Conan and Mission: Impossible are unexpectedly “contemporaries”
(C)2025 Gosho Aoyama / Detective Conan Production Committee (C)2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES.
A thrilling collaboration between Detective Conan: Afterimage of the One-Eyed and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning has been revealed. The visuals and video bring together two “cool older men”: Kogoro Mori, who fought bravely for his best friend in the latest Conan movie, and Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who risks everything for his allies.
Afterimage of the One-Eyed, the 28th Conan film, has already drawn 7.86 million viewers and earned over 11.3 billion yen within just 24 days—making it the fastest in the franchise to break the 10-billion mark. Meanwhile, Dead Reckoning, the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible series, is making waves in Japan ahead of its release on May 23, following an advance screening on May 17. Notably, both the first Detective Conan anime and the first Mission: Impossible movie debuted in 1996, making this a remarkable team-up between two cinematic contemporaries.
A new illustration of Kogoro Mori—featuring a scar like Ethan’s—presents a sharp, noir-style expression rarely seen before. The tagline “Look at me, I’m doing my best” cleverly mirrors MI’s “I want you to believe in me. This is my last request.” These visuals will be shown at Ikebukuro Hit Vision and Ikebukuro PARCO Vision from May 19 to 25.
In the video, Kogoro introduces Cruise’s intense stunts across land, sea, and air. The latter half even features new, unreleased footage from the Conan film.
Toho Movie Channel
Channel subscriber count: 1.63 million
Theatrical version of “Detective Conan: Afterimage of an Eye” x “Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning” collaboration movie
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Conan x Mission: Impossible – A Legendary Crossover
When two 90s legends meet: Kogoro Mori and Ethan Hunt join forces in style.
This collaboration is more than a marketing stunt—it’s a nostalgic and cultural convergence. Both Detective Conan and Mission: Impossible launched in 1996, and for nearly three decades, they’ve entertained fans with thrilling action and mystery. The fact that Kogoro Mori, often a source of comic relief, is depicted in such a hard-boiled, serious style shows how both franchises are honoring the evolution of their characters.
Moreover, the “cool older man” (ikeoji) theme taps into a growing trend in Japanese media, where mature male characters with depth and charisma are spotlighted. Kogoro and Ethan, both flawed yet deeply loyal to their friends, embody this perfectly. Their parallel taglines—Mori’s “Look at me, I’m doing my best” and Ethan’s “I want you to believe in me”—emphasize the shared emotional stakes both face, despite being in vastly different worlds.
This campaign cleverly bridges anime and Hollywood, celebrating generational icons while also appealing to fans of mature, heroic masculinity.
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