Case Closed: The Fourteenth Target
Case Closed: the Fourteenth Target, known as Detective Conan: The Fourteenth Target in Japan, is a Japanese animated feature film based on the Case Closed series. It was released in Japanese theatres on April 18, 1998. The English version was released on DVD on November 20, 2007, by Funimation. The film grossed in Japan.
Plot
Rachel has recurring nightmares about her mother Eva being shot, which connects to a past incident where Eva was accidentally wounded during a police standoff involving Richard and a criminal named J.T. Morono. While Rachel struggles with the truth, Richard and Conan become involved in a string of attacks linked to playing cards left at crime scenes.The case intensifies when friends and acquaintances of Richard—including golfer Henry Tish, sommelier Kevin Simms, and businessman Christopher Aston—are targeted. At the AquaCrystal complex, several murders occur, each tied to the spade suit. Suspicion initially falls on Morono, but Conan deduces the real killer is Kevin Simms, who faked being a victim.
Kevin’s motive stems from losing his sense of taste after an accident caused by Nina Oliver and his resentment toward others in his circle. Using bombs and staged traps, he attempts to eliminate his targets and escape, but his plan collapses. Richard subdues him, ensuring he faces justice.
In the aftermath, Rachel reconciles with Richard, realizing his actions years earlier were to protect her mother. A final scene reveals Eva left Richard not over the hostage incident, but because of his harsh criticism of her cooking.
Playing card symbols
During the course of the film multiple characters are represented by a certain number from a standard deck of cards. The playing cards are all spades, which represents death. The victim's name, clue left behind, and the connection with the number are all displayed below in the chart. Since the English adaptation has changed names of the characters, the corresponding relationships between the character and the numbers were changed accordingly.| Card number or name | Victim's name | Connection to the number | Victim's name | Connection to the number | Clue left behind |
| Joker | J.T. Morano | His nickname in the casino is "joker". | Jyou Murakami | Same as in English. | |
| Number 13/King Of Spades | Joseph Meguire | His name has 13 letters. | Juzou Megure | First name is "thirteen". | The King's Knife/Dagger |
| Number 12/The Queen of Spades | Eva Kaden | Her first name means "Queen" in other languages. | Eri Kisaki | 妃 means "Queen" in Japanese. | The Queen's Flower |
| Number 11/Jack of Spades | Hiroshi Agasa | He has 11 patents on inventions. | Hiroshi Agasa | 士 is a combination of the kanji of ten and one. | The Jack's Royal Sceptre |
| False Number 10 | Tammy Diez | Her last name is the number ten in Spanish. | Towako Okano | Her name contains the kanji for 10. | No clue exists |
| Number 10 | Henry Tish, pro golfer | He is currently ranked as the 10th best Golfer in the world. | Hiroki Tsuji | 辻 contains the kanji for 10. | The Ten of Spades in a normal set of Playing Cards |
| Number 9 | Chris Ashton, developer | His holdings include nine important buildings in the city. | Katsuyoshi Asahi | 旭 contains the kanji for "nine". | The Nine of Spades in a normal set of playing cards |
| Number 8 | Kevin Simms, sommelier | Attended a culinary school with an eight-year program. | Kouhei Sawaki | 公 contains the kanji for eight. | The Eight of Spades in a normal set of playing cards |
| Number 7 | Nina Oliver, model | Has modeled since she was seven. | Nana Osanai | Nana is a Japanese reading of seven. | The Seven of Spades in a normal set of Playing Cards |
| Number 6 | Emilio Cantore, photographer | He has six children. | Eimei Shishido | 宍 contains the kanji of "six". | The Six of Spades in a normal set of Playing Cards |
| Number 5 | Richard Moore | His last name has five letters. | Kogoro Mouri | 小五郎 contains the kanji for "five". | The Five of Spades in a normal set of Playing Cards |
| Number 4 | Peter Ford | His last name has four letters. | Peter Ford | Last name has phonetic similarity to "four." | The Four of Spades in a normal set of Playing Cards |
| Number 3 | Inspector Nicholas Santos | He is the third child of three siblings, each of which were born three years apart. | Ninzaburo Shiratori | 任三郎 contains the kanji for "three". | The Three of Spades in a normal set of Playing Cards |
| Number 2 | Mason Norfolk, food writer | Wrote two books. | Minoru Nishina | 仁 contains the kanji for "two". | The Two of Spades in a normal set of Playing Cards |
| Number 1/Ace of Spades | Jimmy Kudo | He is the number one detective, Also number one in other things. | Shinichi Kudo | 新一 contains the kanji for "one". | The Ace of Spades in a set of playing cards |