Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths (2005)

Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths is a wonderfully self-contained “closed-room” mystery set on a gleaming luxury liner, where the ocean isn’t just scenery—it’s a pressure cooker that turns every corridor into a suspect and every locked door into a challenge. The film balances cozy character banter with a tightening, shipboard suspense, letting Conan’s razor logic play off Kogoro Mouri’s unexpectedly sharp moments in a way that feels genuinely satisfying rather than routine. There’s a pulpy, old-school thriller pleasure to watching secrets from a long-ago maritime disaster surface amid elegant parties and sudden disappearances, all paced with the brisk confidence of a franchise at full stride. If you don’t enjoy anime deduction stories or you prefer mysteries without heightened melodrama, it may not convert you—but if you want an engaging, seaworthy whodunit with real atmosphere and momentum, this is one of Conan’s most rewarding voyages.

Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths clearly wants to be a “locked-on-a-luxury-liner” whodunit that escalates into a big disaster thriller, and the ocean setting does give it a fresh visual change of pace for the series. The problem is that the mystery often feels like it’s running on familiar rails, with long stretches that play more like routine setup and spectacle than sharp, satisfying investigation. If you watch Conan films for clever clue-work, tight pacing, and that punchy “aha” payoff, this one may test your patience; it’s better suited to fans who simply enjoy spending time with the cast in a maritime backdrop. There are still a few solid suspense beats and character moments, but don’t go in expecting one of the franchise’s standout cases.