Detective Conan

**Detective Conan** (名探偵(めいたんてい)コナン ,*Meitantei Konan*[?](/wiki/Help:Japanese "Help:Japanese"), lit. Great Detective Conan) is a Japanese detective [manga](/wiki/Manga "Manga") series written and illustrated by [Gosho Aoyama](/wiki/Gosho_Aoyama "Gosho Aoyama"). It has been serialized in the Japanese manga anthology *[Weekly Shōnen Sunday](/wiki/Magazines#Weekly_Sh.C5.8Dnen_Sunday "Magazines")* since 1994 and had been collected in 103 [Tankōbon](/wiki/Glossary "Glossary") volumes by April 2023.
The manga has been adapted into an anime series by the animation studio [TMS Entertainment (formerly Tokyo Movie)](/wiki/Studios#TMS_Entertainment "Studios"), directed by [Kenji Kodama](/wiki/Kenji_Kodama "Kenji Kodama") (episode 1 to 118), [Yasuichiro Yamamoto](/wiki/Yasuichiro_Yamamoto "Yasuichiro Yamamoto") (episode 119 to 161, 163 to 218, 220 to 332, 667 to 677, 680 to the last episode to date), [Masato Sato](/wiki/Masato_Sato "Masato Sato") (episode 162, 219, 333 to 504), [Koujin Ochi](/wiki/Koujin_Ochi "Koujin Ochi") (episode 505 to 666, 678 to 679), [Nobuharu Kamanaka](/wiki/Nobuharu_Kamanaka "Nobuharu Kamanaka") (episode 975 to the last episode to date), and is broadcast in Japan on [Nippon Television](/wiki/TV_Networks#Nippon_Television_Network_Corporation "TV Networks"), [Yomiuri TV](/wiki/TV_Networks#Yomiuri_Telecasting_Corporation "TV Networks") and [Animax](/wiki/TV_Networks#Animax "TV Networks"). The series debuted on January 8th, 1996 and had broadcasted 1000 episodes by March 6, 2021. The series has seen high levels of popularity in both manga and anime formats in Japan since its reception, and has also been adapted into twenty-seven [Golden Week](/wiki/Glossary "Glossary") [movies](/wiki/Regular_movies "Regular movies"), with the first released on April 17th, 1997 and since then followed with a movie released each year, always in the month of April. Ten of the movies held a top 10 box office position in the year they were screened. In addition, five [Magic Files](/wiki/OVAs#Magic_Files "OVAs") related to the movies and twelve [Original Video Animations](/wiki/OVAs "OVAs") have been released.
Even though Detective Conan is a [Shōnen](/wiki/Glossary#Sh.C5.8Dnen "Glossary"), its audience is composed of a substantial proportion of female viewers and readers. The series also seems to attract all ages.
## Contents
* [1 Story summary](#Story_summary)
+ [1.1 Internal rules](#Internal_rules)
* [2 Media](#Media)
+ [2.1 Manga](#Manga)
- [2.1.1 Spin-offs](#Spin-offs)
+ [2.2 Anime](#Anime)
+ [2.3 Video games](#Video_games)
+ [2.4 Audio CDs](#Audio_CDs)
+ [2.5 Live-action drama](#Live-action_drama)
+ [2.6 Other related media](#Other_related_media)
* [3 Case Closed](#Case_Closed)
* [4 Critical reception](#Critical_reception)
+ [4.1 Japan and other countries](#Japan_and_other_countries)
+ [4.2 United States](#United_States)
* [5 Appearances in other media](#Appearances_in_other_media)
* [6 In other languages](#In_other_languages)
* [7 Gallery](#Gallery)
* [8 See also](#See_also)
* [9 References](#References)
## Story summary[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Story summary")]
Main article: [Characters](/wiki/Characters "Characters")
Conan Edogawa
[Shinichi Kudo](/wiki/Shinichi_Kudo "Shinichi Kudo") is a high school detective who sometimes works with police to solve cases. During an investigation, he is ambushed and incapacitated by a member of a crime syndicate known as the [Black Organization](/wiki/Black_Organization "Black Organization"). In an attempt to murder the young detective, they force-feed him a dangerous experimental drug. However, instead of killing him, it shrinks his body to the size of an elementary school child. Adopting the pseudonym [Conan Edogawa](/wiki/Conan_Edogawa "Conan Edogawa") and keeping his true identity a secret, Kudo lives with his childhood friend [Ran Mouri](/wiki/Ran_Mouri "Ran Mouri") and her father, [Kogoro Mouri](/wiki/Kogoro_Mouri "Kogoro Mouri"), who is a private detective. Throughout the series, he tags along on Kogoro's cases. Nonetheless, after Kudo solves one, he uses [Dr. Agasa](/wiki/Agasa_Hiroshi "Agasa Hiroshi")'s hidden tranquilizer to sedate Kogoro and then uses a voice changer to simulate his voice to reveal the solution. He also enrolls in [Teitan Elementary School](/wiki/Teitan_Elementary_School "Teitan Elementary School"), where he makes friends with a group of classmates who form their own [Detective Boys](/wiki/Detective_Boys "Detective Boys") group. While he continues to dig deeper into the Black Organization, he frequently interacts with other characters, including his neighbor, Dr. Agasa; Ran's friend [Sonoko Suzuki](/wiki/Sonoko_Suzuki "Sonoko Suzuki"); a fellow teenage detective, [Heiji Hattori](/wiki/Heiji_Hattori "Heiji Hattori"); assorted police detectives from different regions; and a phantom thief called [Kaito Kid](/wiki/Kaito_Kid "Kaito Kid").
Kudo later encounters an elementary school transfer student, [Ai Haibara](/wiki/Ai_Haibara "Ai Haibara"), who reveals herself to be a former member of the Black Organization under the code name Sherry and the creator of the experimental drug that shrunk him. She too ingested it to evade the pursuit of the organization. She soon joins the Junior Detectives. During a rare encounter with the Black Organization, Conan helps the FBI plant a CIA agent, [Kir](/wiki/Kir "Kir"), inside the Black Organization as a spy.
### Internal rules[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: Internal rules")]
The world of Detective Conan has a set of [internal rules](/wiki/Recurring_Tropes "Recurring Tropes") that might catch unfamiliar readers of the [manga](/wiki/Manga "Manga") and spectators of the [anime](/wiki/Anime "Anime") off guard, such as the [lack of information sharing](/wiki/Lack_of_Information_Sharing "Lack of Information Sharing") and the regular [illogical and irrational behavior](/wiki/Illogical_and_Irrational_Behavior "Illogical and Irrational Behavior") exhibited by many characters. The universe is mostly consistent within its rules, with [a few exceptions](/wiki/Oversights_in_Detective_Conan "Oversights in Detective Conan"). The passing of time is difficult to judge, due to a literary device known as a floating timeline, which enables the compression of 20+ years worth of events and technological upgrades into less than one year.
## Media[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: Media")]
### Manga[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: Manga")]
Main article: [Manga](/wiki/Manga "Manga")
The first manga volume cover
Written and illustrated by [Gosho Aoyama](/wiki/Gosho_Aoyama "Gosho Aoyama"), Detective Conan started its serialization in *Shogakukan'*s shōnen manga magazine *[Weekly Shōnen Sunday](/wiki/Magazines#Weekly_Sh.C5.8Dnen_Sunday "Magazines")* on January 5, 1994. Detective Conan became one of the longest running manga series, with over 1,000 chapters released in Japan, and the first series with over 1,000 chapters published in *Weekly Shōnen Sunday*. *Shogakukan* has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on June 18, 1994. On October 18, 2021, the series reached one hundred volumes; [One Piece](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece "wikipedia:One Piece") author, Eiichiro Oda, whose series achieved the same feat a month before, sent congratulations to Aoyama. As of April 18, 2025, 107 volumes have been published.
#### Spin-offs[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=5 "Edit section: Spin-offs")]
Gosho Aoyama's assistants have written an anthology series of Detective Conan which are released irregularly.
A spin-off manga series, titled "[Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanzawa](/wiki/The_Culprit_Hanzawa "The Culprit Hanzawa"), by [Mayuko Kanba](/wiki/Mayuko_Kanba "Mayuko Kanba"), began in the July 2017 issue of *Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday S*, released on May 25, 2017.
Another spin-off manga series, illustrated by [Takahiro Arai](/wiki/Takahiro_Arai "Takahiro Arai") with supervision by Aoyama, titled [Detective Conan: Zero's Tea Time](/wiki/Zero%27s_Tea_Time "Zero's Tea Time") started in issue #24 of *Weekly Shōnen Sunday* on May 9, 2018. The story centers on the agent Toru Amuro/Rei Furuya. New chapters of the manga are only published when Detective Conan is on hiatus.
Another spin-off manga series by Arai, titled [Detective Conan: Police Academy Arc – Wild Police Story](/wiki/Wild_Police_Story "Wild Police Story"), was serialized in *Weekly Shōnen Sunday* from October 2, 2019, to November 18, 2020. Spanning 13 chapters, it again focuses on Amuro/Furuya during his years in the police academy with his colleagues.
### Anime[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=6 "Edit section: Anime")]
Main article: [Anime](/wiki/Anime "Anime")
An anime television series adaptation, produced by *Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation* and *[TMS Entertainment](/wiki/TMS_Entertainment "TMS Entertainment")*, premiered on January 8, 1996. Over 1,150 episodes have aired in Japan, making it one of the longest anime series.
### Video games[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=7 "Edit section: Video games")]
Main article: [Games](/wiki/Games "Games")
Detective Conan's expansion into the video games industry followed behind its foray into animation. On December 27, 1996, [Detective Conan: The Underground Amusement Park Murder Case](/wiki/Detective_Conan:_The_Underground_Amusement_Park_Murder_Case "Detective Conan: The Underground Amusement Park Murder Case") was released for the Game Boy. Since then, 24 games have been released. Currently, the majority of the games have only been released in Japan, though *Nobilis* has localized [Detective Conan: The Mirapolis Investigation](/wiki/Detective_Conan:_The_Mirapolis_Investigation "Detective Conan: The Mirapolis Investigation") for the PAL region as "Case Closed: The Mirapolis Investigation". All dedicated Detective Conan games released for the Game Boy, Sony's consoles, the WonderSwan, and the Nintendo DS have been developed by *Bandai*. *Banpresto* developed the Detective Conan titles on the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance while *Marvelous Entertainment* developed [Detective Conan: The Mirapolis Investigation](/wiki/Detective_Conan:_The_Mirapolis_Investigation "Detective Conan: The Mirapolis Investigation").
### Audio CDs[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=8 "Edit section: Audio CDs")]
Main article: [Music](/wiki/Music "Music")
"The Best of Detective Conan" CD cover
Katsuo Ono composed and arranged the music in the Detective Conan animation; his works have been released on several CDs. Two image albums, comprising several songs sung by Japanese voice actors of the characters in the animation, were also released. Several theme music were performed by pop musicians such as *[B'z](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%27z "wikipedia:B'z")*, *[Zard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zard "wikipedia:Zard")*, and *[Garnet Crow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garnet_Crow "wikipedia:Garnet Crow")*. The first four theme music were released by Universal Music Group and all releases thereafter were by Being Inc.
*The Best of Detective Conan* and *The Best of Detective Conan 2* albums collectively sold over 2.2 million copies, while singles from *The Best of Detective Conan 3* collectively sold over 1.6 million copies. On July 25, 2017, the singer [Mai Kuraki](/wiki/Mai_Kuraki "Mai Kuraki") was awarded a Guinness World Record for singing the most theme songs in a single anime series, having sung 21 songs for Detective Conan, starting with her hit song "Secret of My Heart" (2000).
### Live-action drama[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=9 "Edit section: Live-action drama")]
Main article: [Drama](/wiki/Drama "Drama")
Four live action drama TV specials and a TV series were created by *Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation* and *[TMS Entertainment](/wiki/TMS_Entertainment "TMS Entertainment")* based on the series. The first two specials aired in 2006 and 2007 featuring [Shun Oguri](/wiki/Shun_Oguri "Shun Oguri") portraying the teenage [Shinichi Kudo](/wiki/Shinichi_Kudo "Shinichi Kudo") and [Tomoka Kurokawa](/wiki/Tomoka_Kurokawa "Tomoka Kurokawa") as [Ran Mouri](/wiki/Ran_Mouri "Ran Mouri"). The third and fourth TV specials aired in 2011 and 2012 featuring [Junpei Mizobata](/wiki/Junpei_Mizobata "Junpei Mizobata") as Shinichi and [Shioli Kutsuna](/wiki/index.php?title=Shioli_Kutsuna&action=edit&redlink=1 "Shioli Kutsuna (page does not exist)") as Ran. The cast used for those TV specials were used for the television series which aired between July 7 and September 29, 2011.
### Other related media[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=10 "Edit section: Other related media")]
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Weekly Shōnen Sunday and Weekly Shōnen Magazine, the two companies collaborated to publish twelve biweekly magazines consisting of chapters from Weekly Shōnen Sunday's Case Closed and Weekly Shōnen Magazine's Kindaichi Case Files. The magazine ran between April 10, 2008, and September 25, 2008.
Shogakukan have also produced many books spun off from the series. Fifty volumes of a film comic series were published in Japan between June 1996 and August 2000, covering the first 143 episodes of the anime, though some episodes were skipped. Five additional film comics entitled 5 Juuyou Shorui (5重要書類, lit. 5 Important Documents) were published between July 2001 and January 2002 and covered selected episodes between 162 and 219. Thirteen official guide books were published between June 1997 and April 2009. Shogakukan has also published novels, digest books, educational books, and puzzle books. In January 7th 2024, it would be announced that *Takara Tomy* will publish the "Detective Conan Trading Card Game", with the first card being included in Shonen Sunday issue 9 in January 24th[](#cite_note-1).
In North America, *Score Entertainment* published the "Case Closed Trading Card Game" on June 29, 2005. The game entails the use of three customized decks of cards, which players buy and collect. Representing characters, events, and objects in Detective Conan, these cards are used by players to fulfill certain conditions to solve a case and win the game. Certain cards are used to foil the progress of the player's opponents. An English unofficial guidebook to the series titled The "Case Closed Casebook: An Essential Guide" was published by *DH Publishing Inc.* on March 25, 2008. A collaborative themed event by *Universal Studios Japan* with the series, for the *Universal Cool Japan 2018* attractions, ran from January 19 to June 24, 2018. Characters from the series were featured in a crossover event for the survival horror video game Identity V for the game's China server in 2020, and released globally in 2021.
## Case Closed[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=11 "Edit section: Case Closed")]
Main article: [Case Closed](/wiki/Case_Closed "Case Closed")
## Critical reception[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=12 "Edit section: Critical reception")]
### Japan and other countries[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=13 "Edit section: Japan and other countries")]
The series has been well received in Japan, with the anime adaptation ranking in the top twenty in [Animage](/wiki/Magazines#Animage "Magazines")'s polls between 1996 until 2000, where it dropped below the top twenty. In the Japanese TV anime ranking, Detective Conan often ranked the top six. It has even been used as a mascot to promote citizens to follow the law. The manga is a huge success and it is continued to be published. It won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category in 2000. Some of its volumes appear on the lists of best-selling manga.
The series is successful in Asia and Europe, where some countries translated most of the episodes and volumes. Due to the high popularity, the series has since been re-broadcasting in many countries after the original premieres.
### United States[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=14 "Edit section: United States")]
Although popular in many other countries, Case Closed was not as successful in the US. Many of its factors are most likely poor advertising, character name changes and script changes around Japanese characters and their culture. Despite their intention to make the series more accessible to general audience, the changes to more Westernized character names was very criticized. Due to this, [Funimation Entertainment](/wiki/FUNimation "FUNimation")'s dubbed version of "Case Closed" was cancelled at only 123 episodes and 6 movies. Despite the fan requests to continue dubbing the anime, it didn't do well enough for FUNimation Entertainment to continue the dub until they lost the license rights of "Case Closed" in 2018.
Bang Zoom! Entertainment and Studio Nano dubs was better received, as the original Japanese names would be intact and in higher-quality. However, Macias Group dub was criticized for its low-quality dubbing, audio problems and only covering episodes 960-1010 rather than starting from the beginning or continuing where FUNimation left off.
Despite its failed ways to localize in the US, the series still had a cult-following over the years and it has grown to have a considerable fandom since. The manga would still released by VIZ Media, despite its low sales[citation needed].
## Appearances in other media[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=15 "Edit section: Appearances in other media")]
Besides his anime and manga appearances, Conan is the protagonist for all the movies and the video games based on the Case Closed series. Several anime and games have parodied, lampooned or otherwise mentioned him or the series. Some of them include: [Yakitate!! Japan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakitate!!_Japan "wikipedia:Yakitate!! Japan"),[](#cite_note-2) [Black Cat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_(manga) "wikipedia:Black Cat (manga)"),[](#cite_note-3) [Inuyasha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuyasha "wikipedia:Inuyasha"),[](#cite_note-4) [Hayate the Combat Butler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayate_the_Combat_Butler "wikipedia:Hayate the Combat Butler"),[](#cite_note-5) [Proposal Daisakusen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposal_Daisakusen "wikipedia:Proposal Daisakusen"),[](#cite_note-6) [Sonic X](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_X "wikipedia:Sonic X"),[](#cite_note-7) [Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenichi:_The_Mightiest_Disciple "wikipedia:Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple")[](#cite_note-8), [Angelic Layer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelic_Layer "wikipedia:Angelic Layer")[](#cite_note-9), and [Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Justice:_Ace_Attorney "wikipedia:Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney")[](#cite_note-10) In case of Inuyasha, Detective Conan features Conan reading Inuyasha manga first in [episode 200](/wiki/Kogoro_Mouri,_Suspect "Kogoro Mouri, Suspect") (aired July 24, 2000). Later, [Shinichi](/wiki/Shinichi "Shinichi") and [Ran](/wiki/Ran "Ran") made their [cameo appearance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cameo_appearance "wikipedia:cameo appearance") in Inuyasha episode 128 (aired October 13, 2003).
Conan has also been used as a character to promote people to follow the law in Japan, due to the popularity of the series.
Detective Conan cameo in *[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenichi:_The_Mightiest_Disciple "wikipedia:Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple")*
Detective Conan in *[Inuyasha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuyasha "wikipedia:Inuyasha")* episode 128
## In other languages[[edit](/wiki/index.php?title=Detective_Conan&action=edit&section=16 "Edit section: In other languages")]
Every title without a note beside it in the table below translates to "Detective Conan".
| Language | Name | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Japanese | 名探偵コナン Meitantei Konan | Lit. "Famous Detective Conan" |
| Arabic | المحقّق كونان Al-Muḥaqqiq Konan |  |
| Bahasa Indonesia | Detektif Conan |  |
| Bahasa Melayu | Detektif Conan |  |
| Catalan | El Detectiu Conan | Lit. "The Detective Conan" |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 名侦探柯南 Míngzhēntàn Kēnán | Lit. "Famous Detective Conan" |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 名偵探柯南 Míngzhēntàn Kēnán | Lit. "Famous Detective Conan" |
| Czech | Detektiv Conan |  |
| Danish | Mesterdetektiven Conan | Lit. "The Master-Detective Conan" |
| English (US) | Case Closed Detective Conan | Due to trademark issues, packaging and the door closing   transition still use "Detective Conan" as the title. The original name would return being used for anime promotion in 2025. |
| English (Singapore) | Detective Conan | The Southeast Asian manga released by Shogakukan   Asia uses the original title "Detective Conan". |
| Filipino | Detective Conan |  |
| Finnish | Salapoliisi Conan |  |
| French | Détective Conan |  |
| Galician | O detective Conan | Lit. "The Detective Conan" |
| German | Detektiv Conan |  |
| Hindi | जासूस कॉनन Jasoos Conan |  |
| Hungarian | Conan, a detektív | Lit. "Conan the detective" |
| Italian | Detective Conan |  |
| Korean | 명탐정 코난 Myeongtamjeong Conan | Lit. "Renowned Detective Conan" |
| Norwegian | Mesterdetektiven Conan | Lit. "The Master-Detective Conan" |
| Persian | کاراگاهان کوچک |  |
| Polish | Detektyw Conan |  |
| Russian | Детектив Конан Detektiv Konan |  |
| Spanish   (Spain and Latin America) | Detective Conan |  |
| Portuguese   (Portugal and Brazil) | Detetive Conan |  |
| Swedish | Mästerdetektiven Conan | Lit. "The Master-Detective Conan" |
| Thai | ยอดนักสืบจิ๋วโคนัน | Lit. "Great Little Detective Conan" |
| Turkish | Dedektif Conan |  |
| Vietnamese | Thám tử lừng danh Conan | Lit. "Renowned Detective Conan" |