Detective Conan OVA 7: A Challenge from Agasa

sothis May 21, 2008

5

StoryYawwwwwn. As specified in one of my previous Detective Conan OVA reviews, I have a firm belief that each OVA became successively worse. While none of the OVAs could beat Detective Conan OVA 5 in suckage level, Detective Conan: A Challenge from Agasa (aka Detective Conan OVA 7) comes dangerously close. The initial premise is boring from the get-go: the Professor has been kidnapped and wants the children's help in saving him. Of course, he's given them various clues to help them along their way, and Conan and company use their powers of deduction to decipher said clues, as always. Soon into the action we discover that the Professor was simply playing a game with our heroes - a game which becomes real once he is actually kidnapped. While this could have been an interesting setup, nothing unusual enough happens to warrant more than a passing glance at the screen. Everyday villains are introduced that don't manage to capture our attention, and the conclusion is standard at best. Given Detective Conan OVA 7's short length, there's not much more to say about the story; I found it to be a flat out average yawnfest, and think the best target audience would be fans of the TV series who want to watch anything with the Detective Conan name on it - boring or not. AnimationLike the other Detective Conan titles before it, the animation is decent and appropriate for the content, but is not memorable or groundbreaking. The vibrant colors and saturation helped make Detective Conan OVA 7 better than the first few OVAs, though. SoundAs with every Detective Conan title, the animation is passable and perfectly fine, but not groundbreaking or breathtaking. I appreciate the backgrounds a bit more than usual in this version of the OVA, as the wine cellar, food displays and aerial views of the house are exceptionally detailed and colorful. CharactersAs with all of the other OVAs (except Detective Conan OVA 1), little can be said about the characters and their interactions. No back story is given into the lives of the major players, and the villains are boring and uninteresting at best. OverallLike Detective Conan OVA 5, Detective Conan OVA 7 would be enjoyed only by die hard fans who want to watch every episode possible. It plays out like a normal episode, doesn't have any unusual elements to raise it above an "average" score, and overall sits firmly on a 5.