Detective Conan — Story Arcs & Filler Guide
Episode ranges, plot summaries, and frequently asked questions for every major arc in Detective Conan. Updated 2026.
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Clash of Red and Black
Eps 491–504 · 14 epsWhat episodes cover the Clash of Red and Black arc?
The Clash of Red and Black arc runs episodes 491-504, making it the longest single arc in both the anime and manga. It centers on undercover FBI and CIA agents operating inside the Black Organization and marks a major turning point in the overarching conspiracy storyline, resolving several long-running mysteries about the organization's members.
Scarlet Return
Eps 803–807 · 5 epsWhat is the Scarlet Return arc about?
Scarlet Return spans episodes 803-807 and digs into the past of Rei Furuya (undercover alias Toru Amuro), exploring his connections to the FBI and his role within the Black Organization's ranks. It's part of the broader 'Scarlet' thread of episodes that unpacks Amuro's backstory across several non-consecutive story blocks.
Origin Story
How does Detective Conan begin?
The series opens with high schooler Shinichi Kudo witnessing a black-suited man's illegal deal at Tropical Land. He is caught spying and force-fed an experimental poison, APTX 4869, by the organization's chemist. Instead of killing him, the drug shrinks his body into that of a six-year-old. Hiding his true identity as 'Conan Edogawa,' he moves in with his childhood friend Ran Mouri and her private-detective father, solving cases from the shadows while searching for a way to reverse the shrinkage and take down the organization that did this to him.
Detective Boys Case-of-the-Week Format
Is Detective Conan mostly self-contained cases or one continuous story?
The bulk of the series is episodic: Conan, Ran, and the Detective Boys (Ai Haibara, Genta, Mitsuhiko, Ayumi) stumble into a new murder mystery almost every episode, which Conan solves using Kogoro Mouri as an unwitting mouthpiece via his voice-changing bow tie. Running underneath this case-of-the-week structure is a much smaller number of episodes that advance the ongoing Black Organization storyline, plus periodic Kaitou Kid heist crossovers — these are the episodes most worth prioritizing for viewers who don't want to watch all 1,000+ episodes.
Kaitou Kid Heist Cases
What are the Kaitou Kid episodes in Detective Conan?
Kaitou Kid, the protagonist of Gosho Aoyama's other series Magic Kaito, appears throughout Detective Conan as a recurring phantom thief who announces his heists in advance, daring Conan and the police to stop him from stealing a targeted jewel or treasure. These crossover cases recur across many seasons rather than in one clustered block, and are consistently ranked among the most popular episodes by fans for their heist puzzle-box structure and Kid's cat-and-mouse dynamic with Conan.