Search - Case Closed - The Secret Life of Jimmy Kudo (Season 1 Vol. 1) on DVD

Buy it!

C. Briggs | Brooklyn, NY United States | 09/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Never before have I watched anything animated and had to think so much, every episode. This anime is great. I first discovered it on Adult Swim, like nearly everyone else here. I saw a commercial for it and kind of shrugged my shoulders, but my brother stayed up late one night and watched, and once he told me about it, I got sucked in, too. I am now completely hooked on it. Detective Conan, to me, is full of originality, and its plot is brilliant. I absolutely love the characters--I don't think any main characters annoy me at all (although George's Kuwabara voice amuses me). And like I said, if you want something that'll make you think, but is still very entertaining, you owe it to yourself to check this out. I've always hated mysteries, but Case Closed/Detective Conan makes them FUN.

And yes, you will find yourself at least slightly annoyed at weekends. ^^;

With the DVD releases, it seems that Cartoon Network is showing the first 51 episodes, and that's ALL they're showing (there's a press release about it on AnimeNation's website), and the DVD after this one picks up at episode 53. Not sure FUNimation will be releasing DVDs for episodes 5-52, but let's hope so!"

Case Closed is my new favorite Anime!!!

Bryn Tanner | Minneapolis, MN USA | 06/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As of this review the first set of Case Closed DVDs have not been released, however, the episodes on this disc have already aired on Cartoon Network, so I'll be able to review it knowing what the content of these DVDs are.In the first episode, "The Big Shrink", Jimmy Kudo is a grade-A teenage detective who solves murder cases with ease. He goes to a park with his crush, Rachel Moore. On one ride a murder takes place with a girl beheading her ex-boyfriend which Jimmy solves. On their way out, Jimmy goes into a dark alley after seeing a man dressed in black who was on the ride running into the alley. Jimmy overhears an exchange, but gets knocked out and is forcefed some poison from the men in black (there's two of them now - one just appeared out of nowhere). When the episode ends he wakes up to see a couple of cops at his aid. One says to him, "Don't worry little boy. You're safe." (CONAN'S HINT: skyscraper)In Episode 2, The Kidnapped Debutante, Jimmy finds that he's shrunk! He comes to Dr. Agasa, a family friend, and Agasa tells him that he must keep his identity a secret to everyone, including Rachel (his parents live outside the country). Rachel comes to Agasa's place to ask him where Jimmy is, and the shrunken Jimmy puts on a pair of his dad's glasses to disguise himself and makes up a new name - Conan Edogawa! Rachel invites "Conan" to stay with her and her dad. They go home and Rachel's dad (Detective Richard Moore) has just received a case. A girl has been kidnapped, and Conan finds out who the kidnapper is, but Richard takes all the credit. (CONAN'S HINT: iceblock)In Episode 3, "Beware of Idols" Conan, Rachel, and Richard investigate a case involving a stalker of the popstar Yokou Okina. They go to her apartment to discover a dead man is lying on the floor with a knife in his back. Conan knows who did it, and wants to tell everyone, but nobody listens to him. He uses a voice-changing bowtie invented by Dr. Agasa, and knocks out Richard to tell the investigators, police, etc. who the killer was (this tactic will be used in many future episodes). (CONAN'S HINT: Neon signs)In Episode 4, "Fish Marks the Spot", Conan goes to a museum with some kids from his new school - Amy, George, and Mitch. They find something that looks like a treasure map, and go to cause havoc in a clothing store, until they get kicked out. Conan tries to figure out what the map means, but he can't until night comes... the Junior Detective League (the collective name of Conan, George, Mitch, and Amy) decide to follow signs that lead to the "treasure", but Conan says that they need to follow neon signs instead, because at the top of the map there's a crescent moon. The JDL find the gold, and it's revealed by some Italian gang members that it was stolen gold. The JDL turn the gang members in after Conan comes up with a clever way to escape. (CONAN'S HINT: Cellphone)In the last (5th) episode, Conan, Rachel, Richard, and the JDL get onto a train leaving for a wedding Richard must attend. Conan finds an unexpected duo - the men in black - on the train, and investigates what they're up to. He finds out that the train is going to blow up from a suitcase with a bomb planted in it, and the owner of said suitcase is going to blow it up without even knowing it! Can Conan save the train and everyone's lives? (CONAN'S HINT: Chocolate bar)This series is absolutely stellar, and reccomended for all Animé fans.(BTW, if you're wondering about the (CONAN'S HINT: ) things, those are little 2-second "hints" as to what the solution to the next episode is going to be. For example, in "Beware of Idols", the hint is "neon sign". In the next episode, "Fish Marks the Spot" Conan follows the neon signs throughout the city to find the gold)"

...I am getting this when it comes out...

C. Briggs | 08/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When i first saw Detective Conan on Adult Swim at 1:00 AM i really didnt care for it. Then,when i got a little deeper into it it became my favorite show ever... (I gradually began to hate weekends when Case Closed wasnt airing...) This show is my favorite anime series since the makers make the slightest clue -everything from one tune from a musicbox that had a different song than the others that were in the hotel (the victim was in the room with the different box) to a poisoned jacket that was placed on the targets back (he was a singer and a certain song he would throw the jacket off) If you read anything in parenthisis you'll know how vital a clue is.My point:Buy Case Closed if you like mystery shows this is definitely one to check out.This will also be appealing to Anime fans (Me) Packed full of mystery and humor this will be one of your favorite shows of all time.This has easily surpassed 5 stars!"

Case closed, this show is great!

Christopher Bubb | Saline, MI United States | 07/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, I know the DVDs aren't out yet... but I've gotten hooked on this show after watching it on the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block. "Case Closed" is Funimation's English dub of "Meitantei Conan," or "Detective Conan," the anime adaptation of the popular manga by Gosho Aoyama. (So if you've been looking for info on a show called "Case Closed" and can't find much, try looking for "Detective Conan" instead and I guarantee you'll find much more.) Produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS), also known for LUPIN III and HAMTARO (which, in fact, shares an animation director with this series), the anime has been going strong on Japanese TV since its debut in 1996, and even now is still the most popular anime on Japanese TV, still scoring double-digit ratings (it's even higher-rated than INUYASHA in Japan right now). This is actually the second attempt to get the show onto TV screens in the U.S. - Fox Family was originally supposed to air the show in 2000 under the literal English title, "Detective Conan," but apparently balked at the more violent scenes and never picked up the series. The previous reviewer already outlined the premise to the series, so I won't go into that.
I'm a huge fan of not only anime, but also true-crime television shows such as "American Justice" and "Cold Case Files" on A&E and much of what's seen on Court TV, and I'm happy I've finally found a show that marries those two loves - there really hasn't been a good one since "Inspector Gadget," and that was way back in the early '80s. The animation style is simple and cartoony, which does make it seem somewhat out of place alongside other Adult Swim shows like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun. But don't let that fool you - most of the cases Conan solves are murders, and if you're easily disturbed by scenes of corpses, even animated ones, you might want to stay away, or at least avert your eyes when they show the corpses. Also, Richard Moore is one of the biggest sleazeballs in all of anime - he smokes and drinks heavily, and is also a womanizer and totally full of himself. (Rachel is so much more mature than he is, she may as well be his mother!) Thus, this show might be too intense for young children.
The dub isn't the best I've heard - to tell you the truth, Conan's voice kind of grates on my nerves and makes him sound more like a girl than a boy, and one would expect a sleazeball like Richard Moore to sound more, well, sleazy than he does here. However, Rachel Moore is well-voiced, as are most of the criminals. I'm looking forward to getting the DVD which will hopefully have the original Japanese track, but the dub is passable. Then there's Katsuo Ono's music, which is excellent. I've actually gone out and bought an import "Detective Conan" CD and am looking forward to hearing its contents.
Incidentally, here are the original Japanese names of the main characters from "Case Closed"... Rachel Moore: Ran Mouri; Richard Moore: Kogoro Mouri (he was actually named after another famous detective of Japanese literature); Inspector McGuire: Inspector Megure; Amy: Ayumi Yoshida; Mitch: Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya; George: Genta Kojima; Serena: Sonoko Suzuki. And of course, Jimmy Kudo is Shinichi Kudo in the original. Conan and Dr. Agasa's names were unchanged.
All in all, this is a very unique series and unlike anything else out there. It might not seem like an "Adult Swim"-type show, but it is a refreshing change of pace from the other anime series on the air right now. Check it out and find out why the Japanese have gone ga-ga for this show for eight years!"