Volume 54

Chronology
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Volume 54
Information
Release date:	June 16, 2006
Chapters:	554-564
ISBN:	ISBN 4-09-120377-9
Publisher:	Shogakukan
English release date:	April 14, 2015
English ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-4215-6510-1
English Publisher:	Viz Media
Featured Detective & Keyhole
Kiyoshi Shimada Natsuki Koshimizu
Aoyama's death & Conan side images

Volume 54 was released on June 16, 2006 in Japan.

Cast

Characters

Conan Edogawa

Ran Mouri

Kogoro Mouri

Eisuke Hondou

Juzo Megure

Wataru Takagi

Kir (flashback/background)

Toji Funemoto

James Black (flashback)

Jodie Starling (flashback/background)

FBI Agent 1 (flashback)

Vermouth (background)

Gin

Vodka

Ethan Hondou (flashback)

Barney (flashback)

Hiroshi Agasa

Ai Haibara

Ayumi Yoshida

Genta Kojima

Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya

Misao Yamamura

Heiji Hattori

Kazuha Toyama

Saguru Hakuba

Yoko Okino

Shinichi Kudo (background)

Gadgets

Gadgets

Voice-Changing Bowtie

Stun-Gun Wristwatch

Chapters

Mysterious Job Case

File 555 - A Dreaming Star

  Show spoilers »

The culprit is Tatsuhito Funemoto.

People

Kaneyo Funemoto
	Victim (gunshot) 39 years old Tatsuhito's wife

Takami Shigeno
	48 years old Housekeeper

Tatsuhito Funemoto
	43 years old Owner of the Funemoto Estate

Toji Funemoto
	8 years old Tatsuhito's son

Major events

• Eisuke puts his hand on the boy's pulse in the same way Rena checked if Conan was lying. Conan becomes suspicious of Eisuke's relation to her.
• Shows Gin and Vodka talking about how Mizunashi Rena got into the Organization and a mysterious foreign woman in black confronting the boy who witnessed the accident.
• Shows confirmation of Vermouth's involvement to the child. Also shows about the Black Organization and a person named Hondou.

Unsmashable Snowman Case

File 558 - Catastrophe in the Snowy Mountains

  Show spoilers »

The culprit is Kazuya Itabashi.

People

Sakuko Kokura
	Victim (drowned) 22 years old University student

Tanji Kiyama
	22 years old University student

Asaka Onoue
	22 years old University student

Kazuya Itabashi
	22 years old University student

Phantom Corpse Case

File 559 - The Room which Swallows People

Kazuha and Heiji visit the cherry blossom festival together with Kogoro, Ran, and Conan. While Kazuha is delighted by the cherry blossoms, Heiji—at whose initiative they traveled to Tokyo for the festival—seems more interested in the food.

When Heiji asks Conan why he summoned him to Tokyo, Conan tells him about Rena Mizunashi and Eisuke Hondo. He explains that he found a photo of Rena online showing her walking past the Tsūtenkaku Tower in Osaka. Based on this photo, he asks Heiji to investigate whether a woman named Mizunashi or Hondo has ever lived in the city.

Suddenly, the two hear Denkyū, a novice monk, asking Kogoro for help. Heiji and Conan join them, and the monk reports that he found an unconscious woman in his temple's guesthouse the previous morning; she had apparently attempted suicide by stabbing herself in the abdomen with a knife. However, when Denkyū notified the police and returned to the guesthouse with the officers, the woman was gone. Kogoro and the others decide to go to the guesthouse and speak with the head priest. Although the priest believes his pupil merely imagined the incident, he shows them the guesthouse, where no traces of blood can be found.

They are on their way home when the novice monk suddenly appears by their car, claiming that another woman is lying in the guesthouse—and, just like the first one, she has a knife stuck in her abdomen. Kogoro, Conan, and Heiji rush to the guesthouse, but when they open the door, the woman has once again vanished without a trace. When the priest arrives, he explains that his pupil is grieving for his mother, who committed suicide long ago.

File 560 - The Phantom Corpse

The monk reveals that Denkyu's mother took her own life eighteen years ago after leaving him at the temple. He asks Kogoro if the case is now considered solved. Just as Kogoro is about to answer, Heiji interjects, mentioning that he and Conan discovered an earring back wedged between the tatami mats on the guesthouse floor.

When Heiji points out that this confirms the woman had indeed been there three days earlier, the monk speculates that the back likely belongs to his former pupils, Bunkyu and Rinkyu. He explains that the two were troublemakers who would sneak out of the temple in disguise at night, using the guesthouse to change their clothes. Meanwhile, Kazuha and Ran, waiting in the car, grow impatient and consider walking over to the guesthouse; however, a strong gust of wind stops them as they step out, so they decide to stay put.

Conan and Heiji examine the guesthouse again and ask Denkyu to show them where the woman had been lying. When Kogoro notes that there should have been visible traces of blood on the mats, the group decides to head back. On the way to the car with Denkyu, Heiji remarks that Bunkyu and Rinkyu must have smoked and consumed alcohol in the guesthouse. He deduces this from a burn mark on one of the mats, and Kogoro also recalls seeing a beer stain there. Heiji suspects someone might have swapped the mats, but Kogoro disagrees: the blood could not have been hidden anywhere, as each of the guesthouse's four rooms contained only a single small statue in the corner, and the glass floor offered an unobstructed view of the mats beneath—none of which showed traces of blood. Denkyu mentions having had a strange feeling when the body was discovered—as if something wasn't right. Heiji is convinced this was due to the altered arrangement of the floor mats, but Kogoro simply declares that he doesn't want to hear anything more about female corpses.

Back at the car, Heiji and Conan remain skeptical. When Kazuha blows on a pinwheel she bought at the cherry blossom festival—causing a petal to land on one of the lenses of Conan’s glasses—they realize how the victims' blood might have been concealed; Kogoro, too, suddenly hits upon the crucial idea.

File 561 - Trick of the Bloodstain

  Show spoilers »

Kogoro suggests rotating the guesthouse 180 degrees, but Heiji and Denkyu disagree; suddenly, Conan collapses. He explains to Kazuha and Ran that his glasses fell off while he was searching for his micro-transmitter. When Ran picks them up, a badge is revealed underneath — one that had previously been hidden by a leaf lying on the glass. This gives Ran and Kazuha an idea: someone had placed a piece of floor matting under the statuettes in the guesthouse, creating the illusion that the mat was clean. Heiji adds that Bunkyu and Rinkyu had prepared two of the four statuettes in this way to conceal the burn mark and the beer stain.

With this, Heiji identifies Shakuren as the person who had swapped the mats. He explains that the monk likely hid the first woman when the police arrived and that the second body was actually the monk in disguise. When Kogoro asks what trick the monk used to place the bloodstains exactly where the statuettes were supposed to stand, Conan draws a pinwheel on the ground to illustrate to the others how the mats must have been arranged. Conan, Heiji, Kogoro, and Denkyu rush to the guesthouse; along the way, Conan and Heiji ponder why the monk had hidden the first woman, until they finally arrive at the solution.

Upon reaching the guesthouse, they encounter the monk. He agrees to tell them everything, provided Denkyu waits outside; however, Heiji and Conan inform him that they have already sent the boy back to the girls. The monk reveals that the woman who had visited three days earlier was Denkyu's mother. She had wanted her son back, but when the monk showed her a photo album and asked which of the three monks was her son, she did not know. The monk allowed her to spend the night in the guesthouse before she left. When Denkyu reported the next morning that the woman had taken her own life—she had actually intended to go to the police—the monk kept this fact to himself, leading Denkyu to believe he was mourning his mother.

Ultimately, the monk realizes that words can kill and must therefore always be chosen carefully. Later, when Ran and Kazuha ask Heiji why the priest had hidden the woman, he snaps at them, and Conan reflects that Heiji has not taken the priest's words to heart.

People

Denkyu
	18 years old Student monk

Shakuren
	57 years old Head monk

Rinkyu
	Student monk Left the temple

Bunkyu
	Student monk Left the temple

Major events

Ran and Kazuha stay on a ship, spying to see if Shinichi is on the island.

Detective Koshien Case

Characters introduced

Natsuki Koshimizu
	20 years old Detective of the South

Junya Tokitsu
	18 years old Detective of the North

File 562 - High School Detective of the East

The next morning, Conan wakes up believing Heiji and Kazuha have already left. However, when he goes to the bathroom, he finds Heiji there. Heiji explains that he couldn't sleep, which is why they'll be leaving later. Instead of returning to Osaka, they travel to an uninhabited island where Nichiuri TV is filming the show "Super Young Detective Competition". At breakfast, Heiji mentions that he's received an invitation to represent Western Japan. He also hopes to meet Shinichi.

At the harbor, they meet the director, Hiro Tsuchio, on the huge steamer. He explains the schedule for the next few days, and Heiji insists that Conan accompany him to the island. Kazuha, Ran, and Kogoro stay on land, and the director informs them that they will be staying in a hotel. As Heiji, the director, and Conan leave, Kazuha calls after Heiji and tries to persuade him to stay.

They travel to the island in a small boat and meet the representatives of southern and northern Japan, Natsuki Koshimizu and Junya Tokitsu, who are terribly bored. When Conan asks Heiji why he's dragging him along to the island, Heiji simply replies that it would be boring without him and that, as Conan, at least he can contribute something. When the director falls ill, Natsuki and Junya inquire about his well-being and learn that he had been drinking the previous day. When they mention this, the director seems puzzled by their facial expressions, which Heiji and Conan find quite clever.

Meanwhile, Kazuha, Ran, and Kogoro arrive at the hotel the director sent them to. However, when they discover there is no reservation, they become suspicious. Meanwhile, the boat carrying the detectives has arrived on the island, and they meet Renzo Koya, who takes care of them. When Heiji adds that Shinichi can't come along, Renzo replies that he's been on the island since morning. Heiji and Conan are confused, and it turns out that this detective is Saguru Hakuba.

File 563 - The Detective Koshien

Once everyone has arrived at the house on the island, the director asks them to introduce themselves, even though no cameras are present. Natsuki Koshimizu introduces himself first, and Saguru Hakuba last. Heiji learns that Saguru lives in England and that his father is a police commissioner. When Natsuki and Junya remark that they expected Shinichi to represent East Japan, Saguru explains that he's only there as a backup and that Conan can take over the role.

Meanwhile, Kogoro calls Yoko Okino and asks if the show "Super Junior Detective Battle" even exists. Yoko explains that no one knew about the production and that a director named Hiroo Tsuchio doesn't work for her. Kazuha and Ran, meanwhile, fear that Heiji and Conan might have been kidnapped. Heiji and Conan are in their room, and Heiji is changing his clothes. He says that Saguru's know-it-all attitude reminds him of Shinichi. There's a knock at the door, and the others come to get them for dinner. Afterward, they go downstairs to pick up Natsuki, who isn't quite ready. They wonder where the director is, knock on his door, but receive no answer.

Saguru tries to look through the window, but Heiji kicks in the door, and they find the director tied up on the floor. The room was completely locked, and Renzo Koya explains that their first task is to solve this puzzle. Natsuki replies that she thought the first round was about figuring out that Hiroo Tsuchio isn't a director. When he seems surprised, Heiji explains that Natsuki and Junya used television jargon during their conversation on the boat, which Mr. Tsuchio didn't understand, thus giving himself away. Conan also notices that the Nichiuri TV logo on his jacket isn't the original. Suddenly, Junya claims to have solved the first puzzle.

File 564 - Demonstration of the Locked Room

Junya boasts that he's already solved the riddle, prompting Renzo Koya to demand that he write down the solution and give it to him. He also emphasizes that Junya mustn't reveal the trick. Junya remarks that Heiji isn't particularly clever, and Saguru explains that he simply kicked in the door, destroying all possible evidence in the process, to get to Hiro Tsuchio. Conan agrees, while Natsuki admires Heiji's passion. Afterward, Junya retires to his room, and the rest of the group goes to dinner.

Meanwhile, on the mainland, Kazuha and Ran try to contact Conan and Heiji but have no signal. When Ran calls Shinichi, his cell phone also has no signal, leading Ran to conclude that he, too, is on the island. The detectives are eating there, and Saguru asks the principal why there's lavender everywhere in the house. Mr. Koya says it's a detective's job to find out, and Natsuki says it reminds her of the murder case in the Lavender House. While Heiji and Conan are explaining to Saguru that the homeowner in this case was murdered and the perpetrator killed himself before he could be arrested, Hiroo Tsuchio suddenly gets up and says he needs to get his cigarettes.

When he returns, Junya still hasn't arrived after more than two hours, and they're starting to get worried. Heiji, Conan, and Saguru go to his bedroom window and see him sitting there. Suddenly, they notice he's covered in blood. Saguru is about to kick down the door when Heiji swings onto the windowsill and shatters the glass. He then checks Junya's pulse and confirms that he is indeed dead.

People

Hiroo Tsuchio
	41 years old Nichiuri TV producer

Renzo Koya
	58 years old Caretaker

Natsuki Koshimizu
	18 years old Detective

Junya Tokitsu
	Victim (beaten) 18 years old Detective

Trivia

• The titles for each chapter are worded as the following in Case Closed:

• File 554 - Dinner Menu
• File 555 - Dreaming Star
• File 556 - The Detective League's Snowman
• File 557 - Trajectory of The Fall
• File 558 - Catastrophe in the Mountains
• File 559 - The Devouring Room
• File 560 - The Illusory Corpse
• File 561 - Secret of The Bloodstain
• File 562 - The Teen Detective of the West
• File 563 - Detective Koshien
• File 564 - The Locked Room Solution

Cover in other countries

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  China

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  China (2020 reissue)

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  Finland

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  France

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  Germany

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  Hong Kong

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  Indonesia

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  Italy

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  Italy (La Gazzetta dello Sport)

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  Italy (New Edition)

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  Korea

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  Malaysia (Chinese)

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  Malaysia (Malay)

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  Rep. of China (Taiwan)

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  Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2)

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  Sweden

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  Thailand

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  United States

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  Vietnam

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  Vietnam (New Edition)

See also

• Manga
• Volume 51-60
• Detective Conan