Detective Conan Movie 13: A Disappointing Snoozefest

Whether the number 13 is lucky or unlucky for the creator of Detective Conan, one thing is certain: the 13th movie (The Raven Chaser) disappointed me even more. The trailer built up massive hype, but the actual movie just made me super sleepy~

When I first got my hands on the 13th movie, I was actually quite excited. But I couldn’t handle the boredom—barely thirty minutes in, the plot was already putting me to sleep. I kept hoping the ending would deliver some high-octane action, but as the movie abruptly wrapped up, my anticipation vanished into thin air. I guess I don’t need to get excited so early for next year’s movie.

Looking at the movie as a whole, although it featured a star-studded cast of recurring characters, there was zero actual plot progression. The movie seemed to drop several hints and setups but never resolved any of them. For instance, during the phone call between Conan and Heiji Hattori, the repeated warnings right before hanging up seemed to foreshadow something big, but Heiji got absolutely no screentime after that.

Moreover, Shinichi and Ran had barely any scenes, and their dialogue felt incredibly hollow. They chose a fantastic Tanabata (Qixi Festival) backdrop, yet completely failed to capitalize on it. What a waste…

It felt just like a bloated, extended TV episode. I honestly have no idea how this broke box office records in Japan—could it be that they manipulate their box office numbers too?

I can only say: rather than struggling in vain on life support, it might be better to go out in a blaze of glory. At this point, I can no longer offer Gosho Aoyama any constructive suggestions or high praise. Hanging on too long is rarely a good thing; the golden era of Conan has long passed, and trying to salvage it is only making it worse.