Spoilers follow for the abductors and the ending.
Ayumi and Detective Chiba survive their abduction in The Hero of Ishinomaki. Conan rescues them when the truck carrying them goes over a cliff, and Dario and the filming director are arrested over their illicit dealings. The children’s chance to perform alongside a television hero has turned into an emergency involving their own friend.
The Hero of Ishinomaki is international episode 1234 (Japanese episode 1176), a standalone anime-original story set in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
A television campaign brings the children to Ishinomaki
Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta win a campaign that lets them appear with Kamen Yaiba. The opening hero action is a filmed performance, with the three children joining in costume. Conan, Haibara, Ran and Kogoro have accompanied them to Ishinomaki for the visit.
Before the scheduled morning filming, the group rehearses with the scripts and has time to look around the city. During the sightseeing, Conan and Haibara notice Detective Chiba. They do not approach him, but his presence away from Tokyo becomes important when a man called Dario passes nearby.
Ayumi goes back for her script and does not return
On the filming day, Ayumi realizes she has left her script in her room and heads back for it. Dario appears, and Chiba follows him. In the underground parking area, Dario captures Ayumi and takes her hostage; another person attacks Chiba from behind with a stun gun, leaving him unconscious.
The filming director cannot find Ayumi either. When the meeting time arrives without her, Conan and Haibara stay behind to search. Mitsuhiko and Genta initially board the location bus, but their worry brings them back to join the search instead of continuing to the shoot.
The Detective Boys cannot simply solve the disappearance by tracking their badges: the badges have been left at the hotel. That missing means of contact forces the children to piece together what happened after Ayumi went back, rather than locating her immediately.
Chiba’s assignment connects the disappearance to a criminal investigation
Conan contacts Detective Takagi and learns that Chiba is in Miyagi on a special assignment, following a suspect. His presence is connected to work for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, not merely another visitor’s sightseeing. The missing officer and the missing child are part of the same emergency.
After the children reunite, a Kamen Yaiba QR code becomes another lead in their search. The investigation eventually takes them after the truck carrying Chiba and Ayumi. The hero-themed surroundings remain part of the search, while the danger to the two captives is real.
The truck chase ends with a rescue and two arrests
Conan and the others pursue the truck by car. Dario abandons it, leaving Chiba and Ayumi in the vehicle as it goes over a cliff. Conan acts in time to rescue both of them. Neither captive dies in the fall.
Dario and the filming director are subsequently arrested for their illicit dealings. The director’s involvement gives the film setting a second significance: the production is not only the reason the children are visiting, but also the setting in which a criminal participant has appeared as someone organizing their day.
The contrast with the opening is straightforward. Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta begin by acting as a hero’s helpers; when Ayumi disappears, the others give up the planned filming to look for her. The ending brings that concern to a concrete result: their friend and the detective are brought back alive.
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