If you were a kid in the late nineties, you probably remember the sheer stress of a red wire versus a blue wire. That tension wasn't just a random trope; for many of us, it started with Detective Conan Movie The Time Bombed Skyscraper. Released in 1997, it was a massive gamble for TMS Entertainment. They took a weekly procedural about a shrunken teen detective and decided to turn the dial up to eleven. It worked. It didn't just work; it basically set the stage for how every other movie in the franchise would behave for the next thirty years.
People forget how grounded it felt compared to the Michael Bay-style explosions we see in the recent films. Nowadays, Conan is basically a superhero on a turbo-charged skateboard. But back then? He was just a kid with a brain and a ticking clock. Detective Conan Movie The Time Bombed Skyscraper (or The Sentimental Skyscraper if you’re a purist following the Japanese title Tokei-jikake no Matenrou) is actually a masterclass in building dread.
The Plot That Almost Killed Shinichi Kudo
The story kicks off with a series of arson attacks and bombings across Tokyo. The culprit isn't some low-level thug. It’s Teiji Moriya, a famous architect who has a literally pathological obsession with symmetry. If a building isn't perfectly symmetrical, he wants it gone. It’s a wild motive, honestly. Most villains want money or power, but this guy? He just hates asymmetrical windows.
Moriya starts taunting Shinichi Kudo—through Conan—forcing him to find bombs hidden in everything from toy planes to pet carriers. The stakes are personal. The final bomb is planted in the Beika City Building, where Ran Mouri is waiting for a movie date with Shinichi.
It's tight. It's claustrophobic. The film uses the architecture of the city as a weapon. You’ve got Conan racing against time on his solar-powered skateboard, which, in 1997, was the peak of fictional technology. But the real heart of the movie isn't the gadgetry. It's the wall between Conan and Ran.
Why the Red vs. Blue Choice Matters
The climax is legendary. Ran is trapped behind a door that won't open because of the structural damage from the first blast. She has to defuse the final bomb herself while Conan talks her through it from the other side of the door, using his voice changer to sound like Shinichi.
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He can't see the bomb. He's relying on her descriptions. When they get down to the last two wires—red and blue—the "expert" (the villain's stolen plans) says to cut the red one. But Shinichi tells her to cut whatever she wants. He says if they're going to die, they'll die together.
Ran chooses the blue wire. Why? Because red is the color of the "red thread of fate" that binds them together. She didn't want to cut her link to Shinichi. That’s the kind of writing that makes Detective Conan Movie The Time Bombed Skyscraper stay in your head long after the credits roll. It’s not about the explosion; it’s about the soul of the characters.
The Architectural Genius of Teiji Moriya
Let's talk about the villain. Teiji Moriya is easily one of the most memorable antagonists in the entire series. His name is actually a pun on James Moriarty, which is a nice nod for the Sherlock Holmes fans.
Moriya represents a very specific kind of madness. He represents the danger of perfectionism. In the film, he’s a professor at Toei University. He’s respected. He’s elite. But his ego is so fragile that he’d rather destroy his own early works—buildings he now considers "flawed" because they aren't perfectly symmetrical—than let them exist.
Real-World Influence
Director Kenji Kodama and screenwriter Kazunari Kouchi clearly wanted to make the city a character. The skyscrapers aren't just backgrounds. They are puzzles. You see this in how the bomb locations are revealed. They follow a logic tied to Moriya’s career.
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- The Toy Plane: A test of Conan’s quick thinking.
- The Cat Carrier: Using innocent bystanders as unwitting accomplices.
- The Railway Loop: A massive-scale threat that forced the crew to research how train sensors and pressure plates actually work.
It’s this attention to detail that makes the movie feel "real." Even if the science of the "bombs that explode if the train drops below 60km/h" is a bit Speed-inspired, the execution is flawless for the medium.
Production Secrets: What Happened Behind the Scenes
When Detective Conan Movie The Time Bombed Skyscraper was in production, nobody knew if it would be a hit. The manga was doing well, and the anime was a staple, but movies are a different beast.
- Budget Boost: The animation quality was a significant step up from the weekly TV episodes. You can see it in the lighting of the fire scenes and the fluidity of the skateboard chases.
- The Soundtrack: Katsuo Ono’s score for this film is iconic. He took the main theme and gave it a cinematic, orchestral swell that defined the "movie sound" for the franchise.
- Voice Acting: Kappei Yamaguchi (Shinichi) and Minami Takayama (Conan) had to do a lot of heavy lifting. The scene at the door is basically a radio play because the characters can't see each other. Their vocal chemistry is what sells the emotional stakes.
Interestingly, some of the locations in the movie are based on real spots in Shinjuku and Tokyo. The Beika City Building is a fictionalized version of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. If you visit Shinjuku today, you can still find fans taking photos of the skyline, trying to match the angles from the movie.
Comparing the First Movie to Modern Conan
If you watch a modern Conan movie like The Million-dollar Pentagram or Black Iron Submarine, the scale is massive. We’re talking international conspiracies, FBI agents, and gadgets that would make James Bond blush.
But Detective Conan Movie The Time Bombed Skyscraper is different. It’s a thriller. It’s almost a "bottle movie" in how focused it is. There’s a purity to it.
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- No Black Organization: This movie doesn't rely on the overarching plot of Gin and Vodka. It stands entirely on its own.
- Logical Deductions: The "whodunnit" aspect is actually solvable by the audience. You see the clues. You see the blueprints. You see the villain's behavior early on.
- Personal Stakes: It isn't about saving the world. It’s about a boy trying to save the girl he loves from a burning building.
Sometimes, smaller is better. The tension in the final ten minutes of this 1997 film is arguably higher than the high-octane explosions of the 2020s entries because the emotional core is so tight.
Misconceptions and Forgotten Details
There’s a common misconception that this movie was based on a specific manga arc. It wasn't. It was an original story. However, Gosho Aoyama (the creator of the manga) was heavily involved in the character designs and the "red thread" concept.
Another detail people miss: the bombs. Moriya stole the explosives (plastic explosives) from a manufacturing plant. This wasn't just magic "anime TNT." The film goes out of its way to explain the chemical components and why they were so stable and dangerous.
Also, can we talk about the bike? At one point, Conan has to jump a gap. It’s physics-defying, sure, but it established the "Conan can do anything on wheels" trope that has persisted for decades.
Actionable Steps for the Ultimate Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into this classic, or if you’re showing it to someone for the first time, here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the Subtitle Version First: While the dubs are nostalgic, the original Japanese voice acting during the "red wire" scene carries a specific frequency of desperation that is hard to replicate.
- Look for the Symmetry: Pay attention to the background art in the first half. Every time Moriya is on screen, look at the buildings or the rooms. The animators intentionally hid his obsession in plain sight.
- Check the Clock: The movie actually plays with "real-time" elements toward the end. The countdowns are surprisingly accurate to the pacing of the scenes.
- Follow the Music: Listen for how the "Case Solved" theme is rearranged. It’s much more somber here than in the TV show.
Detective Conan Movie The Time Bombed Skyscraper remains a titan of the genre. It proved that anime movies based on long-running series didn't have to be "filler." They could be cinematic experiences that deepened the characters we already knew. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a newcomer, this is the one that started it all, and it still holds up beautifully.
To really appreciate the evolution of the series, watch this film immediately followed by a modern entry like The Bride of Halloween. The contrast in technology and stakes is fascinating, but you'll notice that the core—the relationship between Shinichi and Ran—remains the heartbeat of the franchise. Check out official streaming platforms like Crunchyroll or Netflix (depending on your region) to find the remastered versions which clean up the 90s grain significantly.