Title: Case Closed vol. 49
Writer/Artist: Gosho Aoyama
U.S. Distributor: Viz Media
U.S. Release Date: Jan. 14th, 2014
Format: manga paperback/184 pages
Genre: Mystery, Comedy
Publisher Age Rating: T+ for older teen
Overall Personal Rating: A-
Synopsis:
The Men in Black are back – and they’ve got a political candidate in their crosshairs! After eavesdropping on their plans, Conan teams up with the FBI to stop the assassination. But if the Men in Black realize they’ve been bugged, their next target will be Richard Moore’s home!
Can Conan save the politician without putting Mr. Moore and Rachel in danger? Only if he can decipher the code words the Men in Black use to plan their hit! Then he and the school detectives are put on the case of the missing girl. It leads them down a winding path with the strange possibility that a substitute teacher just might be a men in black agent sent to do some more dirty deeds. Will they be able to solve the mystery in time and what is up with this odd substitute teacher?
Commentary:
One thing that I have to say right out of the gate is that Case Closed is one of the very best in juvenile detective series ever made. It makes the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew seem like they only get the easy ones and when compared to Scooby Doo it just isn’t even worthy of the mention. Of course Case Closed doesn’t have the silly humor of Scooby Doo and that makes it even better. The overall quality of the writing is wonderful and for a younger reader the complexity might be a little tough at time but it pushes them to stretch a little and maybe ask a few questions.
The pacing of the stories was rather nice. It didn’t feel to slow or too quick in solving the next clue. There was also the added possibility of failure built into each case. The beginning with the Men in Black closed off a little too pat, but the fact that it was such a close call made it much more enjoyable. With the missing girl and the last case of the love affair gone, bad they both ran their corse but at the same time didn’t feel forced. They managed to use different groups and show a rather analytical side of this master detective that makes him one of the best out there.
Overall Grade: A-
I would love to see Case Closed find a wider market share in the U. S., but I have a feeling that the days of fun detective stories may have seen their peek some time ago. Now a day the hero needs to have some crazy super power and a uber dark person to be the hit. Case Closed is a wonderful series that provides a slick, fun story line to tell some interesting mysteries. They can be from a few pages long to several volumes, but Case Closed holds your interest and keeps you wondering what is next without making the answer too easy even when in the end it appears to have been rather strait forward all along. I am very much looking forward to volume 50 and would recommend this series to any 10 year old boy or girl who loves a good mystery.
