Detective Conan 30th Anniversary Review: An Unmissable Tribute for Fans

Is the Detective Conan 30th Anniversary Special an unmissable tribute for fans? Read our episode breakdown, and find out whether you should give it a try!

One of the most famous long-running anime titles, Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed), aired a two-hour special episode on September 25, 2026, to celebrate its 30th anniversary. It is definitely not an easy feat for an anime to survive for almost 30 years, and the production team decided to create an amazing special episode for us.

The special episode is titled The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30. Judging by the title alone, you might wonder what it's about, but it actually revolves around a major counterfeit money threat. As someone who has been a fan and watched Detective Conan for years, I decided to give it a try. Now that I've finished it, I have a few thoughts to share, so let's dive in, and hopefully, this post helps you decide whether to watch it!

Source: 名探偵コナン公式 Official X account

Detective Conan's 30th Anniversary: What Do You Need to Know?

As usual, before we dive into the deep-dive review of The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30, let me share a bit of context about the series itself. After decades of hard work, Detective Conan has grown into a globally recognized franchise. Even if you aren't a hardcore fan, anyone who watches a lot of anime has almost certainly come across this iconic title.

Since Detective Conan is a series with over a thousand episodes, much like One Piece, and this post isn't focused on the anime as a whole, I'll stick to a few basic facts everyone should know. First, Kudo Shinichi is still Conan. Yes, even after all these years, he hasn't turned back into his adult self, and his ongoing battle against the Black Organization is still as intense as ever.

Second, there are actually many different organizations involved in Detective Conan. Over the years, alongside the Black Organization, the story has introduced various police departments, the Public Security Bureau, the FBI, and numerous characters connected to them. This is an important detail to keep in mind, as The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30 features most of these groups, and Conan is the only one who knows everyone's true identity and maintains close ties with all of them.

Third, a quick note on the special episode itself. Although Detective Conan has been airing for 30 years, this is the first time a special centers on a nationwide counterfeit money threat, complete with an official announcement teasing an all-star cast spanning the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to the edges of the Black Organization. Usually, even special episodes only feature a few key characters or factions rather than bringing everyone together for a single story, but The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30 is doing things differently.

Source: 名探偵コナン公式 Official X account

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The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30 Review: How Does It Compare to Other Conan Specials?

Similar to other famous long-running anime, special episodes in the Conan anime usually refer to one- or two-hour-long episodes that feature all kinds of cases and sometimes include other famous characters. Most of the time, thanks to their longer runtime, they are able to show more content, which ultimately makes them more interesting than normal episodes.

A great example is Conan anime Japanese numbering episode 219, The Gathering of the Detectives! Shinichi Kudo vs. Kaitou Kid, an epic, interesting and intense special episode. Since this special features Kaitou Kid and a complicated murder case, it has always been a 10 out of 10 and the best special episode for me! It may be hard to believe, but Conan's special episodes are really good compared to those of other titles, and some of them may even become an epic, unforgettable episode for you.

After watching The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30 myself, I feel that it is truly another great special episode. Although it doesn't quite reach the epic level of Episode 219, overall I quite enjoyed it from beginning to end. The case is intense and complicated, and the voice acting and pacing are great. Almost everything you want from Conan is here, and the team delivered.

Although different people have different tastes and you might not be interested in Conan at all, I still strongly suggest that everyone give this special episode a try. Even if you have never watched Conan before or know nothing about it, you can still have a good time, since this special strikes a perfect balance: it brings in Conan's extremely complicated world-building, yet still has an interesting case that everyone will be satisfied with.

Here’s a great YouTube video worth checking out.

Ultra 30 Suggestions: Who Should Try It and Who Shouldn't

Even though I have watched a lot of Conan episodes and already have a 10 out of 10 special episode in my heart, I was still amazed by The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30. Especially in the past few years, the quality of Conan's anime-original episodes has dropped a lot, and many of them are actually quite boring.

Unlike other anime-original episodes, Ultra 30 actually has an intense story that will really get you hooked, a proper lesson on how money (Japanese yen) is printed, a culprit and motive that make sense, and, most importantly, incredible voice acting. Why have I mentioned the voice acting so many times? It's because Yamazaki Wakana, the Japanese voice actress of Ran Mouri, passed away due to illness on April 18, 2026, at the age of 61, after a period of medical treatment.

The current voice actress of Ran Mouri is Okamura Akemi. You might not recognize her by name, but she is actually the famous voice actress of Nami from One Piece. Okamura has voiced Ran since episode 1,193 (March 14), while Yamazaki was undergoing treatment, and she officially took over the role after Yamazaki's death. Here's a fun fact: the two have helped each other before. Back in the early days of One Piece, Yamazaki filled in for Okamura as Nami, and Okamura also filled for Yamazaki as Ran.

Here’s a great YouTube video worth checking out.

As someone who has been watching Conan for so long, I found losing Wakana shocking and sad. At first, I thought there would definitely be some differences, since they are two different people, and that couldn't be helped. But the good news is that after watching the whole episode, I really felt like Yamazaki hadn't left us at all, because Okamura played Ran so well that there was hardly any difference between the two.

If you are looking for a great anime episode or an intense story, or if you have ever watched Conan, The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30 is definitely a special episode you need to watch. It really has everything you need, and if you give it a try, I am sure you will love it. However, this is not a perfect episode, so of course there are some people I can't recommend it to.

No matter how great this special episode is, it is ultimately still a Conan episode, and it doesn't have extremely high-quality animation. So if you are looking for something like the Demon Slayer movies, this is not for you. Besides, this is a special episode, not a movie, so if you are looking for something that can compete with Conan's movie series, this episode is not for you either. The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30 is a top-tier Conan episode, but compared with those, it may not live up to your expectations.

Here’s a great YouTube video worth checking out.

Conclusion:

Thank you for reading this post. Since I want everyone to give this episode a try, I won't dive into every detail of it, but here's a small hint: "Ultra 30" actually has a meaning; it isn't just a random episode title. The whole episode is really good, so please trust me on this one. You don't need to watch every episode of Conan, but after watching this special episode, you might want to start your own Detective Conan journey.

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