Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser

A series of murders is committed in Tokyo, and the places where the bodies are left form a pattern on the map. The killer leaves a note by each victim, and the notes point to Conan's real name. That is, whoever it is knows he is not a child. As the investigation proceeds it moves beyond the police and Conan comes face to face with the organisation he has been after for years. This time, while trying to keep himself hidden, he also has to protect the people around him. Yasuichiro Yamamoto directs. It is the thirteenth feature in the series. A Detective Conan film has come out every year since 1997, and they regularly sit near the top of the box office in Japan. This one is set apart by being tied to the main story; most Conan films tell a self contained case, while this advances the organisation strand. The tension the narrative builds is about identity; the danger is less the murders than the fact that who Conan is has been found out. The action sequences that close its sections are larger than the usual measure of the series, and the finale is built around Tokyo Tower. It is a hard entry point for a new viewer; the narrative assumes what the series has already established. Who it is for: people following the series and viewers who like Japanese detective animation. Who it is not for: without the character's history the context is missing, and the identity tension repeats.