Bryce's Blog

I hope everyone has been having a good week and are handling
the temperatures extremes to be found at this time of the year well.

Things are going well here, even though I have been a bit
lazy in trying to check up on things, I can still do what I like.

Recently, I was able to finally place a preorder for a
series I thoroughly enjoy, even if it has disappointed me on a few occasions,
and that the title has arrived.

Today, I will be reviewing that title, which is called Case Closed Volume 71 by Gosho
Aoyama.

As I have given a series synopsis in an earlier
post, I will not go over it again.

The hectic life of Jimmy Kudo continues, as more cases keep
coming his way, many of which seem to not be of great significance.

However, while relaxing at Poirot, Jimmy and the gang meets
a fan of crime novels who invites them to visit their home land, where the
creators of many famous detectives, including Jimmy’s favorite detective,
lived, but instead of being able to visit sites related to Sherlock for a nice
get away, Jimmy finds himself wrapped up in a case with a puzzle with hints
based on works featuring Sherlock and an ominous message a child heard from the
stranger responsible for the puzzle, and Jimmy must work out the clues to stop
this man, without Rachel realizing his secret.

While Detective Conan has been doing pretty well this
year, at least in the releases from Viz Media, since half of the volumes
expected this year being good or decent, even if one of the cases featured in
the previous
volume was one that I felt belonged in Magic Kaito instead of Detective
Conan, that does not mean that the year will end just as well for the
series.

And after reading this, I have to say that I kind of liked
it, though not quite as much as the other two volumes.

From the moment that I opened this book and started reading
it, I found myself engrossed enough that I did not want to stop reading for any
reason.

As I have said countless numbers of times, one of the most
important things about a work of fiction is how things begin, because the
beginning helps create that temporary escape that people seek when they read or
watch something.

While this can be done in many different ways, depending on
the kind of work and the medium used to present it Detective Conan is
mainly published in a serialized format, which means that things need to pick
up in a way that makes sense, compared to where the last installment left off.

In the previous volume, things ended with the conclusion of
the case that was obviously inspired by The
Hound of the Baskervilles, which did not really leave anything to pick
up from, so that meant that the only way that things could start off was by
keeping to the pattern of having new cases start things off, which was how this
one started off.

Even though I have not always been particularly happy cases
that start off volumes, with volume 63
being one of the best examples of a horrible beginning, the case that started
this one off one of those cases that I just knew was dull, yet it came across
as interesting in more ways than one, at least for somebody like me.

Seeing as there were only two cases to be found in total in
this volume, this volume is already off to better start than the aforementioned
63^rd volume.

If Gosho had not written this first case as well as he did,
or Shogakukan, or whoever they had put this volume together, had chosen to
start things off with a different case, there would have been a possibility
that I would have been really disappointed, especially if the highlight of the
volume still had the thing I am annoyed about.

Fortunately, Gosho Aoyama and Shogakukan, or whoever the had
put the volume together, decided to start things off with case that ended being
more interesting than it seemed, even if it is not quite on the level of a case
involving either Kaito Kuroba or Black Org, which makes me want to give them a
good round of applause.

Hopefully, future volumes will be able to start off just as
well as this one did, though I would be more impressed with a case that is
interesting in both the kind it is and its execution, because I am sure that
fans of Detective Conan would like to show people why this series is so good,
but seeing as things do not always start out the best possible way, or even an
acceptable one, I am ready to pounce when I need to.

Another thing that I liked was how there were things to
laugh about in this volume.

While things are exactly hilarious enough to the point where
anyone, or even long time fans of Detective Conan, could get a good
laugh, though there are moments like that in the first case and the big case
featured in this volume, it was still enough for me to get a good chuckle.

The funniest that I found was in the trivia portion,
concerning Betamax and VHS.

While looking for the video that Ms. Kobayashi asked Jimmy
and the Junior Detective League to look for, Jimmy decides to narrow the search
down to Betamax tapes, which cause George ask what beta was.

Later, Jimmy states that VHS is now disappearing thanks to
the popularity of DVD and Blu Ray.

Now some of you guys might be wondering why I found this
funny, seeing as I do not really talk about tech on this blog as much as I did
when I started it, especially because it is true that VHS, a format widely
known as inferior to its competition in areas many consider important today,
except for maximum length of footage, has pretty much disappeared because of
optical media, but it has more to do with that fact that Blu Ray itself is
dying a mere decade or so after introduction to the masses because of streaming
and digital download, whereas VHS supposedly lived for around two decades or
so.

Yes, in 2011, the year this volume was released in Japan,
according to a page
on Detective Conan World’s
wiki, Blu Ray was pretty big and the only legal streaming services around
were trying to get stabilized, since I do not remember Netflix being widely
recognized for streaming until I was nearing the end of my days in college, and
people still get things on Blu Rays and DVDs today, mostly those who are aware
of the disadvantages of going digital and/or prioritize video and sound quality
over convenience, but since this was published over here in 2019 and not many
people know how old this series really is (even I thought it was a new series
when I first saw it on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, before I found out that
both the manga and anime actually started up when I was a kid.), so they are
likely to think that Blu Ray is still big, especially considering how tech in Detective
Conan seems to progress too quickly, and that is what makes it incredibly
funny to me.

Sadly, I think that the only ones, aside from myself and
others that pay attention to the world of tech, even knowing what technology
really is, that would be able to see the humor in this would be those reading Detective
Conan when it is as old as Doyle’s Sherlock stories are now, supposing Blu
Ray and DVD do not become forgotten, seeing as the offspring of my siblings,
friends, and their friends are growing up with streaming as the main source
entertainment.

Still, it was much funnier than almost anything else found
in this volume, which ran more along the lines of just more of the usual,
though I still got a bit of a chuckle outh of those moments too.

If Gosho had not included a moment like this, I would have
probably been okay with things, since the humor in general was not completely
stale, like it usually is these days, so the other gems of comedic moments
would be able to shine.

However, because of the mention of Betamax and VHS and that
they were killed off by the popularity of DVDs and Blu Ray, I feel like giving
Gosho Aoyama a good round of applause for reminding me how fast technology
advances and giving me a chance to laugh about how ignorant future generations
are of tech from the past, including technology that is no longer seen as
technology.

The thing that I liked the most though was the case that
finished out the volume.

Even though I am a little annoyed by it, mainly because it
ended with a seemingly unnecessary cliffhanger, though the events of this case that
end up being important to a few comedic moments in cases to come have not yet
transpired, It ended up being pretty enjoyable because it started off in an
interesting way and actually held my attention, unlike most of the recent cases
that involved neither Kaito Kuroba or Black Org.

For the longest time, one of the things that has frustrated
me, and perhaps a few other people, is that the cases have been pretty dull and
the only ones really worth paying attention to are cases involving Kaito Kuroba
or Black Org because they are the only ones that had the level excitement that
I had back in the first 26 volumes, though the other big reason people are
bored with this series is that it is so slow and way too long, clocking in at
about 1,030 or so chapters in Japan, as of when I posted this review.

Here, however, I encountered a case that was almost as
exciting as when I first started following this series.

Yes, there were other cases before this that were pretty
good, such as the case from the previous volume that was inspired by The
Hound of the Baskervilles and seemed to have been way better, but this one
came off as better because it felt like its own case, rather than a rehash of
an already existing work, and really did come across as one of those cases that
could serve as a good breather for those that do not want to think too hard
about things, yet want a good case that they can enjoy, though some thinking is
still necessary, especially if one is not well versed in Doyle’s Sherlock
stories.

Seeing as how this case is supposed to be the highlight of
the volume, due to the fact that the summary listed over on Amazon is trying to
get people to read this volume to find out what happens in this case, I would
not expect anything less.

If Gosho Aoyama had made any mistakes, aside from small ones
like Irene Adler being Holme’s romantic interest, even though she only appeared
in one story in the Doyle line of story, and Sherlock never talked about her
again, or Professor Moriarty being Sherlock’s archenemy, even though he and Sherlock
supposedly only had met each other in person, and were a direct threat to each
other, in one story from Arthur Conan Doyle (he is said to appear in The
Valley of Fear, which I have but have not read, but from what I could find,
Moriarty is only seen in a flashback moment, much like how a past leader of the
church I used to attend only appears in the flashback moment of A Study in
Scarlet), I would have been greatly disappointed, because I expected this
case to be one that many people could enjoy, regardless of whether they enjoy
mysteries of the era of Sherlock, Dupin, and Agatha Christie’s early works
featuring Hercule Poirot or the era of the golden age of Agatha Christie and
her peers, which made things like misdirecting the audience, with things like
red herrings, something fans of detective, mystery, and crime fiction expect
today in modern works.

Thankfully, Gosho Aoyama was able to deliver an interesting
case that reminded me of how fun this series is, even if it does not exactly
pose as much of challenge as some people would like, since some people would
probably rate this case as badly as I rate the one found in episode 6 of the
anime, which makes me want to give him another good round of applause.

Hopefully, future cases would be as enjoyable as this one
was, because that will help Detective Conan have a second wind before it
comes to an end, with the discovery of Rum’s identity and an appearance from or
revelation about Black Org’s boss, but considering the fact that there have
been quite a few disappointing cases as of late, I would not be surprised if
this is the last time a decent case ever shows up in the series.

Outside of those things, I cannot really think of anything
else that I particularly liked, at least that should out as much as what I have
already talked about.

Because my interest was captured quickly and held right up
to the end, especially considering that the first case seemed to be one that
would be dull, but it was executed well enough to be interesting, there were
things to laugh about, though one thing was funny because of time when the
original and the official translation were released, and the case that finished
out the volume was actually pretty good, though would be simple for some, this
was a pretty decent read.

Although I liked the book, there are some issues.

However, aside from things that are too minor to talk about,
such as typos, and one thing I briefly noted earlier, nothing really bothered
me too much.

As a result, I will have to say that there is nothing worth.

Because there was quite a bit to like and nothing to really
hate too much, at least if you are familiar with what is to come, this was
definitely worth reading.

I mainly recommend this to fans of Detective Conan,
as well as fans of Sherlock or the detective, mystery, and crime fiction genres
in general, though the fans of Detective Conan will be able to enjoy
this the most, while the diehard Sherlock fans might be more interested in the
final case of the volume.

As for everyone else, this might be worth checking out,
since the volume does not start with the conclusion of another case, but I
recommend reading the previous entries in the series to be able to truly enjoy
this.

If you liked this review and would like to see more please
consider supporting me on either Patreon or SubscribeStar, or if you want
a copy of the reviewed title, buy
Case Closed Volume 71 from Book Depository, who has helped me close
the gap in my Detective Conan collection, so that I can continue
following a series many of us enjoy and possibly find more worthwhile reads for
you guys to check out.