Detective Conan Black Iron Submarine, Back to Its Best Performance

By Putu Radar Bahurekso

4 min read

August 23, 2023

As an avid fan of Detective Conan, I was pretty thirsty for the series to bring back some good stories for its film franchise like its early years. Since Detective Conan the Movie 10s, the story of its film franchises is not as thrilling as the first 10. Until the 24^th instalment of the film titled ‘The Scarlet Bullet’ the performance was a little bit shallow.

It was not until the 25^th instalment of the film titled ‘The Bride of Halloween’, the series of Detective Conan the Movie started to get better. The film was bringing back one of the most beloved arcs from its anime and manga, The Trembling Metropolitan Police Headquarter and 12 Million Hostages Arc, where we are introduced to Matsuda Jinpei.

The latest film, the 26^th instalment of its film titled ‘Black Iron Submarine’ is definitely a bang and not disappointing. It’s finally bringing back its best performance like Detective Conan classic titles such as ‘Phantom of the Baker Street’ in 2002, ‘Captured in Her Eyes’ in 2000 and other good classics.

The story of ‘Black Iron Submarine’ is about the kidnapping case of Ai Haibara and a member of Interpol, Naomi Argento. The story starts when Edogawa Conan and his friends are going on a holiday at Hachijo-Jima, Tokyo. During the visit, Conan receives a phone call from Subaru Okiya informing him that a member of Europol was murdered by Pinga from Black Gang Organization.

Conan, whose interest was triggered, sneaks into an Interpol facility named ‘Pacific Buoy’ located offshore of Hachijo-Jima Island. Inside the Pacific Buoy, there is a new technology based on a face recognition system. The new technology receives interest from Black Gang Organization that lead to a series of crimes happening.

From the very beginning until the end, this film is able to draw curiosity and is able to keep the suspense. The plot is a masterpiece, and it magnificently builds the thrill from the crime act, mystery solving, criminal unveiling, and finishing act. The build-up is not only thrilling but also neat in execution.

Trailer from GSC Movies

As a fan of detective stories, the thrill of unveiling the criminal mastermind is always an intriguing moment. Then the unexpected moment of pointing out the criminal is expected to have that surprising element. It doesn’t mean that the criminal mastermind is hard to deduct, it can be that case or the others. Such as the motives or the reasons. Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine is able to make that surprise element present.

Detective Conan the Movie is not just a franchise with two or three films. With the latest release, the franchise already has 26^th films. Some characters are already familiar especially for the fans. Let’s say Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri, Suzuki Sonoko, Detective Boys, Prof. Agasa, Kaitou Kid, Black Gang Organization, and more. Then what makes the story special is the new villain or maybe a sidekick.

Pinga is introduced as the main villain in this film, and he is part of the infamous Black Gang Organization. He has a mission to take the new technology from Naomi Argento. Pinga is keen to succeed in his mission as for him to develop his career inside the organization and to outrank Gin. Meanwhile, Naomi Argento is the childhood friend of Miyano Shiho in the US.

The appearance of Pinga and Naomi Argento gives more depth to the overall motives that become the gravity of this detective story. More than just a deeper motive, they give more depth to Detective Conan’s story that people already know about. Both to the situation inside Black Gang Organization and the life story of Ai Haibara.

In conclusion, Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine is a gem and one of the best films that Detective Conan released in the last few years. The plot is thrilling and exciting, the characters’ development is well executed, and the animation is stunning. It’s a film that reminds the fans of some old classics as the film franchise is back to its best performance. Oh, and this film also is somehow a gift for Conan – Haibara shippers.