Meitantei Conan: Episode One - Chiisaku Natta Meitantei

Rather than a re-make this feels more like an extended cut of the first 2 Detective Conan episodes, save for a few small changes i'll list below (if you consider that to be a spoiler, you have been warned)

Overall this retelling of the start of the story was nothing short of exellent, adding a lot of prequel material and many subtle details to the cases we've seen in the past that would've never made the cut in a 20 min episode
Other interesting add-ins where getting glimpses of some of these events that unfold from other characters point of view, this works as a great way ... to tie in the connections these characters that are introduced over the course of 100s of episodes have to these events
Shinichi and Ran also have some very sweet character moments that where omitted from the OG for time

Now for the nitpicking section, the changes:

Most are very subtle and seemed to be done to "modernize" the show, something i found quite irritating
That said here's the list

1) The biggest change was Shinichi's first encounter with the Detective Boys, his first encounter with the little brats trying to hitch a free ride on a rollercoster has become an encounter with some sweet kids playing soccer in the park

2) The inclusion of smartphones, i get that over the long course of the TV series our technology has evolved and it's reflected in the show, but seeing that technology when the show is going back in time is a really big pet peeve of mine

3) Shinichi's reaction to getting a glimps of Hitomi's gymnast thighs is quite a bit more subtle than in the OG

4) In the OG when Ran is chasing after Shinichi before that fateful moment she trips due to her shoelaces breaking, which is an old superstition linked to bad luck, this is changed to her just tripping cuz her laces came untied

Great special! I chose to watch it after finishing the original series, OVAs and movies, as this special CAN'T be watched before to have reached 800 episodes, to avoid major spoilers. This remake, in addition to remembering the beginning of the story, it adds many interesting details that deepen the events, added to the 2016 graphics. It also fixes some changes that unfortunately the original anime has made compared to the manga. In short, again there is little, but that little is very interesting. After more than 1000 episodes, this remake refreshes the memory perfectly. Every Detective Conan's fan should watch it, but only ... after finished the original series.

A trip down memory lane may not be the best place to start for new fans.

The premise for Episode “ONE” seems simple enough; it retells the story of how high-school detective Kudou Shinichi became the elementary school kid, Conan Edogawa. But it also goes beyond that and shows us what the other major characters were up to during that time. This is pretty fun for fans of the show, as it lets us them see what everyone was up before Shinichi gets shrunk. But what this ends up doing is introducing a lot of unnecessary details, characters and plot threads that don’t have any relevance ... or even reach a satisfying conclusion. The special even starts off during the aftermath of one of the cases in the show. Although the biggest culprit has to be the karate tournament Ran won to get Shinichi to take her to Tropical Land. That said, once it reaches where the original episode begins, it gets so much better. Not only are the story threads more focused and consistent, but it also really goes to show how much better it looks compared to the original. Overall, a little messy, but still has some merit.

If you purchased the Blu Ray version released by Discotek Media, this special features an all new English voice cast for the series. Upon hearing this, I was cautiously optimistic. I wanted it to be good, but even I’m all too familiar with how bad it can turn out. Thankfully, that’s not completely the case here. Almost every single actor does a great job embodying the personality of the characters. That said, I was a little underwhelmed by Shinchi’s voice, as it kind of came off as generic. The only times he really shined were his deduction scenes, where he’s both cocky and confident, as the character should be. Conan was handled a little bit differently. He sort of comes off as a shrunken version of Shinichi’s voice actor, which is both weird yet hilariously fitting. The only distracting thing about her is that when she tries to act serious, she comes off more as a women rather than a child. While it’s a shame that the voices for the main characters don’t quite hit the mark, the overall quality is still pretty good. The only other issue is that some of the dialogue and deliveries can come off awkward, which is fairly common among most English dubs. But aside from that, I wouldn’t mind seeing these actors return in future productions, as they will only get better with time.

But now we have come to the decisive part of this review, that being wether or not a new fan should start with this special. This, unfortunately, is where one of this special’s most unique aspect gets in the way. Because we are introduced to specific characters way earlier than planned, the casual newcomer will end up getting spoiled with certain characters (it’s also worth pointing out that these characters are built up after several episodes of speculation and mystery). A much better alternative would be to portray them as background characters going about their daily lives, as was done with the news reporter Hidemi Hondou. This way, the new fans won’t be spoiled while the old fans will still have fun seeing them again. But in the end, this special serves more as a fan-service special rather than a replacement for the original. But who knows? Maybe it might be different for you. But I'd honestly recommend you watch the original episode one and come back to this once you're caught up.