Ask John: Will Detective Conan Ever Come to America?

Question:
Are there any plans to ever release Detective Conan in America? Even just the first series on subbed DVD/VHS is good enough for me! Can you help? I know Pioneer ended up turning it down, why is this?

Answer:
As far as I’m aware, Pioneer has never been attached to Detective Conan. Fox Television originally announced plans to bring the series to America but later changed their mind because the show is simply too violent for American television, and editing it wouldn’t leave enough footage intact to make up necessary episode running time. For a children’s program, Detective Conan includes some pretty intense, graphic violence, such as bloody stabbings, decapitations, shootings and various other examples of brutal and vicious homicide. Later episodes in the ongoing series have an even darker and more sinister atmosphere than the early episodes, including scenes such as one of villains torturing a helpless woman by shooting her repeatedly in non-vital areas, expecting her to slowly bleed to death. Some will argue that Dragonball Z is very violent for a children’s program, but flying superhumans throwing “laser beams” and beating each other up is still more acceptable in a “cartoon” for American television broadcast than a “cartoon” that includes an episode about a pre-teen girl who gets locked in the trunk of a car with a severed human head.

Since Detective Conan is one of the highest rated anime series in Japan, it’s logical to assume that TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha) would demand high licensing fees in proportion to the show’s high commercial value. Furthermore, since Detective Conan is such a tremendous hit television series in Japan, it’s easy to predict that TMS would demand television exposure in America as a condition for American release. Smaller American distribution companies like Pioneer, Bandai and AD Vision (small relative to American television networks like Fox and Cartoon Network) may not have the funds necessary to license an expensive property like Detective Conan, or more likely may not consider the title a sound investment. Because Detective Conan is a children’s program, it may not appeal to all notoriously fickle American anime fans. And it’s mature content makes it nearly impossible to market to mainstream America as an all-ages suitable program because, by American standards, it’s just not suitable for children. In effect, for the cost of licensing some of the nearly 300 Detective Conan episodes, an American anime distributor may be able to license several complete series that are a less risky investment.

With the vast diversity of anime titles that are being licensed for American release, it’s now practically impossible to say with certainty that any given anime title will never be picked up for American release. But some titles are still more likely candidates for American release than others. Since one distribution company has already decided that Detective Conan is not suitable for American distribution, it’s likely that other American companies that target largely the same market will also be hesitant to heavily invest in a series that’s already been judged unprofitable.