Talking About Favorite Cases, Characters, and Movies with Conan-Obsessed Employees (Part 2)
Following up on our last session, we are bringing you the second part of our "Detective Conan-Obsessed Employees" feature.
▼ Click here for Part 1!
In the first part, they talked about their favorite movie titles and episodes, but in this second part, we asked them about their personal Conan-loving anecdotes and some of the most outrageous movie settings.
We hope you enjoy it!
―Do you all have any personal anecdotes about your love for Conan?
Marsala: I heard from the boss (the General Manager) that Vodka’s love for Conan was even visible at her wedding.
Vodka: You know how there’s background music playing during meals or chatting at weddings? I made all of that Conan BGM (laughs).
Everyone: Whoa! (laughs)
Vodka: My friends even told me, "I couldn't feel moved at all."
―It sounds like a case is about to happen (laughs). Is your husband also a Conan fan?
Vodka: No, not at all. He told me, "I'll leave it to you," so I said, "Alright, I'll take care of it."
―And then it all became Conan (laughs).
Gin Tonic: The boss would definitely approve of that (laughs).
Vodka: Also, most of my farewell gifts, not just for friends, are Conan merchandise. When I went on my first maternity leave, my department gave me Conan goods.
Marsala: I went to the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory in Tottori Prefecture. It’s not just Conan, but they have original drawings on display, and there’s a Conan Street and the Kudo residence nearby. I also went to Conan Airport (laughs).
Vodka: I also went to the 20th Anniversary event (it's now the 29th anniversary) held at the Red Brick Warehouse (laughs). There were mystery-solving activities and things like that.
We had to wait in such a long line back then, a huge queue! We had to wait to buy tickets, wait to buy merchandise...
―It’s true, Conan fans from all over the country gather there, don't they?
Gin Tonic: It would be crazy if they held that event now (laughs).
Vodka: You might not even be able to get your hands on Amuro-san merchandise.
Gin Tonic: ...Cassis, don't you have any (anecdotes)?
Cassis: I’m a bit of a casual fan (bitter smile), so I don’t really have any merchandise.
Marsala: But you go to the movies on the opening day, right?
Gin Tonic: Right, we go to see it on the opening day.
Cassis: Because I don't want to be spoiled! I don't want to be spoiled, but I want to spoil it for others.
Vodka: The "want to spoil it" part is winning!
Everyone: (laughs)
Cassis: But I did think I wanted to go to Singapore!
―Singapore?
Vodka: "The Fist of Blue Sapphire," the one with Kaito Kid and Kyogoku-san! It’s set in Singapore, right?
―I see. You definitely want to visit the movie's sacred sites.
Gin Tonic: I actually went to Singapore. I watched it thinking, "So this is where it was!" while looking at the pool (at Marina Bay Sands). You can only enter the pool if you're staying there, but you can go to the observation deck next to it.
Cassis: Didn't the observation deck almost collapse in the movie?
Vodka: It was completely wrecked! It got taken out!
Marsala: I wonder if the hotel got mad at them for that (laughs).
Gin Tonic: Also, I went to Togetsukyo Bridge. It was actually just a normal bridge (laughs).
Everyone: (laughs)
―After I finished watching last year's "The Bride of Halloween," I looked at the topographical map of Shibuya to check the elevation differences (laughs).
Gin Tonic: There are many popular Conan movies recently, but I feel like "Sunflowers of Inferno" had mixed reviews.
Cassis: I remember that was the first time I hesitated about whether to watch the next one.
―Do you mean the content of the case was underwhelming?
Gin Tonic: It was just kind of dark, wasn't it?
Cassis: It was dark. Also, maybe I found myself craving explosions before I knew it (laughs).
Vodka: It was definitely a bit low-key. Even though it was supposed to be a story centered on Kid, he didn't play as big a role as I thought, so it might have felt a bit lackluster for fans and the story itself. It's hard when the theme is paintings because the background of the story doesn't really come through.
Gin Tonic: True. Even if you try to burn them, they wouldn't really burn that much, right? (laughs)
Cassis: When you think about it that way, they really did destroy Marina Bay Sands (in "The Fist of Blue Sapphire"). And (in "Crossroad in the Ancient Capital") they stole a Buddhist statue in Nara... though the goal was to sell it for money (laughs).
Marsala: Is there any setting in the movies that you thought was the most "outrageous"?
Cassis: I guess it has to be the one where they stole the Buddhist statue. (*Cassis is from Nara)
―So they stole a Buddhist statue (laughs).
Gin Tonic: For me, it’s "Quarter of Silence." They cause an avalanche, and Conan gets buried under the snow. Kogoro and the others search for him. There’s a 15-minute time limit and he’s found just in the nick of time, but realistically, I thought that was absolutely impossible, so it stuck in my memory.
Marsala: Also, in "The Darkest Nightmare," the Ferris wheel rolled away after the wheels came off.
Vodka: Oh! It rolled! (laughs)
Cassis: Right, and then at the end, beautiful fireworks go off!
Everyone: (laughs)
Gin Tonic: Where was "The Darkest Nightmare" set again?
Marsala: It seems to be modeled after Kasai Rinkai Park.
Gin Tonic: It has to be a place that will let you do that (laughs).
Vodka: At Conan's level, maybe they're actually happy because customers will come. Like, "Thanks for blowing us up!" (laughs)
―Speaking of the "Detective Conan" movies, the endings are also great, aren't they?
(In the movies, live-action footage of the locations featured in the story is shown every time.)
Gin Tonic: It feels like you can suddenly see the production side (laughs).
Vodka: Yeah, yeah, and there's always a continuation of the story after the song, so you can't leave until you see that. I think Conan might be the first one to have a continuation after the ending (laughs).
Cassis: Especially on opening day, no one leaves their seat until the lights come on. There's also the next movie preview.
―The next movie preview is something only those who watch the very end of the movie know about. Assuming no one spoils it.
Cassis: (Bitter smile)
Vodka: There was someone who watched a Conan movie preview in China and spoiled it, and it caused a huge uproar, right?
―The official side issued a warning, didn't they?
Cassis: Don't worry, I'm unofficial! The damage is visible.
Gin Tonic: You're the worst!
Everyone: (laughs)
Gin Tonic: Speaking of theme songs, big names like BUMP OF CHICKEN and Spitz have appeared recently.
Cassis: I really love BUMP's songs.
Everyone: They're great, aren't they!
Vodka: Before, it seemed like Mai Kuraki did a lot of the movies. Fukuyama Masaharu sang for "Zero the Enforcer," right?
Gin Tonic: It was Kazuyoshi Saito for "Private Eye in the Distant Sea."
―(Looking at the past theme songs) B'z has done quite a few too! This time's "Utsukushii Hire" (Spitz) was also good...
Marsala: Vodka, you haven't seen this year's movie yet, right?
Vodka: That's right, my child is 3 years old now, and I'm going on maternity leave again from July, so it's hard to watch it leisurely when I have kids. But I'd be lucky if I could go at this timing!
Marsala: If you were to convey the appeal of this movie to Vodka without spoilers? I thought"How much stronger is Ran Mouri going to get?"Gin Tonic/Cassis: Yeah! She was strong!
Vodka: That's what you focused on! (laughs) How was Uncle Kogoro?
Cassis: He didn't do anything.
Vodka: He didn't do anything (laughs). There was a small bit in "The Bride of Halloween" where Uncle Kogoro was hospitalized and they said "the anesthesia doesn't work." Were there any small bits like that?
Gin Tonic: In that sense, this one was quite serious. Oh, but
I did wonder how many Black Organization members there are (laughs).Cassis said she only watches the movies, but didn't you get confused?Cassis: I follow up on the parts I don't understand with explanation-style YouTube videos!
Everyone: As expected (laughs)
Cassis:
Pay attention to Vermouth as well. She was in a good position.Gin Tonic/Marsala: Indeed! Great comment!
Vodka: I heard from a senior who loves Conan that "in terms of character fandom, I think this is the best masterpiece yet."
Gin Tonic: Marsala (who loves Ai-chan), you must have been a mess, right?
Marsala: I was a mess, I watched it twice and cried twice. The characters were properly in focus.
Vodka: I'm looking forward to watching the movie.
The world of "Detective Conan" has endless charm.
Even if you've never seen it before... or you used to watch it but don't really know what's going on lately... please try enjoying "Detective Conan" in a way that suits you!
▼ Click here for works related to "Detective Conan".
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