DCUniverseAficionado

No problem—and that's not the only theory that's still plausible... with Gosho putting so much on hold, there's a bunch! Indeed.

Firstly, I am a native English speaker. Second, when I think DC and wizard/magician, I think Kaitou Kid or Akako, not Shinichi. When I think of incredible skill, I think prodigy or genius—I've heard of the "wiz/wizard" term, certainly, but it's not something that I've personally used (not in recent memory, at least). Nevertheless, your point is well taken—Shinichi doesn't think himself a wizard/magician, but the way he reveals things likely made others (especially kids, like Masumi once was, when they met) think he had a magical quality to him. You may be a wiz in such things , but me? I'm not really concerned about concrete theories—not that I don't like to think of them or read yours or the theories of others—I'm just putting my thoughts and ideas out there. At least right now, I'm a stream of consciousness kind of guy—I know that's not coherent, but with as little info about the whole Akai family and their likely interactions with Shinichi and Ran in the past as ther is, all we can do right now is string together those scraps to try and make sense of things. I know that the Shinichi/Conan is the "wizard/magician" theory is one of the most sure theories we have, right now, given what you've mentioned, but I just don't buy it (not too logical of a statement to make, for sure)—the seeming arrival of MG at Masumi's apartment at the time of the middle brother's text with the PS and the possibility of MG or Shiho/Ai being who the middle brother is referring to has me in doubt of the seemingly obvious assertion that Shinichi/Conan is the "wizard/magician." I may end up being wrong, but that's the way things go, sometimes.

Believe me, I've seen those hints—but the fact that Shinichi reveals tricks/exposes their nature doesn't make him a wizard/magician—a wizard doesn't even need tricks, if we go by Akako, as she literally does what shouldn't be possible with no tricks involved, or truth to be exposed, while magicians utilize those tricks, like Kaitou Kid. Unless this is an ironic name for Shinichi/Conan, I don't think she's referring to him. But her mother would have to have a problem for Shinichi/Conan to solve—if she didn't, then there'd be no reason to ask for his help. I make this assumption because there is so little information, and because I'm not too concerned about being wrong. If it turns out Shinichi/Conan is the wizard, and Masumi came to Japan because she thought he could help MG, fine—I'd be wrong, and that's that. Okay, this was an oversight on my part. Still, there's Masumi's paraphrase in the Red Woman case of what Shinichi/Conan said in the Silver Witch case—this is what Shinichi likely said to Masumi following her asking him if he was a wizard/magician. Unless this response made Masumi believe even more that he was a "wizard/magician," it would likely not lead to such a nickname. I'm not sure about Masumi looking at Shinichi/Conan while thinking the answer to the middle brother's PS is proof that he's the "magician/wizard." I still think it could be Shiho/Ai or MG. Masumi didn't really meet Shiho/Ai—their only interaction is during Mystery Train, hence the "kinda" response. We don't know if MG was in Japan when she was assumedly shrunk, and Masumi then came over, or if it happened in America, and they came over together. Did MG move in with Masumi at some point after Mystery Train (818–824) after staying with the middle brother, if Masumi had to come to Japan from America, on her own? The picture of Shinichi/Conan Masumi takes in File 856 seems to tie to the picture she takes of herself and MG and shows to him in File 875, and the middle brother's text with the PS came in File 861. Could it be that MG had been staying with the middle brother until just before that point, and the text was asking if their mother had made it safely to her place? You'd think that if MG had been staying with Masumi from the time she arrived in Japan (just before the events of File 768), she would've found out about Shinichi/Conan sooner and thought of seeing if he was "worth their time" earlier.

I was just making a general statement—it wasn't meant to be a response. MG's first appearance was throughout Files 875–878 (Red Woman case — Picture on Masumi's phone; confirmed to be living with Masumi and to not trust Shinichi/Conan yet in the Romance Novelist Murder case). She told Masumi in File 878 to tell him if he got curious about her, to say that she was "your..." (Manga translation) or "his..." (Crunchyroll translation) little sister from outside the domain. She has no problem with him knowing that much. It's been 55 Files since her intro, and nearly two years. With Gosho now back on his usual pace, I'd say we have from a few cases from now (earliest probable) to 2020 (latest probable), with a middle range of 2017. My hope is before 2018-2020, but the Bourbon arc showed that Gosho can go 4 and 1/2 to 7 years until answering questions central to the arc.

But what was Shinichi's response to Masumi calling him a "wizard/magician?" There's Masumi's "I really am a bad girl" thought in File 814... maybe it's related to Shinichi's response to her calling him a "wizard/magician," he could've said what he later said in the Silver Witch case, hence why Masumi says it in the Red Woman case—she remembers it well. Yeah, it is an important point—it seems like its taken for granted that Shinichi/Conan is the "wizard/magician," even when Masumi's reason for coming to Japan must have to do with MG... she said that she'd come to Japan to meet the "wizard/magician..." which makes MG the "wizard/magician," right? Then there's the middle brother's use of the name—Masumi didn't know that he'd met Shinichi/Conan before... how could they have an agreed nickname for him, then?

I'm not so sure that "the wizard/magician" is Shinichi/Conan. Isn't he the one who always says things about magic not existing, and exposing the secrets behind magic tricks? Is there some meaning about them naming Shinichi/Conan "the wizard/magician?"

As Conan, Shinichi looks more like his six/seven-year-old self than like his four-year-old self—that's why I think that's his age. We haven't seen his 8-12 year old self, though, so... But he can't be a one-year-old... unless you're going by Gosho's ridiculous portrayals of Shinichi's/Conan's height in the early Files. File 846, Page 16: Shinichi/Conan: "You and I have met somewhere before, am I right?" Masumi: "Beats me... what do you think?" Shinichi/Conan: "Ehh?!" Masumi (Thinking): "My bad... but I can't tell you that yet... not until the time comes." It's been 84 Files since she said this... it's clear that the time hasn't yet arrived. As for what she's waiting for—what will make "the time" come? Something to do with MG and/or the middle brother, and even Shuichi/Subaru, perhaps?

Because we were talking about File 800. You then brought in the Mystery Train "Okiya BS hacking powers" example to explain that it's possible that Shuichi/Subaru was merely listening in to someone else's—Bourbon's—phone call, and not receiving a call himself. I'll say it again:

We know so little about APTX—who knows the range of effects it can bring about, in terms of de-aging, and how relative it can be, with each person... and who knows if MG even ingested it? Maybe it's Silver Bullet? We still need more info—we need a meeting between Shinichi/Conan and MG.

Shuichi/Subaru saw Bourbon/Scar Akai, but Bourbon/Scar Akai didn't see Shuichi/Subaru. In Detectives' Nocturne, they actually saw each other. That's why I say File 800 is their first interaction. And this means he conceivably could hack Bourbon's phone, I take it? My point: That's why I don't think he simply listened to the conversation Bourbon and Vermouth had via hacking. You're right, though—until we get more info, this will remain an area of speculation.

Indeed. She was added because there was a female detective in the Detective Koshien Case (Files 562–566) who proved to be quiet popular, and Gosho's editors eventually had him put in a female detective, because of that character's popularity. That's guaranteed. 2020 is probably the earliest possible end year for Detective Conan, in terms of the manga. Hopefully, FBI and BO, featuring all the BO members, and, yes—the mystery behind Scotch needs to be revealed. Perhaps through a flashback case? By troll, you mean like Movie 13? Fact is, Movie 18 is the only DC movie that spoiled the manga plot—no prior movie did that. It may be the 20th anniversary next year, but movies are always non-canon. Dimensional Sniper was a special case brought about by the fact that it came out just after the release of File 894, the start of Scarlet Showdown. Hopefully, we'll see something along the lines of Movie 5, but on a much bigger scale—Gosho said it'll involve Shuichi Vs Rei, and Gin will be making an appearance, so I'm certainly stoked. It's confirmed—no break next week!

Except you would've needed a bug (listening device) planted. He was able to listen to Agasa's and Shinichi's/Conan's conversation in File 422 because Jodie had placed bugs in Agasa's house. Considering that File 800 is Shuichi's/Subaru's and Rei's/Tooru's first interaction, it's very unlikely he would've even known where to plant anything, and then there's the fact that Rei/Tooru had a device that finds bugs.

True. But if we go by anime (shaky as all heck, I know), in Episode 674, we clearly hear buzzing from inside Shuichi's/Subaru's car—it wasn't Rei's/Tooru's phone. Sounds like a call to me, rather than a hack... heck, it hasn't even been explained how he does it, but I'd guess he'd need more than an earpiece to do it—not a computer or phone, but an earpiece... say what you will, but unless Gosho strongly implies, at the very least, that he can use that earpiece as a hacking device, I'm not going to believe that he hacked into Rei's/Tooru's call to Vermouth or Masumi's call to MG or the middle brother. Point is, if Shuichi/Subaru is the middle brother, then contact would begin Post-Mystery Train and before Steamy Relations (Files 825–855). Masumi would not be faking her reaction to Scar Akai/Vermouth in File 822, right? Also, MG would have to be calling her in File 800, if Shuichi/Subaru is the middle brother—we've never seen MG call Masumi directly... just like we've never seen Masumi contact her second brother before Steamy Relations (Files 856–858).

True, but I said "talk," not "text"—I was referring to File 800. Someone called and talked to Masumi, and it couldn't have been Shuichi/Subaru, since he was also receiving a call, at the same, likely from James. Plus, this was pre-Mystery Train, so unless you account for that in your theory about Shuichi/Subaru being the middle brother, the theory doesn't work, since according to your theory, Shuichi/Subaru slipped her a piece of paper after he carried her from Vermouth's room, and only from then on could she contact him. Unless, of course, you plan to adjust your theory, accordingly.

Yes, that's certainly true.

Masumi said she came to Japan to meet the "wizard/magician," and often mentions that word or words like it while around Shinichi/Conan, suggesting he's the "wizard/magician," and that he's the reason she's in Japan. While she, like Shiho/Ai, is in love with Shinichi/Conan, she's not in Japan because of him—it's likely because MG (her mother, in all probability) was shrunk recently. If so, and she says that she came to Japan to meet the "wizard/magician," she can't be referring to Shinichi/Conan. The "wizard/magician" is either referring to MG or Shiho/Ai. As for the middle brother's text, I don't think his response to her asking how he knew Shinichi/Conan was "I know he's Shinichi," or something like that—her expression, upon seeing such a response, would have been surprise, at first... but all she does is smile, blush, and think, "I see... so that's how it is...". If Shukichi is the middle brother, and had been sheltering MG before she moved in with Masumi at some point before File 856—if MG had been with Masumi since before File 768, you'd think she would've found out about Shinichi/Conan earlier and, thus, wanted to meet with him, earlier—there's no reason to think he'd discount the possibility of someone shrinking, especially if he remembered Shinichi's young face. Maybe the reason he looked so shocked in File 849 at Shinichi/Conan citing what he said in File 848—and, also, figuring out the case, as he had—was because it made the possibility that Conan was a shrunken Shinichi all the more likely. Perhaps the "A well-prepared move... that's what this is..." line slipped out of Shukichi, or he said it to see if Shinichi/Conan could solve the case, as he had—we don't see his reaction to seeing Shinichi/Conan, after all—or maybe it was both. Heck, MG could've been in his suite during that case, for all we know... I think that at some point between Mystery Train (Files 818–824) and Steamy Relations (Files 856–858), MG moved in with Masumi. We've never seen MG talk to Masumi via phone, so she was likely talking to her middle brother at the end of File 800 (Online Client/Detectives' Nocturne). He could've been giving her an update on MG's condition, since she seems to be in perpetual cold-mode (cold as in sick, not ice, or something like it). Speaking of that case, along with File 777 (Target on Tape), it really seems that she's alone in that apartment—there doesn't really seem to be a place where MG could've been, at the time (you could say bathroom and I'd have to say it can't be proven, either way, though).

But who's to say MG wasn't with Shukichi before File 856? You'd think, if she'd been with Masumi the whole time, she would've found out about Shinichi/Conan earlier and, thus, wanted to meet him, earlier. This could also explain why he wouldn't be surprised that Shinichi had de-aged.

Yeah, I agree on both points. Masumi's reason for coming to Japan is likely what happened to MG. Do you think MG was always with Masumi, or only started living with her at some point after Mystery Train (Files 818–824)? I think there was more to Masumi taking a picture of Shinichi/Conan in File 856 than was apparent, at the time—could MG have shown up just before that?

Problem is, there, that the accident was right after Shiho was born—18 years ago. Masumi was born 16-17 years ago. Unless the Silver Bullet had a delayed reaction (which could be possible), there's no way Masumi could've been conceived, let alone born. I suppose with Ran's memory, you could argue she's conflating things, but MG has different skin color, hair color, voice, perhaps even age. Ran can remember a younger Masumi's voice and part of what she was wearing and looked like—it's not like she's conflated anything in her other flashbacks, even when she was a four-year-old. MG's age issues probably make it harder for her to remember her, if she was there—only the flashback can answer the question of how old was MG when Shinichi and Ran met Masumi. Once this becomes clear, so will the notion of when the de-aging happened. 7 Mary jokes—not bad.

Fact is, we just don't have enough info—which is why this theory is as plausible as others. I don't think Vermouth is Rum, but, again... too little info.

How do you figure that? Even during the middle brother's introduction, Shinichi/Conan didn't talk or think about the middle brother—he's been far more concerned about MG. Whatever he thinks about the middle brother, we don't know—he's never addressed the subject. Shukichi could be a red herring, you know? I'd rather he not be, but it's certainly a possibility.

Given that Shukichi typically appears once every year to every year and a half, we're probably going to have to wait until late 2016 or even 2017 for him to appear again, unless Gosho breaks the pattern, which he hopefully will. I was hoping for something more than hints—they were stronger than the one at the end of the Shogi case—but that's all we're getting, for now, apparently. Still, the only way Shukichi isn't the middle brother is if Masumi was lying about having a second brother (the why of that would have to be explained, as well), meaning that she was in contact with Shuichi/Subaru, or if Gosho introduces a Shukichi clone—these two options are the only way to get around Masumi's description of her middle brother to Yumi in File 928.

It took seven years for Subaru to be revealed as Shuichi—I think that's Gosho's limit for putting the answers to questions on hold. It's a 21-year-old plot—of course it's slow. No one wants that, but that's what Gosho's doing. He's choosing to let the middle brother and MG questions remain unanswered. Given that Rum is the Boss' #2, we're getting close to the top, in terms of BO members—Gosho could introduce more high ranking members, but the fact that we're in an arc about the second-in-command of the BO means we may finally get some major developments, or, at least, bring us closer to the end. I'm hoping it will—really, that's all we can do. We have moved on from Bourbon to Rum—we just have so little info... it was like this when the Bourbon arc started, and speculation abounded about who Bourbon was.

Since Shuichi's in the FBI, connections to it must supercede ones to MI6, else Shuichi would be in MI6. Really looking like MG's name is Mary, with that name embroidered on Masumi's handkerchief... else, Masumi is a fake name and Mary is her real name. Shinichi/Conan knows the name, though.