ChaosBeing

I used to be a pretty big follower of this theory, so - as it hasn't been done yet - I thought I'd copy/paste some of my notes in here. I've never touched the manga, and the anime has made mistakes before, so there's always the possibility that I could be off on a detail or two. I don't count anything that happens in an AO episode to be canonical, much like the movies and OVAs. (I'm hoping that's an opinion shared by everyone here? I'm relatively new to the forums.) I've edited my original notes here and there, both for for wiki links and clarity. The first piece of evidence is simply an impression I've gotten as the series has progressed, and as such may or may not be accurate. That impression being that it seemed at the beginning of the series we would always see Kogoro wake up some time after the Sleeping Kogoro act was over, but we very rarely if ever get to see this after around the ~300 episode mark. Again, it could be coincidence, or it could be that Gosho just felt the gag was getting old, or any number of things, but I wanted to point that out first. The first piece of solid evidence is in episode 355, when Conan shoots Kogoro with the sleeping dart and he doesn't fall asleep immediately. In fact, he even carries on a conversation about the case and has time to mention something about a "mosquito bite" before the anesthetic takes effect. Afterwards there's an unusually large gap in the series where we don't see Sleeping Kogoro again that seems deliberate, like it's trying to wait for us to forget about the fact that Kogoro wasn't falling asleep immediately. The next time we get to see him darted (disregarding AO episodes and I think there was one time when he was darted off screen) is in episode 387. And something very interesting happens in episode 387. Just before Conan can fire the sleeping dart, Kogoro yawns, drawing the attention of Takagi, Ran and Megure. When Kogoro asks them why they're all excited all of a sudden, the three go on to explain the process in which he typically becomes Sleeping Kogoro, and they go on to tell him examples of some of the sounds and faces he's made. Immediately after this, Conan hits him with the sleeping dart and Kogoro makes an unusually dramatic noise and face. (Though not so much so as to definitely be suspicious on its own.) Ran comments that the noise and face were exactly right. Kogoro staggers on his feet for a few seconds before Conan pushes a chair behind him, Kogoro's fall timed perfectly with the arrival of the chair. (Again, this has happened before, and isn't in and of itself suspicious.) Then, before the deduction can start, Megure comments that Kogoro's position is "rather exaggerated". A probably irrelevant side note would be that this is also the episode where Conan learns of the "Seven Children" song, an obviously important part in the Black Org. plot. Then, in episode 581 (which oddly enough is a case where Black Org. agents are crawling around everywhere) there's not one, but three possible hints pointing towards this theory being true. 1) Not only does Kogoro wake up before Conan can finish his deductions, but Kogoro himself finishes them using the email he reserved from Bourbon. This means that he'd been awake long enough to have heard and replied to what was being talked about. 2) Immediately after this, he turns to Conan and asks him (DCTP subs) "So, what happened to the bombing case?" 3) A short while later while Kogoro's talking to reporters and the like, he uses a slightly altered version of Shinichi's catch phrase: (DCTP again) "There is only one truth, after all!" This, unlike the other two, feels more like a hint than anything. That's pretty much it, though it's entirely possible that I've missed details here and there, or maybe even forgotten some. But let's keep in mind that while the series enjoys making Kogoro out to be an idiot, he is actually a fairly competent detective - at least, when he wants to be. Here's a list of cases he's solved on his own with little/no help from Conan, just to jog your memory. Let's also not forget that Kogoro was the very first person, even before Ran, to become suspicious of Conan's identity, all the way back in File 10, in Volume 2 of the manga. (Manga referenced because it wasn't animated until episode 38, for some reason.) He even commented that Conan (paraphrasing) "reminded him of someone he'd met a long time ago, when Ran was in Elementary school."

Here's an idea that doesn't seem to have been proposed before: Genji Kojima. (Genta's father.) Sure, take a second to laugh if you'd like, but he fits. He owns a liquor store/bar. (I seem to remember seeing both, so one is likely a case of bad subs.) If his age has been affected like Vermouth's has, it could explain why he speaks in an old dialect. I don't know when his name was first mentioned - though IIRC it was somewhat earlier on - yet he didn't appear until episode 551/chapter 658. (Wiki link) I'm getting ready to rewatch the case he appears in now, just to see if I can pick up on anything else. Naturally in all likelyhood it isn't him, but I wasn't going to let it be overlooked. Edit: A few things did jump out at me after watching it again, some that would seem to support the theory and others that would seem to oppose it. For: He purposefully changes the way he speaks, reveiling his normal speech to be a facade when he gets in a fight with the culprit. He wears glasses and squints his eyes during the case, despite not usually wearing glasses. (Keep in mind that both Shinichi and Akai turned to glasses when they needed to hide their identities, so this could be a clue by Gosho or simply something he likes to use to complete a dsguise.) Maybes: He seemed to be proficient in some sort of martial art, as he was able to knock the culprit to the floor in an instant and pin him down. However, it was a surprise attack, so that may be meaningless. Genta says his dad is combative, honest, and hates dishonorable things, and the idea that his dad is a good person is really pushed throughout the whole episode, almost so much to make me think the opposite. Add to that the extreme aggressiveness and intimidation of the scene where he picks a fight with the culprit, and the above seems even more suspicious. His favorite song is apparently Kuroda Bushi. I have no idea what this would translate to, and it's likely meaningless, but the fact that his favorite song was included when the only clue we have as to the Boss' identity is a song struck me as odd. (And at the same time, for all I know Nanatsu no ko and Kuroda Bushi could share the same notes, the same way Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is also the Alphabet Song and Bah Bah Black Sheep.) He wasn't interested in winning the sizable cash prize, but instead in the boar scroll. The scroll was worth more than the cash prize, but the reasons he gave for wanting the scroll were that he simply liked boars, and that the artist's name sounded like "thank you". It's kind of hard to believe that that alone could make the scroll seem more valuable to him than the cash prize, assuming he didn't know the value of the scroll. There was also a bit of a story/legend behind the scroll, which was of a set of three. Supposedly, having all three scrolls would gaurantee good fortune and success. While even I think this is unlikely to be a story that'd catch the Org.'s eye, they also seemed interested in the tale of the immortality arrow. Against: All of the talk of Genta's dad being honest and honorable could just as easily be true as not, making him a poor boss candidate. While only briefly, Haibara (along with the rest of the Detective Boys, Conan and Hakase) does walk with him, even if she does stay a few paces back as per usual. Her Black Org. sense never kicks in, and he doesn't seem to recognize her. (And she isn't dead, so...) While he was masking his typical way of speaking and wearing glasses that forced him to squint, he was still planning on going on T.V., which would seem like something that an overly cautious person wouldn't do. Well, that's all I could gather at least. Anyone have anything else to add?