A Cross-Network First
This crossover breaks new ground. Detective Conan airs on Yomiuri TV and is produced by TMS Entertainment (Detective Conan, Lupin III), while Star Detective Precure! airs on TV Asahi's network and is produced by Toei Animation (One Piece, Dragon Ball). In-story crossovers across rival networks and production companies are exceptionally rare in Japanese television — promotional collaborations happen, but characters actually appearing inside each other's episodes does not.
The collaboration announcement from Anime Hack confirms two episodes across two consecutive weekends. On May 31, Edogawa Conan — voiced by Minami Takayama, who has played the pint-sized detective since 1996 — appears in Star Detective Precure! episode 18. On June 6, Cure Answer crosses into the world of Detective Conan. A special collaboration visual shows both characters standing side by side in matching poses.
Two Mysteries, Two Worlds
The Precure half is titled "Meitantei no Kyōen" — literally "The Great Detectives' Co-Starring," but given the furigana reading "Assemble," clearly evoking a team-up. A glass slipper called "The Lost Item of Midnight" is stolen from an art museum, and Cure Answer (Akechi Anna) and Cure Mystic (Kobayashi Mikuru) pursue the thief to Makoto Mirai City, where they run into Conan. The detectives team up to crack the case.
The Conan half, "Hanamaru na Shinjitsu" — where the kanji for "truth" is read as "Answer," a nod to Cure Answer — takes a more playful angle. A string of jewelry robberies hits Beika Town, and Detective Boys member Ayumi Yoshida (voiced by Yukiko Iwai), who is a devoted Precure fan in-universe, becomes convinced that the appearance of a thief gang means Precure will show up to stop them. The Detective Boys appear to round up the suspects, but Ayumi notices something doesn't add up.
Both episode titles use a device common in anime: the kanji carries one meaning while the furigana reading spells out something else entirely. It's a small touch that signals how much thought both production teams put into making these episodes feel like genuine crossovers rather than contractual obligations.
A Year in the Making
Both producers shared comments alongside the Anime Hack report that reveal just how unlikely this collaboration was on paper. ABC Animation producer Kanako Tada said she approached Yomiuri TV producer Takeshi Yoshida a year ago with a direct pitch: "Please let us collaborate with Detective Conan next year!" She described her mindset going in as "even if it doesn't work out, let's go down swinging."
Yoshida, for his part, admitted the logistical hurdles were significant — different TV networks, different studios, different source-material publishers — but said the conviction that "this would be something great" came before any of the headaches. He also teased a hidden message for Precure fans tucked in after the "Next Conan's Hint" segment at the end of the Conan episode.
Tada called the collaboration a personal milestone. She noted she'd been watching Detective Conan on broadcast TV since elementary school — and with Conan now in its 30th anniversary year, the timing carries genuine weight. Star Detective Precure!, meanwhile, is the 23rd installment in the long-running magical-girl franchise, making this a meeting of two of anime's most durable brands.
Looking Ahead
Star Detective Precure! episode 18 airs May 31, 2026, on TV Asahi's Sunday morning block. The Detective Conan collaboration episode follows on June 6 on Yomiuri TV's Saturday evening slot.
International fans can follow along on Crunchyroll, which has been streaming Star Detective Precure! since January 2026 across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. Detective Conan is also available on Crunchyroll and Netflix via curated "Episode Selection" collections, though whether the collaboration episode will appear in the simulcast lineup hasn't been confirmed.
Collaboration merchandise is also in the works, though no specific products have been announced yet. The source manga for Detective Conan, written by Gosho Aoyama and published by Shogakukan, released its 108th collected volume in April 2026.