#the cute coai cover is the most beat up one :'(

[marshmallowgoop]

To get a copy of Episode 129 of Detective Conan/Case Closed on disc, it was cheaper to buy the fourth DVD selection containing it rather than the original volume that it was released on, back when I was picking up the Japanese DVDs individually. (Which I do not recommend. If you’re looking to fill in the 124-753 gap of episodes not available on Crunchyroll in this way, go for listings selling entire season(s).)

So, I wound up purchasing DVD Selection 4, which contains the Ai Haibara-focused episodes that are 129 (her introduction) and 178 (the final part of the “Reunion with the Black Organization” storyline), instead of Part 5, Volume 8 (which has 129 only). And an interesting thing about the DVD selection is its back cover, where it’s got extra art of Ai and Conan that, most notably, features Ai all dressed up with a floor-length gown and scarf.

That Conan stands beside her wearing his usual suit and sneakers rather than anything more formal is a bit disappointing, but my first thought was that their outfits there reflect what they would have worn to the mourning party they’re (kind of) at in Episode 178, had they had the time and information to prepare properly for it. Because I gotta say—watching them just waltz into the event in their street clothes (pictured in the bottom image above, on the cover art for Part 7, Volume 5, which contains Episodes 175-178) couldn’t help but be a little painful to me. But I of course eventually realized that the DVD Selection 4 outfits aren’t exactly appropriate for a mourning party, either.

So, I have no idea why that art is there on the back of DVD Selection 4; I don’t think anything in Episode 129 would necessitate fancy clothes, either? But I found it cute! Look at them being snazzy together.

[marshmallowgoop]

I’ve spent the last year-ish collecting Detective Conan/Case Closed on DVD and Blu-ray, and it’s certainly been a Process. I made my bank account cry with the outrageous and ultimately avoidable shipping and service fees attached to the first volumes I imported from Japan, my English-language copy of Countdown to Heaven splutters and glitches out seemingly only on my go-to Region 1 DVD player that’s easily accessible and not attached to my dying laptop from 2012, the S.A.V.E. Case Closed seasonal sets I’d placed lovingly on my shelf turned out to be bootlegs, and my initial replacement for Season 4 held Season 5 discs in Season 4 packaging, which maybe wouldn’t have been so bad, but I thought I’d already purchased a solid, genuine Season 5 replacement, except I found out later that it actually wasn’t because it was disc rotted to heck and wouldn’t play properly, and so I sent back the Season 5 that I thought was Season 4 and sent back the Season 5 that was actually Season 5 but was broken, and I wound up scouring even more listings to buy replacements for the replacements.

And there were also more minor boo-hoos, like how the cute CoAi cover (Part 7, Volume 5) is one of the most crinkled, beat-up rental-drop artworks in my collection, or how the special-edition DVD for The Private Eyes’ Requiem I won in an auction was seemingly supposed to come paired with a storage box for the first 10 films but actually didn’t so I bought the box separately because gosh dang I wanted that box, or how Part 10, Volume 4 is the only non-rental-drop Japanese volume I own and so is fancier but contains a 2-hour special (263) that hurt my heart so much I have half an essay drafted about why.

And that’s not even getting into the subtitle struggles....

But besides the whole bootleg situation, I think my biggest disappointment with the buying process is how I got an old rental-drop copy of Part 14, Volume 8 that was supposed to come with just the jacket and disc... but came with the disc only.

And it’s not like I’m displaying every jacket, anyway (do not have room for 150+ DVDs!), and 14-8 isn’t one I even intended to display, but I do stick all the cover arts I’m not using in a binder, kinda like an anime-obsessed middle schooler I swear I remember reading about in a Tumblr post or something.

[Image description: A photograph of the binder where I keep Detective Conan jacket art that’s not in use. Pictured are the covers for Part 12, Volume 5, depicting Conan and his mother, and Part 12, Volume 6, depicting Conan running. End image description.]

And I left a space for 14-8!

[Image description: A photograph showing that next to the cover art from Part 14, Volume 9, depicting Conan and Dr. Agasa, there is a blank space. End image description.]

And it’s empty!

[Image description: A screenshot of the “If I Had One” meme, where Timmy Turner’s dad from the Fairly Oddparents screams in anguish about how he’d put a trophy in the spot behind him, if he had a trophy. End image description.]

And, like, yeah, I could just buy another one for like 100-300 yen, but I didn’t account for having an extra 14-8. And I have a system!

[Image description: A screenshot of the Word document for my DetCo DVD organizing system. Case 14, with the art of Part 14, Volume 2 (showing Conan looking unamused at a cellphone), contains six DVDs: 14-7, 14-8, 14-9, 15-1, 15-2, and 15-3. 15-3 is highlighted to indicate that this volume’s cover art (showing Conan leaning against a Poirot Café sign advertising coffee) is displayed on the next case, Case 15. End image description.]

And the art for 14-8 is cute!!

[Image description: Cover art for Part 14, Volume 8, image courtesy of the Detective Conan wiki. Conan and Shinichi read books together, looking tired. Conan yawns, while Shinichi drinks from a mug. End image description.]

Sigh.....