Among the 27 Detective Conan theatrical films released so far, Phantom of Baker Street (Japanese: Meitantei Conan: Beikā Sutorīto no Bōrei) is a name fans keep bringing up when ranking the series' best entries, even though it premiered on April 20, 2002. It placed second in a 2016 fan poll covering the 19 films released up to that point, and third in a 2006 fan-request survey.
A VR Game Turned Death Trap
The film opens on a setup quite different from most Conan entries: a demonstration of a VR game called Cocoon, gathering 50 players including Conan and Ran. Two years earlier, coding prodigy Hiroki Sawada, an MIT graduate, mysteriously vanished right after completing an AI system named Noah's Ark.
When an employee is found murdered with blood spelling the letters J-T-R (Jack the Ripper) on a keyboard, Noah's Ark seizes control of the system and declares that players must survive the scenario they chose or die. Conan and his friends pick "All-Time London," which recreates 19th-century London inspired by Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes' London Through Conan's Eyes
Inside the virtual world, the group faces familiar names from Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories, such as Professor Moriarty and Sebastian Moran, while chasing the legendary Jack the Ripper. Many Sherlock Holmes landmarks are recreated, from the flat at 221B Baker Street to the series' trademark foggy streets.
Anime News Network critic Carlo Santos noted the film departs from the usual Conan formula thanks to its picturesque London setting and dual mystery structure, though he also felt the pacing had issues and that the Sherlock Holmes material was not fully used.
A Real Mystery Hidden Inside The Game
What makes the script work, written by Hisashi Nozawa (his first Conan film), is how it folds a real-world case into the game: the investigation gradually reveals that Schindler, the CEO of the software company, is a real-life descendant of Jack the Ripper, something Hiroki discovered before he vanished. "Hideki Moroboshi," Hiroki's avatar within the game, is eventually revealed to be Noah's Ark itself. Satisfied that children represent a brighter future, Hiroki releases the players before erasing himself.
Why The Film Is Still Talked About Decades Later
On the production side, this is the last Conan film made entirely with traditional cel animation before the series moved to digital, and the first in the franchise to pass ¥3 billion at the box office, earning ¥3.4 billion (about $34.4 million), making it the second highest-grossing Japanese film of 2002. That record stood until the 13th film reached ¥3.5 billion. Creator Gosho Aoyama has said it is his mother's favorite film in the series.
On the content side, the film steps outside the usual action-chase formula to ask a bigger question: all the children chosen for Cocoon come from wealthy families, and the game forces them to cooperate rather than rely on individual brilliance to survive, a different approach from most Conan films' focus on a single case.
Is It Really The Best Conan Film?
With more than twenty films released and everyone's taste differing, there is no absolute answer to that question. But the fact that Phantom of Baker Street keeps coming up in fan polls, despite premiering over 20 years ago and later films having far bigger budgets and effects, shows where its weight lies: a VR game inspired by Sherlock Holmes, a real case hidden inside it, and a message about growing up through cooperation rather than individual talent alone.
Sources: Wikipedia, Anime News Network, AniList. As of September 27, 2026.