# E116 - The Mystery Writer Disappearance Case (Part 1)
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/GWDU8PXZG/the-mystery-writer-disappearance-case-part-1)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:01] ---**
Encounters are mysterious!
But the world is even more so!
**[00:04] ---**
I'm so glad I'm with you!
**[00:06] ---**
Today's an author mystery!
Some mysteries exist outside of writing!
**[00:10] ---**
He sees the single truth for what it is,
**[00:11] ---**
and looks like a kid
but has the mind of an adult!
**[00:13] ---**
His name? Detective Conan!
**[01:52] ---**
The Mystery Writer
Disappearance Case (Part 1).
**[02:10] ---**
I, Matsuda Samonji, have solved
tonight's bloody string of murders!
**[02:17] ---**
That person is undoubtedly the killer!
**[02:19] ---**
Detective Samonji
**[02:27] ---**
The son! The son! The son did it!
**[02:31] ---**
That's dumb! The son is a fake!
It's the wife of the murdered man!
**[02:36] ---**
Who do you think did it,
Conan-*kun*?
**[02:39] ---**
I'll say the same person as you!
**[02:42] ---**
See! Even he thinks so!
**[02:45] ---**
How would he know?
Kids don't know anything!
**[02:53] ---**
The killer...
**[02:55] ---**
...is you, his son!
**[03:00] ---**
I knew it!
**[03:02] ---**
That's impossible!
**[03:04] ---**
It was different the last time I saw it...
**[03:06] ---**
The Detective Samonji
series is always being remade,
**[03:10] ---**
and the killer changes each time!
**[03:13] ---**
That's why it's always so interesting!
**[03:20] ---**
You blockhead!
**[03:21] ---**
What was that for?!
Don't make me mad!
**[03:25] ---**
That's not mad!
**[03:27] ---**
What are you doing, Dad?!
**[03:30] ---**
Quick-draw detective,
my butt! How pathetic!
**[03:33] ---**
Turn it back! Samonji's about to
pull out his sword and say a haiku!
**[03:39] ---**
Too bad!
**[03:41] ---**
Come on! Turn it back!
It's going to end!
**[03:46] ---**
Things sure are peaceful for
father and daughter to argue over this...
**[03:51] ---**
So many people have fallen
victim to their organization.
**[03:56] ---**
But nobody realizes it's
the organization's fault.
**[04:00] ---**
If I want to be normal again,
**[04:03] ---**
I have to turn this bumbling
detective into a real master detective
**[04:08] ---**
and obtain information on the
men in black's organization!
**[04:14] ---**
If he gets more work, I'll eventually
run into a case involving them!
**[04:20] ---**
If I continue to seek
the truth, I know I can do it!
**[04:27] ---**
Now it's over!
**[04:30] ---**
What's so good about it anyway?
He's just a third-rate detective.
**[04:36] ---**
So says the dimwitted detective...
**[04:41] ---**
Besides, the original
series ended long ago.
**[04:45] ---**
It's annoying that
they keep putting it on TV.
**[04:47] ---**
Oh, they started the serials again!
**[04:54] ---**
Let's see. I'm sure it's around here.
**[04:56] ---**
*Literature Era* started it two months ago.
**[04:59] ---**
See!
**[05:00] ---**
"Shinmei Nintaro's highly
anticipated 'Detective Samonji' returns!"
**[05:06] ---**
Seriously?!
**[05:10] ---**
This takes me back!
**[05:12] ---**
He and a killer disappeared
into a fire ten years ago,
**[05:15] ---**
but I guess he survived!
**[05:17] ---**
It takes you back?
**[05:19] ---**
That's what Shinichi-*niichan
*said on the phone the other day...
**[05:23] ---**
Shinichi did?
**[05:25] ---**
That mystery nerd, huh...
**[05:37] ---**
Oh? I think someone's
at your office downstairs...
**[05:41] ---**
Yeah, tell them it's late
and to come back tomorrow.
**[05:45] ---**
Okay.
**[05:51] ---**
I'm sorry! The office is closed for the day!
**[05:54] ---**
But I really do need to talk
to Detective Mori about something.
**[06:00] ---**
Could he at least hear what I have to say?
**[06:05] ---**
Hottie!
**[06:06] ---**
It's rather late, so could
you come back tomorrow?
**[06:10] ---**
Wait, wait, wait!
**[06:13] ---**
What are you saying to our guest?!
**[06:16] ---**
Sorry to keep you waiting!
I am Mori Kogoro!
**[06:21] ---**
I apologize for my rude daughter!
**[06:25] ---**
Please! Come right in!
**[06:28] ---**
Thank you.
**[06:28] ---**
Right this way!
**[06:31] ---**
What's with that attitude?
You told me to turn her away!
**[06:36] ---**
Please, have a seat!
**[06:44] ---**
My apologies! Go right ahead!
**[06:47] ---**
Thank you.
**[06:55] ---**
It's nothing special, but...
**[06:57] ---**
Thanks.
**[07:01] ---**
Now, then.
May I ask what brings you here?
**[07:05] ---**
Yes. My name is Shinmei Kaori.
**[07:08] ---**
Shinmei Kaori
**[07:08] ---**
Yes. My name is Shinmei Kaori.
**[07:10] ---**
Shinmei? You don't mean--?!
**[07:12] ---**
The mystery writer's--?
**[07:14] ---**
Shinmei Kaori (22), office worker
**[07:14] ---**
Yes. Shinmei Nintaro is my father.
**[07:19] ---**
You're the daughter
of that great master?!
**[07:23] ---**
I can never get enough of
Samonji's haikus!
**[07:27] ---**
Right?!
**[07:29] ---**
So, how can I help you?
Does he want to use me in a novel?
**[07:35] ---**
No, actually... my father
has been missing for two months.
**[07:42] ---**
He's...
**[07:43] ---**
...missing?!
**[07:44] ---**
That is quite--
**[07:46] ---**
Don't be silly!
**[07:48] ---**
He's been writing serials for
*Literature Era* for the past two months!
**[07:53] ---**
But it's the truth! He and my mother
disappeared from their home!
**[07:57] ---**
Y-Your mother, too?
**[08:01] ---**
They both vanished about one
week before this serialization began.
**[08:10] ---**
I checked with all our relatives
and acquaintances of course,
**[08:13] ---**
but no one knew anything.
**[08:15] ---**
Still, don't his serials mean
that he is writing manuscripts?
**[08:21] ---**
Yes.
**[08:24] ---**
Oddly enough, the manuscripts
are faxed to the editing department.
**[08:29] ---**
Every Saturday, at exactly midnight.
**[08:38] ---**
But don't the faxes have the
sender's phone number or anything?
**[08:43] ---**
No, nothing at all.
**[08:45] ---**
It seems the sender has it configured
not to display those things.
**[08:49] ---**
Hmm...
**[08:50] ---**
It's probably because he and
his wife are on vacation somewhere
**[08:56] ---**
and he sends the faxes
from the hotel they're staying at!
**[08:59] ---**
I thought so too at first!
**[09:02] ---**
But they've never been
quiet for two months like this before!
**[09:08] ---**
I can only think that something happened!
**[09:13] ---**
Did you contact the police?
**[09:16] ---**
Yes.
**[09:17] ---**
I asked them to investigate,
but there had been no ransom calls
**[09:22] ---**
and the manuscripts were
being sent, so they said not to worry.
**[09:27] ---**
I tried the other detective agencies,
but they all said the same thing.
**[09:34] ---**
You're my last hope, Mori-*san*!
**[09:41] ---**
This is pointless!
**[09:43] ---**
We're only wasting time by sitting here!
**[09:47] ---**
Let's check the editing department
where his manuscripts get sent!
**[09:53] ---**
You can save your
troubles for after that!
**[09:57] ---**
R-Right!
**[10:02] ---**
Taxi!
**[10:08] ---**
After you!
**[10:22] ---**
Yes, Shinmei-*sensei*'s manuscripts get sent here every week.
**[10:23] ---**
Daigakukan
**[10:27] ---**
More should be sent today,
at any time now...
**[10:32] ---**
Are these manuscripts
really written by him?
**[10:37] ---**
Yes. Although they're typed out,
the words are most definitely his!
**[10:42] ---**
He signs his name next
to the title each time, too.
**[10:46] ---**
I can show you the faxed
manuscripts, if you'd like.
**[10:50] ---**
Halves at the Top
**[10:57] ---**
The title is "Halves at the Top"?
**[11:00] ---**
And he's signed them, too.
**[11:06] ---**
Are you certain this is his signature?
**[11:09] ---**
Yes. We confirmed it
when I came here earlier.
**[11:13] ---**
There's nothing
to worry about, Kaori-*san*!
**[11:16] ---**
I'm sure he's just so focused
on writing that he forgot to contact you.
**[11:22] ---**
The same thing happens
to lots of other writers!
**[11:28] ---**
But are you sure he forgot?
His wife's with him...
**[11:34] ---**
Yeah, now that you mention it...
**[11:36] ---**
Did he seem different in any way?
**[11:40] ---**
Different?
**[11:42] ---**
You know, like during
a meeting or something.
**[11:45] ---**
Yes, we had a simple meeting
before we started the serials,
**[11:50] ---**
but he didn't seem any different...
**[11:54] ---**
Anything at all?
Even the tiniest thing might help...
**[12:00] ---**
I suppose there is the fact he
restarted his Detective Samonji series.
**[12:07] ---**
Huh?
**[12:08] ---**
You see, I have been asking him
to restart this series for the past four years.
**[12:14] ---**
But he always answered by saying...
**[12:17] ---**
Samonji is dead.
There's no bringing him back.
**[12:22] ---**
So I had half given up when
he suddenly called two months ago
**[12:28] ---**
to ask if we could make
room for his new Samonji series.
**[12:35] ---**
We were more than
happy to oblige, of course,
**[12:39] ---**
so we hurriedly canceled
the new series we were running
**[12:42] ---**
and replaced it with Samonji.
**[12:44] ---**
I see. Anything else?
**[12:49] ---**
Oh, come to think of it,
this doesn't pertain to him exactly,
**[12:54] ---**
but for the dedication, he wrote this:
**[12:57] ---**
"Attention, all master
detectives throughout Japan!
**[13:00] ---**
If you wish to surpass my intellect,
solve this case's true mystery."
**[13:07] ---**
That's quite a provocative dedication.
**[13:10] ---**
Yes. And ever since the
first chapter, we've received
**[13:14] ---**
tons of calls and fan letters saying,
"This is how it was done!"
**[13:19] ---**
As an editor, it makes me happy,
**[13:22] ---**
but it seemed like a rare move
for such a mild-mannered writer.
**[13:26] ---**
Though, fans have been waiting
like crazy for over ten years,
**[13:31] ---**
so it's only natural he's
getting such a big reception.
**[13:34] ---**
"Like crazy"?
**[13:36] ---**
Yes, there was even a scary
call last year from a crazed fan
**[13:41] ---**
who threatened to set this place
on fire if he didn't restart the series!
**[13:48] ---**
Talk about extreme...
**[13:50] ---**
Oh, yes! There's one
other thing that seemed strange!
**[13:54] ---**
He appears in his own novel!
**[13:57] ---**
Come again?
**[13:58] ---**
Shinmei-*sensei* appears in the story,
as an old friend of Samonji's!
**[14:04] ---**
He's a struggling
writer who resides in France.
**[14:09] ---**
There are about forty stories in
the series, but this is a first!
**[14:15] ---**
I think it's going to end
with all the previous cases
**[14:19] ---**
being things Samonji told him about!
**[14:22] ---**
Kind of like how
Watson is to Sherlock Holmes!
**[14:26] ---**
Say! Could you show me that scene?
**[14:29] ---**
Sure!
**[14:35] ---**
But can you read kanji, little boy?
**[14:37] ---**
A little!
**[14:41] ---**
Oh, you're right! Here he is!
**[14:44] ---**
Shinmei-*sensei* makes his first appearance
**[14:48] ---**
when Samonji calls a friend living
in France for advice on a case.
**[14:54] ---**
His character is absentminded and funny!
**[14:58] ---**
W-What's this?!
**[15:04] ---**
**[15:06] ---**
This is strange!
**[15:08] ---**
Look at this!
**[15:10] ---**
10:00 is written in kanji here,
but 1:00 is written with a number!
**[15:15] ---**
This guy must've been pretty tired, huh?
**[15:21] ---**
That is strange. Could this actually be...
**[15:25] ---**
...a misprint on your part?
**[15:29] ---**
No!
**[15:31] ---**
We wanted to fix it to
make it easier to read, too!
**[15:36] ---**
But he said, "The lay of the letters
is a novel's life! Don't change it!"
**[15:41] ---**
He said it many times before the serialization.
**[15:44] ---**
He also said he'd cancel the
series immediately if we defied his wish.
**[15:52] ---**
Then that makes it all the odder.
**[15:55] ---**
It's almost as if something
is being hidden in the writing.
**[16:00] ---**
And then there are
Shinmei-*sensei*'s signatures.
**[16:06] ---**
If my theory is correct,
it's possible that he's already...
**[16:13] ---**
Oh! Here's his latest fax!
**[16:20] ---**
Let's see here...
**[16:22] ---**
You can't look yet!
**[16:24] ---**
It's a mystery story!
Wait until it's in book form to read it!
**[16:31] ---**
Hey!
**[16:35] ---**
I thought so!
**[16:38] ---**
Hey, you!
**[16:40] ---**
But his signature is weird!
**[16:43] ---**
Chapters six through eight match perfectly.
**[16:49] ---**
Nintaro
**[16:51] ---**
Th-They do!
**[16:53] ---**
Chapters one through six are all
slightly different, though. I wonder why!
**[16:59] ---**
He obviously just
copied an earlier signature.
**[17:03] ---**
Why would he do that?
**[17:05] ---**
Because he didn't
want to write it anymore...
**[17:09] ---**
...or he couldn't anymore?
**[17:11] ---**
Mori-*san*!
**[17:12] ---**
If he can't write anymore,
**[17:15] ---**
that means Shinmei-*sensei
*might already be dead, doesn't it?
**[17:20] ---**
Y-You can't be serious!
**[17:21] ---**
This is bad! This
requires immediate action!
**[17:26] ---**
You! The police! Call the police!
**[17:29] ---**
Right!
**[17:33] ---**
It's not 100% yet!
There's a chance he's still alive!
**[17:38] ---**
The key to saving his life is
probably hidden inside this novel!
**[17:45] ---**
As a message he's left for us detectives!
**[17:49] ---**
Daigakukan
**[17:52] ---**
You can't open an investigation?
**[17:54] ---**
No, we still can't. Not at this stage.
**[17:59] ---**
Hold on, Inspector!
**[18:02] ---**
Shinmei Nintaro,
her father and a mystery writer,
**[18:08] ---**
has been missing for two months now!
**[18:11] ---**
What's more, his wife is also gone!
**[18:15] ---**
I can only think they got
caught up in some sort of incident!
**[18:20] ---**
Even so, his manuscripts are
being faxed here every single week.
**[18:31] ---**
Even though they're faxes,
**[18:32] ---**
his daughter and the editors
all agree it's his writing!
**[18:39] ---**
And like I said, those
faxes are the issue here!
**[18:44] ---**
Don't those signatures
seem strange to you?!
**[18:47] ---**
Signatures? But they were
already confirmed to be his.
**[18:52] ---**
Between Chapter one and six,
his signatures are all slightly different,
**[19:00] ---**
but between Chapter six and eight,
they're all exactly the same!
**[19:05] ---**
They're obviously copies
of a previous signature
**[19:08] ---**
and evidence that he's now in
a condition in which he can't write!
**[19:13] ---**
In other words,
something has happened to him!
**[19:17] ---**
Then tell me...
Who did what to Mr. Shinmei?
**[19:22] ---**
I'd believe you more if there
was a threatening phone call,
**[19:27] ---**
but there's been nothing at all.
**[19:30] ---**
Besides, maybe he got sick of
signing them and used copies instead.
**[19:37] ---**
True. Given the circumstances,
Inspector Megure is right.
**[19:42] ---**
It wouldn't be surprising
for an eccentric writer
**[19:46] ---**
to take his wife and hole up
somewhere to focus on his writing.
**[19:52] ---**
But something bugs me!
**[19:54] ---**
Attention, all master detectives throughout
Japan!
**[19:54] ---**
It wasn't like him to write that dedication.
**[19:58] ---**
It was very extreme and provocative
for someone so mild-mannered.
**[20:03] ---**
Then, there's the fact the writer
suddenly appears in the series.
**[20:10] ---**
And then there's his odd dialogue
**[20:13] ---**
that mixes numbers, kanji
numbers, and English letters...
**[20:20] ---**
If my theory is correct,
**[20:22] ---**
there must be a message
from Shinmei-*sensei* in here!
**[20:27] ---**
Inspector! I made copies of all
the lines Mori-*san* was curious about.
**[20:37] ---**
Mr. Shinmei makes
four appearances so far?
**[20:41] ---**
Can I have a copy, too?
**[20:43] ---**
Stop that! Don't get in the way!
**[20:47] ---**
It's okay! There are extras!
**[20:49] ---**
Here you go!
**[20:50] ---**
Thank you!
**[20:51] ---**
Let's see, his first appearance
is when the main detective character
**[20:57] ---**
calls Mr. Shinmei,
who is residing in France.
**[21:02] ---**
He's also in France the second time...
**[21:06] ---**
He's in France the third time...
**[21:09] ---**
And the fourth time, too.
**[21:13] ---**
Does Mr. Shinmei like France?
**[21:16] ---**
Yes. He and my mother
often traveled there.
**[21:19] ---**
Damn! Reading them backwards
or rearranging them doesn't work!
**[21:25] ---**
If only I had a point to start from!
**[21:28] ---**
Umm, do you mind if we use
Chapter eight of "Halves at the Top,"
**[21:34] ---**
the manuscript he just faxed?
**[21:36] ---**
Halves at the top?
**[21:38] ---**
It's the title of the work
you're reading right now!
**[21:44] ---**
Halves at the--?
**[21:47] ---**
Halves at the top?!
**[21:50] ---**
Hold on, now!
Could this actually be--?!
**[22:00] ---**
T-This is--!
**[22:03] ---**
Just as I thought!
**[22:04] ---**
There's a message from
Shinmei-*sensei* hidden in these lines!
**[22:09] ---**
Which makes it all fit:
that provocative dedication,
**[22:14] ---**
the author's appearance in the story,
and the odd lines of dialogue!
**[22:20] ---**
But what is the goal of the person
holding him and his wife captive?!
**[24:01] ---**
Inspector!
**[24:03] ---**
What is it, Takagi-*kun*?
**[24:05] ---**
Look at this manuscript!
There's more dialogue!
**[24:09] ---**
Huh? This is the eighth
chapter that was just faxed here?
**[24:14] ---**
"Hurry..."
**[24:15] ---**
"There's..."
**[24:17] ---**
"...no time..."
**[24:20] ---**
"Hurry, there's no time!"
**[24:26] ---**
On the next Conan--
**[24:27] ---**
"The Mystery Writer
Disappearance Case (Part 2)."
**[24:47] ---**
Next Conan's hint:
**[24:50] ---**
French language.
**[24:51] ---**
Message from author Aoyama-sensei.
**[24:54] ---**
What'd he say? That he likes this segment?
**[24:56] ---**