Conan: Crossroad in The Ancient Capital is the seventh movie in the Detective Conan film series. Produced by T.M.S. Entertainment, the film features traditional digital animation throughout, for the first time. The film earned an impressive $32.4 million worldwide during its screening.
In this movie, Conan takes on a case at a temple located in Kyoto. Alongside Heiji Hattori, they team up to solve a series of murders that have been drawing the attention of the Japanese police. However, will the brilliant duo from East and West be able to solve the case?
The movie opens with a flashback of Heiji Hattori at a temple in Kyoto, gazing out a window and seeing a girl in a kimono playing with a ball while singing the popular street song Maru Take Ebisu. Heiji is immediately captivated by her and considers her his first love. However, as the wind blows a flurry of cherry blossom petals, the girl disappears, leaving Heiji alone.
Years later, Conan, speaking through Shinichi’s voice, talks to Ran on the phone, apologizing for not being able to meet her yet due to being busy with various cases. Ran understands and reminds him to stay safe and healthy, especially with the cold weather in Japan.
Meanwhile, at a temple, three people are killed simultaneously by a mysterious figure wearing a Noh mask, with two more subsequently killed at different locations. The Japanese police are left puzzled and shocked as they investigate, only to find that all the victims were members of a notorious theft ring called Genjibotaru. The group is infamous for stealing Buddha statues, and has been active since 1991, mostly in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, but had never killed anyone before.
All the members of Genjibotaru have names derived from the names of Yohitsune’s servant generals, and all own a book titled Gikeiki or the Tale of the War of Yohitsune and his followers. During the murder of the five people, their books were taken along with a paper that shows the code where one of the stolen Buddha statues is kept. The police now only have leads on the killer’s exceptional archery and sword fighting skills but have no idea of their identity, name, or gender.
Heiji, who is in Osaka reading about the case of Yoshitsune, decides to help with the investigation. During his search, he runs into Conan along with a group comprising Ran, Sonoko, and Kogoro, who were asked to visit the Sanno temple to help solve the code regarding the location of the stolen Buddha statue.
Together, they work to solve the mystery, with Heiji and Conan working together along with the rest of the group. While they investigate around Gojo Bridge, Heiji and Conan are suddenly attacked by an unknown assailant who fires an arrow at Heiji. They give chase, but the attacker escapes on a motorbike. Losing their trail, they return to a tea shop to gather their thoughts, where Kogoro accuses Chika of being the culprit. However, Heiji and Conan soon discover something else and immediately go to pursue the real perpetrator.
In conclusion, Conan: Crossroad in The Ancient Capital is a very intriguing and exciting movie that keeps the viewer engaged with intricate twists and turns. Its detective story is brilliant, making it one of the best movies in the Detective Conan series.
