Meitantei Conan Movie 27: 100-man Dollar no Michishirube

The best Conan movie in many years. Highly recommend. Make sure to watch until after the credits!!!

Saw this movie in UK cinema on 6th October, 2024. Extremely well paced. So much happens. Lots more fighting / dynamic action than the usual DC movie, so it feels easier to watch. Lots of in-jokes as well.

Animation-wise it was stellar. Whoever directed this one brought their A-game and needs to be kept on staff. Subtitles were good but I suspect slightly improved translations might come about when it's available online.

How good was the story? Well, if you combine the pacing, animation, fast pace, inclusion of meaningful plot, ... and breaking of some old tropes, it's a great story. The best movie of the franchise since movie 14. It's the most ambitious in many ways. The characters are very believable. Hilariously bad when they try to speak English.

M27 became the highest-grossing movie in this long franchise and I'm not too surprised. The movie is located in a real-life location, the case references a historical character Hijikata Toshizo, and Kaito Kid, one of the most popular characters of the franchise, is involved. In addition, older DC fans watching this movie should recognize the similarities to M7: a code, a treasure, slower pacing, and Hattori Heiji being the coolest person in the movie.

M27 deviated from the past couple of movies by being more of an investigative movie, and considering how heavily the movie revolves around Japanese culture, M27 is less accessible than the action-packed ... M26. Long-time DC fans may not have an issue with this, but casual fans may find it difficult to follow. However, given the excellent soundtrack by Yugo Kanno, the movie never felt boring even during some of the slowest moments.

Overall, DC fans should give this a shot. Despite the slight difficulty of the content, the story was coherent, and the investigation was logical. It's a decent detective movie with a cool reveal at the end. 7/10

IMPORTANT !!! - If you are watching at Cinema, Please stay until the very end, we know there are always bits and parts after the ending song, but it is specifically important for this year. It is so gutted to see people leaving when the song hits, true Conan movie fans always stay.

Story: 6/10
Surprisingly short Conan intro for this year. Overall, the movie feels like a cat and mouse game, more than ever. Yes, there are still riddles solving crimes like other movies. Yes, there are also catch and mouse games like other movies. Somehow for M27, they are really putting a lot of screen ... time in chasing around each other, more than chasing the BO... One notable missing cast member is "THE CRIMINAL", my man in shadow is missing from this movie, someone send help! Not a fan of solely solving the riddle in a movie, prefer finding out the bad guys in movies and solving riddles for anime episode style.

Art：8/10
It is a standard for movies like this caliber. Absolutely love the final part when the stars light up/glowing, the color and toning is gorgeous. All in all, Nice.

Sound: 10/10
Oh my... The exclusive soundtrack that being used (解けゆく隠し場所の謎/The Mystery of The Hidden Place is Solved) on the finale part when they reveal the motive behind all the ruckus and explaining/resolving the crime puzzle, is a godsend, holy moly. Not only is it extremely euphonious, it fits the scene, drama, and situation perfectly. Definitely an all-timer here.

Character：7/10
Momiji = W. Also get to see some unique faceplat/emotion of Ran like the tears of touching/sweetness right at the end. But yea for most people, one cannot miss when there is Kaito Kid flying around right?

Enjoyment: 3/10
I always dislike it when they bring in local Japanese culture into the movie, I find it hard to understand. At least this time around it is not excessive like movies 07 or 21, absolute minimal and not complex. What I am disappointed about is in all the Conan movies, there are always 2 bad guys, one getting caught halfway toward the end and the real mastermind is at the end. For M27, they seem to be trying a different approach, maybe experimenting or setting up M30 style, who knows?

Overall: 6.8/10
Always strict in scoring when it comes to Detective Conan movies because the standard they set throughout the years is soooo damn high. But for this year, although it is not bad by any means but it is just not it, an average for the franchise quality. Based on the 15 second PV at the end, it seems they are doing things out of their comfort zone, without centering around their big selling character for next year. Personal viewpoint is that they are using this movie and M28, 29 to harvest data and experiment for the big M30.