Case Closed Movie 02: The Fourteenth Target

Story - 7 A good premise with a lot of mystery and tension. Unfortunately there are way too many chunks of slow pacing, coupled with awkward expositions, that made the movie feel like it was dragging for time. Personally I disliked the lack of viewer involvement in solving this case, especially since the action part failed to fill the void. Art - 5 Definitely higher in quality compared to the TV series, but a noticeable drop from the previous movie and at times unfaithful to the style. For example in the chase scenes, Conan starts and stops jarringly with no acceleration or deceleration. Style wise, Inspector Megure isway more expressive to the point it's beyond comical. Sound - 2 Definitely the biggest weakness of this movie. With an already poor pacing, the painfully obvious lack of sound other than dialogue made the film feel incredibly empty and dull. There were many occasions where the typical BGM or SE were missing, like "Conan's theme" during the chase scene, "Ran's theme" during the neutral parts and so on. Character - 8 This is the only reason to watch this movie. A great deal of backstory is revealed on Kogoro Mouri and his wife, which also affects Ran. This was the first real time we see Kogoro Mouri in a different light other than comical, and even come to have some respect for him. We also see Ran's main motive in life, bringing her parents back together. Enjoyment - 6 Has it's moments, definitely some great comedy here and there. The build up and pay-off is decent. Overall - 6 It does still have the Conan charm from the TV series and then some. But it is noticeably lacking in certain areas especially in comparison to the previous movie. Still great to watch for the characters, their history and development.

Slight Spoilers Story: The overall story for the movie was quite interesting and reasonably paced unlike the first which I found to lag for the majority of the time. I think there was real growth in this script from the last. It was't so boring that you could tell who did it from the beginning but complex enough that what you may believe to be the plot is flipped around the deeper you get into the story. Art: The usual art that one knows and is familiar with and makes it easy to slip into the world of Detective Conan as per usual. Character: Gaining some backstory on main characters israther interesting since the first ~100 episodes before this movie don't have that. There are only just a few details given in them whereas here you can relate more with the characters based on the information given. However having seen this movie and the first I would hope Rachel/Ran is not at the center of the climax in the rest of the movies. Enjoyment: This movie is a definite mark up from the first. Where the other one was slow and predictable, this one kept you on your toes. The variety of crime and not solely murder, which is a common thread in the Detective Conan series, is refreshing and very much enjoyed. It is obviously not on the same level as the movie Clue (1985) but still a rather good mystery movie that I suggest one should watch if they are trying to kill some time. This is a movie I will personally watch again.

A plot packed with action and backstory: it tells us about Ran and her parents' relationship, about things she didn't remember and how they affect her in the present (of the film). It explores Kogoro-san's motivations and how serious he can be when solving a crime when his loved ones are in danger (this has also been seen in the anime), the reappearance (the second?) of Shiratori-san with key knowledge for the mystery, the introduction of several characters who are relevant in the second half, and plenty of final explosions. This movie has a distinctive aesthetic, evident in the animation, plot, music, and colors. Italso blends several storylines and subtle references that linger at the end (the letter A, the letters, love, etc.). Very good to watch after watching some tv episodes.