Anime fans can look forward to a thrilling August as TMS Entertainment continues its “Detective Conan: Cinema Saturdays” campaign on its “Anime! on TMS” YouTube channel. The lineup includes the highly anticipated streaming of Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser on August 2, alongside three other popular films from the long-running franchise throughout the month.
August’s “Cinema Saturdays” Schedule
The “Detective Conan: Cinema Saturdays” initiative makes these films available for free streaming for North American fans, with each movie remaining accessible for seven days after its premiere. The August schedule, with each film streaming at 10:00 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
- August 2: Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser
- August 9: Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno
- August 16: Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper
- August 23: Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet
This continues the campaign that began in July, which saw the streaming of Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare on July 12, Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer on July 19, and Detective Conan: Countdown to Heaven on July 26. Notably, some of these films, including The Darkest Nightmare and Zero the Enforcer, have received new English dubs from TMS and Discotek.
Delving into The Raven Chaser
Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser is the 13th movie in the Detective Conan franchise and the second to heavily feature the elusive Black Organization, the mysterious group responsible for shrinking protagonist Shinichi Kudo into Conan Edogawa. Released in Japan on April 18, 2009, the film plunges Conan into a new case that directly involves his arch-nemeses.
Plot Overview
The movie centers around a series of large-scale murders across Japan, with each crime scene leaving behind Mahjong tiles, leading the police to believe a single person or organization is behind them. As prefectural police forces unite to solve the case, Conan makes a startling discovery: a member of the Black Organization has infiltrated the police conference, disguised as an officer. This revelation puts Conan on high alert, as he must identify the mole and uncover the Black Organization’s motives for being involved in the serial killings. The plot thickens as the crimes are found to be ordered like the Ursa Major constellation, with the final crime scene pointing to Tohto Tower.
Key Characters and Stakes
The film introduces “Irish,” a new member of the Black Organization, who seeks a memory chip crucial to their plans. The stakes are incredibly high, as the Black Organization aims to eliminate anyone connected to Conan’s original identity, Shinichi Kudo. The climax of the film sees a tense confrontation at Tohto Tower, where Irish attempts to obtain the memory chip and eliminate Ran. Ultimately, Irish shields Conan from Gin’s machine gun fire, sacrificing himself to save the young detective.
Broader Detective Conan Streaming Landscape
Beyond the “Cinema Saturdays” event, TMS Entertainment has also made a curated selection of Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed) anime episodes available on Crunchyroll and Netflix since July 3. This selection, titled “Conan vs. The Black Organization,” focuses on episodes featuring the titular antagonists, including some that were previously unavailable in the U.S. These episodes are available in both Japanese with English subtitles and an all-new English dub, marking the dub’s debut on Crunchyroll.
The “Cinema Saturdays” campaign itself is part of a larger celebration leading up to the Detective Conan anime series’ 30th anniversary in January 2026. This initiative promises 26 weeks of free theatrical film streaming on the Anime! on TMS Official Channel, providing a rare opportunity for fans in North America to experience the cinematic legacy of Detective Conan. Additionally, the 28th Detective Conan film, Detective Conan: One Eyed Flashback, is slated for a theatrical release in Germany, Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland on August 26, 2025, with both German and Japanese dubs available.
