Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire

Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire, known as Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire (名探偵コナン 紺青のフィスト, Meitantei Konan: Konjō no Fisuto) in Japan, is a 2019 Japanese animated mystery film. It is the twenty-third installment of the Case Closed film series based on the manga series of the same name by Gosho Aoyama, following the 2018 film Case Closed: Zero the Enforcer. The film was released on 12 April 2019.[8]

Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire
Theatrical release poster
Kanji名探偵コナン 紺青のフィスト
Revised HepburnMeitantei Konan: Konjō no Fisuto
Directed byChika Nagaoka
Written byTakahiro Okura
Based onCase Closed
by Gosho Aoyama
Starring
Music byKatsuo Ono (Soundtrack), Hiroomi Tosaka (Theme Song: "BLUE SAPPHIRE")[1][2][3]
Production
company
Distributed byToho Company, Ltd.
Release date
  • April 12, 2019 (2019-04-12)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguagesJapanese
English
Box office

This was the last Heisei-era Case Closed film, released weeks before the 2019 Japanese imperial transition.[9][10] The setting of the film takes place in Singapore, most notably surrounding the Marina Bay Sands.

The film was the 4nd highest-grossing Case Closed films in Japan with mixed to positive reviews. Critics praised its visual effects, direction, and characters but criticized its plot and screenplay. It was the second highest-grossing Case Closed film with a worldwide box-office gross of $123 million.

Synopsis

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The world's largest blue sapphire, the 'Blue Sapphire Fist', is said to have sunk when a pirate ship sank in the late 19th century off the coast of Singapore. A local millionaire plots to recover it, and when it reappears at a Singaporean hotel exhibit, a murder takes place and a calling card of Kaitō Kid is found at the scene.

Still in Singapore, Makoto was in the midst of participating in a martial arts tournament where he is joined by Ran and Sonoko to encourage him. Conan is stuck in Japan as he does not possess a passport. However, Kaitō Kid wants to use him to get the sapphire and kidnaps him to take him to the city-state. There, Conan must obey him if he wants to return to Japan; he has his glasses, wristwatch and clothes confiscated, among other things, and must conceal his real identity.

Ran, who does not recognize him, asks him his name and Conan improvises the name of "Arthur Hirai". Disguised as Shinichi Kudo, Kaitō Kid finally manages to get information about the sapphire that is kept in the underground vault of a mansion. During his intrusion into the premises, he is trapped and comes face to face with Makoto.

Leon Lowe, a detective and behavioural psychologist from Singapore, is also searching for the legendary secret treasure buried in the seabed and is in rivalry with Conan and Kid.

Cast

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Character Original Japanese actor English dubbing actor[11]
Kaito Kid Kappei Yamaguchi Griffin Burns
Conan Edogawa / Arthur Hirai Minami Takayama Wendee Lee
Ran Mori Wakana Yamazaki Cristina Vee
Kogoro Mori Rikiya Koyama Xander Mobus
Shinichi Kudo Kappei Yamaguchi Griffin Burns
Ai Haibara Megumi Hayashibara Erica Mendez
Ayumi Yoshida Yukiko Iwai Janice Kawaye
Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya Ikue Ōtani Erika Harlacher
Genta Kojima Wataru Takagi Andrew Russel
Hiroshi Agasa Kenichi Ogata Michael Sorich
Sonoko Suzuki Naoko Matsui Minx Le
Makoto Kyogoku Nobuyuki Hiyama Christian LaMonte
Ginzo Nakamori Kōji Ishii Kirk Thornton
Leon Lowe Ikusaburo Yamazaki Kevin M. Connolly
Rechel Cheong Mayuko Kawakita Mela Lee
Hezli Jamaluddin Ryan Drees Josh Tomar
Zhon Han Chen Jeff Manning Stephen Mendel
Sherilyn Tan Yū Asakawa Megan Hollingshead
Reijiro Nakatomi Hiroki Takahashi Matthew David Rudd
Mark Aidan Charles Glover Brook Chalmers
Rishi Ramanathan Yūki Kaji and Dominic Allen (English Stunt) Khoi Dao
Eugene Lim Kurt Common Kaiji Tang

Box office

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In Japan, the film sold 313,724 tickets and earned ¥422,465,000 on its opening day.[12] The film topped the Japanese box office and grossed ¥1.88 billion in its opening weekend, setting a new franchise record.[13] The film remained at the top in its second weekend, selling 678,000 tickets and earning ¥886 million, for a two-week total of ¥3.58 billion ($32.62 million) at the box office.[14] It dropped to number two in its third week, dethroned by newly released Avengers: Endgame, before Detective Conan regained the top spot in its fourth week, beating Avengers: Endgame and the new release Detective Pikachu.

In its fifth week, Detective Conan was dethroned by Detective Pikachu at the Japanese box office. In five weeks, The Fist of Blue Sapphire grossed ¥7,951,036,700 ($72.26 million) in Japan.[15] By its seventh weekend, the film had sold 6.71 million tickets and grossed ¥8,575,715,400 ($78.25 million) in Japan.[16] As of 21 June 2019, it had sold 7.4 million tickets and exceeded ¥9 billion at the Japanese box office.[17] As of 7 July 2019, the film has grossed ¥9.1 billion ($82,915,718) domestically, making it one of the top 50 highest-grossing films ever in Japan.[18] The Fist of Blue Sapphire became the highest-grossing Detective Conan film, surpassing Zero the Enforcer.

Overseas, the film debuted at number two in China, behind only domestic Chinese film Jade Dynasty.[19] The Fist of Blue Sapphire has since grossed $32.4 million in China, as of 22 September 2019.[20] In other territories, the film has grossed $1,728,708 in South Korea and Vietnam,[21] and $65,812 in the United Arab Emirates.[22]

Release

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An English dub, produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment, was released digitally by TMS Entertainment.[23][11] Discotek Media has licensed the film for home video.[24]

Reception

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Ni Nyoman Wira, in The Jakarta Post, wrote "Though it sometimes feels there is too little screen-time for Conan, the movie balances it out, especially toward the end."[25]

Film setting

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The film is set mostly in Singapore, with some scenes at the beginning taking place in Tokyo. The film centerpiece setting is a well-known Singaporean landmark — the Marina Bay Sands.[26]

The film also showcases other aspects of Singapore, including Singapore Airlines, Maxwell Food Centre and Suntec City's "Fountain Of Wealth".[26]

Notes and references

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Plot retrieved from here [27]

  1. ^ "三代目JSB登坂広臣、劇場版『コナン』で"ソロ初主題歌"最新予告も解禁". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  2. ^ "劇場版「コナン」最新作主題歌は登坂広臣のソロプロジェクト!予告編も初披露 : 映画ニュース". 映画.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  3. ^ "三代目JSB登坂広臣、劇場版コナン新作に主題歌提供「疾走感を与えられたら」(コメントあり / 動画あり)". 音楽ナタリー. Archived from the original on 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  4. ^ "歴代ランキング - CINEMAランキング通信". www.kogyotsushin.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  5. ^ "Rankings". Comscore, Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-09-19. Retrieved 2019-09-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ "Comscore Worldwide Box office Weekend September 22". Archived from the original on 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  7. ^ "Meitantei Conan: Konjo no Fisuto (2019) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  8. ^ "Detective Conan Movie 23: The Fist of Blue Sapphire Anime Recommendations - Anime-Planet". www.anime-planet.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  9. ^ 劇場版名探偵コナン【公式】 [@conan_movie] (April 1, 2019). "新元号 ◤ 令和 ◢ 平成最後の作品となる#紺青の拳 をよろしくお願いいたします!" (Tweet). Retrieved 2019-04-03 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "平成最後の劇場版『名探偵コナン 紺青の拳』が4月12日から全国東宝系でロードショー!". AppBank. 2019-04-09. Archived from the original on 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  11. ^ a b "Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire (2021)". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  12. ^ "Detective Conan: Fist of Blue Sapphire Anime Film Earns 422 Million Yen on Opening Day". Gojinshi. 2019-04-14. Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  13. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (April 16, 2019). "Japan Box Office: 23rd Detective Conan Film Triumphs with Record-Breaking Opening". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  14. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (April 23, 2019). "Japan Box Office: 23rd Detective Conan Film Easily Crosses 3.5 Billion Yen Mark". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Detective Pikachu Tops Endgame, Detective Conan in 2nd Weekend". Anime News Network. May 14, 2019. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  16. ^ "Ibuki Opens at #2, Sadako at #4, Promare at #8 in Japan". Anime News Network. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  17. ^ "名探偵コナン:劇場版「紺青の拳」の4Dアトラクション"出国"上映が8月23日から実施". MANTANWEB (in Japanese). 21 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  18. ^ "歴代興収ベスト100" [All-time box office top 100] (in Japanese). Kogyo Tsushinsha. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  19. ^ Davis, Rebecca (16 September 2019). "China Box Office: 'Jade Dynasty' in Front Ahead of Mixed Competition". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire". EntGroup. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  22. ^ "United Arab Emirates Box Office, June 20–23, 2019". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire". TMS Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  24. ^ Hazra, Adriana (March 14, 2022). "Discotek Licenses 1980 Astro Boy, Digimon Adventure, Symphogear GX, More Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  25. ^ Ni Nyoman Wira (2019-07-26). "Conan, Kid save Singapore from destruction in 'Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire'". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  26. ^ a b hermes (2019-06-03). "Detective Conan film set in Singapore". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  27. ^ "The Fist of Blue Sapphire - Detective Conan Wiki". Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
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