Volume 21
| ‹ Volume 20 | List of Chapters |
Volume 22 › |
| Volume 21 | |||
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| Release date: | October 17, 1998 | ||
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| Chapters: | 201-211 | ||
| ISBN: | ISBN 4-09-125491-8 | ||
| Publisher: | Shogakukan | ||
| English release date: | January 15, 2008 | ||
| English ISBN: | ISBN 1-4215-1456-7 | ||
| English Publisher: | Viz Media | ||
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Volume 21 was released on October 17, 1998 in Japan.
Cast
Gadgets
Chapters
Blue Castle Case
File 201 - And Again...
The Detective Boys bicker about the sudden disappearance of their friend, Conan. Haibara notices the knocked-over chair, the cluttered books, and the uncovered clock and begins to piece together the boy's tracks. She recreates a tall stepping stool using the chair and the books and begins to tamper with the clock. She is abruptly stopped by Takahito, who assumes her actions are in mischief. Tabata suggests he is in the bathroom, but after failing to find him there, the group largely suspends their search. The children surmise he is hiding in order to play a prank on them and instead head off for dinner.
The Detective Boys celebrate over a large feast that lies before them, bringing life to a scene that had lacked such vibrancy for many years. Ayumi asks for a small plastic bag in which she places a piece of bread for Conan. Mitsuru asks about the boy's whereabouts, hoping he did not approach the burnt tower. He explains that two years ago, one of their domestic workers had claimed there was something of interest left in the tower. One day, he disappeared without a trace, only to be found four days later in the forest in a complete state of emaciation. Ever since the incident, the workers sealed the entrance to the tower and a rumors about supernatural forces swirled amongst the staff. Horrified by Mitsuru's story, the Detective Boys fill Ayumi's bag with more bread head out to find Conan.
Despite extensive searches of the garden, the castle, and the locked entrance of the burnt tower, Conan is nowhere to be found. With the sky darkening and rain worsening, the group elects to return to the castle and call the authorities if necessary. Ayumi is distraught by the decision and begins to cry. Haibara, however, has no sympathy for the girl and tells her that Conan will find his own way back. Confused as to how Haibara understands Conan so well, Ayumi asks her if she likes him. Though initially taken aback, Haibara assures her that their relationship is entirely platonic, filling Ayumi with joy. Agasa approaches Haibara and the two discuss their situation. The girl has a considerably more bleak outlook, believing Conan to either be captured or dead. She suggests he call the police immediately and begin a thorough search of the premises.
Agasa acts on her words and wanders down a corridor alone to find a telephone. He finds one at the end of a bend in the hallway but is distracted when he finds Conan's bloodstained beanie on the ground. He also finds a mysterious revolving door built into the wall and steps in to investigate. However, he is suddenly bludgeoned and dragged away by a silhouette hiding behind the door. The Professor's body disappears into the wall moments before Haibara arrives, leaving her words to fall on deaf ears.
File 202 - Countdown
Haibara operates the telephone and calls Inspector Megure. However, before they can communicate, Mitsuru and the Detective Boys interrupt, forcing Haibara to quietly leave with them to bed.
Later that night, Haibara leaves the bed after confirming her friends are asleep. Noting that Agasa has still not returned to the room, she sneaks out. She hides behind a wall as she observes Masuyo wandering the hallways in her wheelchair under the delusion that her deceased daughter is coming to visit her. With the coast clear, she sets out on her investigation, but not before discovering that the Detective Boys have followed her through the corridors. The children express their naive desire to assist her, to which Haibara reluctantly agrees though with a callous demeanor. Unbeknownst to the Detective Boys, a silhouette is on their tail.
They re-enter the second floor room from where they observed the chess pieces and Haibara activates the hidden door using the broken clock on the wall. The children descend the long dark staircase with their Wristwatch Flashlights and find fresh blood on the ground, likely belonging to Conan. Mitsuhiko finds words etched into one of the steps reading "They assumed my identity are trying to steal the castle's treasure (アイツハ私ニナリスマシテ城ノ宝ヲ横...)." Haibara deduces that the inscription has been placed there long ago and that the author was likely kept on the steps in confinement for quite some time. Genta then finds Agasa's broken glasses further down the stairs, inciting panic amongst the Detective Boys. Haibara notices a section of the wall slowly creak open and immediately holds it closed. The wall then violently revolves, pushing Haibara, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko out into the hallway and leaving Genta alone in the hidden passageway along with an ominous silhouette.
The remaining trio return to the room with the clock, but find the door shut. Haibara concludes that they have been tailed and that Genta has likely been abducted. She notes that they cannot trust anyone in the castle and strengthens her resolve to find their friends before it is too late.
The trio enter a room filled with sculptures and paintings and find a pile of newspapers from four years ago detailing the fire that burned the nearby tower down. Haibara reads that the fire took fifteen souls and that the flames were so intense the investigators could only identify each of the remains based on their personal belongings. Still, one individual remains missing. Based on the article Haibara deduces that one individual likely seized the opportunity to switch places with someone else. Meanwhile, Mitsuhiko finds Conan's glasses on the hallway floor. He looks up to see two large iron doors ominously swaying down the corridor. Ayumi notices his disappearance and alerts Haibara, who notes that the door leads to the burnt tower that is supposedly sealed shut. Nevertheless, the iron doors appear open, inviting the two girls to enter. Haibara stops Ayumi, telling her it may be a trap. She instructs her to hide in the grass and count to 300 while she searches the tower, if she does not return by the time she is done counting she is to run onto the main road and try to find help. Ayumi reluctantly accepts and does what she is told. However, as the seconds tick on and her count approaches 299, Ayumi's resolve is put to the test.
File 203 - Ivory Tower
Ayumi disobeys Haibara's orders and enters the burnt tower. She fights back tears as she ascends a staircase while calling Haibara's name, oblivious to a silhouette emerging from a trapdoor behind her. Ayumi enters a decrepit bathroom, locking the door behind her. She then hears tugging on the locked door and assumes it is Haibara, but after witnessing the door violent crack and shake, she freezes in fear. The silhouette eventually breaks through the door to an empty bathroom—Ayumi nowhere in sight. They rotate a lamp on the wall and open another hidden passage. On the opposite side of the door, Haibara is seen hiding with Ayumi. The girl throws a pebble in the direction of the entrance, diverting their hunter's attention. With the coast clear, Haibara scolds Ayumi before taking her with her as she descends a latter. Haibara asks about their Detective Badges, but Ayumi says they had run out of battery and that Agasa had intended on returning their gadgets to them once they reached the campsite. Meanwhile, the silhouette notices a slight difference in the secret door they had just opened and quickly descends after the girls.
As Haibara and Ayumi further explore the labyrinthine dungeon, the latter finds a human-shaped figure in the distance and runs to check it out. To her horror, she finds an old human skeleton slumped against the wall. Haibara examines the skeleton and determines that although the individual had died many months ago, the body was moved to its present location quite recently.
Following the discovery of the "treasure," Takahito is revealed to have spent his time extensively studying the history of the castle. According to the patriarch's diary recovered from the hidden room, the secret passageways were originally installed in the castle from the earliest moments of the castle's construction. The structure originally belonged to a noble family in Europe and was eventually purchased by the patriarch, disassembled, shipped to Japan, and then reassembled with the vast resources controlled by the Mamiya family. The passageways were thus installed to give the ruling King and Queen a route to escape in the case the castle was ever besieged.
As the Detective Boys make their way back into the car, Tabata runs after the group and offers them breakfast. Conan declines the offer, gallantly stating that he has both the camping food and Ayumi's bag of bread. Haibara, however, accepts the gardener's offer in his stead, comically diminishing the profoundness of the moment.
People
Major Events
- Haibara assures Ayumi that she has no romantic feelings for Conan.
Shinichi's First Murder Case
File 204 - His First Bow
The sun gradually sets upon the busy tarmac of Haneda Airport where the Detective Boys intently observe the Boeing 747 they will soon ride to Okinawa. Kogoro expresses his annoyance about having to chaperone children, but Ran reminds her father that they are only able to travel to the picturesque beaches of Okinawa because of Professor Agasa's lucky draw on an internet prize campaign. Speaking of Agasa, Ran questions his whereabouts, to which Conan says the Professor is sick and will remain at home alongside Haibara. Ran, not yet having met Haibara, asks about her. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko describe her as a cute transfer student who has recently joined the Detective Boys. Ran looks back at Conan with an amused look, complaining that the boy never tells her about his life at school.
The plane soon takes off and Ayumi looks out the window in bewilderment. Wanting to share the view with Conan she calls for him but finds that he has already fallen asleep. Ran smiles and removes his glasses, reminiscing about a time one year ago when she rode on a plane to Los Angeles with Shinichi—the boy similarly falling asleep shortly after take-off. Kogoro expresses his disapproval about the trip, but fails to communicate the true extent of his concerns with the abundance of innocent children in the near vicinity. Ran brushes off her father's criticisms and joins Conan in falling asleep.
The girl dreams of the exact events on the flight to Los Angeles one year ago, awakening to a packed plane of various characters. She sees a middle-aged passenger named Tsuneo Ukai ask his neighbor, Kazuhiro Otaka, to cease his smoking in the non-smoking section. However, instead of respectful compliance he is met with a rude puff of smoke from the young man's mouth. Otaka is scolded by his girlfriend, Tsugumi Amano. Nonetheless, Otaka retains his arrogant demeanor, boasting about the potential riches he will soon collect after selling his valuable negative photos to an American news company. His colleague, Chizuru Tachikawa, asserts that he will only receive such fortunes if the photos depicting an American politician caught in a scandalous act in Japan are truly authentic. The man remains confident, stating that he has confirmed their authenticity by FAXing two of his photos to the news agency in advance. Otaka then decides to get some shut-eye. Behind him is his colleague, Noboru Saginuma, and in front of him is an American freelance journalist named Edward Crowe.
Sometime later, Amano begins to feel motion sick and asks a stewardess for medication. Tachikawa offers to switch seats with her, an offer Amano gladly accepts. They also notice Otaka has felt his seat.
Some more time passes and a passenger aggressively knocks on the door of an unresponsive lavatory occupant. The stewardess joins the passenger to check on the occupant, opening the door out of concern. To her horror, she finds Otaka dead on the toilet seat. The stewardess's screams alerts the entire plane, including Inspector Megure who happens to be on board. Ran is also awakened by the commotion and finds the seat next to her vacant. Megure approaches the crime scene and asks if the body has been left untouched. The stewardesses tell him about a strange boy who is currently inspecting the victim's body. The boy declares the victim's death a murder caused by a well-placed puncture of a cervical spinal cord. Additionally, he notes that the victim was first placed in a state of sedation before being dealt the killing blow. Megure brushes past the surrounding crowd and grabs the boy, demanding he identify himself. The boy turns around and gives his name, Shinichi Kudo, marking the beginning of the very first chapter of his accomplished career.
File 205 - Midair Sealed Chamber
Megure recognizes the boy as Yusaku Kudo's son and expresses he is happy to see him. Nevertheless, the Inspector escorts Shinichi out of the lavatory, believing him to be an amateur. Shinichi, however, demonstrates exceptional talent as a detective, having captured over sixty photographs of the crime scene prior to his inspection and having narrowed the time of death to about 1–2 hours prior. He outlines three points of interest. First, despite leaning against a bloodstain on the wall, the victim's clothes did not absorb any of the blood. Second, there appears to be a noticeable scratch directly below the puncture wound. And third, the victim's right pocket was soaking wet. Megure dismisses the boy regardless of his findings and calls for his associate's assistance in carrying out the police investigation.
Ran approaches her friend and scolds him for his reckless behavior, inciting a mild argument between the two high schoolers. A novice Takagi soon joins Megure and the two begin collecting witnesses and suspects. Shinichi has beaten the police yet again, as he lists four suspects whom he observed approach the bathroom within the past two hours—removing the stewardess and passenger who discovered the body as they lacked the time to commit the murder. Ran asks how Shinichi could be sure of such things as she recalls him sleeping soon after take-off. The boy laughs it off though internally reflects on how he failed to maintain his sleep after noticing Ran sleeping beside him. At the behest of Megure, Shinichi points out Tachikawa, Amano, Ukai, and Crowe as the four suspects.
The four suspects are taken to the crime scene where Amano breaks down crying upon the sight of her deceased boyfriend. Ukai suggests that Otaka's negatives were the motivation for the killing, a theory corroborated by the fact that the large sheet of negative photos are missing from the man's person. Megure begins by asking each suspect about their actions preceding the discovery of Otaka's body. Amano states she went to the bathroom prior to Otaka leaving his seat, a claim supported by a stewardess her gave her medicine. Ukai says he entered the bathroom shortly after he witnessed the stewardess' interaction with Amano. Tachikawa says she used the bathroom about twenty minutes after Amano received her medicine. Worried about her colleague, she knocked on Otaka's door and heard a knocking sound in response—indicating he was still alive at that point in time. Lastly, Crowe communicates with Shinichi in English, stating that he does not remember when he entered the bathroom. Shinichi walks away from the interaction with a cough, gagging from the man's liberal use of cologne. Saginuma suggests checking each suspect for the weapon, but is drawn into the investigation after Ukai claims he had left his seat, recalling having seen the seat behind Otaka empty earlier in the flight. Ran asks if Shinichi is sure about his list of suspects, the boy answers that he is but recalls being briefly distracted by the allure of his sleeping neighbor.
Sometime later, Takagi returns from the body checks and informs Megure that they have recovered no plausible weapons from any of the five potential suspects. Megure questions Shinichi's memory, but the boy smirks in response, excited about the thrill of a challenging mystery.
File 206 - The Last Trump Card
File 207 - Hidden Within The Depth Of The Heart...
People
Major events
- This is Shinichi's first ever murder case. His incredible deduction skills completely overwhelm and impress Inspector Megure. This is also very early in Takagi's career as a member of Megure's police force.
- Ran and Shinichi's budding feelings for each other are briefly explored.
- The whole episode takes place before the actual show. This airplane trip is what leads into Shinichi Kudo's New York Case.
Treadmill Murder Case
Characters introduced
| Yumi Miyamoto | |
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| Ninzaburo Shiratori | |
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File 208 - The Sakuradamon Incident!?
File 209 - The Inspector's Investigation
File 210 - An Unexpected Rival
People
Major events
- Sato's, Takagi's, and Shiratori's characters develop fully. The latter becomes a full time Inspector.
- Sato and Takagi's budding romance is explored for the first time.
- Takagi and Sato are about to eat a ramen dinner together, until Megure interrupts and insists that he takes Sato somewhere, along with Takagi.
Wedding Murder Case
File 211 - A Nice Day in Tokyo
Heiji and Kazuha arrive in Tokyo in order to attend the wedding of the son of a former classmate of Heiji’s mother; she was originally the one invited, but since she broke her toe bones while cooking, Heiji was asked to attend instead. Kazuha comes along because, according to her, Heiji’s mother wants her to take care of him whilst he is in Tokyo; Heiji disputes this account, and claims instead that Kazuha is in Tokyo mainly for shopping. Since they arrive one day in advance, they decide to take a guided tour of the city that day (the guides, unsurprisingly, are Kogoro, Ran and Conan). After spending some time in Shibuya, Kazuha decides to go shopping; Ran suggests that they head to the stores that she knows of. Kazuha rejects this coldly, saying that she already has the stores that she wants to visit in mind. Ran thus offers to accompany her to the stores of her choice, which Kazuha accepts. The two girls thus head to a shopping mall; at one point, Ran asks Kazuha whether a particular shirt suits her; Kazuha, without lifting her head to look at Ran, answers in affirmative, adding indifferently that Ran’s cuteness will make everything fit her well. She then encourages Ran to buy the sweater, which she does.
After shopping, the two girls head back to Kogoro’s rented car to wait for the detectives, who have not returned. Ran, having noticed that Kazuha seems to be holding something against her, asks her what the problem is. Kazuha, after hesitation, reveals that it bothers her that Ran and Heiji wear shirts with the same colors, patterns and styles in their encounters. She conjectures that they have a special relationship, and that before they meet they secretly agree on what to wear (which Kazuha finds gross). Ran, realizing the misunderstanding, takes off her shirt without thinking twice, and puts on the shirt that she just bought. Kazuha is astonished by this, as they are in the middle of a busy commercial district, and Ran only has underwear below. Ran, after changing, tells Kazuha joyfully that now Heiji and she are not wearing the same thing; Kazuha blushes, and exclaims that Ran is a genuinely good person.
After the return of the three detectives, they head to Meiji Shrine, which, because of its historical importance and the fact that if one makes a wish there, it is likely to come true, is a major tourist attraction. There, they coincidentally meet the butler of the family whose son is getting married; his name is Akio Shigematsu. Heiji, who knows Shigematsu from when he was a child, asks what he is doing at the shrine; the latter replies that he is accompanying the fiancée Kaede Katagiri on a tour of Tokyo (as she is from somewhere else). Heiji thus wonders where the fiancé (whose name is Kikuhito Morizono) is, to which Katagiri replies, apologetically, that he is unwell because she insisted on ascending to the panoramic platform of Tokyo Tower, ignorant of his extreme acrophobia.
At this point, Shigematsu asks Katagiri what wish she is making; the latter says that she wants to be blessed with children. Conan and Heiji notice that as she replies, her expression is somewhat unnatural; Ran explains, knowledgably, that women could be slightly unstable ahead of a wedding, and Kazuha adds that that is why the term “pre-wedding anxiety” exists. They then look at each other and say “right?” happily; Heiji is puzzled by this interaction, and wonders when their relationship has grown so close.
After visiting the shrine, and upon the invitation of Shigematsu, Kogoro, Ran and Conan head to the mansion of Morizono family with the butler, the fiancée and the two wedding invitees. In the garden, they meet Kihuhito’s sister Yurie and servant Yuji Sakuraba. Sakuraba has just managed to find the naughty family pet Rebecca (who is a cat) in the crown of a tall tree; as he shows Rebecca to Ran and Kazuha, who find her lovely, Rebecca is able to escape again.
At the dinner table, the visitors finally meet Mikio Morizono, the head of the family and the father of Kikuhito and Yurie. Noticing that Rebecca is not around, he asks Sakuraba to look for it, and tells Kogoro (of whom he is a fan) that her wife used to love the cat. Kogoro wonders why he used the past tense; Kikuhito interjects and explains that her mother passed away in an unfortunate car accident (Mikio is later revealed to be in the car then too, but he was lucky, and only injured his leg).
After the dinner, Kogoro, Ran and Conan plan to return home; Heiji and Kazuha accompany them to the garden to say goodbye. As the three near the entrance of the mansion, Heiji sighs in relief, commenting that there is no murder case this time. This prediction is soon proven to be wrong: right as he speaks, a window on the third floor breaks, prompting the detectives to rush back into the mansion. Ran is ordered to stay where she is to see if anyone suspicious jumps out of the mansion, and Kazuha sets out to look for Shigematsu. He turns out to be missing, and the door leading to the room with the broken window is locked. Since Shigematsu is the only one with the key to that lock, Kogoro and Heiji have no choice but to break in with brute force. There is nothing but a blood trail in the dark room, but by following the blood trail, the detectives are led to the adjoining room; this one is well-lit, and Shigematsu is found sitting on the floor, soundless and unmoving. There is a huge red patch on his left chest, which suggests that he died from a stab wound that penetrated the heart directly.
People
Trivia
- The title for each chapter are worded as the following in Case Closed:
- File 201 - Another Victim
- File 203 - The Ivory Tower
- File 204 - The First Entry
- File 205 - A Locked Room in the Sky
- File 207 - A Secret Hidden in the Heart
- File 208 - The Sakuradamon Incident
- File 209 - The Inspector's Deduction
- File 210 - An Unforeseen Enemy
- File 211 - A Perfect Day for Tokyo
Cover in other countries
China 
China (2020 reissue) 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Hong Kong 
Indonesia 
Indonesia (reprint) 
Italy (Comic Art) 
Italy (Star Comics) 
Italy (La Gazzetta dello Sport) 
Italy (New Edition) 
Korea 
Malaysia (Chinese) 
Malaysia (Malay) 
Norway 
Rep. of China (Taiwan) 
Philippines 
Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2, part 1) 
Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2, part 2) 
Spain (Spanish, New Edition, combined volumes 21-22) 
Sweden 
Thailand 
United States 
Vietnam 
Vietnam (New Edition)
See also
| Volumes of the Manga | ||
|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 • 101 • 102 • 103 • 104 • 105 • 106 • 107 • 108 • 109 |