The Collab Episode Cast a Real World Cup Midfielder
The stadium event caps a crossover that is already on the air. On July 18, the show broadcast "J.League: Kaimaku no Whistle" (roughly, "The Season-Opening Whistle"), an episode timed to the new season of the J.League, Japan's top professional soccer league, which kicks off in August, according to Japanese anime news site Anime Anime.
The guest voices are the fun part. Hiroaki Morishima, who played for Japan at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and now serves as chairman of J1 club Cerezo Osaka, lent his voice to the episode alongside actor Yūka Kageyama (影山優佳). It was Kageyama's second guest spot on the series; her first was the previous J.League crossover episode, "Behind the Scenes of the J.League Finals," in May 2023.
A New Visual of the Franchise's Most Dangerous Soccer Player
To mark the collaboration, the production released a newly drawn visual of Conan Edogawa with a soccer ball. It is a natural pairing. Soccer is baked into the character: Conan (Shinichi Kudo) loves the sport, and the pint-sized detective has repeatedly used a soccer ball to get out of life-threatening situations over the years.
What Conan DAY Looks Like So Far
The headline event is "Conan DAY," the first of its kind in the franchise's history. Here is what has been announced:
The target match is Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 6, Cerezo Osaka vs. Tokyo Verdy, on Sunday, September 6, 2026, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at YANMAR HANASAKA STADIUM, Cerezo's home ground. There is a reason the event landed at Cerezo: Morishima, fresh off his voice-acting turn, chairs the club.
Conan Edogawa will appear at the stadium, and organizers say various other events are planned in and around the venue. The announcement notes that further collab plans are in the works and that event contents may change without notice. Full details will be announced at a later date.
A Partnership That Goes Back to The Eleventh Striker
Detective Conan and the J.League have history. The 2012 theatrical film Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker was itself a collaboration marking the league's 20th anniversary. On the TV side, the series has run crossover episodes three times before: "Promise with a J-Leaguer" in June 2014, "The J.League Bodyguard" in July 2018, and "Behind the Scenes of the J.League Finals" in May 2023.
That makes this the first Conan and J.League crossover in three years, and the first time the partnership has moved from the screen into a matchday event.
Looking Ahead
Conan DAY takes place September 6, 2026, and the Anime Anime report says details and follow-up announcements are coming later, so expect the full event lineup closer to the date. The collaboration itself is also set to expand, with organizers teasing further developments beyond the stadium event.
In Japan, Detective Conan airs Saturdays at 6:00 p.m. on the ytv/Nippon TV national network. Nothing has been announced about international availability of the collab episode or any overseas component of Conan DAY. The anime marks 30 years on the air in 2026, and the J.League tie-up is one of a string of anniversary collaborations the franchise is rolling out for fans.