Chekhov MacGuffin

That's a good point. Perhaps they switched it? I still doubt anything was in it though because Conan would have seen it. It's honestly just Ayumi being cute. Let me reference a movie here. It's possible Ayumi may have been targeted for insurance or as a hostage, but as I said above, I think there is more going on here because it is significant Ayumi is wearing Ai's clothes when she was kidnapped, and the info that will make it clear why the girl on the video was kidnapped hasn't been given yet. I don't think this makes logical sense. Using a movie as a source of information doesn't mean the kidnappers were hired. Rather the kidnappers just got their information about their target off of the movie. She has been investigating Agasa. Back in the elephant-fox-rat case, she knew about Agasa without having been told. She probably came across the video while searching Agasa and noticed the reflection. Her thought process probably went like this, she noticed the camera was unsteady meaning it was filmed by hand, Sera realized this, wondered who was shooting, and then looked for reflections to try to figure it out. As for why she is searching Agasa, it's because Agasa is close to Conan and Agasa has helped out the FBI in a few cases. Most notably he was present for Camel's case, and he also drove Jodie around in FBI vs. Org. Conan also mentioned an ojisan acquaintance (Agasa) in front of the entire assembled FBI when discussing the move Rena plan. (Same scene when Akai grabbed Conan's cellphone)

I think how Haibara or Ayumi smell is completely irrelevant. Peoples' senses of smell are not that acute, no human would identify someone based on smell when other senses are available, and (clean) children don't have body odors because they haven't hit puberty making them olfactorily uninteresting. I think Conan would have noticed something in the vase as well. Assuming the criminals didn't switch the vase, it's possible the real target may have been the rug. Since Conan thinks they willingly wrapped a coffee stained Ayumi up in it, the rug itself probably doesn't have significant monetary value that the criminals know about. It's possible the rug has some other significance though. Perhaps it has hidden bloodstains or the like because it was part of a crime scene and the kidnappers are trying to suppress the evidence? The items may have relatively little relevance and instead something else prompted the kidnappers to come. I have a really strong hunch that the reason why the kidnappers came has something to do with as of yet unmentioned backstory or piece of information where Haibara was involved. Agasa said he got the items many years ago, but he only got them out of storage recently. If the criminals bothered to take Ayumi just because she saw their faces, I don't think Gosho would have specifically written a situation to make sure Ayumi was in the same clothes that Ai was wearing when she was filming. Also, because she is in exact outfit Ai was wearing during the film, I think it is pretty clear that whoever did this meant to take the girl on the film specifically, not Ai generally, if that makes sense. Besides the reasons I pointed out in a previous post that this isn't the Org's work, this is additional evidence that it isn't the Org. The Org which knows Shiho's face better than a reflection from a video wouldn't mistake Haibara for Ayumi, even with wet hair and the same clothes. Color usually is altered in reflections, so chances are that the kidnappers didn't realize the reflected girl had auburn hair while the girl they kidnapped has black hair. Finally, it's hard to tell because he may have dropped the bag in the grocery store, but I just noticed Conan doesn't have the meat he was supposed to get. What was Conan doing then? He could have made an excuse to stop to talk to Okiya, but he was running the opposite direction of the Kudo house. If Conan wasn't the one who told Okiya to follow Haibara, I suppose Okiya could have been watching Agasa's house entrance in order to know when to follow the Detective Boys. If he had been watching a while, it might explain why Haibara went to grab a hat which she normally doesn't do; she felt uneasy from his gaze. She hadn't found out yet that Sera had been lurking outside Okiya's.

Not the Boss list Part 2: Reasons why specific characters may not be the boss People Gosho has said are not the the boss in interviews: Agasa, Kudo Yuusaku, Conan, Ran, Vermouth, Shiratori, Fusae Kinoshita Campbell, James Black, Sonoko, Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko, Samizu Kichiemon, Gin, Kuroba Toichi Eri is "not involved with the BO" This list details evidence and logic about why certain characters would not be the boss of the Black Organization (ano kata) along with the summaries about how good that evidence is. Strong (Very exculpatory) <---> Weak (not very exculpatory) Generally, the boss should not be anyone who has had more than passing contact with Haibara. The boss would recognize her and take action to silence her and those around her because, according to Haibara, the Organization's priorities are to keep secret first then do research. (Manga Volume 18, File 9, pg 7: "The girl made of lies" - "If I reported your condition to the Organization, it's very likely you would have been terminated before I could do something useful.") Pisco, Vermouth, and Akai all identified Haibara as Shiho very quickly. The boss should be able to do so as well if he is familiar with her appearance. James Black - Word of Gosho says NO, formerly Strong - Alibi, failure to act on critical intelligence, contradictory behavior (Jodie Starling's arguments are close to identical) Agasa Hiroshi - Word of Gosho says NO, formerly Medium Strong - Failure to act on critical intelligence, contradictory behavior, endangers self. Gin - Word of Gosho says NO, formerly Medium - Contradictory behavior. Elena Miyano - Medium Weak - Backstory would exclude if true, contradictory behavior. Miyano Atsushi - Weak - Backstory would exclude if true, contradictory behavior. Kisaki Eri - Medium Strong - Gosho interview saying not involved with the BO, Contradictory behavior. Mouri Kogoro - Medium Strong - Failure to act on critical intelligence, contradictory behavior. Kudo Yuusaku - Word of Gosho says NO, formerly Medium Strong - Failure to act on critical intelligence, contradictory behavior. Okino Yoko - Medium Weak - Contradictory behavior. Miyano Akemi - Strong - Requires implausible situation, failure to act on critical intelligence, contradictory behavior. Inspector Momose and Inspector Yuminaga - Medium Weak - Failure to act on critical intelligence (Haibara) Yokomizo Sango and Juugo, and Yamamura Misao - Medium Weak - Failure to act on critical intelligence (Haibara) Karasuwa/Karasuma Renya (the dead crow guy from the gathered detectives vs. Kid case) - Weak - Backstory would exclude if true, contradictory behavior Suzuki Jirokichi - Medium Strong - Contradictory behavior (endangers self) Kaneshiro Genichirou (old man from Night Baron contest) - Weak - Minor contradictory behavior. Fusae out according to this blog: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/forum/topic/1555-translating-interviews/page-8#entry326186 To be added: Any one else suggested in comments

Boss likelihood list Part 1: Info about the Boss This post only superseded by the DCTP version here: http://forums.dctp.ws/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3518#p117007 General info about the boss and speculations Boss’s Personality/Background 1) The syndicate leader uses the song “Seven children/ Seven year old child” to encode his/her email. It is likely the Boss is probably Japanese, grew up in Japan, or had Japanese parents, relatives, or spouse as this children’s song is not well known elsewhere. 2) The operatives dress in black, which Akemi says is supposed to resemble crows. This is probably an expression of the boss’s dress code preferences. The choice to use Nanatsu no Ko as a phone number is probably also a reference to crows as well. 3) Uses alcoholic codenames. 4) The organization uses clever codenames, passwords, etc. based on mysteries and history. If the boss is behind the naming scheme then perhaps the boss has an interest in detectives and mysteries. 5) The org has ties to America although the only overseas components occur before the current storyline. The involvement of the American intelligence agencies is testament to this. Perhaps the boss has spent some time in America as well, although that’s not a requisite. 6) The boss is very careful. In file 704 Vermouth says, “The boss is always careful to the extreme. He’s the type to ruin the plan by overthinking it.” (Endless Youth scan.) Boss’s opinions/relations 1) Vermouth is the boss’s favorite so he/she allows her some independence and overlooks some of her potentially dangerous behavior. It’s confusing why Vermouth is the boss’s favorite when she is the type to actively engage in behavior which is encouraging the syndicate’s downfall - like protecting Conan and allowing Ai to escape. (The boss doesn't know the specifics of course) I have a hard time believing the boss could not see that it is within Vermouth's personality to harbor sympathies or engage in behavior which is counterproductive to the org. Obviously, Vermouth has some characteristic that makes up for her actions. (The failure to age possibility?) At the same time the leader can also command the absolute respect of a wildcard like Gin who vocally despises traitors. Why would Gin follow a person who tolerates rogue agents like Vermouth? All of this makes me wonder what exactly makes Gin so loyal. Whatever the reason, the boss clearly knows people well enough to balance these contradictory personalities and their agendas successfully. 2) The Boss thought Akai Shuuichi could become the org’s silver bullet. (434) In that regard he/she's more like Vermouth than Gin who doesn't believe a single person who can take the syndicate down in one shot exists. Boss’s Location The infamous Nanatsu no ko number might have a Tottori area code; however, the number, including the area code, was altered to prevent prank calls. In the star case in 45-9, Haibara reacts to the word Kurayoshi – a city in Tottori province. (466) Boss’s Age The organization, or at least the main biochemistry project, has been around for over 50 years. (file 189, but see the ep 130/131 for a better translation) If the boss has been the same for those fifty years, assuming the boss started the organization at around 20, that would put him/her at 70+ years of age. As a bottom end estimate, Haibara grew up within the organization and she hasn't mentioned there being a changeover in bosses. (Not that she mentions much of anything regarding the org…) Assuming she remembers things from when she was 6 or 7, that would put the boss at around 30 years at a minimum; however, due to aging wonkiness, the boss may not appear to be as old as he/she is. The grammatical ambiguity of “Nanatsu no ko” allows “child of seven” to be a valid meaning, which would be suitable for a boss stuck in the body of a child due to some aging problem like Vermouth’s. ======================================== Extra Detective Conan book info Aoyama gave an interview where he discussed the boss. Original source found! http://anokata.xxxxxxxx.jp/anokata.html http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/forum/topic/523-boss-of-the-black-organization/page__view__findpost__p__67934 http://forums.dctp.ws/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=463#p6015 1 Aoyama had already put the name of the boss somewhere on the manga in some form or another. The time frame of the initial interview places this as before before File 551. Note osho is specific about the name, not the actual character. 2) Aoyama suggested that the true name of the syndicate, which has also never been revealed, is tied to the identity of its leader. If the Black Organization's real name were revealed, everyone would know who its leader is. This seems like a pretty big hint. I strongly doubt Gosho would do something as direct as naming the organization after the boss's last name. Given the organization’s use of classic literature, especially of the mystery genre, and allegory, the organization’s true name is probably a clever reference or a play on words. Haibara likely knows it because when discussing the Organization with Shinichi, she sometimes says, "the people you call the men in black". (One example occurs when she pretends to shoot Conan in desperate revival. Use the anime translation.) 3)This part was not in the original interview. Aoyama also said that Ai would be really shocked if she discovered who the boss is. “It’s someone that Haibara would never have expected.” Ai is very paranoid and untrusting, so the condition that the identity of the boss would really shock Ai helps narrow down the cases. There are several possibilities. 1) She trusts this person dearly. There’s a pretty limited number of people that fit this criteria and most of them seem to be dead or are protagonists and therefore very unlikely to be the boss. 2) The person wouldn’t fit Ai’s expectations 2.1) The person seems "useless" or of unsuitable personality to actually think of them as being a mastermind behind a large organization. Ai would have had to meet this person personally so that she could gauge their personality and subsequently write them off as unlikely to be anyone of consequence. This person would almost certainly not trigger Ai’s “black org sense.” 2.2) The boss’s front job or status is unexpected like a policeman or a school teacher rather than a scientist, company boss, or political figure. It would have to be an unusually benign front to really shock Ai. This person would probably not trigger Ai’s “black org sense” either. 2.3) The boss is relative of someone close to Ai. This is the “evil relative theory”; one of the protagonist’s relatives is the boss or has a direct connection to the boss. The unlikelihood that the honestly good protagonist has some sort of connection to the head of the evil syndicate makes it shocking. The boss could also literally be Ai’s blood-relative, but considering her family’s underworld connections, I’m not sure that Ai is naïve enough to assume that one of her relatives couldn’t be the boss. 2.4) The person's age is unexpected. Given the aging wonkiness that has gone on there is a possibility that the boss could even be a “child” somehow mucked up by drugs or whatnot which would explain why the boss only uses email to avoid allowing people to hear his/her youthful voice and avoids letting people meet him/her although this behavior can simply be explained as generic cautiousness. In this case, Shiho wouldn’t need to have met the boss before to be surprised. 3) She thinks this person is dead. Her parents would be an example of this, although that means they ordered the death of both of their daughters. Shiho’s mom especially seems unlikely to do so based on the tapes.

That really was wrapped up. "Kuroshiro" means "black white", referring to the colors of a police car, referring to Conan per the car code the kid uses. Also, in the diary, the child scratched out "kuroshiro" (you can see all four katakana although Mitsuhiko only says the first three) and wrote Edogawa over top, so it is obvious "kuroshiro" meant Conan. It definitely couldn't have said "Kurayoshi", the erased kana didn't match.

She may have overheard Vermouth's conversation with Gin since they were right next to each other.

I interpreted her glance as an "Hello, new investigation target, I am going to drag you out into the light, and you can't run or hide from me" look. It's possible she thinks this tenant of Shinichi's might be Akai whom Shinichi allowed to borrow his house. She has the following connections going Akai <--is close with--> Conan <--is close with--> Shinichi, so maybe she thinks Shinichi was also connected with Akai and his disappearance and the FBI just don't know about it. I don't think he anticipated it, he only just saw the people lurking about. He had a little shock star when he looked over his shoulder, meaning he didn't realize there were people there. So far there isn't any reason to suspect Sera and the shadowpeople are related. Maybe he is more on edge now that Sera is around and poking into things that shouldn't be poked, so he has decided to follow Ai more closely.

That's a dicey idea. Conan almost didn't make it. Akai was the one who bailed Conan and Kogoro out. Why couldn't the boss just not give assassination approval and ask for spies to verify Kogoro's involvement instead? Also what if Ran was home at the time? Gin would have ordered her killed as well. Eri didn't know where Ran was and Eri doesn't seem anywhere close to the type to order Kogoro and Ran killed anyway.I wonder if I should go through every person in the series commonly claimed to be the boss and give reasons why that person couldn't be the boss. It would give me something new to do as I have already beat the Akai/Bourbon/Subaru/Scar Akai issue to death.

Well, I doubt the criminals were after the rug because they wrapped up a coffee stained Ayumi in it. Also, since it's pretty clear who slapped Genta, I took that question down and will replace it with a better question when I think of one. Unofficial question 2: Who slapped Genta? Haibara (7 votes [63.64%]) Ayumi (3 votes [27.27%]) He slapped himself (1 votes [9.09%]) There is a garrote hidden in the scarf.Also the poll has been changed temporarily. Even as Akai he wasn't one for showing much neck. Honestly I wonder if he has some scar or mark there. Maybe burns?

Why does Agasa make so much curry? That seriously has to be a 10 gallon pot.

Put unofficial poll up to pass the time. Expect these questions to change pending an English translation / more chapters. Poll results so far for removed questions Unofficial question 2: Who slapped Genta? Haibara (7 votes [63.64%]) Ayumi (3 votes [27.27%]) He slapped himself (1 votes [9.09%]) Magicbulletgirl special: Okiya's outfit.... It's OK. (6) I rather like it. (3) Meh. :| (2) He should borrow Ai's clothes. (1) Not a fan. (0) Fashion disaster, should be burned. D: (0)

Spoilers until translation There is a lot of plot in a row going on here. I don't mind, but it would have been nice to space it out a little over the past 50 files or so to break the plotless monotony. Anyway, the Okiya and Sera interaction went pretty much as predicted: Okiya kept his head down. He is also wearing different clothes for once. When Sera looked at Shinichi's house, her expression indicated that she had something in mind. If anyone can follow Chinese, is it because she was talking about Shinichi, she knew/had deduced someone was living in the house but not necessarily who, or knew Okiya was specifically living in it? Okiya is sticking a lot closer to Haibara than expected this time around, enough so she is wearing a hat and seemingly deliberately not looking at him. I guess he is protection while they out and about. Is it to head off Sera, avoid her by going out, or does he think there is something else going on? I doubt the Org is looking at people's auction photos for reflections of Shiho. Those shadowpeople are probably not the Org if only for the reason their car isn't cool enough and isn't left hand drive. Also Agasa was left alive which pretty much rules out most of the BO. Gin, Vodka, Chianti, and Korn would have killed Agasa, Vermouth promised not to go after Shiho any more, Kir is a spy and thus would avoid helping the BO whenever possible. There is also more than one shadowperson; if it were Bourbon, I would imagine he would be alone because that is what has been said about his personality type. My conclusion here is that we have two criminals of the week, or else someone not malevolent. I suppose it's possible they could be someone following Sera? My first guess is criminals of the week. Besides DC has like half a zillion moments where it COULD be the Black Organization!!!! .. wait false alarm. Just a generic criminal of the month. It's all cool. Resume your business. So I wonder who or why these people bothered to come to Agasa's house in the first place? The vase wasn't taken apparently. My guess without any text is it is related to Agasa's vase / auction. And where was Sera during this ordeal? I'm pretty sure she is Akai's sister and thus a good guy, so there isn't any reason for her to help the shadowpeople assuming the shadowpeople are bad, especially not after blatantly showing her face to people in front of the house someone got kidnapped at.

There was a poll on DCTP about this. Roughly 1/3 liked both pairings, 1/3 liked one and didn't care about the other, and 1/3 disliked the opposing one.

Legally though, it's their characters and their settings, even if you drew them. Copyright means the artists are granted the right to control works containing their characters/settings/story/whatever. It's NOT your own work unless you designed everything from scratch or used copyright-expired characters/settings/story (Sherlock Holmes in Britain for instance). The thing about fanart and fanfiction is that it is generally considered free advertising and it is too hard to go after everyone who makes them, so artists just let it slide because it is good for them and their fans. As I explained in an earlier post, fanworks are somewhat murky legally, especially in the US where "fair use" laws exist. Bottom line, keep making fanworks. No one will care unless you start selling on a mass scale.

I don't think it's been mentioned explicitly yet. The Conan Drill doesn't have it.

He did actually: "Yeah, I just got the boss's approval. We're changing targets. .... The place is on Beika City's 5-cho-me ... at the Mouri Detective agency." (chap 503)

Akai in disguise might be able to make it through the lower levels, but do you think that he could fool Gin (and Vermouth too) who seems to personally know Bourbon? Gin in particular seems to be good at picking out people in disguises. If Okiya reminds Ran, who only met Akai three times, of someone familiar, isn't it possible he may give people in the BO the same feeling? They might notice he was left handed and put two and two together. I just don't think the executive agents are dumb enough to fall for Akai in disguise.Also your plan would require Akai to get a codename ridiculously quickly. It would be even more suspicious if some genius guy who hated Akai for some strange reason just happened to appear and then rocketed up the ranks like he knew how to do everything already.

Manga Spoilers (chaps 753-755)

Regarding boss identity ideas, I haven't decided whether it would be awesome or incredibly corny if the boss turned out to look like an elementary school child because he messed himself up with a drug similar to what happened with Vermouth. It might explain the text message only method of communication - who could keep a straight face taking assassination orders from a seven year old?

If Sera was an FBI agent, it would make it easier for her to acquire the knowledge that Akai and Conan were buddies before Akai disappeared. If that case, she is probably a low ranked newbie. I personally don't think she is an FBI agent because she looks and behaves a bit too young. Honestly, whether she is an FBI agent or not isn't that important. Her relationship to Akai matters more. That is what will drive the plot forward.

... No.Agasa is out because it doesn't make sense for him to be the boss for many of the same reasons I listed for James Black. Akemi is out because she is dead. She died in Conan's arms, and I would think Conan would be smart enough to tell if someone was faking it if they were pretending in his arms. Shiho's parents are potential candidates, assuming they aren't dead; however, Shiho's Mom seemed like a nice person based on the tapes and her Org codename; "Angel who fell into hell" (Haibara's japanese translation of "Hell Angel"). Of course you can't rule out a new person entirely. Or a new character.

I have maintained a theory that Akemi and Shiho may only be half sisters, or perhaps they are unrelated and told they were sisters. Shiho and Akemi are different looking and their ages are somewhat distant: 6 or 7 years, which isn't unreasonable, but there is enough space between them to consider the possibility. If one or both of their parents are different it may explain their differing fates within the organization.