Case Closed Movie 23: The Fist of Blue Sapphire

I didn't hate this, but it's a real snoozer for almost the entire time. The mystery isn't interesting. The characters' relationships aren't particularly thrilling. Half of it is in awful Engrish, which was A Choice. The climax, while very action-y and well-realized, wasn't *that* good, so I can't even recommend waiting for it. Just kinda baffling to have a Kaito Kid movie with so little magic, and so little style... And Haibara is barely in it, so what's the point? Shinichi and Ran will just never interest me as much. Give me a movie about Haibara that's actually ABOUT her. Let her be the main character. Please.

After first hearing about this movie, I had a pretty good feeling about what I was getting into: it will be really weird, but a little fun. For one, I had no idea how a movie set outside japan will be done, let alone it being focused on a character I almost forgot about. However, with it being another Kaito Kid movie, I felt assured that we would at least get some fun moments thrilling heists and goofy not-Shinichi moments. And sure enough, that's exactly what I got (warning: long review full of spoilers). To start with, this movie looks really good! Whether it’s because ofhow much effort they put into the art style and animation or I’ve just gotten used to the old style while re-watching the series, this is definitely one of the best looking movies in the series. The luxurious setting of Marina Sands Bay really makes it possible for some beautiful eye candy. The animation during intense scenes is insane and over the top (as is the norm with these movies). Kaito Kid returns and he needs Conan’s help! Having been rivals for nearly 23 years, it’s always fun to see them working together. The pacing of this movie is also really good. Everything moves at a snappy pace when it needs to, only slowing down either to reflect on the case or for some much needed down time. My favorite scenes are definitely Kaito’s heists as these are the scenes where the most action is going on. Lots of high praise, for sure. But unfortunately, this movie does have some faults I can’t ignore. While the mystery is interesting, there were some bits that were a bit hard to follow. It also doesn’t help that the villains aren’t particularly impressive. The central antagonist is just so blatantly bad. For the real culprit, I had a hard time understanding how he was able to manipulate everything to his favor. The only other villain I can enjoy is the one who just wants to fight Makoto and he barely gets any characterization. The other weak point for me was Makoto and Sonoko’s subplot. It’s got its moments, like Sonoko going out her way to help Makoto get back into the tournament, when she gets attacked as well as the secret of Makoto’s bandage. My only problem was this whole drama that develops between them. I don’t really think it was necessary. Also, I’m not a big fan of how the main antagonist... uh... “hypnotizes” him to not fight and stuff until the end. That was just weird. So yeah, weird stuff. But overall, the pros out way the cons (just slightly). If you love Kaito Kid and really cool action, then you’ll totally dig this film. Who knows? Maybe you might like Makoto and the villains more than I did. For me, I would probably put this movie between Movie 9 (Strategy Above the Depths) and Movie 1 (The Time-Bombed Skyscraper). A very fun movie, despite its flaws. Check it out if you’re interested.

Hey there folks! What we have here is another really well done Detective Conan movie, oriented more towards action and suspense, plus some super powers at the end there for Makoto going SSJ, but not something we didn't see before in this series, let's call it lore friendly. The only thing that was out for the entire movie was the mystery, it was clear as day who was the culprit from the first minutes of the show, but it didn't matter so much, the all idea was to show how they will catch him. One thing I really liked about this movie is how Conan and Kidinteracted, even if they are rivals, the synergy was perfect, they complemented each other when it needed. Another point I would like to address is when Conan explained to Kid how the murders occurred, like using some kind of hologram, the whole scene was something I would like to see in the TV Series as well. PS: The only mystery in the end is how no one noticed that the Arthur is Conan, he is exactly the same just that he is a little browner.