Case Closed: Season 1 (2009)

The anime series Case Closed follows the teenage detective whiz Jimmy Kudo as he lands himself in trouble with a dangerous element, leaving his deductive mind in the body of Conan Edogawa, the child persona he conjured from two famous mystery authors, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Rampo.  As you proceed to the ending sequence you will notice the first credit as Reversioned by FUNimation Productions.  In the Americanized version, the series title, character names, locations, opening and ending theme music, and most things Japanese for that matter, have been altered.  The original title being 'Detective Conan' starring Shin'ichi Kudo in the title role.  As an anime purist, all these modifications would have bothered me had I not already become a fan of the show when this version aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim animation block a few years back.  The English-dubbed voices fit very well to the characters and the writing stays almost as true to the source material.  Though I immensely appreciate the original Japanese dialogue track with subtitles, as I can discover the show all over again.

After Kudo's big shrink he stays with Ran (Rachel), a former friend and love interest, and her father the famous yet bumbling private detective Kogoro Mori (Richard Moore).  This cements Conan's chance to tag along on cases, and while Moore jumps to the wrong conclusions the pint-sized detective foils the criminals' schemes.  Confined to the limitations of an adolescent, Conan utilizes various gadgets created by his personal friend Professor Agasa, such as a Voice-Altering Bow Tie, Power Kick Shoes and an Anesthetic Watch Gun, among others that conveniently come in handy for all his sleuthing needs.

Like most television shows, a formula is followed and with Case Closed, Conan always saves the day by the end of each episode.  While watching the anime on a nightly basis this formula became tiresome so I recommend viewing it on a more sporadic schedule to ensure the cases remain fresh and exciting.  With its cartoonish method of animation and comedy, I had trouble discerning its target audience as it also contains graphic death scenes and such content as suicide, murder, revenge and assassination.  So I find it more suitable for teenage and older age groups.  And I realize the story stays strong as Kudo remains a child but a hint at the organization which perpetrated the original crime would have been welcome towards the end of the first season.  Instead the episodes continue on the same formula which suggests a lengthy saga as Kudo plies his craft as the pint-sized detective Conan Edogawa, proving his doctrine of "One Truth Prevails."

Buyer's Guide:
Available as a 4 disc boxset containing episodes 1 - 28.

4 sleep-inducing needles to the back of poor Kogoro Mori's neck out of 5

Nutted by Borderline