Volume 28

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Volume 28

Volume 28.jpg

Information
Release date: July 18, 2000
Chapters: 274-284
ISBN: ISBN 4-09-125498-5
Publisher: Shogakukan
English release date: March 17, 2009
English ISBN: ISBN 1-4215-2196-2
English Publisher: Viz Media
Featured Detective & Keyhole
Detective 28.jpg
Kyosuke Kamizu
Keyhole 28.jpg
Shizuka Ikenami
Aoyama's death & Conan side images
Aoyama 28.jpg
ConanSide 28.jpg
Chronology
Prev volume: « Volume 27
Next volume: Volume 29 »
List of chaptersList of cases

Volume 28 was released on July 18, 2000 in Japan.

Cast

Gadgets

Chapters

Bear Hunters Case

File 274 - The Shrunken Target

Haibara and Mitsuhiko have left onion chips on the forest floor in order for Conan’s group to be able to follow them. This ends up working, but after following the onion chips for some time but still not being able to catch up with the missing ones, Conan senses that something is wrong, and he additionally believes Haibara and Mitsuhiko might be hiding from someone due to the blood mark and gunshot that he have noticed earlier. As a result, Conan secretly instructs Agasa to call the people from the motel and the police to investigate the site where Mitsuhiko left his badge.

Meanwhile, the hunters hear a noise in the bushes, and all of them shoot at once. None is able to kill the source of the noise - a rabbit, but this is enough to give Mitsuhiko (who is observing with Haibara from afar) chills and make him understand that Haibara was absolutely right. Agasa protests the shots, but the hunters say that they can distinguish between children and wild animals, and Negoro tells him that this is what he will do if he gets a chance to confront Jubei. Saika replies derisively that Negoro’s bullets are not going to hurt her, as she is sly in that she can approach humans soundlessly and monstrous in that she can overwhelm humans easily even when wounded. Saika adds that he is the only one who is able to take down the beast, and that Jubei has been blind in one eye for twenty years thanks to him. Negoro, noticing that Saika treats his words with scorn and knows Jubei exceptionally well, asks Yasaka about Negoro’s background. Saika responds that according to what he has heard, Saika was once the leader of a hunting organization, and settled down in this forest after meeting Jubei.

Mitsuhiko, now knowing that they definitely cannot approach the group, asks Haibara what they should do. Haibara says that they must eventually reunite with the rest of the Detective Boys, and that for that to happen safely, Conan ought to notice that the deliberately dropped badge is synonymous with a big problem and bring in external help. She continues to say that for the time being, they have to keep walking and trying to relay information to Conan. Later on, they meet the bear cub again, and he stays faithfully with them, and Haibara suffers a severe sprain on her foot. Fortunately, Mitsuhiko is able to help alleviate her pain by fastening surrounding areas with bandages. He is very proud of being able to do this, but the thought that it was the omniscient Conan who told him about it makes his happiness vanish rapidly. However, Haibara is able to re-animate him by saying that who taught him is irrelevant, that what is important is that Mitsuhiko has been able to apply his knowledge in such a critical situation. She goes on to say that Mitsuhiko is the best helper that she can expect in this case, which makes him blush; he then boldly puts Haibara’s arm across his shoulders to support her walk (this makes him blush even more; Haibara notices this and becomes thoughtful), and tries to take the initiative in coming up with a message. In the end, they decide to use various species of mushrooms arranged in a very specific way to encode a message. Namely, they pierce, at different angles, three pieces of mushrooms (fly agaric, matsutake and shiitake in that order) with a tree branch. Then they leave the branch on the forest floor and place one piece of hatsudake and three pieces of shimeji on its side.

Now we return to the group. Yasaka mentions that he has a hunter friend, and Conan asks if his friend is in this forest as well (this doubt arose when Conan saw Yasaka carry with him two types of bullets, which is uncommon for a hunter). Yasaka answers in affirmative, and explains that he has two types of bullets because his friend forgot to bring back-up bullets and thus asked Yasaka to bring some so that if they meet in the forest, Yasaka can give them to him. Meanwhile, Ayumi senses that something is following the group, and Agasa (and Conan) receive a call from a policeman, who reveals that the police have found a man dying from a shot in the stomach and a young bear's body nearby. Contrary to the state of the human body, the cub has been properly buried, and there even is a tomb. The hunters notice the call, and they ask what is going on; Conan hurriedly hangs up and misleads them with a fabricated story. Agasa asks why Conan wants to conceal information from them, and Conan replies that one of them is the murderer, but that without further evidence he cannot narrow down. Conan is not worried about this, however; he believes that Haibara and Mitsuhiko will find a way to convey relevant information to him.

After some more searching, the group does stumble upon the mushrooms that Haibara and Mitsuhiko have prepared. Conan takes a good look at them, is able to understand it and work out the murderer, but act as if he did not and casually tosses the tree branch aside, much to the surprise of Mitsuhiko and to the disappointment of Haibara, who are hiding in some bushes very near him together with the bear cub. As Conan prepares to stun the murderer, Jubei gets nearer to the group stealthily.

File 275 - True Motive

Conan aims, but before he can stun Genta puts himself between him and the murderer, frustrating Conan’s mission and forces him to explain his actions to the other Detective Boys present. Doing so makes him recall what the police have said about the young bear’s body; by thinking for a while about the implications about this piece of information, Conan realizes that there is a flaw in his deduction and proceeds to lower his stun-gun. Haibara and Mitsuhiko, who apparently cannot read Conan’s mind, are shocked by this.

People

  • Major events

    • This is the case where we learn of Mitsuhiko's feelings for Haibara.
    • Mitsuhiko shows off good skills, taking care of Haibara's injured leg. However, he feels sad because he believes he will never be as good as Conan, who had taught him originally how to take care of injuries.
    • Mitsuhiko's self-esteem improves tremendously when Haibara gives him a good confidence boost.

    Old Photograph Murder Case

    Characters introduced

    File 276 - The Client Full of Lies

    A person sounding like a middle-aged woman calls Kogoro and expresses her wish to meet him. As Kogoro is watching a horse race and thinks that the caller must be an ugly woman wanting him to find her first love or do some other boring thing, he starts making up excuses, but Ran is (as usual) intolerant of Kogoro’s nonsense and tells him that he should be more dedicated to the job. The intense pressure from Ran means that Kogoro has no choice but to give in, and soon the caller comes. It turns out that despite being more than forty, the woman appears quite young, and she is additionally beautiful and elegant. As is typical of him in such situations, Kogoro changes into a handsome suit within seconds and greets his client cordially and more than slightly flirtatiously. This kind of behavior continues as the client (who is named Shizuka Ikenami) explains that she wants Kogoro to find a man named Shiro Shibata, who went to middle school with Shizuka and was a member of the kendo club just like her (and she wants Kogoro to find him because he is the possessor of a very precious photo of hers; to be precise, Shibata once lent Shizuka a novel, she inserted that photo into the novel as bookmark and forgot to remove it as she returned it to him). Kogoro’s obsession with Shizuka culminates when she mentions her single status, and Ran, who has already been interjecting their conversation with mentions that Kogoro is married to Eri, openly mocks Kogoro for abandoning Eri, whom she believes to be as glamorous as Shizuka.

    Conan listens to the conversation from a different angle; he notes that Shizuka has told many unnecessary and trivial lies in her narration. For example, Shizuka claims that she knows nothing about cooking, but later (in Shibata’s house) is able to tell the species of fish served just by a glance of a dish of sashimi; similarly, she mentions that she is allergic to dust and has a sensitive trachea, but also that she is good at weaving.

    After talking to Shizuka for a long time, both in the Agency and in the café Poirot downstairs, Kogoro concludes that there is not enough information to find Shibata or get in contact with him. Shizuka suggests Kogoro call Shinichi Kudo, who, according to her, is rumored to come to the Detective Agency sometimes. Conan, who worries that the Black Organization might have heard of this also, thinks that he should keep a lower profile in the future. Conan also suggests a way of finding Shibata that Kogoro has overlooked; the plan works out perfectly, and Shizuka, seeming to have noticed that Conan is a rather special and intelligent child, thanks him for his “crucial contributions”.

    Conan, Ran, Kogoro and Shizuka head to Shibata’s apartment in Shizuoka Prefecture. When they arrive, they encounter a friend of Shibata (named Takezo Yoshikawa), who finds it strange when Kogoro tells him that nobody responded when they rang the bell. Yoshikawa thus takes Conan and company back to Shibata’s door; since it is open, the five visitors are able to enter without a key, and find a meal half-eaten, the television on and Shibata himself dead. He has been beaten on the forehead and clutches in his right hand a photo of Shizuka when she was young.

    File 277 - The Evidence Held

    Sango Yokomizo comes to investigate. After determining that Shibata likely died in or before the morning (it is night now), Yokomizo starts collecting the abili of the suspects, of which there are three: Shizuka (whom he initially thinks is Kogoro’s wife; this makes Kogoro honored and pleased, but Shizuka is quick to correct Yokomizo), Yoshikawa and Kyoko Shibata, who is Shiro’s wife and arrived home soon after the five visitors went into the apartment. After some questioning, Yokomizo and Kogoro determine that Kyoko has a perfectly valid alibi (according to a friend with whom Kyoko went golfing, she left the apartment at five in the morning and did not return until seven in the evening, which was approximately when Conan and company arrived) and that Yoshikawa’s is more problematic. However, for Yokomizo, the biggest suspect of all is Shizuka. He believes so because of several reasons. Firstly, Shizuka has confirmed that the photo that Shibata was clutching is the one that she is looking for and that the novel under Shibata’s belly is the one that he lent Shizuka in middle school. Secondly, Kyoko has said that she saw her husband search the bookshelf whilst on a call, and then took a book out, opened it and said “I have found it, I have found it”.

    Kogoro objects to Yokomizo’s conclusion, remarking that such a beautiful woman cannot possibly be a murderer. Although Yokomizo holds Kogoro in very high regard, he still insists on taking Shizuka back to the police station for further questioning, but this ends up not happening because Shizuka argues that with the little amount of evidence in hand, Yokomizo will not be able to obtain an arrest warrant from a judge, and therefore cannot lawfully take her to the police station without her consent. Conan is stunned by her knowledge of the legal and judicial system, but decides to first solve the case and then worry about who she is. After examining the blood on Shibata’s left hand and some unknown mark in the palm of his right hand, he realizes who the murderer is and that this person had come into the apartment and left before his arrival. In the mean time, Yokomizo’s deputies find what they believe to be the murder weapon - a bokuto (i.e. a wooden sword used for training in kendo and related Japanese martial arts).

    File 278 - The Horrifying Woman

    People

  • Major events

    Conan is quite shocked to learn about how young Heiji's mother looks!

    Mermaid's Curse Case

    Shiho Miyano's name is in a guestbook logging past contestants for the immortality arrows.

    File 279 - The Mermaid's Curse?

    Heiji invites Conan, Ran and Kogoro to join him and Kazuha on a case he got a letter about. The letter is from a woman named Saori, who lives on a tiny island off Wakasa Bay in Fukui Prefecture, known as the Island of Mermaids. It is famous due to it's elder who is over 100-year-old and rumored to be immortal. Apparently Saori is afraid of getting killed by mermaids. Conan isn't pleased with being dragged in this case, but Heiji reveals to him that while the letter was sent to his address, it was meant for Shinichi. After arriving on the island, the group learns that Saori has disappeared three days ago. No one worries because it's not unusual for Saori to leave home when she has had a fight with her father. They meet four of Saori's childhood friend, Naoko, a shop clerk, Toshimi and her fiancé Rokuro, and Kimie, a shrine maiden who is also the great-granddaughter of the elder. Each year there is a festival on the island where the elder awards three winners with a dungong arrow, that wields protection for it's bearer. Saori won one last year, but lost it last week, and up to her disappearance, she had become fearful of being cursed of mermaids. Kimie reveals that last time she saw Saori was three days ago. Kimie needed to go the dentist on the coast, and Saori went with her. She promise the group to take them to Saori's house after the festival, and offers Ran and Kazuha each a ticket to the lottery for the Dungong Arrow. She had two left after a couple cancelled. During the festival the Elder reveals the winning numbers, and Kazuha's number is one of the three. Later at the mermaid waterfall, Kazuha and the two other winners, Naoko and Saori's father, receives their arrows, but as the firework is shoot up, the audience sees a body hanging in the waterfall.

    File 280 - The Elder's Prophecy

    The body is Toshimi. The cause of death was hanging. It is uncertain to determent if it was an accident or a murder, but Heiji asks what she would be doing in the forest instead of attending the festival at the waterfall. Naoko suggests that she was looking for a grave of a mermaid. Three years ago after the festival, a warehouse near the shrine was burned to the ground and a body was found in the remains. The body is buried in the forest. Kimie recalls that Toshimi often spoke of that grave. Skeptical Heiji asks if it really was a mermaid's body. Kimie says that the locals thinks so, but the police determined that the body was of a middle aged woman. Naoko and Rokuro futher tells that the body didn't have any legs, and that is the reason behind the idea that it was a mermaid. It gained a lot of attention and the Elder became famous. Kimie tells that the police concluded that it might have been a tourist who was searching for an extra arrow and accidently set the warehouse on fire. It was never discovered who it was and the bones were buried on the island, but later moved to a secret spot in the forest on orders from the Elder after tourists had been trying to steal bones from the grave, since it is said that a bone from a mermaid gives long life.

    Rokuro doesn't appear to grieve much over the death of his fiancée, since the engagement was arranged by their parents. After moving Toshimi's body from the forest, the group decides to ask the Elder how she picks the winning number for the contest. But the Elder claims that it's just random picking. The Elder then warns Kazuha that if she loses her arrow, bad fortune will follow her. The next day there is hold a wave for Toshimi at her family's home, but then Naoko is found dead outside the house, strangled by fishing net.

    File 281 - The Devil's Arrow

    Naoko's crime scene is set up to make it appear she was murdered by a mermaid. And her Dugong Arrow is missing. The police arrives from the coast and takes over the investigation. Conan and Heiji discuss the case. The two victims and the missing Saori has one thing in common. They all three believe that the Elder was immortal and in the power of the arrow. They then decides to check the book that holds the list of the contestants in the lottery and their numbers. Kimie takes them home to herself, but the recent one has gone missing. She denies that the Elder should have taken it and decides to search the other rooms. While they wait Heiji and Conan takes a look at the older books. Heiji is amazed by the names of the high ranked people, but Conan finds a familiar name - Shiho Miyano. He recalls that it was Haibara's real name, but doubts it's her, because she doesn't appear to the type who want immortality. But then Ran and Kazuha screams up, they have seen a figure outside that is similar to the missing Saori. After that the new warehouse has caught fire and is burned down, and like three years ago a body is found inside.

    After noticing that Kimie is nowhere to be found, they contacts the dentist she visited, and he confirmed that the body's teeth matches Kimie's. Rokuro breaks down mourning over Kimie's death.

    File 282 - The Last Arrow

    The Elder takes to the bed after learns of her great-granddaughter's death. The locals begins to talk about ending the festival, since Kimie now was dead. Then Ran answer a strange phone call to the shrine. Someone wants to say thanks to a man, apparently working for the shrine, who sold an arrow a million yen. Kazuha and Ran guess that it might be the couple, which lottery numbers they took over. From the description Ran has been given, Heiji and Conan realize that it's Benzo, Saori's father.

    File 283 - Uncompensated Heart

    People

  • Major events

    • While looking in the past visitor registry, Conan finds the name "Shiho Miyano" but he doubts that this was Haibara.
    • Kazuha gets embarrassed when the subject of her feelings for Heiji comes up during her conversation with Ran.
    • Heiji and Kazuha are found stuck on a cliff, and Kazuha is barely hanging on to Heiji to survive.
    • Kazuha takes the arrow that she won in the contest, and stabs Heiji with it, hoping that he'll let go of her so that she can fall off, saying "I pass my long life onto you." However, Heiji refuses to let go, even when the gash gets incredibly bloody. He helps her back up, and helps her to the elder's hut, promising that he will never let anyone hurt her while he is with her.

    Girl Clubbing Case

    Characters introduced

    File 284 - The Buried Secret

    A serial killer targets tan blond-haired "ganguro-style" girls and bludgeons them. Kogoro is mistaken for the killer and the police has to explain him the case. Meanwhile, Ran discovers the corpse of a ganguro girl beaten to death in the Haido General Store parking lot. The victim, Tae Aizawa, is the first killer's victim to be killed. As the grieving victim's boyfriend tells police they're useless, Megure is reminded of an old and painful case.

    People

  • Cover in other countries

    • China
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Hong Kong
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Korea
    • Malaysia (Chinese)
    • Malaysia (Malay)
    • Norway
    • Rep. of China (Taiwan)
    • Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2)
    • Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2)
    • Sweden
    • Thailand
    • United States
    • Vietnam

    Trivia

    • Shiho Miyano's name is listed among contestants in the Dungong's arrow festival. Conan noticed this, but doubts that it is her.

    See also

    Volumes of the Manga
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