Conan and Heiji actually feel like equals here, not mentor and student, their back-and-forth crackles in a way the TV show can't sustain for 90 minutes. The Kyoto setting isn't decoration; it's woven into the puzzle itself, where knowing Japan's history becomes the key to solving it. A stolen Buddha, a kendo rival, and Heiji's feelings for Kazuha all collapse into one case that treats character stakes and detective work as the same problem.

Conan arrives in Kyoto, Japan's historic cultural capital, alongside Kogoro, Ran and Sonoko, and teams up once more with his friend and rival Heiji Hattori, the high school detective. A masked killer has already cut down five members of the Genjibotaru, a gang of thieves who target Buddhist statues and artifacts, across Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. When a Kyoto temple receives an anonymous letter containing a strange puzzle and asks Kogoro to help recover its long-lost statue, Conan and Heiji set out to crack the riddle and unmask the murderer. Heiji draws on his knowledge of the city while also searching for his childhood first love, and the pair soon run into figures wearing Okina masks who stand in their way. The result is a buddy-style detective film that mixes action and adventure with romance.