July 25, 2010

New Shinichi & Ran Statues In Aoyama’s Hometown

Two new bronze statues of Shinichi and Ran have been created in Gosho Aoyama’s hometown.


Born in Hokuei town in Japan’s Tottori prefecture, Gosho Aoyama (47) has made a name for himself as a manga artist, with his most notable work being the Detective Conan series. On 20th July 2010, two new bronze statues of main characters Shinichi & Ran, a reproduction of a scene from the start of Detective Conan, were officially unveiled in the open space near the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, a museum in Aoyama’s hometown that celebrates his success.



The statue of Shinichi has a height of 130cm while the statue of Ran has a height of 120cm. Both statues cost a total of 6 million yen, or about 60,000 USD, to produce. The statues were based on a scene from volume 01 of the Detective Conan manga, where Shinichi talks about his dream of becoming a detective to Ran. The maker of the statues therefore hopes that this can become a place where young fans of the series gather and talk about their own dreams and ambitions.


Source: dcfc | Detective Conan Fan Club.com

July 14, 2010

Shōnen Sunday Issue No. 3000, Conan’s Twitter Starts

Shōnen Sunday celebrates its 3000th issue this week!

Started in 1959, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, the weekly shōnen manga magazine published by Shogakukan, has finally reached its 3000th issue! The Detective Conan manga has been serialized in Shōnen Sunday since 1994, and File 741 will be published on 14th July 2010 in the 3000th issue of the popular magazine.

To celebrate its 3000th issue, Shōnen Sunday will be giving out the following gifts to its readers:

1. Toshocard (prepaid card used at Japanese bookstores) with all the Shōnen Sunday characters: 

2. Quo card (prepaid card used at various shops in Japan) with self portraits of all Shōnen Sunday authors:

3. Detective Conan Toshocard:

4.Conan’s version of Tamagotchi iD

Besides special giveaways, Detective Conan’s Twitter will also start today (14th July) in accordance with the release of the 3000th issue. “Edogawa Conan’s Twitter Account” will pick up lines of dialogue from the Detective Conan manga and tweet them. Places where Tweets come from will vary between “Mōri Detective Agency”, “Teitan Elementary School”, “Agasa’s Residence” and the like. Occasionally, “secret tweets” which reveal hints about the Detective Conan manga’s storyline will also be tweeted. (Editor’s note: We’ll put up the news of such “secret tweets” if we see any!)



A special collection of comments from all of Shōnen Sunday’s current manga authors, aptly named “The Authors’ Tweets”, is also included in the 3000th issue of Shōnen Sunday. Gosho Aoyama’s line is: “When it’s issue number 4000, will I still be alive? (laughs)” (“4000号のとき、俺、生きてるかなぁ(笑)”). Considering the fact that Aoyama is 47 this year and the 4000th issue will be published about 20 years later, let’s hope for the best!

Source: Web Sunday news
Images © Shogakukan

Aoyama Gosho Draws Conan In France


Where did Gosho Aoyama, the author of Detective Conan, go to during his recent two-week break?
Yes, you guessed it, he went to France. On 6th July 2010, Gosho Aoyama went to support Japanese road bicycle racer Arashiro Yukiya in the 3rd stage of Tour de France, which spans 213 kilometers from Wanze (Belgium) to Arenberg (France). While the race was expectably a tedious one, Aoyama’s visit definitely seemed to have brightened up Arashiro’s day.

Arashiro and Aoyama


The next day, on 7th July, Aoyama attended a Detective Conan fan-meeting event named “Dedicace Gosho Aoyama”. The following video is a live recording of Aoyama drawing a portrait of Conan, and its title translates to “Dedication by Gosho Aoyama – Kana (Hall of Fnac – July 2010)”. (Kana is a French manga publisher and Hall of Fnac is the place where the event was held.)

While the chapter published right after his break, File 741, does not seem to contain any content related to his recent trip to France, we might just see some French-related content soon!


Source: dcfc | Detective Conan Fan Club.com