The Black Organization is the primary antagonist in the Detective Conan franchise. While the abundance of filler in the main anime series causes their presence to get buried, when even a single member makes an appearance, that's when you know that an episode is important. The organization ties all of the major plot points of the series together, as they are the ones responsible for turning Shinichi Kudo into a kid, they are the ones who forced Shiho Miyano to develop the experimental drug that turned both of them into kids, and they are the main subjects of major law enforcement entities around the world like the FBI. Having a movie put multiple members of the organization front and center is a very bold choice, especially when the films have, for the most part, been very careful not to contradict the major canon elements of the series. However, I think this film does a good job of establishing exactly why this organization is the perfect counterbalance to Conan and his friends.

The overall setup and set pieces for the film are entertaining and creative. I never would have thought that we would ever see Conan go up against an evil organization at the bottom of the ocean. I also didn't think this film would revolve around a security system ripe for abuse, utilizing deep fakes and artificial intelligence. This film was released in 2023 and couldn't have been more timely. However, it doesn't delve deeply enough into the dangers of why a system like this might be a bad idea. Interpol establishes it and attempts to stop criminals. Still, outside of the fact that the Black Organization wants it for their specific purposes, the film seems to suggest that the technology would only be dangerous if it were in their hands, rather than being inherently dangerous just by virtue of its existence. Then again, the system is also easily exploitable, so you could argue that there's a back-and-forth going on regarding the social commentary; it's just not at the forefront.

What is at the forefront is the Black Organization, which makes its presence known five minutes into the film. There were over half a dozen members either featured or referenced by name throughout this movie, and even as someone who is not fully caught up with the Detective Conan series (I swear to God, I'm trying guys), I am pleased with how all of them are made distinct in the limited screen time that they are given. Even though this film also seemingly introduces a new member of the organization, I thought they were handled very well because their introduction and ultimate fate act as a pretty good showcase of how the organization works (or instead doesn't work) in the series.

Without spoiling too much, whenever the Black Organization does show up in the main series, there is this big question about whether or not they will discover that Conan and Ai are secretly Shinichi and Shiho, two characters the organization firmly believes are dead. The series has mixed results in maintaining the status quo, and the film attempts to do the same. The organization thinks they have found something and does everything they can to prove it, but the skill of our heroes and sometimes completely random happenstance allow them to keep their identities secret, so that the story can continue in the way it has. Trust me, the series does get a little ridiculous with how it tries to maintain that, and this film isn't one of the more egregious examples; there are still a few moments where I felt like rolling my eyes about how they get away with everything. For a series all about deduction and piecing together truths using evidence, our heroes do succeed sometimes by random luck.

I think this film does one of the better jobs of establishing why the heroes win, largely due to the way the organization operates. The entire organization is comprised of a group of brilliant people, but none of them like each other at all. They're all incredibly hostile towards each other, aren't always willing to work together for the most benign reasons, and they are also pretty much only a hair's breadth away from shooting each other in the face, with some even getting close in this very movie. They are the antithesis of Conan and everybody else because, while many of our individual cast members are brilliant in their own right, they still succeed by working together and being there for each other. This film puts the relationship of Conan and Ai specifically front and center, with their friendship being one of the strongest emotional cores of the entire franchise, not just this film. The film even gets a little cheeky with how close these two arguably are, providing some good doses of fan service for all the shippers out there, but it's done in a cheeky enough way that it doesn't directly clash with the intended outcome.

In some ways, the movie is almost funny in how it portrays these conflicting dynamics. If Gin and the rest of the Black Organization just worked together for more than an hour, they would have won, and there is satisfaction in seeing that hubris backfire on them while our heroes never stop trying to find the good in each other to come out on top. The film is a lot less cheesy about all this than it sounds, but it wears its heart on its sleeve. I would argue this is probably one of the more genuine and heartfelt movies of the past couple of years. The small mysteries scattered throughout the film are well established. I'd even argue that you'd be able to piece some of the reveals together if you pay attention to the finer details.

There's a lot of great character animation in here, with even minor details emphasized. Like a lot of the other Detective Conan movies, the iconic leitmotif and well-established soundtrack are on full display to help punctuate those unforgettable gotcha moments. From an animation perspective, this film boasts a great deal of style. It doesn't do anything radically crazy or different, but the action is just so satisfying here, with extra action lines thrown in during key moments to punctuate the impact of certain scenes, both literally and figuratively. There's even some pretty impressive fight choreography as people go at each other. Plus, I love how Gin looks. Dude is probably one of the most evil men I've ever seen in an anime, and he looks the part with his slim figure and gorgeous silver hair.

I would put this in my top three Detective Conan movies so far. While it doesn't fully escape the trappings of the main series or many of the other movies, which often repeat similar plot points, I think this is one of the best executions of this setup the franchise has done. The Black Organization is showcased with all the weight and gravitas it deserves as one of the main overarching villains of the entire franchise, and the way it is defeated, while convenient, ties into a lesson about its ultimate downfall. Conan and Ai's relationship in the film is adorable, with various character moments tying together an ultimately solid, action-packed mystery piece. I think you would get the most out of it if you're at least somewhat familiar with the main basis of the franchise, or at least enough to know who the Black Organization is. But outside of that, this is a fantastic time.