Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 69-72 by Gosho Aoyama
We are so far into this series, also referred to as “Detective Conan”, that anyone who’s new should see my reviews of previous volumes as anything here beyond the basic premise can be considered spoilers.
Volume 69 opens with famed detective Kogoro Mouri (Richard Moore) being called to a remote inn to clear the name of…a kappa! Eleven years ago, a boy drowned in the river, and a local legend of a water goblin was one of the rumored explanations. But now, it seems tragedy is about to strike again, and there seems to be an actual kappa lurking about.
Then Dr. Agasa takes the Detective Kids to a hot springs where a classic TV series about a hitman doing one last job is being remade. The noxious producer/writer is found dead in the women’s bath, but no one could have done the deed without leaving telltale water traces…right?
Then it’s White Day, when boys repay girls who gave them chocolate on Valentine’s Day with white things (usually white chocolate, but a more involved couple might go bigger.) Detective Moore and family are invited to a candy company’s party where sweet and sour chocolate are on offer, but so is death! For a change, we already know the killer, but how was it done?
Finally, the Detective Kids seek shelter from a storm in a cabin they heard piano music from…but there’s no one there!
The White Day mystery is a nice change of pace, but there’s no overall plot significance.
Volume 70 opens with the conclusion of the piano case, which has a relatively happy ending.
Next up is a Kaito Kid appearance, as Serena Sebastian (Sonoko Suzuki)’s uncle Jirokichi is hosting an exhibition of items associated with the reformer Sakamoto Ryoma. (That’s him on the cover with Conan.) The phantom thief claims he’s not stealing anything this time, though–he’s returning items stolen twenty years ago by the mysterious Phantom Lady!
Not only does Conan have to figure out Kaito Kid’s method for getting into the heavily guarded museum, but the thief’s hidden motive!
After that is a long case involving pastiches of both The Hound of the Baskervilles and the Hakkenden (see my review of The Legend of Eight Samurai.) A wealthy family is being murdered one by one, and a seemingly spectral dog is involved. Harley Hartwell (Heiji Hattori) joins Conan for this investigation. For a change, Richard Moore is the one who gets to spot the second literary reference, but he jumps to the wrong conclusion based on it.
Both the Kaito Kid appearance and the dog case are excellent, but again no plot movement.
To start Volume 71, the Detective Kids learn that police detective Chiba was once a student at their elementary school. He had a crush on a girl, but her message to him was on a video that he was unable to find. Since the series always takes place in “present day”, videotapes that were once treated as state of the art in earlier cases are now old technology on the way out, despite everything having happened in the same year.
Then we have a long case in which the Moore family gets invited to England for reasons. Conan must travel separately temporarily restored to his Jimmy Kudo (Shinichi Kudou) form as his child form does not have a valid passport. Once in England, our heroes become involved in a serial bomber investigation. The bomber is just as obsessed with Sherlock Holmes as Conan, so the clues are right in his territory.
For reasons best known to Aoyama, all the British characters have the names of Greek and Roman gods, especially tennis star Minerva Glass and her little brother Apollo. Eventually, the threat is tracked down to Wimbledon, but can Conan find the bomber in the crowd?
Volume 72 has the exciting conclusion of the serial bomber case, and an inevitable change in Jimmy and Rachel’s (Ran) relationship!
Back in Japan, the Detective Kids are playing kick the can inside a condemned building when an earthquake hits. They’re okay, but somewhere in the building is a person knocking with the Fire Department code for “needs rescue.” By the end, the kids may need rescue themselves!
There’s a couple of twists, including the bad guys’ actual target, and the intervention of the mysterious Subaru who lives next door to Dr. Agasa.
Afterwards, Richard Moore is invited to his old college to give a lecture on how to be a great detective. Bored, Rachel, Serena and Conan tour a haunted house attraction. But one of the corpses is real!
Next, the Detective Kids meet a boy who constantly lies. His lies have a particular pattern, though, and a game of karuta (a card game involving memorization of famous poems) may hold the clue. Too bad Conan’s stuck in bed with a cold!
The final chapter in the volume starts a mystery about a woman who collects clocks. She’s been getting threatening letters, and her time is running out…
Volume 71 has an involved case, and the conclusion in Volume 72 is an important plot point, so fans of the series’ longer plot arc will definitely want these!
