The highly anticipated 29th film in the Detective Conan franchise has officially been titled Detective Conan: Highway no Datenshi, or Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway, and is slated to open in Japanese theaters on April 10, 2026. The announcement was made by the official Detective Conan films’ X/Twitter account, which also unveiled a new visual drawn by original manga creator Gōshō Aoyama.
The visual features protagonist Conan Edogawa alongside several key characters, including Kanagawa Prefectural Police member Chihaya Hagiwara, Kanagawa inspector Jugo Yokomizo, teenage detective Masumi Sera, Chihaya’s late younger brother Kenji Hagiwara, and Kenji’s Police Academy classmate Jinpei Matsuda.
What to Expect from Fallen Angel of the Highway
The 29th Detective Conan movie is poised to delve into a story centered around Chihaya Hagiwara, a traffic police officer from Kanagawa Prefecture. Chihaya is known for her strong sense of justice and has even been referred to as the “Highway Angel” or “Goddess of the Wind” within the series. Her connection to the Police Academy arc, particularly as the elder sister of Kenji Hagiwara (one of the deceased members of the ‘Police Academy’同期 or ‘classmates’), suggests a plot that might explore her past and ties to other police characters like Jinpei Matsuda. This could potentially expand on themes seen in previous films that explored the past of Amuro Toru and his police academy friends.
Key Staff and Production
Takahiro Hasui, known for his work on Yaiba: Samurai Legend and Mob Psycho 100 III, is directing the film. The screenplay is penned by Takahiro Okura, who has previously worked on Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram and Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween. Yugo Kanno, who composed music for Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram and Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine, returns to handle the musical score. TMS Entertainment is the animation production studio behind the film. Miyuki Sawashiro will be taking over the role of Chihaya Hagiwara, replacing the late Atsuko Tanaka.
Celebrating 30 Years of Detective Conan Anime
The release of Detective Conan: Highway no Datenshi coincides with a significant milestone for the franchise: the 30th anniversary of the Detective Conan television anime, which originally premiered on January 8, 1996. To commemorate this occasion, a special exhibit will begin in Tokyo Dome City Prism Hall from February 20 to March 29, 2026, before traveling to other locations across Japan until March 2027.
Franchise’s Enduring Success
The Detective Conan film series has a history of strong box office performance. The previous installment, Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback, which premiered on April 18, 2025, set a new opening-weekend record for the franchise, earning 3,438,626,700 yen (approximately US$24.15 million) and selling 2,314,690 tickets in its first three days. It ultimately became the third highest-grossing domestic film of 2025 in Japan, earning ¥14.67 billion (US$99.7 million). The 27th film, Case Closed: The Million-dollar Pentagram, remains the highest-grossing film in the franchise with 15.8 billion yen (US$107 million).
The Detective Conan manga, created by Gosho Aoyama, began serialization in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday in 1994 and has over 107 tankobon volumes as of April 2025. The annual release of a new film, a tradition since 1997 (with the exception of 2020), continues to be a highlight for fans worldwide.
