aiko -- Soushi Souai（相思相愛）

 

Ironically, I didn't even know until some days ago that this particular song was a theme song for the latest "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Case Closed） movie. I actually heard it on "Weathernews Live" as part of the regular "Weather Music" segment. But to sidetrack a bit, since we got moved from the old cable TV Japan to the online streaming Jme regime, we've been able to continue seeing some of our favourites such as "Uta Con"（うたコン）and a few other variety shows. However, although "Meitantei Conan" is available as a select anime on the Jme service, we haven't really been watching it as regularly as we once had on Thursday nights before the NHK morning news appeared...which probably means that my family was just happy going through it as an anime appetizer before reality set in.

Anyways, this most recent cinematic entry in the franchise, "Meitantei Konan: Hyakuman Doru no Michishirube"（名探偵コナン 100万ドルの五稜星...Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram） came out in April this year, and it looks to be more of a time-spanning historical mystery for our pint-sized hero and his friends. 

I'm not sure whether singer-songwriter aiko has ever contributed to any of the TV series or movies' long list of theme songs but her 45th single, which was released in May, is "Soushi Souai" (Mutual Love) and I'm assuming that it's the song that graces the ending credits for "Hyakuman Doru no Michishirube". Also written and composed by the singer, it's a pretty tenderhearted and laidback song about what could possibly be every potential "Meitantei Conan" romantic pairing's bugbear: they just can't get together and that includes the main duo of Shinichi and Ran. Oh sure those two police officers finally connected a few years back, but otherwise, it's been comedic plot twists and bad luck that have kept the various pairs from finally confessing to each other (although one pair below may finally break the curse). After all, can't make things too lovey-dovey. Anyways, "Soushi Souai" reached No. 5 on Oricon.

Maybe I ought to change the main pairing to Shinichi and Ai.😛

all at once feat. Yuudai Ohno from Da-iCE -- Playmaker（プレイメーカー）

 

Happy final Sunday of October! Usually when we here in Toronto hear the term playmaker, we think of Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Recently though, it's also referred to the ending theme for the late 2022 episodes of "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Case Closed）. Yup, "Playmaker" is a collaboration between the vocal duo all at once and Yuudai Ohno（大野雄大）from the 5-piece song-and-dance group Da-iCE. Written and composed by Ra-U, it's been a pretty cool tune thanks to that thrumming underlying rhythm, and for some reason in my head, there's something nostalgic about the arrangement of the tune. One commenter for the music video below mentioned being reminded somewhat of Earth Wind & Fire.

I've only been hearing "Playmaker" in the past few weeks because the TV Japan broadcasts of the anime are about a year behind what's been showing over in Japan itself. Well, as the saying goes, better late than never. The duo all at once already has representation on KKP through their song "Macaron"（マカロン）.

Mai Kuraki -- Togetsukyō ~Kimi Omou~ (渡月橋 〜君 想ふ〜)

 

J-Canuck here and once again, we have special guest contributor Fireminer with his thoughts on a song from the "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Case Closed） anime franchise. 

There are anison singers, and there are singers whose songs just happen to end up in a lot of anime. Where will you put Mai Kuraki（倉木麻衣）then? A glance through her discography and you will be forgiven to think that she belongs to the first category -- to date she has 29 (as many as I can count) anime theme songs, of which 27 have appeared in the famous Case Closed aka Meitantei Conan (名探偵コナン) and its various spin-offs. She held the Guinness World Records for the artist with the most songs featured in a single animated franchise from July 25th, 2017 to May 19th, 2023 when she was dethroned by the duo angela, who have 34 songs in Soukyuu no Fafner (a personal favorite of mine that I will recommend to anyone who likes mecha anime). But given that Fafner has reached its ending and Case Closed is still going strong, expect Mai Kuraki to break the record once more.

Anyway, back to the original topic, do you consider Mai Kuraki an anison singer? I personally do not, given how extensive Kuraki’s catalog is and how many non-anime hits she has. It is the same case as with B’z, another regular presence on Case Closed. I imagine these artists have a very strong relationship with the producers of the series, if not being fans of it themselves, thus why their songs are featured so regularly. Hell, Kuraki is a character in Case Closed, her counterpart also a popular singer who sometimes makes cameos in the bizarre cases of Conan Edogawa.

That is not to say some of Kuraki’s most successful hits are not tied to Case Closed like the subject of this topic, 2017’s Togetsukyō ~Kimi Omou~ (渡月橋 〜君 想ふ〜 Togetsu Bridge ~Thinking About You~). The song was used as the 55th ending theme of Case Closed as well as the closing song for its 21st movie The Crimson Love Letter. Given how the movie takes place in Kyoto, it is only given that Togetsukyō centered around the titular Togetsu bridge. I have never been to Kyoto, but from the images alone it certainly looks stunning in fall, with white bridge on a backdrop of red from the maple trees. The song ties that scenery to the classic story of a woman far away from her lover letting her emotion pour over the Katsura river, in hope that the water will carry it to him.

Togetsukyō has been Mai Kuraki’s best-selling single since 2004, peaking at 2nd on the Japan Hot 100 Chart and 5th on the Oricon Chart. And it is not hard to see why. There is bound to be someone who heard of this song and immediately thought “I should make time for Kyoto.” It is a classic song in theme and styling, much like a classic landscape painting harmonizes the tones of different subjects. It draws up a beautiful vision of the Togetsu Bridge and imbues it with a fantasy that anyone would have had put themselves in at least once.

(shortened version)

Leon Niihama -- Tsukamaete, Kon'ya（捕まえて、今夜。）

 

I sometimes think that ever since Da Pump got that hit with "U.S.A." half a decade ago, a lot of singers and bands including Da Pump have been attempting to grab choreographical glory with some dance that will become the pop cultural craze of the year. Da Pump tried to do that last night with their latest song on "Uta Con"（うたコン）and a few weeks ago, enka singer Leon Niihama（新浜レオン）had given it a go on the NHK show with some dance moves accompanying a single that he released last month in May. Basically, they look like a newfangled version of Mr. Miyagi's "Wax on, wax off" technique from the "Karate Kid", and Niihama was teaching the hosts and audience on how to pull it off during the performance.

The crazy thing is that "Tsukamaete, Kon'ya" (Catch Me, Tonight) was used as the opening theme for a short anime spinoff from the "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Case Closed） series last fall. "Hannin no Hanzawa-san"（犯人の犯沢さん...The Culprit Hanzawa） had its run between October and December 2022, and this time, instead of the pint-sized genius detective having the spotlight, the focus this time was on the mystery villain who had always been shown as an androgynous figure all in black until their identity was finally revealed due to Conan's sleuthing prowess. Heck, the opening credits even had Ran Mohri and Ai Haibara waxing on and off.

"Tsukamaete, Kon'ya" also takes a tangent from the usual "Conan" themes of pop and rock and goes for a dynamic Latin Mood Kayo vibe with some dance beats added. EARSY provided the lyrics with Toshiya Kamada（鎌田俊哉）and Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）as co-composers. Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）arranged everything. 

rumania montevideo -- Still for your love

 

As someone has commented for this video, the characters on the 90s version of the long-running anime "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン）sure looked different back then. Yup, after the Holiday hiatus, "Case Closed" is back in its regular Thursday night slot on TV Japan. 

Ahh...this is more like it. Well, I'm continuing with the long line of Conan opening and ending themes, and I realized that rock band rumania montevideo's debut single was used as the ender for the series back. Released in April 1999, "Still for your love" is more in the alternative rock vein when compared to the other song by the band that I'd featured back in April 2020, "Koi Suru Betty"（恋するベティー）which had elements of Beatles and Tommy James and the Shondells.

With lyrics by rm drummer/vocalist Mami Miyoshi（三好真美）and music by brother and band guitarist Makoto Miyoshi（三好誠）, I was able to track down the translation of the lyrics at the Conan Wiki, and they sound like hope trying to seep into a situation where a beloved one now has to be alone for some reason which can describe at least some of the characters in "Meitantei Conan" including the one and only Conan himself.

"Still for your love" broke into the Top 10, hitting No. 9. It is also included in rumania montevideo's debut album "rumaniamania" from June 1999 and coincidentally, it also hit No. 9.

WANDS -- Makka na Lip（真っ赤なLip）

 

I guess that among all anime fans, it's well-known about the notoriety of the singing abilities of one master detective Conan Edogawa. Let's say that as a singer, the pint-sized genius sleuth is...a master detective. Conan could peel wallpaper with his vocal cords to the extent that Professor Xavier could have recruited him for the X-Men for both his mind and his laryngeal assault capabilities. So to see him even sing at an average level at the end of the above video is truly a miracle with manna served.

The kid might have a tin ear but he apparently has the moves, though. In the last few weeks, TV Japan's weekly broadcast of "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Great Detective Conan） has displayed yet a new opening credit sequence (the 51st for the show) which is quite imaginative with not only various snatches of the manga flying past the screen but Conan jazz dancing like there's no tomorrow. Since "Conan" is running on TV Japan on a delayed basis, this opening sequence was actually showing for several months between January and September 2020.

All that detective dirty dancing is to pop-rock band WANDS' 16th single, "Makka na Lip" (Bright Red Lips) released in January 2020 which is this frenetic mixture of rock, pop and even Big Band jazz rhythms. I've been rather hot-and-cold with the many opening and ending themes for "Meitantei Conan", but I gotta admit that "Makka na Lip" is warming up to me pretty nicely. 

I'm also happy that I got "Makka na Lip" (which peaked at No. 14 on Oricon) onto the blog since this is only the third WANDS song that I've placed up onto KKP, and it's the first time that I've gotten the band up here by themselves. The first two were actually 1990s collaborations with others such as 80s aidoru Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）for the big hit "Sekaijuu no Dare yori Kitto"（世界中の誰よりきっと）and a whole bunch of other pop/rock artists and a baseball legend for "Hateshinai Yume wo"（果てしない夢を）.

Furthermore, I never gave WANDS a proper introduction despite the fame and popularity of "Sekaijuu no Dare yori Kitto". The very first incarnation of the band came about in 1991 with vocalist Show Wesugi（上杉昇）, guitarist Hiroshi Shibasaki（柴崎浩）and keyboardist Kousuke Oshima（大島こうすけ）being brought together with their debut single, "Sabishisa wa Aki no Iro"（寂しさは秋の色...Loneliness is the Colour of Autumn）, coming out at the end of the year. As for the derivation of the band's name, according to the Wikipedia article on WANDS, they were named after the Suit of Wands in tarot cards. However, one other story that is only available on J-Wiki is that WANDS is an abbreviation of sorts of the phrase "Wesugi and Shibasaki".

WANDS has undergone a lot of membership changes in the past 30 years including three main vocalists (which would explain why "Makka na Lip" didn't have me thinking WANDS at first due to the different-sounding vocals). Their history has been separated into five stages and Wikipedia has given another way to divide it up by noting the Wesugi, Jiro (as in Jiro Matsumoto/松元治郎) and Daishi periods, named after the main vocalists. The current Daishi period (2019~) is named after Daishi Uehara（上原大史）, and so it is Uehara on the mike for this tune right here. His bandmates are currently guitarist Shibasaki and keyboardist Shinya Kimura（木村真也）. For "Makka na Lip", Uehara provided lyrics while former bandmate Oshima composed and arranged everything.

All in all, the band has released twenty singles including a sole digital single in 2020 and six original albums including their latest "BURN THE SECRET" from October that year. It got as high as No. 4.

Tokyo Jihen -- Eien no Fuzai Shoumei（永遠の不在証明）

Currently with TV Japan now going with a direct feed from NHK World Premium, we're no longer getting any other programs from the Japanese commercial channels which means our formerly regular episodes of "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Case Closed）on Thursdays have been discontinued for now. As well, I just read that the latest "Conan" motion picture, "Meitantei Conan ~ Hiiro no Dangan"（緋色の弾丸...The Scarlet Bullet）which was supposed to have started in Japanese theatres yesterday has been postponed until the pandemic abates.

Along with the famous theme by Katsuo Ono（小野克夫）, Tokyo Jihen（東京事変）headed by singer-songwriter Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）has joined the long list of singers including B'z and Maki Ohguro（大黒摩季）providing theme songs for the franchise. For "Hiiro no Dangan", the Tokyo Incidents/Incidents Tokyo provide "Eien no Fuzai Shoumei" (The Scarlet Alibi), an appropriate theme for the usual danger and intrigue in a "Conan" motion picture. There's that mixture of jazz and rock along with a soupcon of James Bond, and of course, Shiina's vocals which range from breathy to her famous sharp and spiky delivery.

"Eien no Fuzai Shoumei" came out as Tokyo Jihen's latest digital single at the end of February 2020 and is also a track on the band's 7th studio album "News" which was released earlier this month. It has so far reached No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies.

Maki Ohguro -- Lie, Lie, Lie

New Year's celebrations over in Japan may have become more fun-filled and varied in recent years, especially in the cities, but I think the usual feeling is that it's still a fairly family-oriented and quiet time. Of course, over here in North American cities such as Toronto and New York, it's basically party time. And as such, I would like to start the evening segment of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for this final night of 2019 with something festive. So, why not have veteran singer-songwriter Maki Ohguro（大黒摩季）star in a video of her own rambunctious hostess club?

The music video is for her 34th single, "Lie, Lie, Lie" released in September 2017. However, instead of that video, I first cottoned onto Ohguro's spicy number when I was in Japan in November that year and caught an episode of "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Detective Conan） on the hotel TV and saw "Lie, Lie, Lie" being used as the opening theme for the show at that time. We've only been getting the 2017 episodes in the last couple of weeks here on TV Japan.

Apparently, "Lie, Lie, Lie" was Ohguro's first anison in 20 years since her "Sora"（空）for the anime "Chuuka ga Ichiban!"（中華一番!）back in 1997. The singer took care of words and music for "Lie, Lie, Lie" as it peaked at No. 20 on Oricon, and it's also a track on her 14th original album, "Music Muscle" from December 2018. Although Ohguro is someone that I've often treated as a pop/rock singer, she can really put in the dazzling samba steps for some of her other creations.

B'z -- Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru（世界はあなたの色になる）/Mai Kuraki -- SAWAGE☆LIFE

As usual, Thursdays at 6:30 is time for "Case Closed", aka "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン）, the adventures of the pint-sized master detective.

Usually it's a case of take-it-or-leave-it when it comes to the large store of "Conan" opening and ending themes. Obviously, the ones that appear here on KKP are the ones that I have actually enjoyed. And in this case, I am currently liking both opening and ending themes for the 2016 season of the show (apparently TV Japan is about two and a half years behind).

The 43rd opening theme, "Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru" (The World Becomes Your Colour) by B'z is a digital download from October 2016. As the original song, I could only find the actual opening credits, and therefore, truncated version (just the opposite now😖). I have to say that the song which was also written and composed by the B'z boys, is helped a lot by that opening sequence that has almost every character in battle mode, and heck, even snarky Haibara looks scared! The song strikes me as being a bit reminiscent of late Beatles with the inclusion of those strings. "Sekai" reached No. 1 on iTunes and was ranked No. 50 for that year according to the mora music store.

The 52nd ending theme, "SAWAGE☆LIFE" (Exciting Life) by Mai Kuraki（倉木麻衣）was also a digital download from July 2016. It comes across to me as this quiet rock strut that could have been sung by someone like Gwen Stefani and her Harajuku Girls. Again the ending credits are of a cast-participatory variety with the Detective Boys and the high school buddies of Ran, Sonoko and Masumi deciding to get the band together. The cheerleading element of the song has dug itself into my brain. While Kuraki wrote the lyrics, Alaina Beaton and Bobby Huff took care of the melody.

Mai Kuraki -- Secret of my heart

It's not every day that I get to see Haibara speechless on "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン）so that is the reason that I put up that video above. Yup, now that the Holidays are over for another year, "Case Closed" is back on its regular Thursday night lineup on TV Japan. It's always amazing how these kids manage to see bodies on an almost daily basis without ending up in perpetual fetal positions.

I was a bit surprised to find out that Mai Kuraki's（倉木麻衣）3rd single "Secret of my heart" was actually an ending theme for the long-running "Conan", although I shouldn't have been since Kuraki has provided a lot of the show's theme songs over the past couple of decades. According to the Wikipedia article for "Secret of my heart", the count is up to 21 including this one which probably means that Kuraki may rival (or even exceed) B'z's contributions to the "Conan" song file.

Released in April 2000 during my time in Japan, my surprise was due to the fact that I had always seen "Secret of my heart" only on the various rankings shows on television and there was never any connection made to "Conan". The single, which was written by Kuraki and composed by singer-songwriter Aika Ohno（大野愛果）, solidified that laidback and creamy sound that I've always associated with Kuraki.

From the J-Wiki article for the ballad, Kuraki had written the lyrics to relate her feelings about having to conceal her identity from at least some of her friends...or from a particularly close buddy. That led to my second surprise which is that apparently Kuraki may just be her stage name but not her real name. "Secret of my heart" became a million-seller and peaked at No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies, ending up as the 16th-ranked single for 2000. Furthermore, getting back to the "Conan" sphere, as of 2016, "Secret of my heart" is the best-selling single associated with the series.

The song also ended up on Kuraki's debut album "Delicious Way" released in June 2000 which later became the No. 1 album of the year, breaking the 3-million barrier.

Miho Komatsu/La PomPon -- Nazo（謎）

Earlier today, I had a great deal of fun watching "Mission: Impossible ~ Fallout". As usual, Tom Cruise showed why he has only been half-jokingly referred to as the world's most famous stuntperson. I would expect that the next installment will have him perform the world's first orbital fistfight outside the International Space Station.

Going from one legendary crime fighter to another, also as usual, my family has been enjoying the exploits of Conan the pipsqueak sleuth in "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Detective Conan/Case Closed）. The above opening credit sequence is the one currently being used for the TV Japan broadcasts so I think we are about 3 years behind the ones being shown in Japan. The interesting thing, though, is listening to the current theme song, "Nazo" (The Mystery) by dancing and singing group La PomPon, an engram of memory flashed off in my head for some reason.

"Nazo" was La PomPon's 3rd single from September 2015. The group, which had its run between 2013 and its final concert in March 2018, consisted of six women in their late teens and early twenties: Misaki, Yukino, Rima, Hina, Kiri and Karen. La PomPon was under the Being label which included in its flock artists such as Maki Ohguro（大黒摩季）, B'z, and Zard. And if I'm not mistaken, these three acts also provided their musical contributions to the "Conan" franchise. The single did very well by peaking at No. 8 on Oricon.

Now, getting back to the mystery of "Nazo". I was wondering how my memories would engage over a song by a singing group that hadn't even formed until well after I returned from Japan for good. And yet, I distinctly remember some echo of the tune.

Well, it turns out that La PomPon's "Nazo" is a cover of the original by singer-songwriter Miho Komatsu（小松 未歩）, her debut single in May 1997. Plus, the original was also used as an opening theme for "Meitantei Conan" a couple of decades ago. As someone who used to watch TBS' "Countdown TV" while I was living in Ichikawa, Komatsu, and this particular song especially, occupied the rankings for a long time. In fact, it was in the Oricon rankings for 32 weeks after release, peaking at No. 9. It not only went Gold, selling a little over 325,000 copies, but it also became the Conan theme tune with the longest run in the show's history at around a year.

Listening to the original version, there is that sense of B'z in the arrangement although Komatsu didn't actually belong to the Being label at the time of the release of "Nazo".She released the song from Zain Records but would later transfer to GIZA Studio which is actually the Kansai wing for Being.

Komatsu was active in the music industry until around 2006, and up to that point, she released 26 singles and 8 original albums.

Katsuo Ono -- Main Theme from "Detective Conan"

Was listening to some anison last night when I came across a familiar song for which I hear an excerpt every Thursday night when I catch the show. The program is "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Detective Conan） about the pint-sized detective with attitude and whenever they show the "Next Time On..." segment, the super-charged horns led by a saxophone take charge for 30 seconds. It's probably the only time that fans usually can hear it since the anime likes to have an ever-changing lineup of opening and closing themes.

As it turns out, that is indeed the main theme for the show or the character. Not sure whether there is a specific title but it just seems to be titled "Main Theme". Whatever the case may be, it's got some pretty jazzy and funky oomph surrounding a kid tec...mind you, Conan is a genius who has, as far as I know, never lost a case. By the same token, he and his little friends disturbingly end up discovering a lot of dead bodies. It's a wonder that the relevant government ministries haven't sent in social workers to scoop up the Junior Detective League.

One thing that had been niggling at me about the famous theme song is its familiarity. There was something quite nostalgic about the arrangement. And then I realized who the composer was. It was none other than Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）, the same fellow who came up with the iconic theme song for the 1970s Japanese cop show "Taiyo ni Hoero"（太陽にほえろ）.

I think Ono probably even got all of the original musicians for that theme song to record the theme for "Conan". The kid should be properly flattered. Probably somewhere on YouTube, some enterprising person has made a video with all of the characters running around like mad around the city while the theme song is playing...just as in the opening credits of "Taiyo no Hoero".

Although I'm very late in the game when it comes to watching "Conan", I can assume that the main theme was recorded when the anime was released back in 1996.

B'z -- Q&A

(shortened version)

As usual, "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Great Detective Conan）, the adventures of the amazing boy detective continue on TV Japan on Thursday nights. And just as usually, there are the periodic changes in opening and ending themes. Furthermore, once again, the boys of B'z have contributed their own anison to the long-running series (you can check out one of their earlier contributions right here).

To be exact, "Q&A" is the 36th opening theme for "Conan" (or "Case Closed" as it is called here) that was used from May to November 2013 (yup, we're behind here in Canada). But when it first came on a few weeks ago, I had assumed that it wasn't B'z behind the rousing and rollicking song but some sort of B'z clone since Koshi Inaba's（稲葉浩志）voice sounded an octave higher for some reason. But indeed, it was the real McCoy, and heck, it is indeed the super-exciting B'z sound.

Heck, from that music video of the song, even cold-as-ice Haibara would be throwing herself into the mosh pit. Man, the fans must get their money's worth in pyrotechnics when they head over to a B'z concert.

"Q&A" wasn't an official single by the duo but was part of another BEST album by B'z: "B'z The Best XXV 1996-2012". Not surprisingly, the album made mega-yen when it was released in June 2013. It went Double Platinum as it hit No. 2 for 2 weeks in a row and ended up as the 3rd-ranked album of the year. The song itself lasted on the charts for 38 weeks.

Speaking about statistics, it looks like we broke a record here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". We managed to put up 80 articles (mind you, 4 of them were rankings lists) in one month for the first time, our highest output to date. And here I was thinking about semi-retiring from the blog back in January!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby_shop/8451889067
by Ruby Rose

B'z -- Don't Wanna Lie

It's an irony that is worthy of any of the plots on this anime, but in all of the years that I was in Japan, I never saw "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Great Detective Conan） over there, but I have ended up watching the long-running adventures of Conan Edogawa and his buddies every Thursday night on TV Japan over here in The Great White North under its official English title of "Case Closed". My parents and I have been enjoying it although my overall impression is that it never really caught on all that much in North America for some reason (maybe those 10 minutes of the shrunken pipsqueak explaining how he cracked the case were just too much for anime fans).

I'm not quite sure about how successful that other long-running adventure caper, "Lupin The Third", has been here, but the one thing that probably did strike pay dirt was the legendary theme song. In the case of "Conan", however, the series has usually relied on ever-changing theme songs by folks like Mai Kuraki（倉木麻衣）, Zard and Garnet Crow.

Then there is B'z. Y'know...I never took Koushi Inaba and Takahiro Matsumoto（稲葉浩志・松本孝弘）to be anison guys, but apparently they have been providing theme tunes for "Meitantei Conan" since 1999 with "Giri Giri Chop"（ギリギリchop）. And the one I've been hearing for the past several weeks on the family TV is their 49th single from June 2011, "Don't Wanna Lie".

Inaba wrote the lyrics and Matsumoto provided the melody. It's definitely a B'z tune with the blistering guitar and it's appropriately heroic as well. There's almost something operatic as well which has me comparing it to some of the more dramatic Queen songs from my youth such as "Bohemian Rhapsody". And according to Inaba (via J-Wiki), that was his intention for the overarching theme for the song: Don't lie to yourself at that important time in your life. In fact, the temporary title before its release was "Moment of Truth".  After reading this and listening to the song in its entirety, I simply want Conan to come clean and tell Ran-chan who he really is. Not that it's going to happen any time soon or ever.

"Don't Wanna Lie" debuted at No. 1 and hit Platinum. By the end of the year, it was the 28th-ranked song. The song also was a track on their 18th album, "C'mon" from July 2011. Not surprisingly, it also hit No. 1 and was the 11th-ranked album of the year. It also got onto "The Best of Detective Conan 4", an album of the various theme tunes from the series.