NHK and NHK Enterprises have announced that NHK’s documentary “Behind the Scenes: Detective Conan,” the first long-term, in-depth interview with the creator of the Japanese hit manga mystery, has been acquired in six countries and regions spanning Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The program will be shown by public broadcasters Thai PBS and Taiwan PTS, China’s biggest streaming service Bilibili, Hong Kong’s leading pay-TV service Now TV, Germany’s major media company Seven.One Entertainment Group, and the UAE’s leading family entertainment company Spacetoon.
Behind the Scenes: Detective Conan (1 x 49 min., 2024, ©NHK)
The global hit manga series Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed, marked its 30th year in 2024. NHK was given a rare and intimate access into the world of its creator Gosho Aoyama. This documentary offers an in-depth look behind the scenes of Aoyama’s work, revealing never-beforetold stories about the creation of Conan, the intense struggles of the creative process, the heartbreaking setbacks he endured, and the story he truly wanted to tell. This is a captivating documentary of the life and mystery of the man who never lost his childlike sense of wonder.
Kazuko Taguchi, General Manager of Content Distribution Department at NHK Enterprises says, “NHK’s documentaries that cover diverse genres such as science, wildlife, and history are always popular. But our recent factual slate featuring Japan’s creative power, ranging from behind-the-scenes of popular hit manga to the delicate craftworks of artisans, are very successful as well.”
This documentary is part of NHK’s recent factual slate featuring Japan’s creative power. Other recent programs that proved to be very successful were “Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron (2024)” a two-hour documentary chronicling the making of the Oscar-winning “The Boy and the Heron” which was filmed with exclusive access to Studio Ghibli across seven years, and “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days (2024)”, which follows how one of the greatest musicians of the era grappled with death and lived his NHK’s “Behind the Scenes: Detective Conan” goes global final days through incredible access to his diaries and private footage, which won the prestigious Rose d’Or and the Prix Italia and is nominated for the International Emmys. “Takashi Murakami: The Dreaming Daemon (2024)” is also a documentary in which NHK’s camera has been allowed to peek into the artist’s workshop and backstage process as he prepares for an important and large-scale solo exhibition.
