The 30th anniversary special of “Detective Conan” opens exclusively at CGV cinemas across South Korea on November 5, riding a wave of sold-out preview screenings and the franchise’s first Korean-localized theatrical dub in eight years.
Titled “Detective Conan: The 30th Case” in Korea, the 93-minute special centers on a counterfeit banknote scandal that spirals into a national crisis. When forged versions of newly issued banknotes surface across the country, police designate the case “Case No. 30,” and Conan joins detectives from police forces nationwide as well as the FBI to unravel the truth. The special is directed by Kamanaka Nobuharu with a screenplay by Sakurai Takeharu, and it is rated for viewers aged 12 and over.
Demand ahead of the release has already been striking. Preview screenings held at CGV on October 31 and November 1 sold out immediately after reservations opened. Seat sales reached 98.3 percent on October 31 and 96 percent on November 1, for a weekend average of 97 percent, the highest among paid preview screenings of films opening around the same time, according to TV Report.
The anniversary scale of the production is part of the draw. The main poster lines up 16 characters, including Conan, Kogoro Mouri, Inspector Megure, public security officer Rei Furuya, and FBI agent Shuichi Akai, and 16 individual character trailers were released ahead of the opening. The Korean voice cast is led by Kim Sun-hye as Conan, Kang Soo-jin as Shinichi, Lee Jeong-gu as Kogoro, Choi Jae-ho, and Lee Joo-chang as Akai, while Jung Seung-wook takes on two roles in a single performance. Preview audiences praised the all-star police lineup and the return of a classic deduction-driven mystery, with some saying the police ensemble alone was reason enough to watch.
The Korean release also stands out for its localization. It is the first theatrically released “Detective Conan” TV compilation or special episode to get a Korean dub since 2018’s “Zero the Enforcer,” eight years ago. Both dubbed and subtitled versions will screen, and the dub goes beyond voices: the counterfeit banknote at the heart of the story becomes a fictional 100,000-won note in the dubbed version, rather than Japan’s new 10,000-yen note, and Japanese police jurisdictions are replaced with Korean regions including Seoul, Busan, Incheon, North Chungcheong, and North Gyeongsang. Preview audiences welcomed the local dub, with some saying they planned to return for the subtitled version as well.
The special is part of a wider anniversary rollout. It debuted in Japan on September 25 as the franchise’s first new two-hour special in a decade, and distributor Odex is bringing it to cinemas across Southeast Asia, with openings in the Philippines on November 7, Indonesia on November 11, and Singapore on November 14, according to Anime News Network. A Malaysian release has also been announced, though its date is not yet set.
The timing reflects a franchise still growing after three decades. “Detective Conan” began as a manga in 1994, moved to television animation in 1996, and released its first theatrical film in 1997. The original manga has now passed 270 million copies in circulation, and the theatrical series has crossed 10 billion yen at the Japanese box office for four consecutive years, including this year’s entry, a first for a Japanese film series. The franchise marked the manga’s 30th anniversary in 2024 and the TV anime’s 30th anniversary this year, with the theatrical series’ 30th anniversary to follow next year. In Seoul, a TV animation 30th anniversary exhibition is currently running in Hongdae.
For longtime fans, the special arrives as a deliberate anniversary event rather than a routine episode: a nationwide case, a 16-character ensemble, and a theatrical release in multiple countries. It opens nationwide at CGV on November 5, with both dubbed and subtitled versions available.
