'Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanzawa' is a captivating miniseries of dark humour

Detective Conan is one of the most prominent and popular manga franchises to have emerged in Japan. The original material was constantly published until 1994 and grew into a large television franchise, including products, films, television episodes, and games. 

The long-running programme has also introduced so many protagonists and stories that some have become popular among fans. The Culprit Hanzawa is one of those spinoffs.

The dark comedy miniseries is an animated series based on Gosho Aoyama's characters and source material. Hanzawa, a mysterious man with only his lips and eyes to recognise him, is the story's protagonist. His enigmatic demeanour represents the enigmatic criminals who lurk around Beika Town, which has the world's highest crime rate.

It's amazing to witness the narrative through the eyes of a prospective serial killer. What's more intriguing is that the show doesn't try to portray the protagonist as sympathetic or villainous; instead, it portrays him as insane.

Hanzawa believes that Beika is the ideal location to murder his victim and establish himself as a brilliant criminal. Despite this, Aoyama achieves what most people would consider impossible, given the concept. He transforms it into a comedy. Furthermore, the show's sound music is excellent, as it perfectly suits the show's topic and the protagonist's temperament.

Despite its sombre subject matter, the storyline is lighthearted and never takes itself too seriously. Although it may sound quite gruesome to make fun of someone who wants to kill people, Aoyama's approach for the story and the protagonist works well since each story has an air of imagination, naiveté, and sweetness. Hence, Hanzawa is never shown as someone who needs to be stopped but as someone who needs to be made aware of his mistakes in judgement.

Hanzawa tries to carry out his weird ideal, but he is inept, foolish, and lacking in courage, and he nearly always manages to mess up every situation he finds himself in. Despite the fact that he constantly falls prey to the bigger city's more skilled and determined crooks, it is funny to snicker at his mistakes.

The various situations that Hanzawa encounters in each episode only highlight how ludicrous the city in which he lives and his worldview is. He doesn't really have a reason for wanting to be a criminal; he just thinks it's great. 

Nonetheless, he seems to live a pretty ordinary life and receives fair treatment from all around him. He periodically loses sight of the fact that he must be the story's villain, but his motivations for being a criminal remain constant. The show's premise isn't all that meaningful, but the short chapters keep it from getting too long and make the entire journey seem like a breath of warm humour and silliness.

Although being a spin-off, this dramedy series manages to be enjoyable on its own. However, fans of the popular Detective Conan series will appreciate Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanzawa much more. Fans will enjoy the many connections and appearances from the main plot's supporting cast. It's a pleasant surprise that it manages to stand on its own by being entertaining without requiring knowledge of the main plot line.

Overall, this dark comedy anime is a ridiculous miniseries appropriate for anyone seeking a few quick laughs. You'll probably find this much more entertaining if you already enjoy the main Detective Conan series. The show is primarily a journey with elements found in many classic comfort anime from the 1990s. 

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