Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine

Yuzuru Tachikawa's 26th feature film in the venerable Detective Conan series, Black Iron Submarine, eschews standard murder investigations in favor of a suspenseful spy thriller. With the action centered around "Pacific Buoy," a cutting-edge Interpol marine facility with AI-powered facial recognition technology, the movie tells a story in which the Black Organization, the main series menace, finally takes center stage.

Ai Haibara is abducted into the clandestine organization's deep-sea submarine after the new facial recognition software unintentionally reveals her true identity as Shiho Miyano. Identity, surveillance, and survival clash in the ensuing stressful and cramped rescue effort.

Black Iron Submarine focuses on the strong bond between Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara, with Haibara's trauma from her past adding significant narrative depth. The film features key villains such as Gin, Vodka, and Vermouth, creating a genuine sense of danger and urgency through internal conflicts within the Black Organization. Director Yuzuru Tachikawa skillfully balances intense action scenes, like underwater submarine battles and high-speed chases, with the film's heavy exposition.

The vast number of characters—from the FBI and Japanese police to different members of the Black Organization and Interpol engineers—can cause character congestion for novices or casual viewers. It seems like a number of subplots are jammed in just to give well-known characters screen time. In contrast to previous Conan cases, the main "murder mystery" contained within the Pacific Buoy facility feels secondary and somewhat predictable because the story heavily stresses spy action and survival thriller sequences. The "All-Age Recognition" AI system plays a major role in the plot. Although it is an intriguing statement on worldwide surveillance, its mechanics occasionally serve as a plot device to further the story rather of being a solid piece of science.

Leaning into the general mythology of the franchise helps this movie work. Fans of the main plot will find it particularly noteworthy because it substitutes real character drama and worldwide espionage for conventional room-bound detective work.

Staff:

Directed by: Yuzuru Tachikawa

Written by: Takeharu Sakurai

Based on: Case Closed by Gosho Aoyama

Produced by: Shūhō Kondō, Takeshi Shioguchi, and Yūhei Okada

Starring: Minami Takayama, Wakana Yamazaki, Rikiya Koyama, Megumi Hayashibara, Yukitoshi Hori, Fumihiko Tachiki, Mami Koyama, Tōru Furuya, Kotono Mitsuishi, Atsumi Tanezaki, Shūichi Ikeda, Ayumu Murase, Kikuko Inoue, and Hiroyuki Kinoshita

Cinematography: Hitoshi Nishiyama

Music by: Yugo Kanno (soundtrack) and Spitz (theme song: "Utsukushii Hire")

Production company: TMS/1st Studio

Distributed by: Toho

Release date: April 14, 2023

Running time: 109 minutes