TITLE: Case Closed! Issue #63
YEAR: July 2017 (US Release Date)
COMPANY: Viz Media
Story and Art by Gosho Aoyama
Translation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
Touch-Up & Lettering: Freeman Wong
Cover & Graphic Design: Andrea Rice
Edited by Shaenon K. garrity
Anita Hailey (Ai Habara in the Japanese version) is the creator of APTX 4869, the pill that shrunk Jimmy Kudo and her to a child. While both she and Jimmy retain their memories despite a new body, the former Black Organization operative is on the run and working with Professor Agasa.
She has developed a new pill that could give her and Jimmy at least four hours of time to have their original body before it shrinks to a child again.
And in this latest volume, Jimmy and Harly Hartwell (Hattori Heiji in the Japanese manga) are trying to solve a murder case involving a street racer. With three people who last saw the victim, were either of them responsible for murdering the man?
In another case, Professor Agasa takes the Junior Detectives out to a revolving sushi restaurant. But after they finished eating and were about to leave, a rude, yet famous food critic dies inside the restaurant. Who is responsible for killing him?
In the third case, Nichiuri TV is having a major contest and George (of the Junior Detective) is telling everyone of how is father is going on television to compete in hopes to win a hanging scroll drawn by Sankyu and worth a lot of money.
In actuality, the contest is a front for a millionaire who owns Kaminski Department Stores and Railroads, who has had his two of his three scrolls stolen and now looking to find the thief responsible and hoping the contest will bring the thief out to the public. But when Kaminski confronts someone about the stolen scrolls, not long after, the millionaire is found dead. Who is responsible for the murder?
Read about the thrilling mystery adventures of Conan Edogawa/Jimmy Kudo in a thrilling 63rd volume of “Case Closed!”.
What is “Case Closed!”?
“Meitantei Conan” or “Detective Conan” (“Case Closed” in the U.S.) has been one of the longest running manga and anime series in Japan.
Written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama and featured in Weekly Shonen Sunday since 1994, a total of 82 volumes have been released in Japan.the anime series which started back in 1996 is well-nearing 870-episodes and 21 movies have been released in Japan.
For those not familiar with “Case Closed”, the TV series focuses on a popular high school detective named Jimmy Kudo (Shinichi Kudo). One day while going to an amusement park with his friend Rachel Moore (Ran Mohri), Jimmy saw two men, one man from the Black Organization suspiciously dealing something in the dark.
Unbeknownst to Jimmy, a man behind him had spotted him and hit him with a bat and forced him to ingest a poison capsule. Jimmy survived but the capsule somehow shrunk him to a child. If these thugs found out that Jimmy is still alive, they may hurt the people around him. So, his good friend Dr. Agasa (who helps Jimmy by building him gadgets which include a stun-gun wrist watch, voice changing bow-tie, solar powered skateboard and powerful shoes) suggested he wear a disguise. When Ran began asking who his name was, Jimmy replied Conan Edogawa.
So, in order to find out who the men are, he wound up living with Ran and her detective father, Richard Moore (Kogoro Mori). Only five people know Conan’s true identity: Dr. Agasa, both of Jimmy’s parents, Harley Hartwell (Hattori Heiji), popular detective from the high school in the west and Vye Graythorn (Shiho Miyano), a former member of the Black Organization who betrays the criminal group after the member Gin kills her older sister.
Together with some friends, Jimmy as Conan continues to take down criminals with his detective skills.
He’s the amazing boy detective….Conan Edogawa, the shrunken version of famous teenage detective, Shinichi Kudo.
Wanting to find a way to get back to his original size thanks to the Black Organization, for now, Shinichi must use his superior detective skills to help investigators as Conan Edogawa.
But trying make sure that no one suspects him of being anyone else.
And for nearly 25-years, the adventures of Conan Edogawa in “Cased Closed!” (Meitantei Conan) have entertained readers and viewers in many cases which showcase him utilizing his fantastic investigative skills but doing all he can to make sure that his team or the investigators help solve the case, not to give away his true identity.
For those wanting to enjoy Gosho Aoyama’s popular manga series “Case Closed!”, the good news is that aside from the first volume (which introduces the primary characters), anyone can pick up the series and begin reading at any volume because each graphic novel features an independent storyline.
For the 63rd volume of “Case Closed!”, Conan who has taken a new pill that allows him to be Jimmy for four hours, is on a murder case with Harley. As the two work together along with detectives to find out who is responsible, Jimmy starts to feel sick and worries that he may revert back to Conan. Knowing he solve this case immediately before people find out his secret.
Another case revolves around a murder at a revolving sushi restaurant (kaitenzushi) but the junior detectives must find out how the person was murdered and who at the restaurant was responsible.
And third case revolving the death of a millionaire who was hosting a competition for an expensive wall scroll on public TV. But one of the contestants is George’s father. Was he involved in the millionaire’s death?
As always, Gosho Aoyama’s work is amazing with his unique character design but it’s the story telling and the thought process that goes into solving each case, is what has made the series a fan favorite for 20-years.
Overall, “Case Closed!” volume 63 is another entertaining mystery volume featuring four cases as Conan Edogawa/Jimmy Kudo and the Junior Detective League and investigators must try to solve. A fun and entertaining detective series worth reading but for those who expect some sort of finality, don’t expect “Case Closed!” to end anytime soon.
If anything, we are fortunate that Jimmy can revert back to his true form for a short while, to help those around them feel at ease when they wonder why Jimmy is hardly around. But the pill is not yet perfected and is experimental. Hartley worries that his body will find a way to fight off the pills effect of changing him to normal but Jimmy worries why the pill is not as effective and the four hour window may have shortened.
If you enjoy detective cases with humor and interesting cases, then “Case Closed!” is a manga series for you!