DCUniverseAficionado

Apologies for the double post. 1,071 spoiler pics are now out: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7307450317 Case will conclude in 1,072.

Here's Gosho's confirmation about Rum's identity in a Da Vinci interview: And also:

RULES 1. Please use spoiler boxes until a full English translation is available. 2. NO DIRECT LINK to any Japanese scans (RAWs) or English scans (Japanese spoiler images are allowed as long as the amount and quality of which are very far away from a full scan). HOW TO USE A SPOILER BOX? Just simply type the following: [spoiler]Text you want to write[/spoiler] Here's the preview for the case, courtesy of Night Baron: Here are 1,070 spoiler pics: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7295024982 And here are the translations: https://imgur.com/a/BfOjoM9

1,069 spoiler pics now out: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7219409453 And a text summary, translation courtesy of Kemo:

1,068 spoiler pics now out: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7210323980?pn=1 And a text summary, translation courtesy of Kemo: No break next week—we can expect 1,069 spoilers around February 5th.

RULES 1. Please use spoiler boxes until a full English translation is available. 2. NO DIRECT LINK to any Japanese scans (RAWs) or English scans (Japanese spoiler images are allowed as long as the amount and quality of which are very far away from a full scan). HOW TO USE A SPOILER BOX? Just simply type the following: [spoiler]Text you want to write[/spoiler] Here's the preview for the case, courtesy of BK 201, and translation courtesy of Mera: Spoiler pics for 1,067 have come out: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7202027874 And here are translations of those spoiler pics, courtesy of Holmes: Here are also some additional spoiler pics that haven't been translated yet: https://imgur.com/a/aUGsgS7 And a summary of 1,067, as well, translation courtesy of Kemo: There's no break next week—we can expect 1,068 spoilers around January 29th.

And then within 10 days of January 27th, we can expect an English translation of the full file.

Well, that would certainly tie into BO origins (especially if Renya Karasuma is the current Vermouth's father). The culprit of the Mermaid case had been pretending to be an old woman, just as her mother had. Goshō could go for a straight parallel and have the current Vermouth's mother have undertaken such duplicity when she was Vermouth, herself. I suppose a counterpoint to there being a tradition of Vineyards disguising themselves as a single figure would be that the current Vermouth went to Toichi Kuroba to learn about the art of disguise, thus potentially implying she didn't have such high quality SFX/makeup skill beforehand, thus potentially implying the Vineyard family didn't have such high quality SFX/makeup skill beforehand... but as we saw with the Mermaid case, you don't have to be as good as the Kuroba family at it to pull such deception off.

So at just 18, he was the 2nd in command? Does the inherited codename possibility come into play? Does his predecessor have a role to play in all this?

If Muga is Rum, then is he like Vermouth? Does his physical appearance not reflect his true age? Or is he actually in his mid 30s, and was in his late teens at the time of the Kōji case?

Indeed, the exploration... the search of "wherein lies true nirvana"... kudos (*rimshot*) if you know where that line is from. Well, would you look at that... Shūichi Akai –> Shinichi Kudō Bourbon –> Makoto Okuda Subaru Okiya –> The Shirigami Scar Akai –> Shifty Kudō We even have the parallel of Shinichi and Shūichi taking on the identity of "a person who doesn't really exist", and Makoto and Bourbon stealing their identity—as well as the latter two's hatred for the former two over a misunderstanding. The only wrinkle would be that Makoto and his father also took on the identity of the Shiragami—well, Yusaku pretended to be Subaru, so that's the closest we can get to smoothing it over. Which brings me to the point of which cases. Sure, the concept of Muga actually being 35 has a basis, but that case's only connection to Muga is that it's a direct continuation of a doubleheader of cases (909–912, 913–917/808–809, 810–812) that happened to feature Heiji, (in which, yes, there was a moment where Shinichi/Conan thought of Kansuke as a model for Rum). But are those two connections really enough for you to go, "yep, that's no coincidence"? Because for me, I'd need more to be confident in that as you seem to be. Muga being Rum would resolve the potential problem of a mere butler coming off the way he did during his intro case, and reveal a deeper layer to many things, such as Shinichi/Conan deeming him a "Watson" to someone else's "Holmes." But while there's enough info and implication for me to put Muga at the top of the 4th suspect list, I'd need more info about Chikara—with that new info, I'd think he'd either surpass Muga or be ruled out entirely. Volume 101: File 1,070–File 1,080 Volume 102: File 1,081–File 1,091 Volume 103: File 1,092–File 1,102 Volume 104: File 1,103–File 1,113 Volume 105: File 1,114–File 1,124 My assumption is that there's at least one fairly pertinent development every 25 Files/3 Volumes (and by extension, every 50/75/100 Files). Assuming we're not launching into a big continuation after the 6 File case we just had, it'll probably be around 1,100 that we get another development/revelation.

My inclusion of it is based on the context provided by the remainder of the Bourbon arc after Mystery Train. That aside... it was more of a climax than the case that just wrapped up, yes. In any case, it's clear he wants confusion and uncertainty. If the answer really is as simple as him being an old man, then said confusion and uncertainty was both the end and the means, rather than just the means—it'd be just the means if the old man is but a disguise. In other words, if he's just an old man, then even such boldness as showing himself as he truly appears is a part of his strategy—a strategy that features him boldly showing himself and features him creating a mystique of uncertainty around himself. If not, then the mystique of uncertainty extends to never showing himself as he truly appears unless he's sure there's absolutely no chance he can be identified as the BO's 2nd in command. Taka'aki/Kōmei may be the ace in the hole for Team Shinichi/Conan—the variable Rum might not expect... that moment of feigning ignorance about just who Rei is may have just saved the day. Just like that blogger lied about being 5 years younger than she actually was (918–920/814–815) is actually Goshō telling us there will be someone 5 years older than they claim to be? Since we're on foreshadowing like this... For instance, now that we have the full context of the Vermouth arc, we now know the Mermaid case (279–283/222–224) was foreshadowing that Chris Vineyard and Sharon Vineyard were one in the same. And now we have a culprit who lied about being 5 years younger than they actually are... so therefore a major character in the arc will also claim to be 5 years younger than they actually are? Is it a truly that simple? What makes this true foreshadowing instead of coincidence? And what would be an example of an actual coincidence that could be mistaken as true foreshadowing from this current arc? I always did think the Rum arc would provide quite an opportunity to subvert the Bourbon arc (Agasa's mug trick from the file Rum was first mentioned in being an early potential sign of that)—now that Goshō's revealed that the suspect who shares many similarities with Bourbon is indeed Rum, all before we've gotten into the other suspects and the Kōji case, it seems only natural he would have twists at the ready, twists that would likely involve Rum.

Well, if one deems all three descriptions being fake a negative, then this is a potential fix. Yeah, it's like Black Impact or Mystery Train in that way... sure, there was a confrontation, and we did get new info and confirmations, but this was no Rotten Apple, Clash of Red and Black or Scarlet Showdown—the Kōji case didn't come up at all... and many of the important players of this arc weren't even referenced in passing—the Rum arc equivalent of such arc-climactic cases is still to come. It may be as simple as Rum truly being an old man and counting on assumptions that he'd never show his face to do the work for him... but since the truth of the Kōji case, as well as the truths of Rumi, Hyōe and Tsutomu have all yet to be revealed, it seems unlikely Goshō single out Rum to be the only one without a twist amidst all the revelations and twists that are to come—it seems unlikely he'd play it straight with Rum from now, onwards, and have him being Kanenori as the sole twist. Given the context of this arc, this must be a major operation to flush out the NOCs within the BO. And who knows? We may also get additional revelations about how Hiromitsu's/Scotch's cover as a NOC was blown, and that event may prove to be key information. After all, given how important Hiromitsu/Scotch is to Rei/Bourbon, how his death ultimately drove the events of the Bourbon arc, and how he was referenced in the very file Rum was first mentioned in as one of the three NOCs that drive the BO's internal perception that they have a spy problem (the motivation behind a big event intended to deal with such an infestation), it doesn't seem likely to me the ASACA song case (954–957/866–867) was the last time we'll see him in DC (and that's saying nothing of how Gosho has him on the brain after working on Wild Police Story). Also, Taka'aki/Kōmei has now been brought into the main plot (and bringing Kansuke and Yui with him, by extension), so we'll need to see just how he's going to factor into this arc's endgame. Maybe how Hiromitsu's/Scotch's cover was blown can give us additional details about Rum's identity and/or the Kōji case. Well, we now know that Kanenori/Rum is driven to Iroha Sushi by a chauffeur and bodyguard (of course, we don't know if it's every time, some of the time, or if this was a rare exception to how Kanenori/Rum usually arrived). It'd be quite the dramatic irony for Rum, after serving Momiji, to then lounge and sit back in a fancy car as she would, on his way to another service job, of all things. (btw, you mentioned on DCTP that he could potentially have two phones like the butler culprit from 1,009–1,012/952–954... if Muga was Rum, he'd have three—the black phone with a white square (his phone as Kanenori Wakita), the black phone without a white square (his phone as Muga Iori) and a white phone (the phone he used to call Gin and the other BO members in 1,061–1,066)... for comparison, Rei/Bourbon has only one phone, which he uses for both BO and NPA business—a white phone with a black spade). Muga's debut case (981–983/885–886) served as the perfect chance to survey things, if he is Rum—Momiji won't question why he's hiding his identity, for she sent him there, and she wouldn't want him recognized anymore than he'd want to be recognized... and neither Shinichi/Conan nor Heiji seem to have recognized Momiji's butler to be one in the same as the man with such a lack of presence from the blackout stabbing case at Poirot. Also, Rum appearing as his true self (appearance-wise) around 80 files into his arc would be consistent (and much faster, actually) than Rei appearing as himself around 170 files into the Bourbon arc. In terms of avoiding "the butler did it" cliché, in terms of just how fast the titular BO character would be introduced into the arc, and in terms of getting Shūkichi more involved in the main plot, Chikara would be the better choice—being introduced in the first file and case of the arc and having an established and recurring connection with Shūkichi suits him far better for those two aspects than Muga. Other than those two aspects, though? Muga's in the lead, in my book, in terms of there being a 4th suspect (that scene in 898/783 with Agasa deceiving the DBs by pretending one of those four mugs had different contents than the other 3 when it actually didn't, and then Shūichi/Subaru saying such deception is the basis for any mystery trick... one of the ways to explain it is there being a 4th Rum suspect... though it doesn't fit perfectly with the 4th suspect being disguised as one of the three—a better fit for such would be if the DBs had been presented 4 mugs, clearly observed that 2 of the mugs were different (Rumi and Hyōe), but were then tricked into thinking the remaining 2 mugs were different when they were actually the same (Kanenori and the 4th suspect)). Yeah, and I like how the old man from CoRaB being Rum ties Rum and the Akais further together.

Apologies for the double post. 1,066 spoilers now out—open the spoiler tab at your own risk, major spoilers inbound. Translations courtesy of Mera, Emma NY and Kemo (the latter translated info from Arabic site ConanGate). We can expect 1,067 spoilers around January 15th. UPDATE: 1,066 spoiler pics (again, major spoilers, so don't click the link unless you're prepared): https://imgur.com/a/Q3mf7ba Well...

A new release date has finally been announced—April 16th, 2021! And courtesy of Kemo, here's a message accompanying the announcement from Conan's voice actress, Minami Takayama: "Thank you for your patience! We appreciate it! We are pleased to announce the release of our latest film. For the first time in 24 years, we have postponed the release of the film... and to be honest, it has taken a huge toll on us. However, I was determined to wait for the dangerous wave to pass with those of you who look forward to it every year, so I was able to change my mind. I haven't seen the finished film yet, so I'm hoping to build up my excitement for the release of the film again from here. A year of waiting is a long time, but compared to the time I had to declare my girlfriend with Ran... lol. The Scarlet Bullet RELOAD begins! Takayama Minami"

Well...

Apologies for the double post. Here's a full translation of 1,065 (but be advised—this translation is from Arabic to English, so there may be more errors/mistranslations than there would be in a Japanese to English translation):

1,065 spoiler pics now out: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7115689550?pn=1 Here are text spoilers, courtesy of BK 201, Mera, NightBaron and CG: And here are spoiler pic translations, with imgur link courtesy of Nike1421: https://imgur.com/a/Bpwn4k9

Apologies for the double post. 1,064 spoiler pics are now out: https://imgur.com/a/FjOQNlM And here are text spoilers, courtesy of Mera Sasumi, Holmes, Kemo, Night Baron, Spimer and Nay.

Yeah, in terms of "Rum is someone other than the 3 main suspects", he's still at the top of the list. Kanenori being Rum makes sense, as far as occam's razor explanations go—in such a scenario, Rum would be doing what Bourbon did last arc, in a very simple reuse (becoming Kogorō's apprentice and working right next to the Mōri Detective Agency).

Expectation gets naturally generated by length, so by the time we do reach the end, that's going to be quite a bit of expectation. At the very least, you might be curious about how close (or not) the end of the series gets to meeting the years to decades of expectation... but, to boil it down, are you alright with waiting for an end that likely will disappoint you or underwhelm you? (and the odds of it doing so increasing again and again as more weeks/months/years go by) Was the journey of DC good enough (and/or it's high points, the peak of its quality) to justify waiting for an ending that's below the peak in quality of the series, below the potential of what it can achieve? Indeed, I've been having a good experience with that, as well. And even higher if we're talking about only BO-centric cases. Although, for me, filler would mean a case that I get absolutely nothing out of. I can only speak for myself, but I can't think of a manga case (at least since the File 1,000 case back in late 2017) that led to a reaction of, "well, that was an utter waste of time with no redeeming value(s)", from me. I think those who just aren't as invested in the characters (either as they used to be or at all) have more cause to label more cases as filler, and anticipate the BO moments as that rare consistency to look forward to (though that's for those who think the quality of even those hasn't gone down or hasn't gone down that much). Though that doesn't address those who label the state of affairs as 75% filler despite describing themselves as invested in the characters. Any specifics? For me, Hidemi/Rena/Kir being absent for so long would be one such point.

I'm afraid all I have for you is speculation, so take it as you will (if at all). For the Rum arc to end (relatively) soon—and by that, with this release schedule, it'll be in terms of months at least, certainly not weeks—we would need to be in a Clash of Red and Black situation right now, where even with multiple cases, the main conflict remains the same for each of them... ideally, this would end with the Kudōs, the FBI, the NPA finally unveiling and executing the plan they discussed back in File 1,012/Episode 954, and Rum's identity being revealed. It's a shame, I don't think we're going to be that fortunate in terms of getting there quick—it likely isn't going to take only 2-3 cases after this one for Rum's identity to be revealed and for the Plan/Gambit pileup to come about and then reach a climax. Gosho will likely segment things as he's typically done, taking those 2-3 cases and putting 2-3 cases inbetween them. While this can lead to focus neat details and buildup, it slows things down—those who experience the series after us can just go "binge, binge, binge" and get the full package nice and quick, but for us? That's quite the ask of your fans to wait, and if they don't care for what's being focused on or are feeling the fatigue caused by the combo of length and repetition, you're going to get some bailing out, thus leaving fans like me to give massive caveats for them so they don't waste their time and instead focus on series that don't have these stumbling blocks. If you had to ask me for a year count, I'd say... 1 year minimum, and 3 years maximum, and that's just for the Rum arc to end. If we jump right into the "Boss/Anokata" arc after that, you can have a smidge more of hope than usual. Who knows if he'll stick with this new 7 years per arc thing for it, too? Maybe it'll be shorter, a Clash of Red and Black-like arc unto itself... but in all probability, that's just wishful thinking.

My opinion on the series is nowhere near as harsh as some—after all, I'm still invested in the characters and what's going to happen, even after all this slow pacing. Well, the pacing is self-explanatory. The Bourbon arc took nearly seven years to complete, and it seems the Rum arc is going to beat even it out, in terms of length. Look at Kir—her appearance in this case is her first appearance since August 2009 (File 704). As for the narrative, it suffers due to the pacing—the longer it takes between BO cases, it decreases focus and leaves the readers languishing. What was once a more tight and compact narrative has been diffused and spread out more and more as Shinichi/Conan has found himself facing problems caused by people who should be his allies against the BO (Rei/Bourbon for the Bourbon arc, and Mary for the Rum arc). It leaves fans wondering if Shinichi/Conan and the BO are actually going to face off against each other, and even if there is going to be impact and/or resolution with even these longed-for BO cases. Well, once the series is over, at least we can start giving out series read/watch order guides so newcomers can have a better experience without the years of uncertainty and lag.

The quality, huh? The longer delays between files is better than Goshō making his health worse, but if you've got issues with the quality, I can't help you with that. I wish I could just ask Goshō questions about narrative, pacing, etc., so veteran fans (who don't approve of the direction this series has taken this past decade) could at least have an answer as to why he's executed things like this (that isn't a generic answer like, "he's lazy because success and money", because an answer like that just isn't interesting to me).

Hey, welcome back. Indeed, things haven't changed much.