Manga Review: Case Closed, Volume 65, by Gosho Aoyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Sunday (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2018

Volumes: 95+

Spoilers?: Very light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 64. 66.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Can Detective Conan crack the case…while trapped in a kid’s body?

Jimmy Kudo, the son of a world-renowned mystery writer, is a high school detective who has cracked the most baffling of cases. One day while on a date with his childhood friend Rachel Moore, Jimmy observes a pair of men in black involved in some shady business. The men capture Jimmy and give him a poisonous substance to rub out their witness. But instead of killing him, it turns him into a little kid! Jimmy takes on the pseudonym Conan Edogawa and continues to solve all the difficult cases that come his way. All the while, he's looking for the men in black and the mysterious organization they're with in order to find a cure for his miniature malady.

On the trail of a gang of bank robbers, Agent Starling teams up with the Junior Detective League. But she finds more than she expected when she uncovers evidence that Agent Akai, believed to have been assassinated by the Men in Black, may be alive! Then Mr. Moore is summoned to a mansion to investigate a strange murder, only to find that the killer isn’t finished. Why were five gifted people invited to live in the mansion, and what is the secret of the Red Wall?

Review:

 The Kaito Kid plot ends rather quickly, and then Conan and the kids end up stuck in a bank hostage situation. Of course, Conan figures it out much too easily, and they don't realize who they're dealing with, as usual.

After that, Doc and Anita get stuck with two potential-murderers, but who end up being police officers that Conan knows. This causes some fun confusion, and of course leads into the next plot point.

I don't mind this series. It's fun to catch up on, and generally I enjoy reading the mysteries Conan finds himself in. But sometimes I wish it had a more serious plot line going, and that he could be a teenager again.

Still, for episodic mysteries, this is a very good series to look for.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Case Closed, Volume 64, by Gosho Aoyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Sunday (VIZ Media)

Release Date: October 2017

Volumes: 92+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 63. 65.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Can Detective Conan crack the case…while trapped in a kid’s body?

Jimmy Kudo, the son of a world-renowned mystery writer, is a high school detective who has cracked the most baffling of cases. One day while on a date with his childhood friend Rachel Moore, Jimmy observes a pair of men in black involved in some shady business. The men capture Jimmy and give him a poisonous substance to rub out their witness. But instead of killing him, it turns him into a little kid! Jimmy takes on the pseudonym Conan Edogawa and continues to solve all the difficult cases that come his way. All the while, he's looking for the men in black and the mysterious organization they're with in order to find a cure for his miniature malady.

A blind woman hires Richard Moore to find the scarred man who once saved her life. But the unknown hero isn’t the only mysterious figure lurking around—there’s a serial killer on the prowl! Then the dashing jewel thief known as the Kaito Kid vows to crack a safe built by a legendary master of traps. But when Conan sees the Kid’s message, he suspects he may be dealing with an impostor…

Review:

In this volume, we get about four different cases.

One about a diver, which of course Conan leads to the killer. There's a brief moment where he threatens one of Conan's kid friends, but no one seems to take that seriously. Then one where a blind lady who wins the lottery tries to find a boy from her childhood who saved her—this is two mysteries in one, as one guy is her childhood hero, but another is a murderer the police are after. Though this leads to the next mystery, as one of the policemen is trying to find a killer who scarred him before the time is up on the case.

The last chapter is the start of a Kaito Kid copycat case, as a fake note from him was left. This should be fun, because I'm quite a fan of him. I'm glad I have the next one and get to see him again.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Case Closed, Volume 63, by Gosho Aoyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Sunday (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 11, 2017

Volumes: 92+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 61. 64.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Can Detective Conan crack the case while trapped in a kid s body?
Jimmy Kudo, the son of a world-renowned mystery writer, is a high school detective who has cracked the most baffling of cases. One day while on a date with his childhood friend Rachel Moore, Jimmy observes a pair of men in black involved in some shady business. The men capture Jimmy and give him a poisonous substance to rub out their witness. But instead of killing him, it turns him into a little kid! Jimmy takes on the pseudonym Conan Edogawa and continues to solve all the difficult cases that come his way. All the while, he's looking for the men in black and the mysterious organization they're with in order to find a cure for his miniature malady.
CONAN DREAMS OF SUSHI
At a revolving sushi restaurant, a food critic is poisoned. Who slipped cyanide into the buffet? Something s fishy about this crime, but Conan is on hand to serve up justice!
Then a man dies at a strange contest for men who share the same last name...and the chief suspect is George s dad! And Conan joins the hunt for a drag racer called the Silver Witch who literally drives people to their deaths..."

Review:

The beginning of this volume really makes me wish that I had read the previous one. Because Conan is actually Jimmy, for a very short time. Ugh, I seriously love him and Rachel, and it depresses me how short their time together is.

The brief moment we had here, though, was very teasingly sweet.

After that, we go back to normal Conan detective-ing. We get a sushi shop murder, and then car racing hijinx that have resulted in some accident. The last one ended up being a misguided attempt at teaching people a lesson. There's also a tv competition that ends in a surprising murder, with a tricky clue for Conan to decode. Only, one of Conan's friends' father is in the competition.

These mysteries are always fun, but they do get a bit boring after a while. Even saying that, I enjoy following Conan, and I want more of the character relationships.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Case Closed, Volume 61, by Gosho Aoyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Sunday (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2017

Volumes: 92+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 58. 62.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A precocious high school super sleuth trapped in a kid’s body solves baffling crimes and mysteries while working on his toughest and most personal case—finding who put him in his miniature state.

Jimmy Kudo, the son of a world-renowned mystery writer, is a high school detective who has cracked the most baffling of cases. One day while on a date with his childhood friend Rachel Moore, Jimmy observes a pair of men in black involved in some shady business. The men capture Jimmy and give him a poisonous substance to rub out their witness. But instead of killing him, it turns him into a little kid! Jimmy takes on the pseudonym Conan Edogawa and continues to solve all the difficult cases that come his way. All the while, he's looking for the men in black and the mysterious organization they're with in order to find a cure for his miniature malady.

Serena’s eccentric uncle has a new plan to catch the elusive Kaito Kid, baiting the master thief with a pair of priceless high-heeled shoes. The Kid is one step ahead, but with Conan on his heels he'll have to toe the line!

Meanwhile, danger lurks in Conan’s own backyard. While the diminutive detective tries to crack a code found on a series of paper airplanes, he’s matched deduction for deduction by the mysterious man renting Jimmy Kudo’s long-vacated house. Is Subaru Okiya the mild-mannered engineering student he claims to be, or is he hiding a dark secret?

Review:

Every time I get a new volume of this series, I'm reminded why I like it so much. And it really just makes me want to catch up on the anime or manga, which I'm so behind on both of.

At the start of the volume, we're in a case about the Moonlight Magician, who I believe is a thief that Conan has run into several times before. He's just as smart as Conan, and while Conan seems to figure out his tricks, he still hasn't quite won their competition. I like the Moonlight Magician quite a lot, though. He challenges Conan more than most people.

Next there's a case about this snobby guy who dies when his car explodes. This goes on for a couple of chapters, and it's obvious from early on who it is. There's this other kid here, though, Anita, who I don't remember but is I guess staying with Doctor Asegawa, and she seems smart for her age but she dislikes Conan.

Before the cliffhanger, there's a short mystery about these paper airplanes with Morse code on them. Conan, as Jimmy, goes against this guy staying in Jimmy's house. Mostly, I liked seeing how Conan worked to make sure that Rachel was safe, and how worked up he got. They're so cute.

While I do quite love this series, no matter how cheesy it is, I do wish that Conan would turn back into Jimmy. I understand that that's the main tension and it's so played up that they would want to end the series with it. But I would like to see mysteries with Jimmy as the main character, and see his relationship with Rachel. I'm a fan of them.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Case Closed, Volume 58, by Gosho Aoyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Sunday (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2016

Volumes: 88+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 57. 59.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Jimmy Kudo, the son of a world-renowned mystery writer, is a high school detective who has cracked the most baffling of cases. One day while on a date with his childhood friend Rachel Moore, Jimmy observes a pair of men in black involved in some shady business. The men capture Jimmy and give him a poisonous substance to rub out their witness. But instead of killing him, it turns him into a little kid! Jimmy takes on the pseudonym Conan Edogawa and continues to solve all the difficult cases that come his way. All the while, he's looking for the men in black and the mysterious organization they're with in order to find a cure for his miniature malady.

Kir, a captured agent of the Men in Black, lies comatose in a hospital, her location a matter of international security. When the Men in Black discover her whereabouts, Conan needs help from the professionals. Time for the pint-size detective to team up with the FBI!

Conan, Agent Starling and the mysterious Agent Arakai hatch a plan to transport Kir to a safe location. But can they stay one step ahead as the Men in Black descend on Tokyo and the Metropolitan Police join the fray? The biggest, most explosive, most game-changing case in Conan's career is underway!

Review:

It has been a long time since I’ve read any of this series, and I’m way behind in the anime as well. But I’ve always been a fan of Conan, so I was excited to get this volume.

We’re in the middle of a long-standing case, it seems, as we start this volume. Conan is helping the FBI, and a CIA agent, and they’re trying to uncover a syndicate group. This comes to a temporary conclusion, where Conan stumbles upon a murder case, but it seems like Conan is waiting for another opportunity to out the syndicate group, though the cliffhanger is quite bad for a friend of Conan’s. (Also, it’s possible the leaders of the syndicate are the ones who turned Jimmy into Conan? Unless I’m wrong?)

I should definitely be following this series more. I’ve always had a soft spot for Conan, though I think I’ll have to continue the anime before the manga. I think the anime is easier to watch, whereas the manga has a lot more wording. Not that that’s a bad thing, though.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!