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Author Topic: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon  (Read 19485 times)

Paul Phoenix

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Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« on: April 05, 2016, 02:02:28 AM »
Holy smokes. 20 years. Has it been that long? Man, I feel old. I remember the first time watching this anime before I even knew what anime was. After Digimon Adventure, this was probably one of my first anime series ever. I would remember buying the movies from the bargain-bin, watching them with Chinese subtitles. lol Man... good times.

So, in my never-ending quest of quelling my boredom, I had thought about something over the past few days. There's this upcoming anime movie called "Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare". It's the 20th movie in a long line of Detective Conan movies (Americans will know of this series as "Case Closed"). Now, usually, this froggie doesn't go out much from his little well. I don't usually pay much attention to movies playing in theaters - especially not anime movies. I could count the small amount of anime movies that I actually enjoyed with both of my hands and would probably still have fingers to spare, probably.

But Detective Conan has a... 'special' place in my heart, and by "special" I mean I have a love/hate relationship with it. Back then, I loved the series, religiously watching all 630 episodes of the TV series since I was a child. But over time, the series seems to have a lot more filler episodes.

Sometimes, these TV original filler episodes are good, but around the 600 episode mark, I just felt like the mysteries were getting formulaic. There's just no suspense or impact to them anymore. Detective Conan used to have mysteries that were so emotionally-riveting I bawled out to the show on a regular basis. It's got a lot of good drama mixed in with the mystery element, so it was not just a show made for the mystery-buffs. Nowadays, however, they seem to pander towards younger audiences. There's almost a more childish tone to the protagonist, Conan's characterization. And way too often, the relationship between Conan and Ran (his girlfriend) doesn't get developed in any interesting or significant ways. More importantly, my favorite part of the show, the main plot involving the "Black Organization" (your typical evil syndicate working from the shadows as they plan to take over the world) didn't really go anywhere meaningful for a while. So around episode 630, I placed the series on hold, indefinitely, which kinda felt more like I "dropped" it rather than put it on hold, but I guess I was still too attached to the series to drop it forever.

I've also stopped paying attention to the non-canonical movies since movie 14 (excluding movie 17 and 18). Being a big-time theatrical presentation, the movies can be more dramatic than the TV series and I had fun with some of them. But after movie 7 or 8 back in 2004, I felt that the quality of the movies has also began to drop as well. A lot of them tried to be showy, but often the result ended up being no more special than a TV episode, lacking the emotional impact of the first seven movies.

But with the coming 20th movie, which promises to focus on the Black Org. (shorthanded as "Black"), my interest in the series has been rekindled.

Naturally, I won't be reviewing all of the episodes I watch, merely some of the more interesting episodes I come across. I will, however, review all of the 20 movies... no matter how mediocre some of them are.

So without further ado, let the anniversary begin!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_8rI8b3pNg

Movies
1. The Time Bombed Skyscraper (1997)
2. The Fourteenth Target (1998)
3. The Last Wizard of the Century (1999)
4. Captured in Her Eyes (2000)
5. Countdown to Heaven (2001)
6. The Phantom of Baker Street (2002)
7. Crossroad in the Ancient Capital (2003)
8. Magician of the Silver Sky (2004)
9. Strategy Above the Depths (2005)
10. The Private Eyes' Requiem (2006)
11. Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (2007)
12. Full Score of Fear (2008)
13. The Raven Chaser (2009)
14. The Lost Ship in the Sky (2010)
15. Quarter of Silence (2011)
16. The Eleventh Striker (2012)
17. Private Eye in the Distant Sea (2013)
18. Dimensional Sniper (2014)
19. Sunflowers of Inferno (2015)
20. The Darkest Nightmare (2016)

Special Highlights

Featured Detective
Sherlock Holmes
Kogoro Akechi

Season 1
Case 1: The Roller Coaster Murder Case
Case 2: The Kidnapping Case of the Company President's Daughter
Case 3: An Idol's Locked Room Murder Case
Case 4: The Case of the Coded City Map
Case 5: The Case of the Bullet Train Explosion
Case 6: The Valentine Murder Case
Case 7: The Intimidation Case of the Monthly Presents
Case 10: The Pro Soccer Player Blackmailing Case
Case 11: The Moonlight Sonata Murder Case
Case 12: The Ayumi-chan Kidnapping Case
Case 17: The Department Store Hijacking Case
Case 18: A June Bride Murder Case
Case 21: On Location, The TV Drama Murder Case
Case 22: The Luxury Liner Serial Murder Case (Part 1)
Case 23: The Luxury Liner Serial Murder Case (Part 2)
Case 27: The Murder Case of Kogoro's Class Reunion (Part 1)
Case 28: The Murder Case of Kogoro's Class Reunion (Part 2)

Season 20
Case 631: What the Floral Clock Knew
Case 632: The Sword of the Time Guardian (Part 1)
Case 633: The Sword of the Time Guardian (Part 2)

Case 634: The Crime Scene at the Super Narrow Shop
Case 635: Beware of Dieting
Case 636: The Case of "The Most Useful School in the World" (Part 1)
Case 637: The Case of "The Most Useful School in the World" (Part 2)
Case 638: Solving Mysteries at the Red Leaf Palace (Part 1)
Case 639: Solving Mysteries at the Red Leaf Palace (Part 2)

Case 640: The Memory Lane of the Eight Sketches (Okayama Chapter)
Case 641: The Memory Lane of the Eight Sketches (Kurashiki Chapter)

Season 21
Case 646: The Deduction Showdown in the Haunted Hotel (Part 1)
Case 647: The Deduction Showdown in the Haunted Hotel (Part 2)

Case 656: The Professor's Video Site (Part 1)
Case 657: The Professor's Video Site (Part 2)

Case 658: The Hot Chocolate Trap
Case 659: The Joint Investigation With A First Love (Part 1)
Case 660: The Joint Investigation With A First Love (Part 2)

Case 661: Kogoro-san Is A Good Man (Part 1)
Case 662: Kogoro-san Is A Good Man (Part 2)

Case 663: Chase The Miyama Beetle
Case 664: The Triumph of the Great Dog Coeur II
Case 665: The Suspicious Initial K
Case 666: The Intimidator in the Rainy Night

Case 667: Wedding Eve (Part 1)
Case 668: Wedding Eve (Part 2)

Case 669: The Dark Tower's Hidden Treasure (Part 1)
Case 670: The Dark Tower's Hidden Treasure (Part 2)

Case 671: The Detectives' Nocturne (Incident)
Case 672: The Detectives' Nocturne (Kidnapping)
Case 673: The Detectives' Nocturne (Deduction)
Case 674: The Detectives' Nocturne (Bourbon)

Case 675: Won't Forgive Even One Millimeter (Part 1)
Case 676: Won't Forgive Even One Millimeter (Part 2)

Case 677: The Beach with No Footprints
Case 678: Nagasaki Mystery Theater (Bakumatsu Chapter)
Case 679: Nagasaki Mystery Theater (Present-Day Chapter)

Case 680: Cactus Capriccio


Season 22
Case 681: The Life-Threatening Broadcast of Love (Begin Broadcasting)
Case 682: The Life-Threatening Broadcast of Love (Crisis State)
Case 683: The Life-Threatening Broadcast of Love (Enter the Scene)

Case 684: Froth, Steam, and Smoke (Part 1)
Case 685: Froth, Steam, and Smoke (Part 2)

Case 686: The Car Carrying A Time Bomb
Case 687: The Unsolvable Ice Trap

Case 688: Detective Takagi Picked Up 30 Million Yen
Case 689: Messages From the Client

Case 690: Yusaku Kudo's Cold Case (Part 1)
Case 691: Yusaku Kudo's Cold Case (Part 2)

Case 692: The Night-Sakura Scenic Route on Sumida River (Part 1)
Case 693: The Night-Sakura Scenic Route on Sumida River (Part 2)

Case 694: The Missing Confectionaries in the Old Candy Shop
Case 695: The Roses in the Vineyard
Case 696: The Flowerbed Vandal's Scheme

Case 697: The Window at the Girls Academy
Case 698: No Way! The Case of the UFO Crash
Case 699: The Shadow Pursuing Haibara's Secret (Part 1)
Case 700: The Shadow Pursuing Haibara's Secret (Part 2)

Case 701: The Jet-Black Mystery Train (Departure)
Case 702: The Jet-Black Mystery Train (Tunnel)
Case 703: The Jet-Black Mystery Train (Junction)
Case 704: The Jet-Black Mystery Train (Final Destination)

Case 705: Conan in a Locked Room
Case 706: Bourbon Figures It Out

Case 707: The Framed Great Detective
Case 708: The Man Who Fell Slowly
Case 709: The Case of the Unconfirmed Crash

Case 710: Everyone Witnessed It (Part 1)
Case 711: Everyone Witnessed It (Part 2)

Case 712: Heiji Hattori and the Vampire Mansion (Part 1)
Case 713: Heiji Hattori and the Vampire Mansion (Part 2)
Case 714: Heiji Hattori and the Vampire Mansion (Part 3)
Case 715: Heiji Hattori and the Vampire Mansion (Part 4)


Season 23
Case 716: Dancing Demon at the Noh Mask Mansion (Part 1)
Case 717: Dancing Demon at the Noh Mask Mansion (Part 2)

Case 718: The Devil's Circuit
Case 719: A Dispute Over a Platinum Ticket
Case 720: A Mystery Tour of Fire and Water (Aso Chapter)
Case 721: A Mystery Tour of Fire and Water (Kumamoto Chapter)

Case 722: The Sweet and Cold Delivery (Part 1)
Case 723: The Sweet and Cold Delivery (Part 2)

Case 724: Kaitou Kid and the Blush Mermaid (Part 1)
Case 725: Kaitou Kid and the Blush Mermaid (Part 2)

Case 726: A Happy E-mail Bringing Sadness
Case 727: The Treasure Chest Filled With Fruits (Part 1)
Case 728: The Treasure Chest Filled With Fruits (Part 2)
Case 729: The Diamond, the Painting, and the Great Actress
Case 730: The Figure That Was Too Good

Case 731: The Ex-Boyfriend Living Next to a Crime Scene (Part 1)
Case 732: The Ex-Boyfriend Living Next to a Crime Scene (Part 2)
Case 733: The Wedding Reception and the Two Gunshots
Case 734: Jodie's Memories and the Sakura Viewing Trap

Case 735: The Coded Invitation
Case 736: The Secret of the Kogoro Mouri Statue
Case 737: The suspicious Walking Path

Case 738: Kogoro In The Bar (Part 1)
Case 739: Kogoro In The Bar (Part 2)
Case 740: The Bathroom Where Ran Collapsed As Well (Part 1)
Case 741: The Bathroom Where Ran Collapsed As Well (Part 2)
Case 742: The Promise with the J-League
Case 743: Two Overlapping Accidents

Case 744: The Suspect, Makoto Kyogoku (Part 1)
Case 745: The Suspect, Makoto Kyogoku (Part 2)
Case 746: Kaito Kid VS Makoto Kyogoku (Part 1)
Case 747: Kaito Kid VS Makoto Kyogoku (Part 2)
Case 748: Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story (Confession)
Case 749: Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story (Truth)
Case 750: The Man Betrayed by the Sea
Case 751: The Case of the Beckoning Calico Cat (Part 1)
Case 752: The Case of the Beckoning Calico Cat (Part 2)
Case 753: The Blind Spot in the Share House
Case 754: The Tragedy of the Red Woman (Fog)
Case 755: The Tragedy of the Red Woman (Evil Spirit)
Case 756: The Tragedy of the Red Woman (Revenge)
Case 757: The Comedian Who Turned Himself In (Part 1)
Case 758: The Comedian Who Turned Himself In (Part 2)

Case 759: The Love Novel With Unexpected Results (Part 1)
Case 760: The Love Novel With Unexpected Results (Part 2)
Case 761: Kaga Hyakumangoku Mystery Tour (Kanazawa Chapter)
Case 762: Kaga Hyakumangoku Mystery Tour (Kaga Chapter)


Season 24
TV Special 5: The Disappearance of Conan Edogawa: The Worst Two Days in History
TV Special 4: Happy New Year, Kogoro Mouri
Case 763: Conan and Heiji, Code of Love (Part 1)
Case 764: Conan and Heiji, Code of Love (Part 2)
Case 765: The Teimuzu River Kite Flying Case (Part 1)
Case 766: The Teimuzu River Kite Flying Case (Part 2)
Case 767: The Lover Gone Missing in a Snowstorm
Case 768: The Ai Haibara Imprisonment Case
Case 769: The Troublesome Emergency Patient

Case 770: The Tense Tea Party (Part 1)
Case 771: The Tense Tea Party (Part 2)
Case 772: The Shinichi Kudō Aquarium Case (Part 1)
Case 773: The Shinichi Kudō Aquarium Case (Part 2)
Case 774: Munch's Missing Scream
Case 775: The Manipulated Great Detective (Part 1)
Case 776: The Manipulated Great Detective (Part 2)
Case 777: Detective Boys vs. Detective Elderlies
Case 778: The Mirage of Missing Angel

Case 779: The Scarlet Prologue
Case 780: The Scarlet Pursuit
Case 781: The Scarlet Intersection
Case 782: The Scarlet Return
Case 783: The Scarlet Truth
Case 784: Welcome to Club Orihime
Case 785: Taiko Meijin's Match of Love (Part 1)
Case 786: Taiko Meijin's Match of Love (Part 2)
Case 787: The Mystery Sinking in the Midsummer Pool (Part 1)
Case 788: The Mystery Sinking in the Midsummer Pool (Part 2)
Case 789: The Queen's Weather Forecast
Case 790: Bekapon's Bleeding Service
Case 791: Detective Takagi On the Run in Handcuffs

Case 792: Three First Discoverers (Part 1)
Case 793: Three First Discoverers (Part 2)
Case 794: Bodyguard Kogorō Mōri
Case 795: The Secret of the Missing Young Lady
Case 796: The Strategy of the Inseparable Couple
Case 797: The Confusing Deduction of the Dreaming Girl
Case 798: The Moving Target
Case 799: The Locked Room Mystery Battle of the Detective Boys
Case 800: Chase 100 Million Yen
Case 801: Tottori Sand Dunes Mystery Tour (Kurayoshi Chapter)
Case 802: Tottori Sand Dunes Mystery Tour (Tottori Chapter)

Season 25
Case 803: Pitfall of Fire Precautions
Case 804: Conan and Ebizō's Kabuki Jūhachiban Mystery (Part 1)
Case 805: Conan and Ebizō's Kabuki Jūhachiban Mystery (Part 2)
Case 806: The Ventriloquist's Illusion (Part 1)
Case 807: The Ventriloquist's Illusion (Part 2)

Case 808: The Inn of the Kamaitachi (Part 1)
Case 809: The Inn of the Kamaitachi (Part 2)
Case 810: The Darkness of the Prefectural Police (Part 1)
Case 811: The Darkness of the Prefectural Police (Part 2)
Case 812: The Darkness of the Prefectural Police (Part 3)
Case 813: "The Shadow Sneaking Up on Amuro
Case 814: The Blog Actress's Locked Room Case (Part 1)
Case 815: The Blog Actress's Locked Room Case (Part 2)
Case 816: The Regrettable and Kind Alien
Case 817: Missing Fiancé
Case 818: Kogoro's Great Pursuit of Anger (Part 1)
Case 819: Kogoro's Great Pursuit of Anger (Part 2)

Legend
Studio Original Production
Watched, but not reviewed
« Last Edit: May 17, 2016, 06:31:15 PM by Hermit »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2016, 04:35:27 PM »
Case File #1
The Roller Coaster Murder Case


Important Milestone:
  • Introduces most of the main characters, including:
    1. Kudo Shinichi
    2. His girlfriend Mouri Ran
    3. Ran's deadbeat father Mouri Kogoro
    4. The police inspector Megure Juzo
    5. Shinichi's neighbor and eccentric inventor, Agasa Hiroshi
    6. Two top members of the antagonist Black Organization, Gin and Vodka
    7. The three children companions of Conan, Yoshida Ayumi, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, and Kojima Genta


  • Kudo Shinichi gets shrunk into the body of a seven year old, resulting in the main plot of the show.

Manga to anime changes
  • The three children don't appear this early in the manga.
  • Prof. Agasa and Kogoro don't appear until the President's Daughter Kidnapping Case adapted in the second episode of the anime.
  • The mansion owner kills his wife in the manga, as opposed to his mere business partner and friend.
  • Shinichi's soccer ball is from a group of children, not his school's soccer team. He also scores a goal instead of merely kicking it back.
  • Shinichi leaps out of the way instead of having his face buried underneath her skirt...
  • Gin and Vodka were ousted as potential suspects, only to be defended by Shinichi.
  • Shinichi uses a camera while eavesdropping.

Ah, here we are. The very first episode of probably the longest-running anime in history. It was a remastered version of the episode I had just watched. Good to see that the HD-upgrade has not taken away the awkward drawing of the characters from back then. Conan has taken a more realistic human shape nowadays, but classic character designs like these still retain their charm.

The episode opens with high school detective Kudo Shinichi confidently talking his way through a deduction. For much of the series, whenever this guy walks into a room, everyone will listen to him talk. That's just how shounen anime works, apparently. Never underestimate their plot-armor. But to be fair, the deductions adapted from the manga are often logical and convincing enough that Kudo could pass off as the "Heisei-era Sherlock Holmes" (or "the modern day Holmes of Japan"), as the press had labeled him.

Funny thing about Kudo and Holmes is that our hero often sung praises about Conan Doyle and his books, but this anime character was the one who got me interested in Holmes in the first place. "He's always calm and composed no matter the situation," said Kudo of Holmes, "and he's practically overflowing with intelligence and refinement! And his keen powers of observation and deduction are unparalleled!" It's almost like he's describing himself, as you'll come to see in the series. Kudo always has a kind of finesse that grabs everyone's attention in the room, and his observational skills are almost god-like that some parodies portrayed him as an overpowered psychic. ;D Like, seriously, he could see the dirt on your shoe and could tell that you've ran eight miles off the coast of Costa Rica or some s***. This guy's deductive skills would make Cumberbatch look bad in his own take of Sherlock.

Some time when the DC manga was released, other teenage detectives like him had appeared on the scene as well, including Kindaichi from the "Kindaichi Case Files", and the CLAMP detectives from "CLAMP School Detectives", both first published in '92. The good thing about these younger detectives is that you could pass these gentlemen off as snarky, sarcastic geniuses who make adults look bad and the hearts of young girls flutter. Oddly enough, none of these detectives I've mentioned were ever like that, even Kudo himself. While he can come off as a bit obnoxious in off-hours, when deducting, he's often serious, professional, and even pacifistic. In fact, he's so well-rounded as a person that over the years I began to treat him like a Gary-Stu, wishing that he had at least some flaws in his early days as a detective that made him look reckless and brash. While it was indeed his own carelessness that caused him to be shrunken into the body of a seven year old by the main antagonists of the series (more on that later), later flashbacks indicated that he was nowhere near obnoxious in his pre-shrinking days.

As mentioned earlier, I gained my interest in Holmes from watching the anime. Often in the show, Kudo would recite something from the books, like in this episode, when he mentions the first time Sherlock met his assistant, Watson, how he could tell he went to Afghanistan as a medic by merely shaking his hand. Kudo proceeded to demonstrate the same technique immediately to deduce the identity of a female gymnast - with the additional observation of some pressure marks on her thighs. Yeah, anime boys and their perviness. Don't ask.

The titular murder soon occurs in the now famous Tropical Land theme park that would be referenced multiple times later in the series as the last place Kudo took Ran to a date before he got turned into a small child. Speaking of Mouri Ran, don't pay too much heed to her Japanese name. I know it's a strange name in English, but being the purist that I am, I've always preferred it to the name of "Rachael Moore" they gave her in the American-licensed dub, which just sounds like another kind of weird in my book.

The classic "Roller Coaster Murder Case" is actually pretty simple for the series' pilot episode. Guy cheats on girl and girl gets revenge on guy by hooking the necklace he gave her onto his neck - during the roller coaster ride. Not a good way to go. Simple as it is, the effective delivery of the emotional background score (playing as the murdereress explains her motive) was enough to got me bawling nearly everytime. :'( ;D It's funny that I had got emotional over this despite having seen the same kind of revenge-killing so many times. Kudo mentions in this episode that he has no such problems as he's pretty much desensitized to the whole thing after so many cases. As mentioned, the element that strike an emotional chord in this show is the music orchestrated by the famous Katsuo Ono Band who will be scoring for pretty much the entire series. You might say it's emotionally-manipulative and, dare I say it, schmaltzy, but surprising enough, I was okay with the schmaltz here, probably because I grew up with it and became used to the dramatic tune that plays everytime something tragic happens in the show.

And honestly, the soundtrack is well-made enough that one should give it a listen, regardless of having seen or having interest in the show or not:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBFAB41DB241E8037

There are a few 'cliches' in the show that have already presented themselves in this episode. The first one is that the murderer/ess will almost always explain his motive after the deduction show. None of that interrogation at the station, nope. Straight off, after being exposed as the culprit, he just conveniently spills everything about why he did it to further the emotional impact. lol It might seem cheap, but it's effective in emphasizing the drama of the story, especially for bleeding-hearts like myself. The second cliche is that jerks will almost always die first, so don't be a jerk in this show.

As the episode comes to an end, our dear young Kudo eavesdrop on an illegal business deal going on with some men in black (no, not the Sonnenfeld kind) who are, as we later find out, part of a shadow organization conveniently named... you guessed it, "Black". Yep. That's anime naming for you. Of course, Kudo's carelessness made him miss the top dog of the organization, Gin himself, who sneaks up behind him and hits him on the head with a metal bat. Honestly, in real life, such a concussion would nearly kill you or cause brain damage. Gin then proceeds to force-feed him an experimental drug that finally turns him into the little seven year old boy we all now know and love.

Why create a drug that de-ages you? Why not? It's a fountain of youth.

4/5 (Not bad for a pilot)
« Last Edit: April 19, 2016, 04:09:33 AM by Hermit »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

roujin

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2016, 05:06:18 PM »
good show.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2016, 04:18:49 AM »
Case File #2
The Kidnapping Case of the Company President's Daughter


Important Milestone:
  • Prof. Agasa learns about Shinichi's shrunken body.
  • Shinichi takes up the identity of "Edogawa Conan" while disguising himself with his father's glasses.
  • For the first time in many to come, Conan helps Kogoro solve a case without earning the credit.
  • Conan moves in with Ran and Kogoro.
  • Conan returns to elementary school.

Manga to anime changes
  • Conan runs off immediately from the police in the anime as opposed to running off from a medical center at the Tropical Land amusement park.
  • The company president puts the vacation plans on hold before changing his mind (upon seeing his granddaughter's disappointment). The anime thankfully leaves this out.
  • Conan isn't introduced to his new class in the manga. He merely reflects on how his smaller body is futile in fighting crime.

This is the first of many awkward episode titles to come. The problem with translating Japanese titles into English ones is that they have very different syntax, such that what sounds normal and smooth in Japanese becomes quite the mouthful in English. I've tried rearranging the episode title in different ways, but I think this is the best I can do. Wish there's a better word for "Company President", because "the President's Daughter" can suggest an entirely different level of kidnapping.

Remember when I mentioned in the last episode review that Conan (I'm gonna refer to him with his alias as opposed to his real name from now on unless for special exceptions) has deductive skills so great he's practically a psychic? Well, in this episode, it's pretty much like the time when Holmes first met Watson. When Conan tries to return home, he runs into his eccentric neighbor, Professor Agasa the inventor (of his various gadgets later in the series), who will play the role of Watson in this particular scenario. In trying to convince Agasa that he's the real McCoy, Conan claims that the professor had just recently returned from a restaurant named "Columbo". Now Sherlock fans, feel free to imagine the following passage in Cumberbatch's voice:

"There are water stains on your front but not on your back! This is evidence that you were running in the rain! Also, there are mud stains on your pants. The only place nearby that has a muddy road is the road in front of Columbo, which is currently under construction! And also, there is some special meat sauce from Columbo on your mustache!"

My favorite part of this deduction has to be his playful, teasing finger-wagging at the end. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, this is only the beginning of my deduction, Professor Agasa." Yeah. He's a sasser.

It doesn't take long in the series before Conan's girlfriend, Ran, discovers this little boy she has never seen before. In a jam, he quickly forms a nickname based on the names of two authors, the Japanese mystery novelist, Edogawa Ranpo, and of course, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, giving us the eponymous "Edogawa Conan". To further hide his identity, he disguise himself with his father's glasses Clark Kent-style. Despite this poor strategy (and the fact that Conan removed the prescription-lenses from the eyeglass frame, which can be hard to tell in animation form), Ran easily buys this obvious lie soon enough, even though she grew up together with Shinichi as childhood friends (a fact we'll find out in later episodes). Now, some fans, myself included, have speculated that Ran has since long figured out the identity of Conan and was merely keeping it a secret. Maybe not in episode 2, but it's quite obvious that she's bound to be highly suspicious in later episodes. Unless of course, plot-armor.

As we move on to the titular case, we get to see the first time that Ran's deadbeat detective father Kogoro hits Conan on the head. With his knuckle. You could see the bump on the picture up there. Usually, this serves a comedic effect in many Japanese TV shows - someone hitting an idiot on the head with a paper fan. But when exposed to audiences outside of Japan, this can seem like quite the cruel thing to do, especially to a kid. I know I was certainly shocked at first. There are a number of seemingly cruel things Japanese characters like to do to each other without fuss, including the female students' excessive interest in dressing their shy and awkward friends up in promiscuous outfits. Go figure, Japan.

The titular case involves, well, the kidnapping of a company president's daughter. The episode titles are often very literal, so you could more than figure out what it's going to be about. Only on special episodes involving plot-developments or the Black Organization would you get less conspicuous titles. While working on the case, we learn that Conan, when in deep thought, likes to juggle a soccer ball around to clear his mind. Sherlock has a similar behavior by steepling his hands beneath his nose. Both behaviors had gained my interest enough that I sometimes steeple my hands while thinking too, and I had also gained an avid childhood interest in soccer (which Conan is a huge fan of).

With a little nudging on Conan's part, Kogoro figures out enough clues to help progress the case along. Conan would be doing this almost every episode from this point on, with Kogoro taking the credit nearly everytime, the jerk. It doesn't help that in this particular episode, Conan is the one doing all the footwork (with the ever-memorable Conan theme music playing in the background) and life-risking. Because he hadn't received all those cool gadgets from Professor Agasa, dealing with common thugs and criminals like these still presented a problem when you have the shrunken body of a seven year old. Fortunately, Ran arrived on the scene just in time with a deus ex-machina of multiple rapid jabs into the stomach and a karate kick to the face.

And so, the day is saved, and for the very first time, Conan introduces himself as "Edogawa Conan, Tantei sa." ("I'm Edogawa Conan, a detective."), which is a lot more humble than what Kogoro often refers to himself as ("Mouri Kogoro, Meitantei." (Meitantei = Renowned Detective...). After the credits, Conan finds himself in the unfortunate situation of going back to elementary school to hide his identity... Heh. Hello again, puberty.

4/5 (As it is still early on in the series, the plot-development shall remain interesting for a while)
« Last Edit: April 09, 2016, 10:48:36 PM by Hermit »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

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Paul Phoenix

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2016, 12:01:41 AM »
Case File #632/#633
The Sword of the Time Guardian


And the common trend of laser-guided karma continues in this show, where jerks are often guaranteed to die. So don't be a jerk in Detective Conan. It is perhaps a bit questionable in the kind of lessons learned here when the victim is usually some brash asshole who wronged someone in life once upon a time. To be fair, Conan does point out that this does not justify murder in any way every now and then.

So as I've pointed out in the opening post, I won't be reviewing every episode I watch or rewatch, particularly not TV originals (episodes not based on the manga) like the Case File #631 I didn't review, since these have less interesting cases that don't progress the main plot. The episodes that are based on the manga are sometimes uneventful as well, like this particular two-parter, so much so that they had to fill the runtime of Part 2 with a recap of Part 1. In fact, this is the reason why I previously suspended my viewing of the series, because it was beginning to be choked full of such episodes. Not that there's anything wrong with the manga author writing mystery-centric chapters for a long period of time - it's a detective show, after all - but as mentioned, I'm more intrigued by the drama and romance of the series, not so much the mysteries, especially when I'm not nearly intelligent enough to follow the clues that efficiently (unless it's a TV original; those are easy to follow).

I'm also going to focus on reviews that don't summarize the entire plot of the episode, because I feel that my review for Case File #2 was just humdrum and lifeless - both the writing and reading of it. If it's not fun for the writer, I'm pretty sure the reader won't have much fun reading it either. What I might focus on instead is these little things present in almost every episode so that I could use the opportunity to shed a spotlight on them.

For example, the opening and ending theme (or OP and ED). If there's one notable quality of the show (other than its taut mysteries), it's the music. Anime series have a great opportunity of featuring a large number of distinct and unique opening themes. Not all anime series exploit the opportunity efficiently of course, and most just settle for rather formulaic pop music sequence with some fancy graphics that ironically don't really bear a striking theme with the show (look at Daredevil and True Detectives for an example on a good thematic opening). While Detective  Conan is unfortunately one of this cases, with over 40+ OPs and 50 EDs to date in its 25 seasons, I must admit that I find a good amount of the theme songs to be memorable and catchy. It's a fun show with a little kid detective catching bad guys, hardly the stuff of gritty Batman after all. And the featured OP and ED in this episode are among my favorites, albeit nowhere in the top 10.

The OP here is "Misty Mystery" by GARNET CROW, who performed the very catchy OP 20, "Namida no Yesterday" (Tears of Yesterday). Notable lyrics include:

"Why do you walk towards the unforeseeable tomorrow with hope?"
"In exchange for break-up and tears, what was it you obtained in your hands?"
"Sadness is a natural phenomenon. Tranquility is only an impression."


The thing about Japanese songs is that they aren't really written to have a coherent message of some kind, and are more like a brain-dump of mixed emotions personified by the lyrics. Thus it is often that I don't have any idea what the songs are about unless I carefully examine them. In most cases though, I do notice the trend of this anime's OPs evoking the melancholy of lost love and hope for a brighter day. Despite being rather cheery songs most of the time, a lot of the openings show somber scenes of both Conan and Ran in a kind of grimacing deep thought as they long for being embraced in each other's arms once more. This goes back to what I said about the opening theme fitting the theme of the show, and it fits here quite well. More often, the OPs that end up being my favorites are the ones like this that focus on the tragedy (more frequently unaddressed in the story nowadays) of two lovers separated by, well, the shrunken body of a seven year old. Yeah, I'm a sentimental sod.

The ED here is "Your Best Friend" by Kuraki Mai who pretty much does most of the Detective Conan OPs and EDs nowadays. Due to that longevity, she ended up having almost as many songs that I like as my favorite singer for the series, the late Izumi Sakai, better known as the vocalist of ZARD. RIP. :'( In this ED, notable lyrics include:

"But I know you've been holding back your tears for so long
To the extent that your heart is about to break
Even if you're only putting up a front, just by looking at your eyes
I'd know right away, you're my boyfriend
so you can lean on me

Always, you're my best friend"


I've often said that the purpose of an anime OP is to set up an exhilarating mood so that you can get excited for the show. Therefore, most of the sappy stuff about Ran not seeing her boyfriend is often pushed towards the ED than the OP, because most anime EDs are slower, calmer songs that express the joys or sorrows of the heart. That's why I don't have as many favorite EDs as favorite OPs even though there are a lot more EDs than OPs in this show, because I like my songs fast-paced. 8)

That being said, this one was a particular favorite ED of mine because it's simply quite adorable. In the outro, you have Ran and Shinichi (not Conan) as little children riding a handcar together between an endless spread of flowers. The lyrics suit the scene perfectly as it shows how close the two used to be in their carefree childhood days before the inevitable shrinking.

Now let's (finally) talk about the actual plot of the episodes! ;D

The mystery of this two-parter is pretty cut-and-dry, your standard "latch the murder weapon onto a swinging device" trickery. When you get this late into the series, you would have pretty much seen all kinds of murder-tricks the criminal would use, thus lacking that surprise element. Even I managed to solve most of it by the end, except maybe the identity of the actual culprit. As evidenced here, the writing is clearly different from the TV originals. There are red herrings littered here to throw you off, such as the three suspects' testimony all describing the criminal in reasonable ways that don't stand out. At first, I had thought it was the old man because he's the last person who could commit a murder. This show has a way of tricking you into dismissing the usual suspects. But of course, there was an even more unusual suspect I had forgotten.

One recurring trait of the more recent episodes (and all remastered versions of the older one) is the black-colored blood. Now, I know blood blackens after a while, but it certainly isn't immediately blackened after spillage. I assume that this is the network's way of 'censoring' the blood and gore of the show. In the remastered version of the classic Case File #1, for example, a decapitated head is replaced with a blast of shining light jetting from the man's neck, wowie. I think that's a more dangerous message to teach any kids who might be watching. "Hey, cut off your head and light comes out, POOOFSSSHH!"

The episode ends like any other, with a sob story about the victim wronging the murderer somehow. It's not especially terrible this time, but I have very mixed feelings about leaving it on such a pretentious note, "Maybe... instead of avenging him... it was more like I wanted to rescue (the clocks) - from the Tyrant of Time..." Like, c'mon. Who talks like that in real life? I could appreciate the sentiment of loving inanimated objects, but "the Tyrant of Time"? ::)

2.5/5 (A pretty standard mystery with a good OP and ED)
« Last Edit: April 18, 2016, 02:05:16 AM by Hermit »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2016, 10:25:18 PM »
Case File #3
An Idol's Locked Room Murder Case


Important Milestone:
  • New tertiary character: Famous idol Okino Yoko.
  • The professor's first gadget is introduced: the voice-changing bow-tie.
  • Conan uses the voice-changing bow-tie to solve the case on Kogoro's behalf.
  • Conan uses the voice-changing bow-tie to contact Ran on the phone.
  • The children trio (Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, Genta) come into contact with Conan's alias identity.

Manga to anime changes
  • The three children don't appear in the manga until the haunted mansion case in volume 2 (or episode 20 in the anime).
  • Ran never mentions in this episode the men in black she saw Shinichi pursued when she last saw him.

Wow. This episode just hits all kinds of high notes, exemplifying the great writing that got me in love with this series in the first place. We've got a vicious and heart-wrenching twist to the mystery, the introduction to a cool new gadget that result in an important change in status quo for the rest of the series, and best of all, a dramatic development in the romance of Shinichi and Ran.

Let's start with the case itself. This is the first time we get to see a locked room mystery in this series. It's a classic technique that's famous throughout detective novels, mostly because it allows the writer to utilize clever tricks in the solving of the case. You'll see at least one of these in just about every detective fiction ever. We also have an interesting reversal of roles here, as the inspector becomes the one annoyed with the buffoon detective (Kogoro) instead of the classic relationship you'd find in Sherlockian fiction. We are also reminded that Conan is in the guise of a little child in a world of grown-ups, and his direct interference with the crime scene, no matter how justified, is not welcomed by the inspector. That's a piece of good writing that will be forgotten about over the years, but with good reasons (the inspector being used to Conan's presence and his helpfulness in finding obscure clues).

For the first time ever, Conan knocks out Kogoro and performs his deduction in his voice. I love how when he tuned the voice-changing bow-tie (an invention granted by Prof. Agasa) to Kogoro's voice, the resulting sound is a bit lighter in tone than Kogoro's actual voice. Of course, nobody notices this, but it's a nice touch to bring realism to Conan's attempt of imitating Kogoro. By the end of it, Kogoro takes the credit of course, and would eventually become the famous detective that falls asleep whenever he gets a 'Eureka' moment and solve the case, aptly titled by the press as "The Sleeping Kogoro". Hahahaha...

The twist is surprisingly brutal this early into the series. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say that it's a tragedy that could have sorely been prevented. And it's a plot-twist that feels more poetic than contrived this time around.

At the end of the episode, Conan bears witness to Ran crying about missing Shinichi, whom she has not seen in school for the last several days. It's a poignant scene showing the vulnerability of Conan and how he's helpless to do anything. The episode ends on a bittersweet note, with Conan calling her on the phone, assuring her that he's working on a tough case and would come back to her someday. In his mind, he tells her that it's important he reveals his true feelings for her as Shinichi, not Conan - in his own words, voice, and face. This little monologue becomes quite a heartwarming reminder when he finally confesses how he feels (albeit indirectly) during the fifteenth anniversary of the series. 15 freaking years, holy cow. How difficult was it to tell the woman "I love you", boy? :P

One minor note does bother me a little: In the anime, Ran never mentions the men in black that Shinichi pursued when she thinks about him in this episode. In the manga, however, she did mention this. I just feel that the anime kinda dumbed down the character a little bit, as this isn't the only time the anime subtracted important scenes like this that would have otherwise developed the characters in much better ways. The anime does this often to prolong Ran's inevitable discovery of Conan's identity, but I think the original author (Gosho Aoyama)'s intention was specifically for Ran to be this intuitive this early in the story. Like I've mentioned in the review for Case File #2, it's highly likely that she's long guessed his identity by the current season of the series.

Other than that nitpick, a lot of emotional high-notes in this episode. Top marks.

4.5/5
« Last Edit: April 19, 2016, 04:09:02 AM by Hermit »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2016, 10:40:02 PM »
Case File #4
The Case of the Coded City Map


Important Milestone:
  • The Junior Detective Club is formed.
  • Ayumi kisses Conan for the first time. Whatever implication that tells you in regards to their relationship, I'll leave it to your imagination.

Manga to anime changes:
  • A scene from the manga featuring Ran's reminiscence of Shinichi is deleted.
  • Genta's imagining of his demise is toned down in the anime.

So this was a pretty fun episode. Usually, I'm not that fond of episodes involving the Junior Detective Club, as they feel out of place in a show about murders. In this particular episode, however, the tone is well-balanced enough that the reminder of children being in the presence of death is not absent, and I do admit that it's pretty fun going on a treasure-hunting adventure with the Club every now and then. It's just that, sometimes they do it so often in the series that the intensity and thrilling aspects of the premise become diluted in these childish moments.

The mystery of this episode revolves round the use of neon lights. The eponymous map itself has a crescent moon as a clue, so the Club initially thought that it's referring to a street sign with the Japanese character for "Moon" (or "Tsuki") on it. Turns out that the cartographer is an Italian crime lord and wouldn't leave a clue involving the Japanese language, thus Conan realized that the moon in question is referring to the literal night, and that the clues on the map are referring to neon signs one could spot in the night. Pretty neat trick overall.

As mentioned, this episode threatens the kids with the concept of death when the partners of the crime lord tries to take the treasure for themselves. This was a great reminder that it's not a show for kids at all and should stay that way. Murder and mysteries are the stuff of adults. Leave such grim concepts for their later years.

One small goof-up: Conan opens an Italian dictionary and he instantly finds the translation. I hate lazy animation like that, even on small-budget TV serials.

An especially important manga-to-anime alteration in this episode involves Ran's memory of Shinichi, how he used to place a cold can of soda against her cheek. When Conan does this in the manga, it prompts her to ask him about his true identity. This is due to something that occurs in episode 5 of the anime, so since this is episode 4, Ran couldn't have such prompts to ask a child something like that yet. Canonical problems caused by studio interference, ugh. While it's understandable why the studio continues to delay such development, it's frustrating at the same time. Thankfully, this old memory would reappear in one of my favorite (ironically non-canonical) Detective Conan movies, "Movie 4: Captured in Her Eyes".

Another interesting change is that Genta imagines himself in a pool of blood when the children are captured by the bad guys. This is a more graphic scene than the one in the anime, and studio censorship (which would become far worse in the remastered versions of the old episodes) reigns the day once more. Seriously, just put this show in the late night time-slot and such problems wouldn't have occurred.

3/5
« Last Edit: April 09, 2016, 11:02:18 PM by Hermit »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

Paul Phoenix

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2016, 06:46:48 AM »
Case File #640/#641
The Memory Lane of the Eight Sketches


And it's finally over. Eight original episodes written by the TV studio (TMS Entertainment) finally ending with these eight sketches. I've obviously skipped writing about all of them till now. I honestly didn't remember the fillers to be that numerous back then, but perhaps it's because their quality has declined so much that it's obvious by now which is the filler and which is the manga-adapted episode, and sometimes even the latter seemed like the former. I looked up the entire list of episodes, and there used to be eight consecutive TV original episodes long ago as well, during the 200s and 300s episode-runs, just that I never noticed it.

The thing I noticed about the last of the three cases (636/637, 638/639, and 640/641) among these eight episodes was that TMS often uses these TV originals as an opportunity to incorporate some Japanese culture into them. Not that that's a bad thing, educating kids who happen to watch these grisly murder mysteries about their culture, but aside from using them as a plot-device backdrop, the cultural aspects of these episodes never really improved the overall quality of the writing either. Like in this one, where a woman who lost her memory has to revisit various temples and art museums based on real life locations of Japan. Aside from mentioning the names and animation of those locations, no thematic importance was present or relevant to the mystery.

The actual mystery itself was pretty okay. I kinda knew what the truth was to this mystery based on the routines of this anime's writing. The thing is, watching this show as long as I have, you stop applying logic to these mysteries and merely figure out which by-the-numbers formula are they going to use this time round. The mystery element of the show thus becomes irrelevant as the cliche element of the show overtakes it. Woman with lost memories and a friend just so conveniently remembers her, tagging along for the ride. Usually, if there's a culprit, in these mysteries, it would be her. In real life? Not so much. Anime logic.

The ending was better, since it involves the woman struggling to redeem herself. She's been tricked by other people many times before, so she felt it would be better to just commit to evil anyway if things continue to spiral for her. Needless to say, there are some emotional bits towards this ending, but I feel that they didn't really build up her character enough for me to feel for her even more. Considering it's a studio-written episode though, I guess it's still pretty impressive.

2.5/5

Now you've heard me explained this a couple of times now, why I didn't bother reviewing these episodes. Aside from the lack of interesting storyline in these studio-produced episodes, and the impracticality of reviewing 200 over episodes, and my busy schedule at The Top 100 Club, I'm still trying to get a feel of what the purpose of these marathon threads should be, because I don't want to spam the forum with them unless there's a good cause for it. With Marvel's announcement of the official title for their Spider-Man reboot (Spider-Man: Homecoming), I'm even considering doing a Spider-Man marathon around the time of its release (not just the movies, but also all the episodes from some of the TV series). But I don't really want these threads to be a one-sided, self-serving blog of my life, and I didn't intend for that when I first created these threads either. Of course it's my marathon and my area of interest, but as Junior so aptly put it, that's not how a forum works.

It's no fun if no one else engages in the discussion, and the absence of a conversational partner certainly contributed to my avoidance from these marathons, leaving me seeking the easiest place I could get closer with the family of Filmspotting, The Top 100 Club, where I could feel more productive and more belongingness. I'm writing to the forum for the forum, and I would continue do so through these marathon threads for a long time to come as a way of expressing myself to people important to me. But until then, don't feel alienated from them. Feel free to share your thoughts on any remote feelings you might have at all about what I write, whether it's the reason for your avoidance from anime, the culture of Japanese songs, the history of detective fiction, or just a stray comment about the art style of this show. Or hey, just remark on how I'm going to able to finish these 200+ episodes with my short attention span. ;D I would love to hear from you.

While taking a nap between writing this post just now, I got myself thinking more about my reason for writing about these marathons. If it's for my own self-serving purpose, I could have just silently watched this show without posting anything at all to the forum. Considering that no one pays much heed to my marathons, it fails as an attention-seeking piece anyway. Having remembered the journalist from these two episodes who writes for a magazine column, I began to compare myself to someone like him, writing articles for my audience. Since I'm clearly not paid for the writing, then what should be the drive behind it? Which is when I thought about making these writing more attractive to my intended audience (you people, if you have to ask...) as writers and editors of those magazines often try to do.

But I'm afraid there's only one thing I'm really good at - sharing my thoughts and being verbose about it. I browsed through the other marathon threads to see what I could improve on, and one particular thread caught my attention: smirnoff's Bullets & Biceps: A Marathon Of Ass Kicking. I noticed how he manages to incorporate not just reviews, but also paying tribute to the actors and giving awards to his favorite scenes. That's something special I just don't have in me, and my reviews aren't really the greatest writing either compared to the stuff of Corndog and (let alone) 1SO. I'm thinking of including that special something next time in this thread, and probably my other marathons, just to give it that shine. Maybe highlight the cool spy gadgets Prof. Agasa invents for Conan in the show, or pay tribute to the wonderful music orchestrated by Katsuo Ono, or maybe even just simply talk about the formulas and cliches murder mystery shows like this go through (resulting in the declination of good mystery fiction). Anything to get a word out of you. :D

So, thank you so much for patiently reading up till this point if you didn't just skim through the entire thing. :P These threads are part of the forum, and the forum is part of you, so any conversation with you guys would certainly encourage the growth of these threads. With that, I'll see you around the forum. ;)
« Last Edit: May 01, 2016, 04:50:39 PM by Hermit »
"I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone." - Lance Clayton (played by Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

Eternally seeking variety. 'Tis the spice of life for me.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2016, 08:27:00 PM »
Hermit, I am enjoying reading along. A little bit back you wanted a translation for company president, CEO (chief executive officer) should fit the bill.

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Re: Detective Conan/Case Closed - 20th Anniversary Marathon
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2016, 10:50:59 PM »
Hermit, I've got some thoughts for you.

1. I would guess that the obscurity of these shows would have something to do with the lack of participation from your audience. It is certainly an inhibitor to me. It's hard, basically, to follow along with a marathon if you have no inherent interest in it nor any history with it. You've picked things in this and Once Upon a Time... that just don't have much of a following here, if any.

2. That being said, I've got some suggestions for you. I like how, as you point out, people who do a marathon often have little segments of their reviews that would call out a specific thing that happens over the course of the movies/show. You mention the fun gadgets. Perhaps that would be a thing you could have a section for. That way you might hook people's interest with a little detail that wouldn't take much context to understand. Perhaps even a screenshot? I'd be interested in reading that.

3. Connected to the first point, there's a long tradition here of doing marathons in a pair or even a bigger group. If you recruit somebody to watch the same thing with you, there will be at least one other voice to talk to! It might be too late for this marathon, as you seem to be motoring along, but perhaps in thinking about your next one, you could ask somebody who might be interested to follow along, or even just open a thread up early to plan with a group. I was thinking about doing this with the Bergman movies I'll be watching/rewatching over the summer, perhaps you'd like to join in?

4. As always, people are busy and busy. I know in the US we had either lovely sunny days (my friend came in from out of town to visit and we were out most of the last three days) or snowy (3 feet on Facebook, crazy talk). I love how much you write (your Seven Samurai review was a great read), but also writing so much will make it harder to read, especially given point number 1. I'll probably go on at some length about those upcoming Bergman movies for my own benefit if nobody else's, but I know that the more I write the less likely it is that somebody else reads it. I'm not asking you nor telling you to change the way you write, just to be aware that wordiness (and not over-wordiness, either, because you make a lot of interesting points with all of those words) inherently decreases the liklihood that somebody will read, much less respond. The great part about the Top 100 thread is that you're guaranteed at least one response! Write a novel, somebody has to read it.

I hope this helps with some of your questions. Now back to grading...
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