Detective Conan Anime Gets Compilation Film About Ai Haibara

The official website for Detective Conan: Kurogane no Submarine (Iron or Jet-Black Submarine), the 26th film in the Detective Conan franchise, announced on Wednesday that, in anticipation of the brand-new film, the franchise will have a compilation film titled Meitantei Conan Haibara Ai Monogatari: Kurogane no Mystery Train (Detective Conan Ai Habara's Story ~Jet-Black Mystery Train~). The compilation film recompiles the anime's four-episode "Jet-Black Mystery Train" arc (episodes 701-704), while also including key scenes centering on the character Ai Haibara from other parts of the television anime's run, as well as new footage connecting the film to Detective Conan: Kurogane no Submarine at the end of the film.

The compilation film will open on January 6.

The franchise previously had a similar compilation film titled Meitantei Conan: Hiiro no Fuzai Shōmei (Detective Conan: The Scarlet Alibi) in 2021, in anticipation of that year's Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet (Meitantei Conan: Hiiro no Dangan) film. That compilation film recompiled scenes featuring the Akai family, connecting to the Akai family focus of that year's Detective Conan film.

The Detective Conan: Kurogane no Submarine film will open in Japan on April 14, 2023.

The film's story takes place on the Hachijō-jima island south of central Tokyo. Many engineers from around the world gather to witness the launch of a new system that connects all law enforcement camera systems around the world and enables facial recognition worldwide. Conan also heads there with an invitation from Sonoko. He receives a message from Subaru Okiya, who says that a Europol agent has been murdered in Germany by the Black Organization's Gin. Perturbed, Conan tours the new facility, just in time for the Black Organization to kidnap a female engineer, seeking a piece of important data in her USB drive.

Yuzuru Tachikawa (Mob Psycho 100, Blue Giant, Case Closed: Zero the Enforcer, Death Parade) is directing the film, and Takeharu Sakurai (six other Detective Conan films including Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet) is writing the screenplay. Yūgo Kanno (Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween, Psycho-Pass, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) is composing the music.

TOHO had teased the film in November with a video focusing on the character Ai Haibara. The film will also feature Amuro, Akai, and members from the Black Organization. TOHO had teased that the film would open around the Golden Week of spring holidays in Japan, which will run from April 29 through May 5.

Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween (Meitantei Conan: Halloween no Hanayome), the Detective Conan franchise's 25th anime film, opened in Japan on April 15 and sold 1,321,944 tickets for 1,907,467,150 yen (about US$15.06 million) in its first three days. The film earned 1% more in its first three days than the previous record-holding film (for total earnings) in the franchise, Detective Conan: Fist of Blue Sapphire, in its first three days.

The film earned a total of 9,682,314,250 yen (about US$66 million) in Japan after a Halloween special re-screening starting in late October, making it the highest-earning anime film in the Detective Conan franchise.

Sources: Detective Conan: Kurogane no Submarine anime film's website, Comic Natalie