Half-pint detective Conan Edogawa has solved plenty of crimes, but this time it’s personal! There’s a killer on the loose, and the targets are none other than the boys in blue. No cop will be safe until the boy wonder cracks the case. But there’s just one problem. Only Rachel has seen the fiend in action, and the shock of a witnessing a murder up close and personal made her forget everything she ever knew and everyone she ever loved. With his dream girl square in the sites of a homicidal maniac, time is running out for Conan to unlock the secret of what was Captured in Her Eyes!The fourth Case Closed movie, Captured in Her Eyes (2000), is visually richer than the earlier theatrical films in this popular continuity. A mysterious killer murders two police detectives and seriously wounds a third. As the only person who’s seen the assassin’s face, Rachel becomes a prime target. The trauma of the brutal scene she witnessed causes temporary amnesia, which only increases the vulnerability of the normally capable and independent girl. She doesn’t recognize her parents, Conan, or her best friend, Serena; she doesn’t even remember Jimmy Kudo! Neither the police nor her bumbling father, Richard, can provide Rachel with the protection she requires: there are too many possible suspects and too few solid leads. Fortunately, half-pint detective Conan is on the case, although the members of the Junior Detective League keep getting in his way. In two dramatic sequences, Conan risks his own life to save Rachel, revealing a deep affection he usually disavows. Director Kenji Kodama infuses the action sequences with an energy that’s rarely seen in the Case Closed movies, especially when Conan races his solar-powered skateboard down the vertiginous hills and around the dizzying curves of a theme park roller coaster. Captured in Her Eyes ranks as one of the most exciting–and satisfying–adventures in the Case Closed canon. (Rated TV PG: suitable for ages 8 and older: violence, alcohol and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon
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May 14, 2008
#1
From the begining of this movie I was entertained: great story and love the characters! I’m a big fan of the series! I recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good mystery:)
May 14, 2008
#2
This is an interesting addition to the Detective Conan/Case Closed series, one that I think fell a little below my expectations. I am a major fan of the series, and the rest of the movies I’ve seen (including the movie that came after this one) were all very good. ‘Captured in Her Eyes’ is similar enough in content and plot to the other movies and TV shows, yet I just didn’t enjoy it as much. Perhaps it had to do with how the murderer’s identity was fairly obvious from the character introductions and the monologue of Inspector Meguire in the hospital. Or it may have had something to do with how the mystery was almost background to the storyline of Rachel Moore (Ran Mouri) losing her memory due to mental trauma. The trauma induced amnesia was another problem in itself, as I just couldn’t see Rachel’s character reacting to the circumstances that way. I’m not even going to go into the whole amusement park end scene debacle, as that whole setup was just slightly ridiculous.
In the end all I can really recommend is that while the diehard fans will most likely find the movie enjoyable enough, I would not suggest it for someone who is ambivalent about the series.
May 14, 2008
#3
“Meitantei Conan” or “Detective Conan” (“Case Closed” in the U.S.) has been one of the longest running manga and anime series in Japan. Written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama and featured in Weekly Shonen Sunday since 1994, the anime series which started back in 1996 is well-nearing 600-episodes and 14 movies have been released in Japan.
FUNimation Entertainment have released several of the movies on DVD in Dec. 2009. “Cased Closed: Captured in Her Eyes” is the fourth “Meitantei Conan” film that was in theaters in Japan back in April 2000. The film was directed by Kenji Kodama (director for the “City Hunter” films, “Case Closed” TV series, “Tales of the Abyss”, etc.) and a screenplay by Kazunari Kouchi (has written the screenplay for the TV series and all films). Character design is by Masaaki Sudoh (who worked on “Kekko Kamen” OAV and “Momotaro Densetsu”) and music by Katsuo Ono (“Lupin III vs. Detective Conan” special and the “Detective Conan” TV series and films).
The main storyline of “Case Closed” focuses on a popular high school detective named Jimmy Kudo (Shinichi Kudo). One day while going to an amusement park with his friend Rachel Moore (Ran Mohri), Jimmy saw two men suspiciously dealing something in the dark. Unbeknown to Jimmy, a man behind him had spotted him and hit him with a bat and forced him to ingest a poison capsule. Jimmy survived but the capsule somehow shrunk him to a child. If these thugs found out that Jimmy is still alive, they may hurt the people around him. So, his good friend Dr. Agasa (who helps Jimmy by building him gadgets which include a stun-gun wrist watch, voice changing bow-tie, solar powered skateboard and powerful shoes) suggested he wear a disguise. When Ran began asking who his name was, Jimmy replied Conan Edogawa.
So, in order to find out who the men are, he wound up living with Ran and her detective father, Richard Moore (Kogoro Mori). Only two people know Conan’s true identity: Harley Hartwell (Hattori Heiji), popular detective from the high school in the west and Vye Graythorne (Ai Haibara), a transfer student who originally worked with the thugs who gave Jimmy the poison pill but in order to escape, she ingested the poison pill and shrunk.
Together with some friends, Jimmy as Conan continues to take down criminals with his detective skills.
In the fourth movie, “Case Closed: Captured in Her Eyes”, detectives are being killed. But things hit home when Detective Sano and Rachel are attacked by a gunmen and Sano dies trying to protect Rachel. Rachel sees the face of the killer but faints. Because of the tragic circumstance, Rachel suffers mental trauma and has no memory of what happened on that night of the murder.
Knowing that Rachel may have seen the face of the killer, Conan knows that while her father and the police need her to think about what she saw, Conan on the other hand wants to find this killer immediately. As the police try to jog her memory, the killer is determined to kill Rachel before she reveals his true identity.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Case Closed: Captured In Her Eyes” is a film that came out back in April 2000. So, you can tell it’s an older anime but because it is a film, films tend to have a much higher budget than the TV series so you see more detail and shading in the art backgrounds. Picture quality is slight blurry but it’s satisfactory considering it’s an older anime using cels and is not digital. Also, the film does have a few dust particles that can be seen from time to time but it’s not distracting at all.
Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 English and Japanese Stereo. English audio dialogue is clear from the center and music and sound effects are more front channel driven. Voice acting is well done for the English dub but for those who followed the Japanese series may get confused by the changing of the names. Japanese audio is well-done and for those who have a modern home theater receiver and a 5.1, 7.2 or higher setup, my preference was to have audio set on all channels for a more immersive soundscape.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Case Closed: Captured In Her Eyes” comes with FUNimation Entertainment trailers only.
JUDGMENT CALL:
I grew up with “Meitantei Conan” and I own several Japanese manga volumes which helped me learn Japanese and have watched the original Japanese anime series including the Japanese drama. But I have never seen any of the animated films before, so it was a pleasure to see FUNimation Entertainment show their dedication in releasing the films in the US.
As for “Case Closed: Captured In Her Eyes”, the film is thrilling and suspenseful. We see multiple deaths by an assailant and the fact that Rachel is involved, so it becomes quite personal for Conan as he tries to figure out who is the killer. The whole gang from the TV series have a short appearance in the film but for fans of the series, we get to see that emotional side of Conan (despite now having the body of a young boy) who loves Rachel but can’t do anything to express his emotions because of his current state.
For those who have never watched the television series, you can still get into the film because there is a brief introduction of how Jimmy Kudo became Conan Edogawa and also explanation of his various gadgets that he uses and also the supporting characters that appear in the film.
As for the TV PG rating, because Conan has the appearance of a child, “Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century” is not a children’s animated film. People get shot and killed or physically hurt in this detective animated film.
This fourth film is definitely Conan and Rachel driven. Thrilling and suspenseful plus a touch of drama being displayed by Jimmy (as Conan) for Rachel. If you enjoyed the previous films or the TV series, definitely give this fourth film a chance!
May 14, 2008
#4
Surprisingly, the deeper I delve into the Case Closed Universe, the more impressed with the property I become. I was a self-admitted late adopter to the series (beginning with the 5th season oddly enough) then backtracked to some of the earlier examples of the mythos on account of how much I enjoyed the later ones. Now I’ve picked up a few of the full length feature films and am pleased to report that they dazzle as well as the popular television serial, perhaps even surpassing it at times.
The show, for those who have yet to experience it, follows a pretty formulaic structure whereby the title character happens upon criminal activity that requires a good deal of intelligence to successfully point the finger of blame. Sounds like standard mystery-genre fare so far but what’s unique about Case Closed is that the lead is played by a 17-year-old (Jimmy Kudo) investigator who has been transformed, via an experimental drug, into a child. The kid goes by the made-up name Conan Edogawa after two popular mystery writers and goes to live with his friend Rachel Moore and her private detective father, Richard. If you’re looking for back story, I strongly recommend considering Funimation’s Case Closed DVD Starter Set as except for a narrated opening sequence, the films waste very little time retelling past events.
Coming in at a total runtime of 100 minutes, Captured in Her Eyes spans a single DVD housed within a standard-sized clamshell case. The show wears an appropriate if not slightly conservative TV PG rating (due to a steady dose of cartoony violence rather than inappropriate language or nudity).
Language options are standard sub & dub, which means the viewer has the choice of the original Japanese dialog track (stereo) or an English dub (Dolby Digital 5.1) and the option of running English subtitles with either.
The story of Captured in Her Eyes goes something like this: Police officers are being targeted at killed in cold blood. Suspecting the culprit to have some sort of relationship with the police force itself, the cops have kept the situation quiet.
When a female detective is shot by the culprit, Rachel happens to have been the only eyewitness. Suffering from traumatic shock of the incident, she enters amnesiac condition. The killer, realizing that Rachel has seen their face, moves Rachel up on the target hit list. Our favorite detective, Conan Edogawa finds himself in a situation where he has to reveal the serial killer’s ID while protecting Rachel and his own secret.
Aside from the longer runtime there are some notable differences between the film and the series. Among them is a reliance upon revealing pieces of pre-Conan life for Jimmy Kudo as threads with which to solve the mystery as well as mysteries that are themselves more complex (involving half a dozen key clues to solve rather than the one or two common of the series). Also Richard Moore is portrayed as being far-less dopey and actually contributes to the case’s conclusion on multiple occasions; so dramatic is this change that the gimmick of Conan knocking Richard out via a tranquilizer dart then using his voice-changing bow-tie to reveal the solved case in the end is omitted entirely!
There also tends to be a greater focus on Conan’s pal and fellow-age-reduced Anita Hailey, Dr. Hershel Agasa and the gadgets he invented to aid Conan on his mission.
As is always the case (no pun intended) with this show, the artwork and visual style aren’t extremely rich or polished. Instead the animation is fairly simplistic but gets the job done. Focusing on the show’s beauty (or lack thereof) is truly missing the whole point of what makes Case Closed so special. This is suspense-driven story telling that goes the extra mile to make sure each motion picture provides sufficient resolve. I consider myself a competent wannabe detective, but failed to solve this one prior to Conan’s unraveling of clues at the end!
The English dub is pure first-class Funimation all the way, which means it just nails the little language details that make the original mystery fun. I can only imagine the work, planning, and translating this must require to get right. The effort pays dividends though when you view the finished product and literally forget that this wasn’t originally written in English.
In all, quite an entertaining addition to a solid franchise. I enjoyed it thoroughly and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to existing fans and neophytes of the franchise alike.
May 14, 2008
#5
In this movie, police detectives are being killed by somebody that is connected to the police. For this reason, the higher-ups wants to keep things quiet, but at the wedding reception for the sister of one of the police, Ran witnesses the killer’s attempt to kill Detective Sato (Simone). As a result, she loses her memory and Inspector Megure (Inspector Meguire) finally tells Kogoro Mouri (Richard Moore) the details of the case. Meanwhile, the culprit tries to kill Ran (Rachel Moore). Now, Shinichi (Jimmy Kudo (Conan Edogawa))has to track down the cop killer and protect Ran.
This movie was definitely better than the last. It was very good and the ending is still as interesting as it ever was. My only complaint is again about Haibara’s voice. I am finally used to it, after watching movie 3 a couple of times, but I still think the voice does not fit her kid state very well.
It was very nice to see this movie in English.
If you like crime fiction, mysteries, or are a fan of Detective Conan (Case Closed), I would recommend you get this.