Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire Review

Image via Amazon

I've always had mixed feelings about the Case Closed anime and manga. I liked the artstyle, the premise, and the episodic nature, but the slow pacing and redundancy turned me away from actively following it every week. However, I was interested in checking out at least one of the movies because they looked more exciting than the regular TV series. I just wasn't sure which one I wanted to start off with. So today, I decided to start off with The Fist of Blue Sapphire because of the cool-sounding title and the plotline of Conan getting transported over to Singapore.

Here's the official synopsis via YouTube: 

The world 's largest sapphire, "The Fist of Blue Sapphire" was alleged to have been lost at sea near Singapore in the late 19th century. When a local billionaire appears to the public with a plan to retrieve the sapphire, a murder occurs in Marina Bay Sands. At the scene, a bloodied notice card from Kid the Phantom Thief is found.

I must say, as someone who isn't really into the regular TV series or the manga, this is a really great Case Closed movie. It's clever, epic, and funny at times. I like how in the beginning, Conan expresses his desire to tag along with Ran, Kogoro, and Sonoko to Singapore and later gets his wish granted when Kid the Phantom Thief takes him there via a special suitcase. Although I have not watched/read any Case Closed episodes with Kid in it, nor have watched/read Magic Kaito (the series starring Kid), I was able to appreciate the interaction between him and Conan and both of them sharing the role of protagonist. It was really nice seeing them working together and using their intelligent minds for solving the case behind the Fist of Blue Sapphire. The subplot of Makoto trying to win the karate tournament, his romantic relationship with Sonoko, and him trying to understand the purpose behind his own strength is also enjoyable and surprisingly emotional. My only flaw with the plot is that there are some plot points that I found confusing. For example, I couldn't really tell who the true antagonist was because there were like two or three plot twists thrown in. 

The animation is pretty good, especially during the scene at the Fountain of Wealth when Conan explains to Kid the info that he found behind a murder (which I will not spoil). The flashback effects are quite inconsistent. Sometimes nothing is altered, while other times the screen is blurry with echoey audio. I'm not sure what was the point in switching between the two, but honestly, there should've been no alteration for all of the flashbacks. I have a pet peeve of flashbacks using screen and/or audio alteration.

The English dub of the movie is superb. You can tell that TMS Entertainment USA and Bang Zoom! Entertainment put a lot of effort into it. The voice acting is so awesome that I caught myself smiling when I first heard the main characters talking.

In conclusion, Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire is a must-watch movie. I'm interested in checking out The Scarlet Bullet, along with the other movies that have been dubbed recently.