Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare

The Japanese police headquarters is raided one night. The attacker steals a list of agents belonging to the intelligence services of several countries. Escaping, she has a crash. Conan reaches the scene and finds a woman who survived it; she has lost her memory, does not know who she is, and has a gun. They take her to Dr Agasa's house. Who she is comes out slowly and the matter connects to the organisation Conan has been pursuing. Meanwhile others looking for the list are in the city too. Kobun Shizuno directs. Minami Takayama and Kappei Yamaguchi are among the voices. The source is Gosho Aoyama's comic series. It is the twentieth feature in the series and became the highest grossing Conan film in Japan to that date. The organisation is at the centre; a thread long kept in the background of the series comes forward here, and that was noted as a choice. The past of one supporting character opens in this film, and for followers of the series that is the real matter. The action is on a much larger scale than the main comic and the final section takes place at a funfair. The puzzle it builds is limited; the film rests on pursuit rather than mystery. Its limit is independence; without knowing the thread of the organisation the characters and the tension mean little. Who it is for: followers of the Conan series and viewers who like the action heavy entries. Who it is not for: it is not an entry point, the mystery is weak, and the finale overblown.