#haneda kohji

[masterdetectivexx]

Hi mtx hope you are doing well

what are your thoughts on last case? who do you think that old woman and who she is focus on is it amuro or conan? and what abt the baby is it possible for him to be KARASUMA ?!!

File 1126-1128 Review

I think this latest case was very refreshing, similar to the Butler shinkansen case, where we revisited classic DC mystery themes and settings that aren't often used. You immediately get a classic kidnapping case with the added trait of a seemingly gory and highstake threat from the start through the reveal of a head in a jar (File 1126).

The twist that the gory atmosphere was ultimately a fakeout is such a callback to the very old Ayumi kidnapping case (File 83), where the head she was stuck with was a prop as well. It was also a neat trick on how to create the illusion of a 3D head out of a 2D paper.

The trick of opening a lock with a mini-explosion using matchsticks (File 1128) was also quite genius and I hadn’t thought of such a way to actually work (as expected of Gosho).

Another revisited theme was Masumi and her protective and watchful gazes against anyone with potentially ill intent towards Conan, which I always love to see more of. Her noticing Amuro's nosiness towards Conan (File 1126) took me immediately back to Yusaku cold case in Bourbon arc (File 814), where she started glaring the same way towards Subaru after he alluded to figuring out Conan's true identity discreetly.

As for whether her eventually revealing to Conan, that Amuro is investigating him (File 1128), is gonna lead to any actions from Conan's side is all up in the air. Since Conan already views Amuro as an ally, he most likely wouldn't be too concerned of it, since unlike his Bourbon worries in File 1009 (after his recent Kudo Shinichi publicity) he has no reason to suspect the BO is onto Edogawa Conan.

One thing I somewhat got right was something I speculated in regards to one of the suspects that Ran and Sonoko found so familiar. I had speculated that Kanamaru was an employee who has worked in Poirot since before Amuro & Masumi intro, based on the clues that were given in File 1127 (Knowledge on behind-the-counter, familarity, etc).

I was convinced, but mainly hopeful, that we were finally getting the reveal of the mysterious never-appearing owner of Café Poirot. It seems however unfortunately that, while the line of thought was correct, it was rather a former employee who covered for the owner when he was hospitalized in the past (File 1128).

It was however cool to learn that Kanamaru had previously appeared as a background Poirot employee in the anime, making his general design and official manga debut pretty cohesive in the DC franchise.

Now... as for the important question of yours, who is the old lady that looked unique in how she appeared as a witness with a mysterious toddler in a stroller and who also appeared once again at the very end...?

She is none other than: Karasuma Renya's mother pushing her shrunken Boss son in a stroller!!!

Jokes aside, she did pretty much catch every other fan's attention the moment she appeared and it was a running joke that the boss has finally made his appearance xD

As for what I really think, I'm not really entertaining the idea that the Boss would have first of all shrunken into a younger age than our main protagonist (a 7-year-old), since it would lose any air of suspending disbelief and start becoming more comical than serious (especially since a toddler boss would be too vulnerable as a threat). The old lady also looked quite generic for a character design, which of course doesn't need to mean she isn't important, but it does ultimately lessen the chance that she is a major player in the story. What I however entertained was the possibility that she could be another named, but unrevealed, old woman character in the story, who has the best timing to appear in this stage of the ongoing plot. I'm talking about Haneda Kohji's mother, Haneda Ichiyo.

Considering that Gosho is very likely already setting up the introduction of Haneda Yasuharu (Kohji's named father in the marriage registration in File 947) through the mystery of Vader (respirator elder), it couldn’t be more fitting to have the also-named wife being setup to get introduced in such a discreet way that once she eventually appears in association with Vader (assuming it's Haneda Yasuharu), it will leave a bigger and better impression on the reader than a simple worthless appearance of a new character.

As for her motives for appearing around Poirot Café, it could be that similar to Vader, who this old lady is actually being watchful of is neither Conan nor Amuro, but rather Sera Masumi. Vader has had his eyes on Masumi and Mary (which again fits with him being Yasuharu) and seemingly realized that Akai Mary has become a middle-schooler (File 1096), so in a similar fashion, this could be Gosho sprinkling in some hidden continuation of that plot thread, but with the twist being that Ichiyo (Kohji's mother) is trying to confirm her husband's (Vader/Yasuharu) crazy findings by borrowing one of her housemaids' baby as a part of her cover as a passerby, rather than glamorously appearing in a vintage/expensive car that shows her status of being from the powerful Haneda family.

The ending of the chapter had a sidenote mentioning that many premonitions were swirling around Café Poirot, which is ultimately enough that it is referring to what Masumi brought up about Conan being investigated by Amuro, but it could also indeed covertly be including the looming old lady literally outside the Café hearing the rom-com commotion inside. What is however the most exciting is that the awaited Osaka Heizuha likely-confession case in Naniwa has been teased even in the to-be-continued note to be the next big 5-chapter case coming in Aug 7. I can't wait to finally see more development of not only the main characters of this stage (Heiji & Kazuha) but also Rum arc's new stars of this subplot that have thoroughly been a joy to follow (Momiji and Muga).

[ano-kata]

Manga Spoilers Under The Cut!!

Why Wakasa Rumi is now one of my favorite Detective Conan characters?

1- A morally ambiguous character:

Despite the insane number of characters in the series, only two characters could actually be considered morally ambiguous, Vermouth and Bourbon. But after that mysterious tea party, it seems that even Bourbon became Conan’s official ally, rather than the wild card he used to be. That’s why having Wakasa take over and becoming the new wild card of the series felt like such a relief. She’s unpredictable. Conan can’t trust her, but she could come through at a critical moment due to her and Conan’s interests possibly aligning at some point.

2- The potential bond between her and Shuichi:

One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, is Wakasa’s comment about how “Subaru” reminds her of someone who was both quite reliable and gentle. And it turned out she was referring to Shuichi’s father, Tsutomou. I love the idea of Wakasa being the anti-Bourbon. Bourbon is an overall good guy, who tends to go bad whenever Akai Shuichi is involved. I like the idea of her being the opposite. An overall bad person, who tends to grow nicer when Akai Shuichi is involved. I can dream, Okay?!

3- Parallels between her and Shuichi:

It’s no secret how much I love Akai Shuichi, and Wakasa feels even more like a female Shuichi than Mary herself. The major reveal that she’s an excellent sniper along with the revenge for dead person (arguably lover) who sacrificed himself to protect her. Not to mention, they both lost their parental figures because of the organization. I see what you’re doing there, Aoyama-sensei. Wakasa feels like a mirror image of Akai Shuichi if he didn’t have his moral “brakes” and I find that incredibly interesting. I’m really curious about the direction her character will take, whether she will be saved by Conan, Shuichi or even better, by Tsutomou himself!

4- Driven by revenge for a lover trope:

Considering how shonen media tends to be normally, I love love LOVE how the traditional revenge for a lover plot gets a twist with Wakasa Rumi. This is a story of a man who was physically “weaker” who decided to sacrifice himself for a “stronger” woman because he had feelings for her. Kohji is basically the male Akemi and I adore him for it. And Rumi swearing to hunt down everyone who hurt her precious Kohji is giving me such strong feelings. And since I’ve mentioned parallels, Kohji also seems to parallelize with Akemi. In the sense that, Shukichi seems to think of him as an older brother figure. Of course it’s much less intense with Shukichi, than it’s with Haibara but I think it’s an interesting parallel. Also, as I wrote this line, I remembered how Haibara knew about the “Put On Mascara” mirror because Akemi had one. Coincidence? I think NOT.

I guess another parallel between Shuichi and Rumi, is that I only really started stanning them after I found out their pasts.

[ultimateanna]

Detective Conan - Chapter 1108

[asteralley]

I'm finally reading chapters 1103-1109 and ohhhhh my god there's so much info. I kinda already knew them from osmosis but MAN it's so weird to finally have the truth behind the haneda kohji case be revealed...

amanda & kohji knew karasuma

wakasa's real name is rachael asaka

rum inherited the codename from his father

rum used to have photographic memory in both eyes, but now only the left eye still has that ability

rum believes the aptx can restore his right eye??

part of amanda's dying message is "watch out"

wakasa absolutely does not care about kobayashi and the kids and will use anyone as pawns for revenge

[pinktie]

Sometimes I think about how well Shuukichi fits ‘living well is the best revenge’. He obviously was the closest in his family to Haneda Kohji and I like it when character’s deaths aren’t the most important thing about them (Gosho’s good at this, with Rei’s police academy friends and the Miyano family for instance), we’ve seen his respect for him via Yumi and I can believe he’s mostly coped with the grief of losing a brother figure at this point as it’s been 17 years. It’s tragic how he lost Kohji, then his Dad and then kind of his brother and nearly his mother. He inherits Kohji’s dream along with his fan and helps the Haneda parents (Yasuharu and Ichiyo) with their grief while not even trying to replace Kohji and possibly looking out for any danger from the BO around them to report to his other family. When it comes to hiding his identity, being famous under another name is the best cover - no one’s instantly comparing him to the Akai family or even making the connection between Sera Shuukichi as he is so different outside of matches. I wonder how much hope his family gets from seeing him doing well and knowing he’s a place of stability they can turn to.

True, it's nice that there’s at least one happy person in this family.

[r-onetruthprevails]

After 1106th chapter, the correct name is Haneda KOUJI based from official translation, not KOHJI

http://dlvr.it/SjFzNT

[rum4869]

[tetragon4-blog]

Rereading Vol. 86-89, Chap. 905-947, A Fragrance of Rum

The closer we get to “real-time”, the harder it is to offer new perspectives. There simply is a limit to the information at hand, and it feels like it is too early to voice some of my lines of thought. This is more of a profile post, summing up what we know about Rum, Kuroda, and Haneda based on these four volumes.

RUM:

There is much to speculate about, especially since the eye story itself is dubious at best. Ai only heard some gossip, and injuring your eye does not equal to losing it. Furthermore, there are artificial eyes that are easy to spot, and those that are harder to notice. Also, just because you have a prosthetic doesn’t mean that you will wear it.

Secondly, the description of the physical traits in itself is non-conclusive. Sure, there is the possibility of body doubles, or of Rum being three people altogether. Or, these descriptions belong to different periods of Rum’s life, pointing towards a long history of membership.

The more or less reliable information on Rum are:

Injured their eye in an accident

Recently turned their attention towards Tokyo

Second-in-command

Had been at least a semi-active member during the past years, because the members of the BO have been talking about him

Right now, we can only speculate about Rum’s intentions. It seems clear that he is pursuing a person, not a short-time mission. Since Vermouth and Bourbon back each other’s claim that Sherry had been killed, Rum cannot be looking for Ai. Akai’s survival is not known to the BO, either, because they still trust Kir. Bourbon kept his silence in this regard. As of now, there are only two possibilities that I see:

He is supposed to check out the trustworthiness of their members, because all busted missions happened in the Tokyo area. The boss might suspect that his organisation is rotting from the inside. Bourbon and Vermouth remain on stand-by, because they are not trusted enough to scatter.

Sera’s appearance has not gone unnoticed. Rum was connected to the Haneda case, which also caused Tsutomu’s disappearance and the Sera family’s subsequent flight. Maybe Rum is looking for Mary whose death also cannot have been confirmed, similar to Shinichi’s, if she had been forced to take the poison. It is still possible that she took it deliberately to fool her pursuer(s).

At this point, I am disinclined to assume that Rum is reacting to the mentions of Haneda Kohji on the internet and the media. If he was pursuing all links related to “Asaca”, he would have investigated the singer, too. Instead, it was the other members of the BO that looked into that matter.

Kuroda’s Profile:

Again, I am only taking the information from these four volumes, because they offer a great foundation for a minimalist approach. That way, there is little to be wrong about. All future speculations will be based on this post, after all.

Aoyama tells us from the very beginning that Kuroda will be an important character of this arc. This guy identifies Conan by his full name before meeting Kogorou: He recognises Conan by himself, it is not by association.

The hard facts about Kuroda are:

Was in an accident 10 years ago and fell into a coma

After his return to work, he was transferred to Nagano

Before the accident, he had black hair, which allows for a match with two of the three Rum descriptions

It is unknown whether he is hiding a prosthetic or not. His colleagues voice the possibility, though

He claims to still miss some memories, probably related to the accident that left him disfigured

After meeting Conan for the first time, he transferred to the first division in Tokyo. This is not a decisive causality, merely a temporal reference.

Kuroda recognises Conan’s mind without ever having met him. This points towards a source for his information, because any sane person would not focus on the child, but rather on the adult, Mouri. Even before he had been transferred to Tokyo, Kuroda had been interested in the capital’s police politics. He does not seem to be overly invested in Conan, though, not to the same degree as Sera or Bourbon.

On a sidenote: Kuroda’s history is somewhat dubious, especially since there is nobody who remembers him from before the accident. For all we know, somebody just took Kuroda’s identity and ran with it, claiming to suffer amnesia and physical changes due to the trauma. Then he transferred to some remote area where literally nobody would know him or his alter ego. But this is just my frustration with the lack of hard information.

Haneda Kouji’s Confusing Death:

There are so many questions when it comes to Haneda’s death, I barely know where to begin. It just feels like putting my foot into a swamp that will pull me to its bottom if I stray from the invisible “correct” path.

Why did Haneda and Amanda Hughes have to die? It is not clear which of those two was the original target, but their deaths seem related. As of now, I can imagine three scenarios:

They ingested the poison during their shared tea. The reason why the killer faked a struggle may be to have a legitimate reason to smash the plates and cups to little pieces, hiding the fact that three sets were used instead of two.

Haneda recognised the culprit in the hotel. Rum changed plans to adapt to this unexpected witness.

Amanda recognised the culprit due to her connections to the FBI/CIA. And that is why she was targeted as well.

It feels very premature to speculate on Haneda’s death (or not?) without even knowing the basics.

[sun-warmth]

Love it when Conan/Shinchi is actually very serious when he get ready for his job as a detective to find who’s actually Rum among three suspects; Hyoue Kuroda, Rumi Wakasa, and Kanenori Wakita.

[masterdetectivexx]

Hi MTX, big fan of your work.

I was wondering if you have any thoughts about the recent case, especially with the 17 year old case being fully revealed. Plus how do you think all of this will lead to the climax of the Rum arc? Also, do you feel we may get the full flashback with Tsutomu and Wakasa from chapter 1099 soon or towards the climax of the arc?

File 1106-1109 Review/Discussion

These last 4 chapters of the chess tournament case, that effectively revealed everything about the day of the Kohji case 17 years ago, will go down as one of the best flashback stories in Detective Conan history. It left me personally speechless and overwhelmed in such a satisfying way, and although it felt like the end of an era within Rum arc (The Kohji case mystery), it propelled us forward to new potential storylines, as well as potentially leaving some bread crumbs of the Kohji case, for us to get excited about.

Kuroda Hyoue

Right from the cliffhanger of File 1105, we started off File 1106 with Kuroda revealing how Kuroda became a witness in the Kohji case. We got the official confirmation that he used to work in the same division as Furuya Rei in the NPA, Security Bureau's Security Planning Division. He had then revealed in File 1107 that he was gonna have a preliminary meeting with Amanda Hughes, which was later explained by Amanda to be about trying to take down the Black Organization, and Karasuma Renya along with it.

From the context clues given in this case, it doesn't seem like Kuroda was given any information ahead of time (like Amanda's suspected identities behind the black organization), which made Kuroda function well as a protagonist that we follow along to discover what had happened in the 17 year old case. The biggest reveal when it comes to Kuroda's character was that his mysterious accident that put him in a 10-year-long coma happened the day of the Kohji case, 17 years ago. This indirectly revealed that his teased work history with Iori (File 1090) would have only taken place max 3 years before Iori left the Public Security. This is because Iori and Rei had never met back then and Rei's earliest known activity with the NPA is 4 years ago (when he met Masumi in the train platform), while Kuroda woke up from his coma 7 years ago.

Haneda Kohji

As expected, Haneda Kohji got properly introduced to us, and he was revealed to be the same age as Shuukichi currently (28). Kohji had a very eccentric personality, that appealed to me a lot. He was goofy, but also at the same time very intelligent and level-headed under pressure. It was very nice to see those two sides contrasted well with each other, where he goes from crushing over Asaka (File 1106), to calmly assessing a situation and facing danger with a pokerface (File 1107). Due to stubbornly sticking to his motto ("stick to one's orginal plan"), he was willing to sacrifice his life for a stranger he just met (Asaka).

As for Kohji's dying message, it is now officially debunked that there was other additional messages apart from the hand-mirror message "CARASUMA", since we got the reveal that Kohji had given his bishop shogi piece to Asaka before facing Rum (File 1107), and Kuroda didn't find any other suspicious details in the crime scene (File 1108). Kohji's object imprint in the middle of his right palm from File 948 does therefore indicate an inconsistency, that might stem from Gosho changing his plans regarding how Asaka got the shogi piece (taking it from Kohji's corpse vs Kohji giving it to her).

How Kohji shocked Rum and effectively earned Rum's praise twice was the best part of Kohji's story. When Kohji revealed that he had seen Rum in an old article from 47 years ago, where Rum acted as spokesman for Karasuma Renya, it stopped Rum in the middle of his tracks and ultimately saved Asaka (File 1107). It was a very gripping way to reveal how Kohji knew that his killers were tied to Karasuma for his dying message, while also highlighting more similarities between him and Shuukichi, through their shared good memory, which would further explain why Haneda family would want to adopt Shuukichi to inherit Kohji's will.

Another interesting fact that had me lightly speculating was that Kohji revealed that he has a playmate that has transient amaurosis like Asaka (File 1106). Since we later got the easter egg that Kohji had faced Katsumata Chikara in his 4th title shogi match, it is possible that the playmate he was referring to was Chikara. While not a relevant fact in the grand scheme of things, since Chikara has been a recurring shogi player, Gosho could be fleshing him out like this as Shuukichi's current rival.

Rachel Asaka

This case had the most important development for Wakasa Rumi, as it officially revealed her whole backstory up to 17 years ago and the entirety of her relationship with Amanda. File 1106 revealed that her full name was Rachel Asaka, who became a bodyguard to Amanda following her father's footsteps and essentially had a mother-and-daughter relationship with Amanda. This history became a key factor in the confrontation between Amanda and Rum that followed. Wakasa's vision issue was also explained, as we found out that she had transient amaurosis, that causes temporary blindness.

Wakasa's glare towards Kuroda during Tent case (File 987-988) and her hidden scars (File 1005) were also officially explained. Wakasa had mistook Kuroda to be one of the BO members responsible for Kohji's and Amanda's death, and she had gotten the scars from the same accident that put Kuroda into a coma (File 1109).

This case also debunked the theory that Wakasa/Asaka is Vermouth in disguise, since we saw Asaka grieve over Amanda's death in File 1108, despite Vermouth having played a role in entrapping Amanda by calling off Amanda's SWAT team support after impersonating her (File 1107). This turn of events does however resurface the mystery behind Wakasa's BO affiliation and knowledge.

My current speculation behind Wakasa's current connection to the BO is that around 17 years ago, Asaka joined the CIA. There are a couple hints and easter eggs that has propelled me to this direction.

Amanda was revealed to have ties to both the FBI and CIA in File 948. Gosho had name-dropped both of these plot-relevant intelligence agencies in association with Amanda, and has just utilized Amanda's connection to the FBI director in this backstory to call for SWAT team. There is a high possibility that he has planned on also using Amanda's CIA ties in a similar way, but since Amanda is already dead, the only one who could use Amanda's CIA connection is her daughter, Rachel Asaka.

Rachel is a US citizen, which makes her eligible to join the CIA, and with her martial arts and weapon handling background she would have had a head-start competence to enter their training program with the help of Amanda's CIA contact. It's also in Rachel's interest to choose the CIA, since they handle foreign affairs, which would include where her mother's killers originate from (Japan). Since Asaka was shown to have an idea of who Amanda's killers were based on their previous attacks (File 1107), it is highly likely that Amanda revealed her suspicions to Asaka that they were tied to the japanese group Karasuma, as Rum feared. Even if she wasn't given any details from Amanda, she did hear Rum's voice as he spoke japanese (File 1108), which gives her an idea of where the enemy could be based. There is also Rachel's unresolved meeting with Amanda's other friend, Akai Tsutomu 17 years ago (File 1109). Since Tsutomu's wife Mary already investigated Karasuma Group in the past for her brother-in-law Miyano Atsushi (File 1011), we already have evidence to Karasuma Group being in Akai family's radar, so even if Amanda didn't share anything with Tsutomu, it wouldn't take Tsutomu and his promised intellect much effort to piece together Haneda Kohji's dying message that the culprit was Karasuma. In other words, at the very latest, Rachel could have found out about Amanda's killers' originating from Japan with Tsutomu's help, who she could trust.

Wakasa/Rachel being a CIA agent would explain how she got the latest update of the APTX4869 victim list where Kudo Shinichi is labeled as "dead" (File 1005), since the CIA has Kir as their mole in the BO who could share those sensistive BO intel. It would also explain how Wakasa found out about the latest events within the organization, like Sherry's betrayal, as well as Hell angel's research that gave birth to the poison that killed her mother (Amanda). There was even a parallel between Asaka and Kir in File 1108, where just like Kir in File 603, Asaka was also iconically transported unconscious in a car that is being chased by the Black Organization. This could have been an intentional setup by Gosho to hint to Asaka's current CIA affiliation.

Another character that Wakasa/Rachel has had multiple parallels with is Subaru/Akai Shuuichi. Both have been the main red-herring of being the main antagonist in their respective arcs, both saved Ayumi from the culprit in a similar way and both were suspected by Conan/Haibara while the other liked them. I have referenced them often in the past in association with the theory that Wakasa could be someone already established in disguise just like Subaru, but these parallels could also be indicating that Wakasa/Rachel is basically a female version of Subaru/Akai. Both lost their parent to the BO, both potentially joined American intelligence agencies (FBI & CIA) to investigate the BO and both are potentially star agents within their agencies who have made high-ranked BO members (Gin & Rum) as their archnemesis. Even this latest case had a resolution (File 1109) similar to the resolution of Black impact (File 504), where Asaka outsmarted the BO by shooting at them just like Akai.

Amanda Hughes

Amanda Hughes' focus and confrontation with Rum was probably my favorite part of this whole case. She was revealed to be even more important and powerful than originally established, since she was also running for president in an upcoming election (File 1106). Amanda has become one of the best backstory characters. She is a very kind and loving woman who sacrificed her life to save her own daughter. It was so satisfying to see her go out in her own terms by forcefully biting Rum's hand to ingest the APTX poison he had merely planned to lure Asaka with (Amanda's weakness) in order to capture her so he can have control over Amanda's power (File 1107). This could be viewed as another parallel between Asaka and Kir, since both their parent (Amanda & Ethan) commited suicide to save their daughter.

Among the most important revealing part in her dialogue with Rum was her history with Karasuma Renya. She revealed that she has met Rum when he was a child 67 years ago during Karasuma Renya's birthday party (File 1106). Amanda also got to learn about Rum's left eye's photographic memory, and how he has been using it to blackmail powerful people into doing the BO's bidding (File 1107).

This became relevant later to Amanda's dying message, as she used her lipstick-smeared wristwatch dial to indicate "watch out", and smeared the knight piece's eyes with lipstick in order to warn about the culprit's dangeorus eye ability (File 1109). The way she utilized the wristwatch in such a puny way reminded me of Policewomen murder case's dying message, where the victim used a "no parking" sign by itself in a puny way to hint to the culprit (File 1017). Chiba questioned whether the victim would use an object that way for a message, and while Conan agreed it seemed questionable, he reasoned that it would make sense to use it that way if the victim had nothing else to use.

Amanda's dying message does however leave you with oddities. Considering how thoroughly she used the wristwatch alone to indicate a message, it doesn't explain why she opened up the chessboard while creating the dying message. Compared to Kohji's dying message, Amanda's dying message is the one that leaves more questions to be answered. Just like how Amanda used the wristwatch in a puny way for a message, it's very likely that Amanda used the knight piece and the chessboard in a similar manner. Here is my current analysis on Amanda's dying message:

Rum

All the information we had gotten on Rum in this case was setup to have significance in it, like how we learned that his right eye also used to have the photographic memory ability (File 1107), only to later find out Rum has been planning on regaining that ability through the APTX research (File 1109).

When Rum revealed to Amanda, after feeding her APTX4869 poison, that "Rum" was a codename that he had inherited from his father, who had worked under the boss for many years (File 1107), it's highly likely that this was also setting up something very significant. If Amanda pieced together from those parting words Rum's real name, then it would immediately fit with my Amanda dying message analysis that the knight piece & chessboard are together spelling out MUGA (as in Rum actually being Muga in disguise).

My current Rum theory based on this codename inheritance revelation is that the Rum Amanda met 67 years ago as a child, who grew up to be a spokesman for Karasuma Renya 47 years ago in the international economic forum, is actually the father of Rum from 17 years ago. This would mean that current Rum who killed Amanda and Kohji 17 years ago is the second generation of Rum, who not only inherited his father's codename but has also been disguising as him for at least 17 years after being taught by Vermouth, who was revealed to have joined the BO back then (File 1107). In short, the Rum we have been seeing active until now, who lost his eye ability in his right eye, was Muga disguising as his father, after inheriting his father's codename "Rum".

If Amanda had learned through her influential position that Rum had a son named Muga, and that for example Rum's father wasn't someone special who had worked under Karasuma Renya for a long time, then she would have enough context clues to realize that her killer is not the Rum she knew, but his son Muga, the new Rum, in disguise. Since Amanda was told by Rum that a young woman with abilities to disguise and imitate voices joined the organization, it wouldn't be hard for Amanda to make the leap that the son could be using that woman's help to disguise as his father. As I mentioned previously, Rum's face since 17 years ago being a disguise would explain why he hasn't aged much in 17 years. Something that Muga shares in common with Rum is also those light eyebrows, which could be a genetic trait that passed on from father to son.

This case also hinted towards the explanation behind Rum's investigation of Kudo Shinichi's death. It's very likely that Rum has been interested in the research since 17 years ago, since he implied that he was testing APTX4869 on Amanda and Kohji to check whether it killed or not (File 1108). It's possible that Rum wanted to regain his photographic memory ability in his right eye since back then. Now, in the current time however, after Kudo Shinichi was exposed to the public in File 1005 (as well as after Rum potentially already confirming Shinichi's survival as Muga), he would have evidence to believe that Sherry's APTX doesn't always kill. If Rum also got ahold of Sherry's research papers that documented the de-aging result in one mouse (File 179), then it would explain why Rum is suspecting that de-aging is possible through APTX4869, that could "turn back the clock on his right eye".

This case was a huge stepping stone for Conan, as he has now officially found out Wakasa's true identity, the history behind Kuroda's accident, the existence of Amanda's dying message, and a clue to Rum's past eye ability (File 1109). It's refreshing to see him talk it all through with Akai, but what's also refreshing is the fact that he finally got information on Tsutomu from Akai (File 1109), after failing to gain info since the start of the Kohji case mystery (File 949). It was also nice getting to see the complete Akai family 17 years ago and a tease of Tsutomu-Mary romance. Akai's explanation that Haneda Yasuharu (Kohji's father) couldn't rely on the japanese police and had asked his friend Tsutomu for help is further cementing the likely truth that Vader (mysterious respirator elder), who thought that the police are fools, is actually Haneda Yasuharu.

As for what we can expect next, I think based on Gosho trackrecord with Rum developments (where they have taken place every 5-volumes since Volume 85), the next big Rum development (that is likely the climax of Rum arc) is gonna happen in 3-4 cases (within volume 105), so even if we take a breather in the next case, I think it will still have crucial main plot development that will be setting up the climax. We could be saving Wakasa-Tsutomu-Rum flashback and Kuroda-Muga flashback for the climax, but what we should be getting soon is what Gosho teased in Let's Talk Day 2023: that something big will come into contact with Amuro.

[birubilirubin]

Akai Family's BUGS

I want to explain the additional arrangements for  Akai family that Gosho made and it made a lot of BUGS . At first Conan was a short story, then it became a long story. So there are a lot of additional settings that he made that cause a lot of irrational BUGS, and those are all made for plot , or he just wanted to draw what he wanted to draw.

Like the “good sister” Akemi’s BUGS that I've explained, the Bourbon’s BUGS that he was changed to being a NOC, and there is the addition of Akai family, especially the setting of Mary's character who is made to have a relative relationship with Elena. Although at this time it is not certain whether they are real blood relatives, or just a bomb that Gosho made.

In the early stages, Gosho made Shuichi Akai's character a wolf who doesn't need to have a family, suddenly his big family appears out of nowhere, and Haibara was made all her family members was dead, but suddenly her big relatives appear. I realized Conan's world is very small, everyone knows each other. This makes me want to sigh.

Translation

Is that The original Concept Akai had a family?.

Nope. Since Ran has no rivals, I thought of making a strong character who likes Conan (Shinichi) appear. Then I planned to make her Akai's little sister. As for Shukichi, he is initially portrayed as Akai's younger brother and later appears as Yumi's ex-lover. I think it's better if Yumi's lover is a strong man. When I draw, I think when a guy is clumsy, but he's competent that's pretty good.

Gosho made Masumi's character as Shuichi's sister just to make a love rival for Ran, then he made Shukichi just to make a love story with Yumi. I don't understand what the author was thinking. He really likes making long love stories in his comics, even though the CP is clearly already set up from the beginning.

As for the author, did you make Akai family due to the popularity of Shuichi's character?. Although there will be a lot of BUGS. Why did you set Mary's character to be Elena's sister?. Why not set them up as childhood friends?. Does this have anything to do with the drug list?. Is the drug related to genes?. Why did you make Mary drank the same drug as Haibara?. The reason is still unclear.

You don't have to think too much about errors

Mary didn’t know about her sister and her sister’s family. When Mary was still communicating with Elena, Akemi was a kid. How could Mary didn’t know about her niece, and Elena didn’t tell Mary about her daughters. Is the relationship between the two sisters good?

When Mary went to Japan, why didn't she try to communicate with Elena and find out how her sister was doing. If Elena didn't communicate with Mary it might be because she was being watched by the organization, while Mary was not watching by the organization at that time.

Ayumi who is just an elementary student can see Haibara's resemblance to Masumi. On the other hand, Shuichi has high IQ can't see the resemblance of his mother to Haibara. Shuichi, are you too mesmerized by your loli?.

Vermouth who already knew there were two survivors of the APTX drug, she still drank it to Mary. If Vermouth wanted Mary dead, why didn’t she just shoot her?. There are two bodyguards beside Vermouth. Isn't she afraid that the effects of the drug will be known by the others?.

The organization already knows Tsutomu Akai. Then, before entering the organization Shuichi used his real name, but the organization just chased him after his identity was exposed when he infiltrated into the organization. Shouldn't the organization chased him before he sneaked into the organization. As Mary said, they went to Japan to avoid being chased, Mary and the others changed their names, but Shuichi didn't.

Kohji Haneda was killed by the organization, then the Haneda family adopted Shukichi as their son. Why didn't the organization find out about him, and Shukichi was still able to appear on TV without any worries.

Tsutomu disappeared to keep his family safe, and told them to go to Japan, but Vermouth knew Masumi's identity and didn't kill her.

It's been 17 years since Tsutomu disappeared.  Why didn’t Tsutomu, who was an MI6 agent tried to contact his family by using disguised, change his name or use a fake number so as not to be tracked or asked his colleagues for help if he was being targeted?.

Etc.

[ano-kata]

Now that I’m all over Haneda Kohji, I can’t stop thinking about the friendship between the Akais and the Hanedas. And Kohji being an older brother figure for Shuichi and Shukichi. I like the idea of Kohji teasing Shuichi for how stoic he’s for a kid, and developing a special bond with Shukichi over Shogi. 

And Tsutomou being Kohji’s cool relatively young uncle, who’s easier to talk to than his older father, when it comes to certain topics.

So in other words, my love for the Akai Family is now being extended to the Hanedas. 

[hnnyoongs]

akai shuichi headcanons

shuichi wears a beanie all the time because he's self conscious about hir hairline .... and I mean who can blame him? id be too

shuichi saw gin when he was visiting Japan in the 10 years ago flashback and was like ooh long hair is cool AND it'll piss ka-san off flash forward 5 years later when shuichi infiltrates the BO and is like fUck cool long hair dude is a psycho

shuichi cut his hair off when he heard akemi was killed by gin he kinda went into the whole mental breakdown mode and was like fuck this shit because he started growing his hair out cuz of gin and also akemi really liked his long hair

shuichi used to be a band kid when he lived in England and wanted to pursue a career in music (much to the chagrin of Mary) but after tsutomu disappeared he was like fuck that and stopped playing until he entered the BO

shuichi has a really bad memory about things that dont have to do anything with his job kinda like BBC's Sherlock but not as bad

shuichi used to find dead bodies when he was a kid just like shinichi but it wasn't as often maybe like a dead body once a year or something

shuichi named himself dai because that's what Mary actually wanted to name him when she was giving birth she was screaming die die die and tsutomu wasn't there yet so she was like aight die sounds like the japanese name dai the only reason shuichi wasn't named that was that tsutomu burst in and was like FUCK NO

shuichi was picked on when training for the FBI since compared to 6 foot jock white men shuichi was a 5 foot 7 asian with long hair and dressed like a teenage girl who frequented Starbucks in the toxic environment of the FBI for anyone who doesnt fit the mold shuichi had it cut out for him

shuichi showed signs of multiple mental illnesses but they were all difficult to pin down so he was never diagnosed with anything since he refused to talk at the FBI mandated therapy sessions

shuichi's type is someone who is kind but could wield a gun

he used to dislike kids but being around them as okiya has made SOME kids special in his heart

before tsutomu's disspeareance he taught shuichi how to hunt with a shotgun

shuichi lived off of sports drinks and bars whenever he was single since he couldn't rely on take out due to it being unhealthy which wouldn't help his FBI styled life

shuichi taught akemi simple self defense techniques but refuses to teach her how to shoot a gun saying he didn't want her hands to get dirty

shuichi and shukichi blackmail each other for favors by using the "ill tell ka-san you did that one thing that you blamed dad for when we were kids if u dont help me out"

scotch once told him that bourbon's type was a white milf (in reference to Elena who was white and was a mother) so shuichi was scared as fuck when rei met Mary's adult self for the first time

shuichi hates being compared to his mother but the truth is they're the most similar and they both started mimicking tsutomu after his disappearance

the only thing shuichi knew how to cook before meeting yukiko was plain white rice as that was the only thing tsutomu was able to teach him

shuichi mimics an American accent while talking in America or talking in English unless he's talking to his family or he's mentally shook up and his British accent slips out

he thinks in British accented English as well (idc if the animanga shows him thinking in japanese it makes no sense that western raised people like Jodie and camel think in japanese) but he does use some japanese like ka-san and when he's trying to get deep into his okiya persona

he tries very hard to keep the polite speech patterns of okiya Subaru since as akai shuichi he's very .. rude

shuichi's sniper skills were so good the fbi was willing to overlook his disrespect of authority and his tendency to do everything by himself without consulting everyone

shuichi slips into a British accent around James if he's feeling really comfortable

he felt bad about using shiho since she was only a year older than masumi and she hadn't done anything wrong so he vowed to get her and akemi out of the BO

he had a plan to get akemi and shiho out by convincing the higher ups to grant them immunity if they testified but akemi's death derailed the entire thing

he hates to admit it but his family is the most important thing to him he may not contact them that often but he's going to such lengths to bring his father back because he cares for his family so much

shuichi didnt really know what he wanted to do with his life once he took down his father's pursuers but after akemi and scotch he decided that if he solved his father's disappearance first he'd hunt down the BO next tho once learning that Haneda Koji’s death had something to do with the BO he's back at the thing where he doesn't know what to do with his life without revenge

he promised shukichi that he'd be the one to solve shukichi's death if what happened to Haneda kohji also happens to shukichi

he isn't a fan of dates in amusement parks but if it makes his partner happy and smile he'll have fun

dating Jodie was a quiet thing most likely from an attachment maybe due to a bad case or a loss of a mutual friend depending on the agency they might have been legally allowed to date each other but it is usually looked down upon I dont think they went out together often probably spending time together at home ... doing stuff

he identifies as bisexual it was normal to him in childhood since both Mary and tsutomu talked about their past relationships to their children he never told anyone due to the fact it would affect his FBI status since it was illegal in America shukichi and Mary know he's bi but shuichi has no idea Mary knows

akemi and shuichi would take strolls in parks go shopping and go to cafes

he's very self conscious about his height and whenever he goes to Japan it makes him feel good about himself since he's relatively tall there

Mary was the one who drilled japanese into his head not tsutomu

the last time shuichi talked to Mary was when he called her up to tell her to take masumi and leave Japan for Britain after masumi cornered him and scotch him and Mary had a whole argument and after that they stopped talking to each other, not that they talked to each other much in the first place

shuichi learned jee kun do by watching training videos from vhs tapes/cds/YouTube depending on when you consider detco taking place I personally believe conan shrinks in 2018 meaning that tsutomu disappeared in 2001 and shuichi used a mixture of tapes and cds to learn

shuichi can read people really well but has a hard time manipulating people by being nice he can use people by being a jackass very well but trying to be a normal person is hard for him

Yukiko and yusaku remind shuichi of his parents before tsutomu disappeared but like more upbeat

shuichi dislikes full body hugs

akemi and shiho were both anime and romance drama fans so he knows random things about the shows and uses that info to connect with the DB and especially haibara

he considered himself British first and foremost but when asked about whether he considers himself white or asian he'll always go with asian

he started smoking soon after his father disappeared since his father used to smoke and he needed to cope but didn't wanna fall into drugs like cocaine

smoking is heavily looked down upon in America and is seen as unprofessional which helped shuichi go undercover a bunch due to him being a heavy smoker

akemi would make him stop smoking around her and shiho saying that second hand smoking was dangerous and that shuichi who was smoking constantly was going to get lung cancer but he would tell her that he just couldn't stop smoking he did stop smoking around shiho and akemi tho going outside to do it instead

as okiya it makes him go wild because he desperately needs to smoke to cope but okiya cant smoke it doesnt fit his image so he smokes a shit ton at night during his nightly drives

shuichi forced himself not to smoke during his time visiting Japan when he met masumi because he knew Mary would get even more upset with him

shuichi was terrible driving American styled cars and he got so upset that he perfected his drive-in techiuque over the years just to spite the instructor that said he was barely passing

he likes to go on late night drives and speed on the high way because he's a thrill seeking idiot

he has no social media but he created on as okiya Subaru to keep an eye on haibara's higo stan account

he takes offense to the idea that he's stalking haibara he's just p r o t e c t i n g her

he wants shiho to be happy more than anything so he's an avid coai shipper and is exhausted in Conan's obliviousness

shuichi didnt tell shukichi he wasn't actually dead shukichi just walked up to okiya Subaru one day and was like shuuichi-ni-san right? shuichi has long stopped questioning shukichi's weird ways of knowing shit he shouldn't know

shuichi is a sherlockian but he's not like shinichi or hakuba in that he does not hate BBC's Sherlock and actually enjoys it a bit

one upside to shuichi living in America is that he gets to hoard guns because he's obsessed with them he thinks they're really cool it's like conan with Sherlock he starts yapping his mouth of about them

bourbon once dangled a gun on in front of a sleeping shuichi cuz he didnt believe scotch when he said that rye was obsessed with guns and started saying incorrect shit about the type of gun he was holding and shuichi just shot up and started berating him

shuichi hates that chianti is a killer because she's the only person who's as much as a gun fanatic as he is

he tends to steal Jodie's car a lot

he likes fucking with peoples heads it's very fun to him to watch them get all worked up

shuichi hasn't mourned his father yet because he doesnt believe his father’s dead

deep down he blames his father for his mother going slightly bonkers

he didnt want masumi to be a detective at first but now hes proud of her

he drinks a lot as okiya Subaru since he cant smoke as much

he's willing to go to hell if it means he can rip gin from limp to limp

he really hates gin yall I dont think I can convey how much he hates gin

[pinktie]

Haneda Shuukichi having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is just a self-indulgent headcanon on my part. Yumi describes him as a bit scatterbrained/air-headed, especially when something goes wrong (he tends to spiral quickly and become desperate for help) unless it’s an actual emergency. He miscommunicates his good intentions to that one opponent he beat who had a sick wife causing a misunderstanding where the man tried to get revenge, which felt very neurodivergent versus neurotypical to me. Be it during cases during his school years or when he’s helping Conan he pays an unusual amount of attention to his surroundings. He is very indecisive during everyday decisions like picking a t-shirt at the beach shop and doesn’t seem to do much at a high level unless it relates to shougi or his loved ones (though I agree his hair isn’t that messy, it just stuck out to me as it’s definitely styled neater for work and you’d normally expect someone to put effort into their appearance for dates too as Yumi likes fashion) despite clearly being very capable, giving the impression that he’s immature and a bit helpless when it comes to daily life. But his focus during matches is amazing, probably due to hyper-focus. He fits in the shougi world and often comments that’s where he lives, it’s interesting that beyond Yumi and his family his other close relationship is Haneda Kohji who was his shougi friend on the same level of importance as his brother. I interpret him self-sabotaging his relationship with Yumi as due to rejection sensitive dysphoria. He decided he couldn’t marry her until he won all the titles as he knew she saw him as immature but was attracted to that champion sumo-wrestler, so obviously he came up with a strategy to prove himself worthy of her that played to his strengths (putting aside the fact she doesn't care about shougi and doesn’t know that’s his job) and he hid the fact he was going to practise matches as he assumed she’d be jealous about him spending time with other women (because dating has weird social rules, never mind that Yumi spends time with men and he’s fine with it) instead of with her so created a bigger problem by hiding it. Hiding the marriage registration form in an envelope she was forbidden to open and not wanting her to see it, came across like he didn’t want to fail in her eyes so hid that he was trying at all. He at times seems to be impulsive with poor emotional regulation and I like to imagine the reason Kohji’s motto of seeing his plans through and properly finishing what he decided to do spoke to him as lots of people with ADHD struggle to finish things due to procrastination and mental walls of negative emotions. 

Ooh, cool!

[lesbianhidemi]

I want to ask you about the time when Haibara started developing Apotoxin. As far as I know, Haibara said that she used the remaining data of her parents researches to make apotoxin (since we all know that most of research data were burned during that fire accident which killed her parents)... didn't the remaining data include some informations about her parents' lethal drug which killed Haneda Kohji and other victims?? In other words, hadn't Shiho been aware of the lethal effect of APTX4869 when she started developing it based on that data?? And given the list of victims who were forced to take apotoxin which was created by her parents, didn't she even think that BO may use APTX4869 she developed on human beings for killing w/o any trace despite being incomplete and still in investigational state??!! If she was aware of all that stuff, doesn't that mean she's a criminal like them ??!!

she's forced to make them. during that time, the organization holds her and her sister's lives, and if she doesn't obey what they want, they would surely kill the both of them.

[placebogirl7]

Are Kuroda and Tsutomu the same person?

This is actually a very common theory in DC fandom, so I don't have invented nothing new but...after reading Gosho's answers to some questions in the SDB Justice Plus I started to believe more in this theory (I state that I hoped until the very last time that Kuroda was one of the bad guys aka RUM, but my hopes have been destroyed).

1) Q70: In cases where the Nagano province police appear, the "red" is very often involved ... A: N-No... It's just a coincidence...

I guess it's not necessary to specify it but "red" in Japanese is "akai" and Gosho's answer with all those ellipsis is suspicious. He gave me the impression to not want to tell the truth but actually the questioner was right

2) Q10: Hyoe Kuroda is an enemy, right? An enemy of the bad guys, I mean! A: Yes...

So now we have the absolute confirmation that Kuroda is one of the good guys (and Tsutomu is definitely a good one).

3) Q12: Chief Kuroda went camping alone, yet he had a lot of tools... Does he has an outdoor hobby? How do he spend your vacation days? A: Contrary to what one might think, he may like things like fishing! Seems like a guy who doesn't mind waiting long.

The last quote applies very well to Tsutomu, who is waiting since 17 years to bring the BO down, far away from his family. Patience is a feature that also Shuichi has and from what we know (thanks to Mary), Shuichi is very similar to his dad when it comes to investigate mysteries.

All these things together with the fact that he seems to know well Rumi (who is almost confirmed to be Asaka and so to have a connection with Kohji Haneda) and that Yui said his aspect was completelydifferent before the accident who put him in a coma (his hair was black) are really making me think that this theory is actually right.