Case Closed 32

Gosho Aoyama – Viz – 2009 – 69+ volumes

Hmm.  I was reading an article defending scanlations based on Viz’s “butchering” of this series, and got really wound up, and then I realized I didn’t care that much.  The series isn’t “butchered,” only the names are different, and that’s really not Viz’s fault.  Changing the names doesn’t change the plot of the story or anything, it’s just kind of a shame.  The article’s author didn’t seem to be aware of the fact that the series is rated for 16+ or the fact that nothing is changed aside from the names.  I had this big, long response written up, then deleted it, because I just didn’t feel like engaging.

Anyway.  This volume was pretty great.  I liked all three of the cases this time around.  The first was the continuation of the story from last time in Osaka.  Harley’s father gets involved after a couple chapters, and it turns into a pretty serious affair, with possibly both Conan and Harley in danger.  Things keep building and getting stranger and stranger as people continue to set themselves on fire and commit suicide and whatnot.

The second case brings back Yoko, Detective Moore’s big crush.  One of her friends is having an engagement party, but is nearly murdered.  You know where this goes.  This one was actually pretty simple, but I liked it anyway.  Unfortunately, Detective Moore didn’t get his time to shine.  At all, come to think of it.  I don’t think Conan gets to use his darts one time this entire volume.

The final case was a Detective Boys case where the kids run into a man who looks like the owner of a big animal amusements chain.  He’s mistakenly kidnapped, and the kids have to try and find him.  This was a strange one, and involves a kind of language puzzle that is actually in English, but involves a slang term that is apparently common in England and Japan but not America.  That’s okay, it was still good.  As a special bonus, the man the kids helped out was pretty shifty.  He was named James Black.  Conan made a Moriarty connection (James picked up on the connection the group had with Holmes’ Detective Irregulars), but his last name may be the real clue.

There wasn’t any plot or even character development this time around, but I still enjoyed all three stories immensely.  As an added bonus, the detective featured in the back was Mike Hammer, who is awesome beyond belief and I was happy to see him.  I’m still a bit behind on this series, so here’s hoping I manage to catch myself up soon.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.  I think.