Since 1994, Gosho Aoyama's Case Closed manga has entertained readers with tales of the brilliant "child" detective Jimmy Kudo, aka Detective Conan. Now, the pint-sized sleuth has teamed up with McDonald's Japan for a brand-new campaign featuring delicious sandwiches and a new series of animated adverts starring Conan.
As shown on McDonald's Japan's official X (formerly Twitter) page, Detective Conan takes center stage in two new commercials for McDonald's "Chicken Tatsuta" sandwiches. These are limited-time menu items that will be available at participating restaurants starting April 17. The first commercial shows Conan discovering an ominous clue at one of his crime scenes; a calling card that reads, "I'll eat every single one." The second appears to be a continuation of the first. With help from his fellow detective, Ai Haibara, Conan rushes to catch the culprits before they steal the coveted sandwiches.
McDonald's Japan released the first version of the Chicken Tatsuta sandwich in 1991. Its signature "tatsuta" bun is named after a special variety of Japanese fried chicken which is famous for its soft and fluffy fried coating. The original version of the sandwich features a slice of lightly fried chicken, ginger-soy sauce, shredded cabbage and a special creamy sauce with a spicy kick. This year's variant, called the "Aburinji Cheese Chicken Tatsuta," adds a slice of white cheddar cheese to the mix for an added burst of flavor.
McDonald's Often Teams Up With Major Brands Like Hello Kitty, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh
This is not McDonald's first collaboration with a major anime franchise. At the end of 2022, the Japanese branch iconic fast food chain joined forces with Tetsuo Hara, creator of Fist of the North Star, to create an animated commercial for another limited-time item called the "Samurai Mac." McDonald's has since branched out in even more ambitious ways, even going so far as to create an entire animated universe centered around its fictional anime counterpart, WcDonald's. Additionally, the fast food company frequently partners with major brands like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Sanrio to create fresh lines of collectible Happy Meal toys that are sure to bring a smile to the faces of anime fans.
The Plot of Case Closed (Detective Conan)
The debut chapter of Gosho Aoyama's hit manga Case Closed (also known as Detective Conan) launched in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine in January 1994. The series revolves around Jimmy Kudo (Shinichi Kudo in Japanese), a genius high school student with a knack for solving seemingly impossible cases. His sleuthing skills eventually make him a target of a mysterious crime syndicate called the Black Organization. One day, one of its members ambushes the young detective and forces him to take an experimental drug that shrinks Jimmy's body, giving him the appearance of an elementary school student. However, instead of allowing this to end his sleuthing career, Jimmy assumes a new identity and continues to solve cases as a member of a group called the "Junior Detective League."
The series' popularity has persisted through the decades, leading to a 1,000+ episode anime adaptation by TMS Entertainment. Currently, the franchise is gearing up for the debut of Conan's 27th feature-length animated film, The Million-Dollar Pentagram, which is scheduled to hit theaters in Japan on April 12. The original 1994 Case Closed manga is available in English from VIZ Media. The 1996 series adaptation by TMS Entertainment is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Prime Video.
Source: McDonald's Japan via X (formerly Twitter)
