, and how his appraiser friend has had three of them brought to him to be appraised. The friend is going to explain how he can tell which one is real and which ones are fake.

We then learn that Ai had called Conan over, and she points out Sera watching Agasa’s house. Conan is forced to admit that Sera has an idea that Ai had been shrunk down by the poison, and we get a flashback to a more recent episode where Sera was asking Ran and Sonoko know any other kids who seem mature for their age… and they both mention Ai and say that she lives with Professor Agasa. When Ai finds out that Sera suspects her secret, she loses it with Conan. Ai wants Conan to make her go away, but before anything else can happen, there’s a near frantic ringing of the doorbell. Conan is forced to answer it, thinking Sera is at the door. It turns out it’s Subaru bringing cherries over… and Sera has come with him. When Conan asks Subaru why he brought Sera over, he says he couldn’t just leave her watching Agasa’s house and letting her potentially get into trouble.

When Subaru asks Agasa if he’s talked with his appraiser friend yet, Agasa says he was heading out. Subaru asks to accompany him, and he accepts. Sera offers to watch Agasa’s house with Ai, but Ai insists on going to Agasa. So Sera decides she’ll tag along with everyone else. Was it just me, or is Sera not even trying to be subtle here?

When they reach the appraiser’s home, Agasa calls out for him and there’s no response. Agasa decides to go look for him. As he does, the appraiser is looking at one of three antique plates brought to him to assess and finds the real one. One of the people who brought a plate enters the room and the appraiser tells them it’s not their plate. The person gets mad and grabs a nearby spear, hitting the appraiser on the head. Just then, Agasa can be heard approaching, and the culprit hides. Agasa finds the appraiser and is going to call the police and an ambulance, but has left his phone in his car. After Agasa leaves to talk to the others, the culprit reappears and stabs the appraiser in the back with the spear.

When Conan and the others make it to the room, Conan discovers that the appraiser is dead. After Megure and Takagi arrive to investigate the scene, we are introduced to the three people who brought their plates to be assessed. The first man introduces himself and calmly explains how he came by the plate and what his plans for the plate are. The second man insists that the real plate is his, before he even introduces himself. In the murder scene, the culprit nearly yells that the real plate has to be theirs. I really hope that this man’s attitude while being interviewed by the police is a red herring, because if he’s the actual culprit, I’ll be quite disappointed because it would make this mystery too easy. The final suspect is a woman who works for a museum. She’s a very stiff and uppity woman, though, and I found her to be unlikable. To be honest, all three of the potential suspects came across as unlikable, but the first man was the least unlikable. And through questioning, we discover that none of the three suspects have an alibi that can be confirmed by anyone. Once this is determined, we see several reaction shots, and then the episode ends.

The first part of the mystery simply established the mystery and the suspects. From what I saw on in an episode list on Wikipedia (so take it for what it’s worth), but this is apparently a three part mystery. Considering that the first part spent its runtime establishing everything, this lends credibility to the idea that this could be a three part episode. Especially since, not only do we have the murder mystery going on, we also have Sera trying to learn more about Ai. It’s going to be interesting to see how both of these storylines are handled during the remaining episodes in this arc.

Additional posts about Case Closed:

• Case Closed: Episode 1017 – “The Monorail Sniper Case (Part Two)”
• Case Closed: Episode 1019 – “The Antique Tray Can’t Be Hidden (Part Two)”

The episode opens with a recap of the previous episode, and it provides enough information to remind the audience of the important events and revelations that took place leading up to the point where this episode starts.

The episode starts at the Toto Market, where Takagi, Kogoro, and Conan are trying to figure out how they can find the culprit, who is transporting a dead body, hiding among all the people working at the market. A security guard informs Takagi of finding a man in a parking lot area. This was the man who was hit from behind near the end of the previous episode. The man’s clothes have been stolen, as well as the keys to his turret truck. By getting the color of the man’s clothes, as well as the number for the turret truck, Takagi and the others have something to go on to start tracking down the culprit.

Takagi also gets a call from Chiba, and it’s revealed that the person who lived in the apartment where this case ultimately began was a suspect in an attack on an armored truck carrying money. Even though the man who lived in the apartment had an alibi, he quit his job at the bank. With what they learn, Takagi, Kogoro, and Conan realize that this man was involved with the robbery, and that he was the victim in this murder case.

A little while later, the turret truck is found… but the culprit and the body are nowhere to be seen. Takagi, Kogoro, and Conan piece together that the culprit must have taken the dead body and went somewhere that’s deserted. Takagi comes up with a possible location that would be deserted in a crowded place like Toto Market. Sure enough, Takagi’s hunch was right, because the lock has been freshly broken. As they go into the location, Takagi gets a text from Chiba about employees at the bank who haven’t been to work recently, and it includes pictures, names, and information.

As they search the deserted area, they hear a man call out, followed by gunshots. They find a man who’s been shot, and he’s next to a dead body lying on a sheet (and a knife laying next to the dead body). Takagi says they’ll have an ambulance transport the injured man to the hospital. I found it interesting that they covered his eyes with a cloth as he was being transported. Even before seeing that detail, I had my suspicions about this man, which were basically confirmed when he gives a slight smirk while in the ambulance.

But, it turns out the man never goes to the hospital. Instead, after driving for a little bit, we discover the ambulance returns to Toto Market. When the cloth is removed from the man’s eyes, he finds Takagi, Kogoro, Conan, and security guards standing around him. Not surprisingly, Conan uses his typical tricks for the “Sleeping Kogoro” to start questioning this culprit. I loved seeing how the culprit slipped up and ultimately admitted to the crime without realizing that he had.

One of my favorite scenes in this episode was right near the end, when the culprit is arrested. He starts moaning and wondering how things went wrong. After he rattles off a couple of possibilities, Takagi sternly says, “When you planned to commit armed robbery.” I was thinking something along those lines before Takagi’s dialogue, and it made me happy to hear him say this out loud. I also liked hearing this stern tone coming out of his mouth, because it’s not a tone of voice you hear from Takagi very often.

In the end, I thought this was an effective two-part mystery. I liked how it took a murder mystery and ultimately used that to help solve an armed robbery case. I thought including that extra layer was a nice touch, and it helped elevate this story from being “just another murder mystery” in Case Closed.

Additional posts about Case Closed:

• Case Closed: Episode 1016 – “The Monorail Sniper Case (Part One)”
• Case Closed: Episode 1018 – “The Antique Tray Can’t Be Hidden (Part One)”

The episode opens with Kogoro and Conan riding on a monorail. As the monorail moves, a bullet comes through a window near Conan and strikes another passenger in the arm. Kogoro tends to the man’s wound, then presses the emergency stop button. He talks with someone at the monorail company, explains what happened, and asks for them to call the police and an ambulance. For once, this isn’t Ran’s responsibility! But while Kogoro is doing this, Conan is already working out in his head where the bullet had to have come from.

Once Kogoro and Conan are able to leave the monorail car, Kogoro calls Detective Takagi to tell him what happened. From here, Conan deduces where the bullet had to have come from. I have to admit that when Kogoro first questions him on how he knows, Conan claims his horoscope said he would make lucky guesses… and Kogoro doesn’t believe it. When Conan then says he thinks he sees the culprit, Kogoro quickly runs off. But Conan takes a moment to turn to the camera with a bit of an exasperated look on his face, sighs, then turns to follow Kogoro. Conan’s little aside was kind of an amusing way to “break the fourth wall.”

Not surprisingly, as they investigate the apartment that Conan believes the shot came from, Conan keeps finding clues and hints that Kogoro misses. Conan uses the usual trick with the voice changing bowtie to call Takagi, but Conan almost gets caught a couple of times during this. When Conan calls, it turns out Takagi had just gotten off the phone with the real Kogoro, and when Conan realizes this, he quickly has to come up with a way to cover for that. And Kogoro steps out of the apartment as Conan is wrapping up his call. If Kogoro had stepped out any earlier, he more than likely would have caught Conan in the act.

And it turns out that Conan was right with the things he asked Takagi to look into. As Kogoro and Conan continue to chase after the culprit, they come across a car with a woman tied up inside. Gas has been poured on the ground leading up to the car, and we see the “shadow person” throw a match at it. Fortunately, Kogoro and Conan manage to get the woman to safety in time… but it was close.

By the end of the episode, with everything that has been pieced together, it’s determined that a murder was committed in the apartment, and that the bullet that hit the man in the monorail wasn’t intended for him… it was a stray bullet after hitting the intended victim in the apartment. The culprit wrapped the victim up in something and dragged them away from the crime scene… and Kogoro, Conan, and Takagi figure out where the culprit could go with something that large and not look out of place. We see their guess is right, and the culprit attacks someone else before Kogoro, Conan, and Takagi make it to the location at the end of the episode.

From the preview, it’s safe to say that this case will be solved by the end of the next episode. With this episode, it was determined what the actual crime was and where the victim was taken to, but we’re no closer to having any ideas who the culprit is or what their motivation is. I expect that the investigation that takes place in the next episode will be focusing on those details.

Additional posts about Case Closed:

• Case Closed: Episode 1015 – “Stakeout”
• Case Closed: Episode 1017 – “The Monorail Sniper Case (Part Two)”

The episode opens with Detective Chiba buying food at a convenience store. Conan and the Detective Boys (minus Ai) happen to see him and decide that what he’s doing is unusual. I’m not quite sure what tipped them off that what he was doing is unusual, though. While they later explain in the episode that they saw him, I don’t think they truly explained what it was that them think his shopping was unusual.

Anyway, they decide to follow Detective Chiba and they see him go into an apartment complex. Conan realizes that the apartment building is a newly built building and that no one should be living there yet. They go to an elevator and Conan determines which floor Detective Chiba might be on by looking at the button with the most scratches on it. When they reach the floor, they look for the doorbell with the most scratches on it. Sure enough, they find Detective Chiba… as well as Detective Takagi. It turns out the two of them are on a stakeout. The two detectives, of course, want the kids to leave. However, they say they have to wait for the professor to come get them. The two detectives reluctantly agree to let the kids stay until then, and they learn that the two detectives are trying to find a robber who stole from a jewelry store. Thanks to apprehending another thief who had hit all the rooms on a specific floor of an apartment building (who had some of the stolen jewelry on them), it narrowed it down to the actual jewel thief (or thieves) being at that location, which is located across the street from the building that Chiba and Takagi are in.

Conan looks with the two detectives, and he can see that two of the units are vacant. It only leaves three rooms where the potential suspect lives. Two of the occupants act suspiciously, while the third appears to be a regular person who is also a yoga instructor. Ayumi comes up with an idea that she shares with Genta and Mitsuhide (but not with Conan), and they make it sound like they’re leaving. But, of course, knowing these kids like we do, we know they’re up to something. Conan and the two detectives see them each throw a toy that they have up onto the balcony of the three units with the potential suspect. Their plan, then, is to use these toys as an excuse to gain entry into the three units and see what they can determine.

With the first two units that are entered, it’s determined that there’s reasons for the suspicious behavior that can be explained as having nothing to do with the jewelry theft. However, when the third unit is entered, the resident and her partner say something that made me realize right away, even if we hadn’t already eliminated the other two choices, that something was off. Let’s just say that when something accidentally happens that raises the suspicions of the resident and their partner, this member of the Detective Boys suddenly sees their life in danger. As this is Case Closed, we know that the police (as well as Conan with his trusty shoes and soccer ball) are going to come to the rescue.

Ultimately, while this episode focusing on the Detective Boys was probably on the better side for this kind of episode, it’s still not one of the better episodes of the series overall. I thought the setup for getting the kids involved felt a little forced, and I found myself a little annoyed by Ayumi, Mitsuhide, and Genta’s antics. They just haven’t seemed to figure out after all this time that when they pull stunts like this, they always find themselves getting into some kind of trouble. Even the last bit of the story, which we see after the ending credits, points this out.

From the preview, it looks like the next story is going to a multiple part mystery, so hopefully it will help make up for this weaker episode of the series.

Additional posts about Case Closed:

• Case Closed: Episode 1014 – “The Novelist Known as the Demon King”

We just had a single episode murder mystery last week, and now we have a single episode murder mystery again this time. The frustrating thing to me is that Kogoro and Conan become involved in this case the exact same way they did last week. The two of them are walking down the street and they come across Megure and Takagi at the murder scene and insert themselves into the investigation. When Megure sees them, he asks, incredulously, “You again?” I found myself thinking, “I feel you, bro.” Yes, this is a common way for Conan and Kogoro to become involved in a case, but to have this exact same setup two episodes in a row was a little frustrating. It just highlighted just how unoriginal this setup really is in this series.

The murder victim this time is a mystery novelist named Shintaro Tawake. He was shot in the stomach while sleeping in a room with north-facing windows (this bit about the direction the windows is facing is an important fact for the investigation). They find the shotgun that killed him discarded at the scene, and Conan notices a blood splatter on a window with closed curtains… but the curtains are not stained. This makes Conan wonder why the culprit would have closed the curtains after the murder, especially after learning that the property across the way is unoccupied.

We are then introduced to Tawake’s four assistants: Naoya Akaike, Miyuki Degawa, Ryunosuke Bito, and Haruo Chigasaki. It’s quickly revealed that Tawake had taken these four on as “apprentices,” but was really using them as ghostwriters with promises of helping them make their debut later. Which means all four of them had a motive for killing Tawake. Of the four, Akaike has an alibi for the time of the murder, while the other three don’t. With these four suspects being mystery writers themselves, it was interesting to see what theories they could come up with. That at least made these suspects a little more interesting to watch than the usual murder case suspects.

Of course, Conan starts piecing everything together, especially after gaining entrance to the unoccupied property right across from Tawake’s. And the mystery is solved thanks to Conan claiming that Kogoro wanted to demonstrate how the murder happened, and then using the usual watch dart and voice changing bowtie trick to reveal the truth of the murder.

Overall, this wasn’t bad for a single episode murder mystery, but I’m still frustrated by the fact that the writers utilized the exact same method for getting Kogoro and Conan involved in the murder investigation two episodes in a row. I’ve definitely seen worse Case Closed episodes.

The preview of the next episodes shows us that the Detective Boys are going to be involved. Hoo boy. The Detective Boys episodes tend to be among my least favorite in the series, so I’m hoping for the best but I’m also anticipating the worst. Hopefully the episode will come across better than the preview portrays it.

Additional posts about Case Closed:

• Case Closed: Episode 1013 – “The Man Who Loved Too Much”