The National Gallery in London Partners with Detective Conan for 30th Anniversary Goods – Interest

In January 1994, Weekly Shonen Sunday introduced Japan to one of its most iconic characters, Shinichi Kudo and his alias, Conan Edogawa from Gosho Aoyama‘s Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed). It wasn’t long until the manga was adapted into an anime series of the same name in 1996. Since then, both the anime and manga series gained massive popularity to the point even American talk show host Conan O’Brien jokingly tried to get Hokuei, Tottori Prefecture, birthplace of Aoyama, to pay him 3 trillion yen (about US$ 19,956,429,000) for the use of his name in 2018. It’s no mystery that the franchise is celebrating its 30th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, Detective Conan has partnered with The National Gallery in London for some special merchandise.

Announced on the official Shonen Sunday Premium Shop Twitter account on January 17, the collaborative items for Detective Conan and The National Gallery will be available through the Shogakukan official online merchandise store Lifetunes Mall. The lineup includes a variety of magnets for 990 yen (about US$6.60) each, t-shirts for 5,500 yen (about US$36.35) each, tote bags for 3,520 yen (about US$23.46) each, and clear files for 550 yen (about US$3.67) each. Each item features a Detective Conan character and a painting by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Joseph Mallord William Turner RA, or Ambrosius Bosschaert.

The specific pieces are van Gogh’s Sunflowers featuring Conan and Kaitō Kid, Van Gogh’s Chair featuring Conan, and Wheat Field with Cypresses featuring Kaitō Kid; Monet’s The Thames below Westminster featuring Shiichi and his childhood friend and romantic interest Ran Mōri and The Water-Lily Pond featuring the detective Tōru Amuro; Turner’s Ulysses deriding Polyphemus – Homer’s Odyssey featuring Shuichi Akai; and Bosschaert’s Still-Life with Flowers featuring Ai Haibara.

This is a fitting collaboration as Shinichi is a massive fan of British author Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes novel series. In addition, The National Gallery is celebrating it’s 200th anniversary. Also, The 2015 Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno anime film features a plot revolving around Kaito Kid supposedly stealing a replica of one of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers paintings during an auction. Not to mention, one of the most iconic moments in the Conan franchise occurs in London. Fans know the one!

Currently, all the Detective Conan and The National Gallery collaboration items are in stock on Lifetunes Mall. While orders are being taken, the site suggests shipping will begin in mid-February. Unfortunately, the site does not take orders from outside of Japan, nor does it ship products abroad. If you’re in Japan and love Detective Conan, you may consider checking out the collaboration.

Sources: Lifetunes Mall, Shonen Sunday Premium Shop’s Twitter account, AnimeAnime.jp