Detective Conan OVA 1: Conan vs Kid vs YAIBA

sothis May 20, 2008

6.8

StoryNormally, a Detective Conan episode or movie is a thrilling, harrowing ride filled with clues to follow and a mystery to solve. While Detective Conan - Conan vs Kid vs Yaiba (aka OVA 1) has none of these qualities, those who enjoy a good dose of wackiness and zany fun will surely appreciate its merits.Detective Conan's creator was also at the helm of Yaiba - a comedic tale of the son of a swordsman and his exotic animal friends who take residence in Japan. Detective Conan OVA 1 merges this story and the story of Detective Conan together in a rather hilarious way: Conan is dying to read the Yaiba manga in the evening, but on the way home he gets sucked into an adventure that involves Yaiba himself!  There's no mystery to solve and absolutely nothing serious to digest, so you can instead sit back and enjoy the wild ride. Comedy abounds in a variety of situations: Kaitou Kid manages to woo all the female members of the Raizou family, Yaiba and Kaitou Kid square off in a harrowing air battle, names are mispronounced left and right, and more! Little else can be said about this thirty-minute OVA without spoiling. It's hilarious, it's a great detour from the usual seriousness of Detective Conan titles, and it has a laugh-out-loud ending that you won't necessarily expect. AnimationDetective Conan OVA 1's animation is neither good nor bad. It's decent and it works, though it's nothing groundbreaking or spectacular. Much of the OVA takes place at night (once Kaitou Kid is on the prowl for his would-be treasure) and thus, the colors are often muted. The character designs are exactly what one would expect from a Detective Conan title. SoundAs with the animation, Detective Conan OVA 1's audio is good enough - nothing offensive or detracting, and fits the tone of the OVA well. Like the TV series, Detective Conan OVA 1's soundtrack leans towards cheesy saxophone riffs and an overall campy feel. CharactersEach character plays his or her part to a tee: Yaiba is brash and cocky just like his regular self in the Yaiba anime; Kaitou Kid is suave for the ladies; and Conan still manages to drum up a bit of deductive thinking amidst the comedy. Fans of the normal Detective Conan series might not appreciate the overly-lighthearted feel of the characters' personalities in Detective Conan OVA 1 - to them I'd simply say "lighten up!"OverallWhile it's nothing like the regular series, movies, or even the other OVAs, Detective Conan OVA 1 is a wonderful tangent to the franchise's typically serious stories. If you've seen Yaiba and Detective Conan and enjoy comedy, this would be a great OVA to watch. New viewers of Detective Conan should pass this one by as there is no back story given of any of the characters, and die hard mystery fans should bear in mind that this OVA has little in common with any previous Detective Conan works.

OkamiX Jul 22, 2021

6

this ova made me hella confused i wont spoil anyways  for a second i thought its a sequel for the third movie i was excited to see kaito kid again but sadly all of that was just a filler more than just a side story