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Detective Conan Watch Order
Detective Conan spans one gigantic TV series (1,150+ episodes since 1996, still airing), 29 theatrical movies (1997-2026), the two-hour Episode One special and four spinoffs, including Magic Kaito 1412 and two Netflix comedies. Start the series at episode 1 and treat everything else as optional side doors.
Detective Conan Watch Order: complete list
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Why this order?
Nobody catches up on 1,150+ episodes, and the honest secret is that nobody has to. Detective Conan is overwhelmingly episodic: self-contained mystery cases you could watch in almost any order, threaded by a slow-burning main plot (Shinichi's shrinking, the Black Organization, Haibara, the undercover agents circling them) that only advances in a minority of episodes. That is exactly why this franchise is the best possible fit for a per-episode tracker: every episode below carries a canon or filler flag, and the hide-filler toggle collapses the anime-original cases so the 1,150-episode wall shrinks to the list that actually moves the story. Start at episode 1, or warm up with Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small, the two-hour 2016 special that retells the origin with modern animation, then ride broadcast order with the flags on.
The movies are their own annual tradition: 29 theatrical films, one every spring since 1997 except 2020, all self-contained side stories that never advance the TV plot. Release order is the only order that matters, and none of them are required, though a few land far better with TV context: Countdown to Heaven after you know Haibara, The Darkest Nightmare and Black Iron Submarine after the Black Organization matters to you, Zero the Enforcer after Amuro has entered the picture. One numbering note: the Police Academy Arc: Wild Police Story episodes (2021-2023) aired inside the main series numbering, so they are already counted in the series above, not listed separately.
The spinoffs are dessert. Magic Kaito, the phantom-thief series about Kaito Kid, is officially a separate continuity (creator Gosho Aoyama has said the two cannot share a world), yet Kid crosses into Conan constantly; the 12 TV specials (2010-2012) and the 24-episode Magic Kaito 1412 (2014-2015) both stand alone. Zero's Tea Time (6 episodes) and The Culprit Hanzawa (12 episodes), both from 2022 and both on Netflix, are low-stakes comedies: watch them whenever you need a palate cleanser, or never. There is even a Lupin III crossover special and film if you want the deepest cut.
Timeline 1996-2026
Every entry by release year: rows that share a year are a cluster, and the long droughts are called out on the rail.
- 1996 (TV series)
- 1997 The Time Bombed Skyscraper
- 1998 The Fourteenth Target
- 1999 The Last Wizard of the Century
- 2000 Captured in Her Eyes
- 2001 Countdown to Heaven
- 2002 The Phantom of Baker Street
- 2003 Crossroad in the Ancient Capital
- 2004 Magician of the Silver Sky
- 2005 Strategy Above the Depths
- 2006 The Private Eyes' Requiem
- 2007 Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure
- 2008 Full Score of Fear
- 2009 The Raven Chaser
- 2010 Magic Kaito (TV specials)The Lost Ship in the Sky
- 2011 Quarter of Silence
- 2012 The Eleventh Striker
- 2013 Private Eye in the Distant Sea
- 2014 Magic Kaito 1412Dimensional Sniper
- 2015 Sunflowers of Inferno
- 2016 Episode One: The Great Detective Turned SmallThe Darkest Nightmare
- 2017 Crimson Love Letter
- 2018 Zero the Enforcer
- 2019 The Fist of Blue Sapphire
- 2021 The Scarlet Bullet
- 2022 Zero's Tea TimeThe Culprit HanzawaThe Bride of Halloween
- 2023 Black Iron Submarine
- 2024 The Million-Dollar Pentagram
- 2025 One-Eyed Flashback
- 2026 Fallen Angel of the Highway
Where to play it today
- The main series streams in large batches on Crunchyroll in much of the West; availability varies by region
- Zero's Tea Time and The Culprit Hanzawa stream on Netflix; the films rotate services and box sets, check JustWatch
Availability changes often and varies by region - links search each platform for Detective Conan.
Frequently asked questions
How many Detective Conan episodes and movies are there?
Over 1,150 TV episodes (airing since January 1996 and still going), 29 theatrical movies (1997-2026, one per year except 2020), the two-hour Episode One special, plus four spinoffs: the Magic Kaito TV specials, Magic Kaito 1412, Zero's Tea Time and The Culprit Hanzawa.
What order should I watch Detective Conan in?
Start the TV series at episode 1 (or with the Episode One special) and follow broadcast order; the show is episodic, so the order between cases barely matters. Use the per-episode canon and filler flags to stay on the main plot. The movies are side stories: watch them in release order whenever you like.
Can I skip filler in Detective Conan?
Yes, and in this franchise you almost certainly should: hundreds of episodes are anime-original cases that never touch the main plot. Every episode in the tracker above carries a canon or filler flag, and the hide-filler toggle collapses the skippable ones so only the story that matters remains.
Are the Detective Conan movies canon?
They are official side stories that never advance the TV plot, so nothing breaks if you skip them all. A few reward TV context: Countdown to Heaven (Haibara), The Darkest Nightmare and Black Iron Submarine (Black Organization), and Zero the Enforcer (Amuro) land hardest after those characters matter to you.
Do I need to watch Magic Kaito before the Kaito Kid episodes?
No. Creator Gosho Aoyama treats Magic Kaito as a separate continuity, and every Kid appearance in Conan explains itself. The 12 TV specials and Magic Kaito 1412 are optional companion pieces for when you want more of the thief.
Where should a complete newcomer start?
Either TV episode 1 (1996) or Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small, the 2016 two-hour special that retells the origin with modern animation. After that, broadcast order with the hide-filler toggle on is the fastest route through the story.
Is Case Closed the same as Detective Conan?
Yes. Case Closed is the English-language brand used for legal reasons, with localized names (Shinichi Kudo becomes Jimmy Kudo). Same episodes, same story.
Is Detective Conan still airing?
Yes. The series entered its 30th year in 2026, new episodes air weekly in Japan, and the 29th film, Fallen Angel of the Highway, opened on April 10, 2026 as a 30th-anniversary commemorative work.
Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, animenewsnetwork.com, Wikidata
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