Customer Reviews

Case Closed, Vol. 3

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Gosho Aoyama, Case Closed, vol. 3 (ViZ, 1994)

I've come across a lot of really, really good manga in the past few years-- a Bleach book even hit my Best Reads of 2007 list-- but volume 3 of Case Closed may be the best manga I've yet read. Vol. 3 follows the same rhythm as the rest of the series, with two stories. The first has Conan and the gang solving a mystery on a cruise ship, and it's your basic Case Closed; good, solid stuff, a lot of fun, but nothing special. It's the second story that really got me-- a doctor who has been getting a million yen a month, accompanied by toys for his child. Unable to figure out who's sending him these gifts, he turns to Conan and co. to help him figure it out. This story shows Aoyama's ability to inject real depth of character into the folks in the stories, and it works very well. Excellent stuff, this. *****

After Jimmy, Rachel, and her dad go for a holiday tourist trip on a remote island, they end up missing their boat. Luckily for them, a wedding party for the rich Hatamoto family has just ended and the bride and groom graciously invite Jimmy and the others to ride home with them on their own chartered cruiser. It wouldn't be Case Closed if the trip back was uneventful so it comes as no surprise when the Hatamoto head, the elderly Goto, ends up being found murdered. Things are a bit easier than usual for Jimmy because the perp is confined on the boat, and there's plenty of motives to be spread around, but the groom of his granddaughter is the prime suspect. Jimmy will have to solve the case, all the while making it seem like Richard Moore is the true sleuth so he won't give his secret identity away to an increasingly suspicious Rachel.

Case Closed Volume 3 is an average read and ranks neither with those manga I consider "great" or those considered "poor". It's just there. While the stories can be mildly entertaining, they sometimes trip on their own eagerness to lead you to the crime's solution. While Aoyama does a deft job of writing his main characters, the supporting cast isn't quite up to snuff so it's hard to care about the characters involved in each story arc that have been affected by the crime. Jimmy just seems to pass through these people's lives seeking to amuse or challenge himself with no regard to the sometimes horrible losses the subjects of his investigations have suffered. It's an ok series.

Conan, Rachel, and Detective Richard Moore go on a cruise, but little did they know they embarked on a new and exciting case. Looks like Conan is going to have to solve the case and let Detective Moore get all the credit again. With a series of crimes committed on the ship, who do you think did, see if you can solve the case before Conan does. What I liked most about the book is the exciting and creative cases Conan solves throughout the entire book, but since there is so much dialogue in the book I get confused sometimes on whose talking. My friend character of course was Conan because he solved all the thrilling cases and had a keen eye for detail. Even though everyone thought he was a little kid he solved them but had to let Moore take credit on everything. My favorite scene in the book was when Conan said," A series of crimes have been committed on this ship and I know who the culprit is...After I read that it left me at he edge of my seat and had to read more.It always leaves you wondering what is going to happen and all the suspense in the book just makes you want to read more and more. Even though this is a great book I always wonder when everyone will find out Conan's secret identity. I highly recommend this book because it NEVER gets boring so go to a bookstore and find Case Closed by Gosho Aoyama!