ザラ Notes: 工藤新一への挑戦状～怪鳥伝説の謎～ Kudō Shinichi e no Chōsenjō ～Kaichō Densetsu no Nazo～

20 April 2011

工藤新一への挑戦状～怪鳥伝説の謎～ Kudō Shinichi e no Chōsenjō ～Kaichō Densetsu no Nazo～

Title: 工藤新一への挑戦状～怪鳥伝説の謎～ Kudō Shinichi e no Chōsenjō ～Kaichō Densetsu no Nazo～
English Title: Challenge to Kudō Shinichi: Riddle of the Mysterious Legendary Bird
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2011
Episode: 01
Cast:

溝端淳平 Mizobata Junpei
忽那汐里 Kutsuna Shiori
陣内孝則 Jinnai Takanori
大塚寧々 Otsuka Nene
秋元才加 Akimoto Sayaka
伊武雅刀 Ibu Masato
草刈正雄 Kusakari Masao
溜口佑太郎 Tamariguchi Yutaro
長谷川朝晴 Hasegawa Tomoharu
渋谷飛鳥 Shibuya Asuka
榊原徹士 Sakakibara Tetsuji
鈴木かすみ Suzuki Kasumi
山中崇 Yamanaka Takashi
鷲尾真知子 Washio Machiko
温水洋一 Nukumizu Yūichi

SYNOPSIS
Kudō Shinichi is a famous high school student detective. He witnessed some men in black engage in a suspicious deal and one of those men made Shinichi take a poison known as APT4869. Shinichi later woke up as an elementary school boy and he adopted the identity of Edogawa Conan, a genius child who solves crimes.

This story takes place 100 days before Shinichi became Conan. Shinichi goes to the town of Jugoya with his childhood friend Mōri Ran, Ran's mother Kisaki Eri, and their close friend Suzuki Sonoka.

In Jugoya, a legend exists claiming that a huge bird attacks the townspeople and kills them like a shrike; the huge bird sticks the bodies on protruding sharp objects.

Shinichi 's group are lead on a tour around the town, including the shrine built to appease the spirit of the huge bird. The shrine is where sacrifices were made in order to prevent catastrophe from occurring in the town.

Graduate student Kosaka Sho is investigating the legend about the huge bird and informs the group that Jugoya will hold a special festival in three days in honor of the huge bird. A short while later, he is found dead at the top of the shrine.

REVIEW
Kudō Shinichi e no Chōsenjō ～Kaichō Densetsu no Nazo is quite fun to watch, except the case was quite confusing. I suppose it's because the case is somehow related to an urban legend, and so the situation is steeped in mystery and mysticism.

Kudō Shinichi has stated that people can't die from legends and therefore what they are dealing with is plain murder, but the 'how' was kept hidden in order to preserve the mystery.

The hints that point out how the victims were killed and all the clues that lead to the actual killer were presented in a very subtle way. Then, when Shinichi explains the situation, the killer's method turned out to be quite complicated and the killer's identity turned out to be somewhat unexpected.

Anyway, I liked how this production explicitly showed that Shinichi has special feelings for his childhood friend Mōri Ran, the same way that she has romantic feelings for him. It's satisfying to know that there's really something going on between them even though they are not officially dating each other, rather than just make presumptions.

I liked how Ran's mother Eri Kisaki explained how women think differently from men at times, such as when it comes to clothes and appearance.

Kisaki Eri: You don't understand, Shinichi. For young women, the emphasis is more on appearance than practicality.
Kudō Shinichi: Appearance? Who's going to be looking at you here in the mountains?
Kisaki Eri: See, you totally don't get it.

I especially like that particular conversation because it shows that even a genius like Shinichi has things he doesn't know and understand. I also disagree with Shinichi, even if you're in the middle of nowhere, there is still a possibility that you'll meet someone so it is quite necessary to always be presentable.