Chekhov MacGuffin

My gut instinct is that Rum is Asaka. He's 2/3 match in the image department just with that cruddy photo, long hair yet tough enough to be a bodyguard. The old man bit remains to be seen, but maybe he has an outdated speech style. It's also been 17 years since the incident, so plenty of time for aging/hair color change. No eyes visible is important too. Also we are getting close to the movie - 3/4 chapters to go depending on breaks. If Rum is going to appear in person in the movie, I think we will see a strong hint in the manga first. If the movie wasn't around the corner, I would be a lot more skeptical, but I see this as a last minute handout for the manga readers since the manga is supposed to be readable without seeing this extra stuff.

<guess> Her eyes change color over the course of the movie as she remembers things. </guess> Also, checking the trailer it seems the main events of the Movie take place over a night and single day. The assassinations are probably chronologically the first events that take place. The night before the main events, the spy lady steals data and goes bowling for secret police in her car with the plate numbers 32.60. Amuro chases her while wearing a grey suit and tie. Third wheel Akai shows up during the car chase and eventually the mess leads to a shooting showdown on a bridge where a chain traffic accident has taken place. I guess the lady gets dumped overside here and washes up in Tohto Aquarium land. This is the scene where she stumbles in the alley while all moist-ish into the pretty light. No character has more than two outfits except Amuro and Vermouth. Conans' two are a white jacket with blue fringes and yellow shirt he is seen wearing at night in a car and during the climax of the film where things are blowing up, and a dark suit with red and yellow striped tie he has in daylight hours. Amuro switches out his suit for white jacket and pink shirt during the day of action. He wears this when tied to a pole with Kir in a warehouse. When fighting Akai on the Ferris wheel (yes those are ferris wheel cars in the background), he has a plain white tee. Akai wears the same outfit all the time, because he doesn't mind his own odor and doesn't care about what anyone else thinks apparently. Haibara has a blue collared something and a green button down blouse with ruffles. Vermouth has a periwinkle jacket with no necklace while hunting for the wayward agent, a catsuit when playing with Kir and Amuro, and then a darker purple suit with a necklace while staring at the explosions.

I don't know about that theory, but I think there is more to the Kohji case since both sets of rooms were left in disarray -- something Haibara explicitly notes as not the BO's modus. Kohji even had time to leave a fairly elaborate dying message (breaking the mirror properly) even though APTX 4869 appears to be extraordinarily crippling very quickly. Yet if Rum is number two we should expect him to know how to play by the book right? Or did someone else rip through the rooms after the assassinations? Between this and Kuroda's oddly elaborate backstory and Akai's father's death, it seems there is a lot of set-up going on without answers yet. Rum looks like a lighter-skinned Takuya Mifune. I still think Rum is male per the codename rule. There have been almost no instances of scary shiny glasses since the reveal. Akai opening his eyes is what the glasses were hiding previously. /two cents

多分, その薬は私の父と母が作った薬、私は焼け残った資料をかき集めてその薬を復活させただけだから・・・ 父と母の研究所が火事になって、薬の資料と一緒に２人共焼死したのよ・・・組織の人たちからは不運な事故だったと聞かされてたけど・・・ まぁ、私が本当に作らされていたのは、別の薬なんだけどね・・・ There is some sort of horrible combination of passive tense and te form in that last line, which I presume is meant to be terribly evasive and leave the subject vague.

While on the topic of the accuracy of translations, if anyone has a Japanese transcription of just the top half of page 4 (the 3 panels with haibara talking about her parents death and the drug), I would like to see it. The things said in these panels have significant implications: 1) Whether the Miyanos has more than one project they working on. "An early prototype of a drug made by my parents" = implies multiple projects pretty clearly vs. "an early prototype of the drug made by my parents" = APTX definitely existed back then, one or multiple projects still ambiguous. 2) The other drug from Haibara's thoughts. 3) The identity of the "they", Miyanos or BO, who wanted Haibara to work on that other drug. They lead to very different theoretical outcomes because the two have different motivations, especially if we find out Elena is linked to MI6 via her sister. Also might resolve why the Miyanos left their daughters at the mercy of the Black Organization (They planned a mission for Shiho?)

We did jump the gun with Okiya, confirming him right after the mystery train case because of the heavy preponderance of evidence. I don't think that was an incorrect choice given that nobody was certain that a clash like the Scarlet Showdown would appear in the "near" term later. Shuukichi's identity is not as firm as Okiya's was back then because we are relying very heavily on the postcards for proof. The in-manga evidence for Shuukichi Akai is solid, but not slam dunk. Also, unlike Okiya, there is also no indication that Gosho is pausing the teases about Shuukichi's identity for now. A vote no is not a vote against Shuukichi being the middle bro, it's a vote to wait until a more appropriate time appears, perhaps when the plot takes a more definitive turn.

That's an interesting interpretation! I think it would be unwise to rule out the possibility that her parents may have had plans for Shiho, since they left her alive in the hands of the Organization. I think the theory comes from the fact that Shiho's APTX 4869 was not in existence yet. So it must have been her parents' creation which makes things a bit more muddy. Was there project called APTX 4869 too? The same as or different than Silver Bullet? So Haibara really did memorize that whole list in order.

I checked the untranslated postcards for the names and didn't see any either, so I was pretty suspicious. (But then again my Japanese reading is pretty bad.) The internet is full of sketchy sources, so all the better to be strict on the plot critical pages. Journalist on the plane from Shinichi's first case. It's because his name is Crowe and he is the flunky of a US representative, not because anything substantial. He didn't act intelligently to be honest. Not notable at all. The sketchy reporter everyone should watch is Atsushi Mori from Ski Lodge Murder Case. I swear he walked out of Kindaichi. (I don't really think he is the boss, but he was one of those great characters who was never used to full potential. He would be a great non-BO antagonist if he threatened to publish an article about Shinichi.)

So, something that's been bothering me... not very spoilery so forget the tags, less work when I remove them all later Conan (roughly) says: "Why is Kouji's name two below mine on the list?" Haibara (roughly) says: "The person in charge of the data probably didn't arrange it by chronological order, but possibly by the victims' blood types instead." And I say: "Hold on, Conan. The only place that list has been shown is in Haibara's head. Haibara didn't bring any documents with her when she shrank, the Night Baron virus destroyed one drug data disk, and Haibara hid the second one. You didn't know about Haneda's name being on the list one chapter before which means Haibara hadn't shown you a list copy. So how exactly do you know about the precise order of names on this list?" Did Haibara tell Conan that she memorized that entire list in order, and gave Conan a copy between 947 and 948? Or did Conan know a data disk survived, snuck a peek, and then didn't notice he said something revealing?

P4: Haibara says the drug may have been made by her parents, because she remade the drug by collecting the burned remains of the data. Her parents' research facility caught fire, which both destroyed the drug data and killed her parents, though she heard that it was an accident from others in the BO P4: Haibara's thought "But, what they truly wanted me to make..." "Was another drug..." Eh? I came to the opposite conclusion. Shiho must have been working on her parent's drug, Silver Bullet/APTX 4869, because her work was based on her parents' drug data which she collected from the ashes of the fire (new info <3). Shiho described her effort as "remaking"; however, the higher ups wanted her to work on another drug instead of her parents' creation. Which implies another drug beyond APTX/Silver Bullet exists. We have had hints about this, such as Haibara's comment that Kudo is part of a project that is over 50 years old when the Miyano parents only came on board 30 years ago. This other drug might explain Vermouth's aging problem for instance. The newest info creates problems for the Vermouth took Silver Bullet theory, much like the same ones that undermine the APTX version of the argument. Like APTX, the fact that Silver Bullet was also used for killing throws doubt on the theory that Vermouth willingly used the Miyano parents' Silver Bullet to achieve her current state. Unless it was forced on her or she was feeling suicidal, why would Vermouth take a death drug? And also, since Aptx4869 is a remaking of her parents' project, why would the BO not suspect Silver Bullet/APTX 4869 could cause de-aging/age-stopping if it happened to Vermouth already? Shiho, won't you regret what you are about to do? If so, I'm totally on your side! Well, it will be you nineteenth birthday next time. Bye-bye, honey. Oh yes, maybe it's about time I told you... The truth is, your mom is making a truly terrifying drug at the moment. My lab mates are getting really excited about it, they say it's like a dream drug. Your dad and I are putting all our hopes on it and calling it the Silver Bullet! But in order to complete the drug, your dad and I will have to leave you and your sister. Please understand, Shiho.

If someone could check the remaining postcards that would be very helpful. There is one blog reporting many people were said not to be the boss, including a few popular theories, but the blog didn't link any sources. The postcards are here btw: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Postcards#2016

Some postcards have come out that pretty much outright state Shuukichi is the middle brother and the child is named Mary. Should we take this as solid evidence and update the wiki? Link to postcards: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Postcards#2016

The drug back then used to Kill Kouji would have been Silver Bullet wouldn't it? I'm not surprised its also killing people like APTX if Shiho used it the base for her research. (She heavily implied it was killing most of her test mice, and the Org was using it to kill people too.) I've speculated that the two projects are the same, just by different names, one in the hands of the Miyano parents, one in the hands of Shiho, and that seems to be confirmed now. I have made more than a few posts about it and it's on the wiki under the speculation section for Silver Bullet and APTX. Conan would have naturally been surprised that it was being used 17 years ago and asked Ai about it because he doesn't know of Silver Bullet. He didn't listen to Haibara's tapes all the way through. ( I recall there is a thread at DCTP which talks about what Conan knows and doesn't to help keep track of what has been only been revealed to the reader through private thoughts.) Also about the scissors and P T ON from PUT ON MASCARA it's extremely likely we are looking at a Japanese pun. Koji most likely didn't tightly grip the scissors for self defense but to make sure the mark of the scissors could not be removed from his body as it is part of the clue. By inserting a scissors related word, or something related to cut you can probably figure it out. The tap left on in the recent case is probably a cryptic pun clue in the same vein. My guess is that Koji was a witness to a key part of Amanda's assassination and was silenced. We might get a lead on a Black Organization member in the past because of this case, especially if we can figure out if they came back to tamper with the crime scene. ---- The Akai family timeline so far Mr. Akai and Mrs. Sera are born and married. Mrs. Sera takes her husband's surname Akai. ?? years ago: Shuichi Akai is born. 28 years ago: Shukichi Akai is born. 17 years ago: Koji Haneda is killed with APTX 4869 (most likely the Miyano parents' version Silver Bullet). Shukichi is 11. 16-17 years ago: Masumi Akai is born in Japan. At this time, the middle brother is approximately 11-12 and in junior high. Sometime after Masumi is conceived, her father dies. The time of the father's death is uncertain, but Masumi implies it affected the family names. >14-15 years ago: Masumi and Shukichi start using the family name Sera instead of Akai. 14-15 years ago: Shukichi enters high school with the family name Sera. Shukichi is 13-14 and Masumi is ~2. 11-12 years ago: Shukichi graduates high school and changes his family name from Sera to Haneda. Shukichi is age 16-17 and Masumi is 4-5. (Masumi says all three siblings have different family names. Masumi has "Sera", Shuichi has "Akai", and Shukichi has "Haneda".) 5-10 years ago: Shuichi sends Masumi Jeet Kune Do videos. (Masumi is 6-11 and in elementary school) 5 years ago: Shuichi starts infiltrating the Black Organization and dating Akemi Miyano. Shukichi is 22-23 and Masumi is 11. 3 years ago: Mrs. Akai and Masumi move to America, Masumi goes to middle school in America. 2 years ago: Shuichi is uncovered as an FBI agent and is ejected from the Black Organization. Current: Masumi comes back at the age of 16-17 to Japan. Shukichi has been living in Japan winning shogi awards.

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Two_Days_with_the_Culprit

This is Koji Haneda's shadowman. Sera described her middle brother as having "round glasses" in file 928. Koji does not have round glasses.

Spoiler pictures for 946 are here: http://ameblo.jp/fuuyuu-xxx-sakurachan/entry-12119582322.html The shogi rival from before returns. (He's on my Rum watchlist btw) This solution (scroll to bottom) was solved in real life, photographed, and posted on a Japanese blog: http://marinecolors.blog39.fc2.com/blog-entry-452.html

I hope some of the better art winds up on zerochan where I can see it without an account. There is a surprising amount of official art on there too which can be hard to find. If you collect DC anime art, that's an excellent place to look.

I am going with heterochromia chick doing the takeout with the explosives that were meant to kill her on the Ferris Wheel. I am also voting against the option of Akai with the sniper rifle because that was so movie 18.

I like how they spoiled the helicopter is gonna catch on fire and explode. On the poster. (Well we knew that anyway, the track record for helicopters in Detective Conan movies has been poor since Movie 2) Any guesses on how it gets taken out this time? I hope Gin's hair survives.

@Shinan-Kudogawa and @DCUniverseAficionado I think the truth might be a hybrid of what you both are suggesting. I think the involvement of the FBI and CIA (And maybe MI6) and even Movie 20's premise are clear signs the BO has international reach and has caused some damage in foreign countries. Even western intelligence groups don't go out and purely try to right wrongs and vanquish evil; they have to be able to justify some benefit to their home country. Perhaps the BO's overseas crime don't look like they are caused by an international-level mafia with a lot of power, thus intelligence agencies won't identify them properly and collaborate well. (And that's where I think the movies and AO scenes go wrong; they make the BO's power and reach far too obvious. Simulated-assassination of a US vice president, coordinated killings of different nations' intelligence officers one after another so it easy to tell they are connected to the same international motive, and stealing US military aircraft are too much.) If you look at the canon crimes we know the BO has committed overseas, it seems to be mostly bribery, threats to force the exchange of information, and single target murder (which does get attention, in this case the FBI's). It might be enough to get local intelligence involved, especially if they sense a pattern over time, but not enough to go bugging foreign countries about it. Hence you get a piecemeal response from everyone (especially since no one likes to share info). The sort of criminal tactics that make it clear they are a large mafia-like group may only be reserved for Japan because their homebase is there. They have to commit more and flashier crimes for "housekeeping" so to speak. One example is the attempted assassination of Domon Yasuteru to prevent a politician hard on crime who might pursue them from rising to power. That sort of attention-grabbing political assassination might not be needed in foreign countries where they are just there to extract "resources" (technology and researchers, etc.) because they don't have many of their assets tied up there. (And as long as they keep it in Japan, they stays Japan's problem, not everyone else's.) It could be two different events entirely that triggered the interest of the US law enforcement in the Black Organization. The events might not have been high enough priority individually to get the CIA and FBI to inform each other from the start. The FBI seems to have the most unusual involvement of everyone. I'm thinking that someone in the FBI ranks (James Black, Mr. Starling) made an unorthodox decision to chase a personal motive (Mr. Starling's and Mr. Akai's death probably). Events unfolded, and then it became hard to justify a joint task force without revealing the not by-the-books steps the FBI took to get where they are today. The Akai-killing-Scotch situation seems to have completely damaged any official US and Japan collaboration.

To be fair, I do think think the calendar likely has some significance to the case. Gosho has for a long time been matching his cases to the real world timeline of when they are published in Shounen Sunday.** It's most obvious with the seasons and holidays; it is winter in the manga when it is winter in real life. However the timing match also carries over even to specific dates outside of holidays. Eri's Misfortune Case happened around her October 5th birthday. The calendar in this case is off by 2 months which is definitely unexpected given Gosho's past habits. If it is related, it is very likely someone will mention the calendar explicitly in the next chapter because a reference point has to be set for the Volume to make sense. If for any reason, the in-manga date or a date relative to the calendar is mentioned, that will surely mean the calendar is a clue. **That is not to say the progression of time in manga matches real world time, only that events in manga link up to real world timing. Less that a year has passed since Conan shrank in canonical time. A floating timeline has an obvious mismatch between the apparent progression of time and the canon progression of time.

This one was great! I liked the dressup scenes at the end!

I was hoping for a new profile image for Shinichi or Ran, but there weren't any shots that fit the criteria This OP is more like and ending than an opening. I didn't care for either the animation or the song to be honest. Also the tree returns. I should make it an april fools page.

Eh, I don't think that red herrings and real clues are implied to come in pairs like that.