Created by Gosho Aoyama, Detective Conan (Also known as Case Closed in the US) manga is one of the series from the 1990s that is still being published today. In Japan, the series was first published in 1994. In Indonesia, the manga was first released in 1997 by Elex Media Komputindo. Today, it’s also known as one of the best-selling manga in Indonesia.
Also read: How “Detective Conan” Becomes One of the Most Beloved Shonen Manga in Indonesia
With 108 volumes published in Japan at the time of writing, the series features a wide variety of detective stories and mysteries. These range from the overarching storyline surrounding the Black Organisation to cases closer to everyday life. Among them are cases that are often investigated by real-life detectives and private investigators, including missing-person cases.
So, which Detective Conan stories feature investigations involving missing people? Here are five stories selected by the KAORI team!
1. Volume 2, File 13: It Starts with Tokai Teio
The story begins when the Kogoro Mouri Detective Agency receives a request from a young girl to find her missing father. The first clues come from the names of her father’s cats, which turn out to be the name of a racehorse, Tokai Teio (Gokai Teio in the Indonesian version). After realising the girl’s father is a horse-racing enthusiast, Conan, Kogoro, and Ran head straight to a racecourse to search for him and eventually find the missing father.
However, the story does not end there, as the case turns out to be connected to a bank-robbing gang. It also involves another detective whom the gang’s associate hired to search for the same “father”.
Fun fact: the racehorse Tokai Teio is also featured in the Umamusume: Pretty Derby franchise.
Also read: Indonesian Horse Racing Sport Sees Surge in Popularity Due to “Uma Musume”
2. Volume 14, Files 134–138: The Inheritance Dispute
Not exactly a missing person case, but this case involves a person who left his home for a very long time. When he comes back years later, no family member recognises him, to the point that other family members suspected him to be an impostor looking for inheritance money.
Shinichi’s mother receives a request from her childhood friend. She wants to investigate whether her applicant’s uncle, who has returned from Brazil following his father’s death and the division of the inheritance, is really who he claims to be or an impostor attempting to claim a share of the inheritance. Even when she met the uncle, Shinichi’s mother also did not recognise him.
Using an old photograph for comparison, the investigation begins by examining a scar that the man supposedly acquired before leaving for Brazil, as well as the hand he uses to write. But later, a murder case derails the investigation.
3. Volume 26, File 261: The Secret of a Pager Friend
In this story, a university student contacts the Kogoro Mouri Detective Agency to find a pager friend whom she has never met in person. When she arranges to meet him, her pager friend leaves behind only his pager and an organ with several missing notes.
The address of the pager’s owner is eventually discovered by using a connection with the police to obtain the address associated with the pager number from the telecommunications operator. As the investigation continues, clues about the student’s mysterious pager friend gradually come to light.
4. Volume 28, File 276: Searching for a Kendo Club Friend
This time, a middle-aged woman contacts Kogoro to find someone who was once a member of her school’s kendo club. She wants to retrieve a photograph that had been left inside a novel she previously lent to the person.
Unlike the other stories on this list, the person she is looking for is still actively practising kendo. He is eventually located after Kogoro contacts several organisers of kendo tournaments.
The applicant is eventually revealed to be Heiji Hattori’s mother, who had actually contacted Kogoro simply to test his detective skills.
5. Volume 37, File 377: The Programmer’s Riddle
The Kogoro Mouri Detective Agency is contacted by representatives of three different game companies. They want to find a freelance programmer who suddenly “disappeared” while working on game software for all three companies.
A picture message from the programmer indicates that he has secluded himself in a hotel, where he borrowed a chessboard, a shogi board, and a Go board for the games he was working on. Pretending to be a guest, Kogoro calls various hotels, posing as the guest who borrowed all three boards, to determine which hotel the programmer is staying at.
The case, however, turns out to be connected to a conspiracy involving the Black Organisation, which is also searching for the programmer to develop mysterious software.
These are five Detective Conan stories involving missing-person investigations selected by the Indonesian Anime Times team. Do you have your own favourite missing-person case? Let us know in the comment!
Also read:
Manga Publishing in Indonesia – Part 1: A Brief History of Manga Publishing by Elex Media
The Indonesian Anime Times | Original article by Tanto D. | Translation by Dany Muhammad | Photo by Halimun M. | Artikel ini juga tersedia dalam bahasa Indonesia.
