Hostage crisis at the Mouri Detective Agency (771-774)

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

I haven't checked the spoilers yet, but I don't think there are enough clues to definitively pick out who is the culprit (by that I mean rule the others out) despite what Conan said. I am curious to know the solution to the ryokan crime part.

[Detective Kudo 28]

I haven't checked the spoilers yet, but I don't think there are enough clues to definitively pick out who is the culprit (by that I mean rule the others out) despite what Conan said. I am curious to know the solution to the ryokan crime part.

The color thing was right, but i don't get why rats are associated with the color gray

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

The color thing was right, but i don't get why rats are associated with the color gray

One common way to write grey in japanese is 鼠色. Which basically is the combination of the characters for mouse/rat and color. It's kind of like how in English we use "orange" (the name of a fruit) to refer to that color between red and yellow.

The color wordplay I think there was enough info to get, although it was wordplay and therefore by definition I must loathe the solution. It's interpreting the vic's messages and the ryokan clues that I think there isn't enough info about.

[Detective Kudo 28]

One common way to write grey in japanese is 鼠色. Which basically is the combination of the characters for mouse/rat and color. It's kind of like how in English we use "orange" (the name of a fruit) to refer to that color between red and yellow.

The color wordplay I think there was enough info to get, although it was wordplay and therefore by definition I must loathe the solution. It's interpreting the vic's messages and the ryokan clues that I think there isn't enough info about.

ugh, this is why i hate when he does wordplay *face palm* i feel better though, i thought it was my deduction, but the wordplay is impossible for me to solve, those puns just don't make sense to me. I agree there wasn't enough info because how would you be sure the rat did it? How do you prove it, and how do you explain the books? I was wondering why the colors were associated with each animal.*sigh* at least a sniper is involved :grin: Go abs!

[dreznovk 5]

I have been wondering: How does Sera know the sniper is her accomplice ?

[Stopwatch 36]

Chinese file 773 is out!

New File Link

Got to wonder if there'll be any repercussions about the Shonen Tantei-dan seeing everything. Also, Shinichi seems to be mentioned nearly every page.

I'll probably write more of my thoughts on this file later (I'm in a rush so... yeah)

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

I wonder if Ran is going to get chewed out by Megure for closing the curtains? It would be funny. Also, it is way too easy to imagine Sera's "WTF Ran" expression on Akai's face. This is the bomb squad's third recent appearance. I wish there was an new officer character associated with them.

Finally, I think the Detective Boys are going to figure out Conan is Shinichi before Ran does. Detective Boys suspicion arc... GOOO!!!

[Aeyra 260]

I wonder if Ran is going to get chewed out by Megure for closing the curtains? It would be funny. Also, it is way too easy to imagine Sera's "WTF Ran" expression on Akai's face. This is the bomb squad's third recent appearance. I wish there was an new officer character associated with them.

Finally, I think the Detective Boys are going to figure out Conan is Shinichi before Ran does. Detective Boys suspicion arc... GOOO!!!

Agreed. But Mitsuhiko shall find the truth before anyone!

[Akazora 293]

Oh wow... I can not believe how so many things are happening in such a short period of time! This hasn't happened since, like, ever! With Sera and her sniper, the Detective Boys getting suspicious, Shinichi's voice being used more than usual, and quite an intense bomb situation, the series really seems to be picking up the pace. When the BO comes around for yet another arc in a few chapters, things will really heat up.

[Stopwatch 36]

:mrgreen: All this while Okiya's off brushing his teeth

[IdentityUnknown 216]

here is what i'm thinking

I thought about the same thing Chek had in her theory,it makes sense but i'm not completely satisfied. So i was thinking maybe she based it on their personality, and it made more sense to me, Gosho really revealed a lot about their personality. For instance, Sawaguri Isao (37) A.K.A crazy hostage taker, does survival games. Her sister called him a Japanese Bush Warbler, which often is heard before being seen. This is a good tactic in survival games to lure an opponent in a designated area for an attack. There color helps them blend in with the environment around them, making them hard to spot. So it got me thinking maybe the qualities don't have to be annoying but could be something admirable. We must also consider the conditions of the books the wrinkled one may be because of the large amount of steam in the victims room due to the trick the culprit used which i believe means Nihei Sumika did it. No other book was wrinkled. one seemed new, but it was signed and was on the first run of printing(but i think she forged her signature, that's why the book seems so new, so she won't look guilty when the police checked her stuff). The other was torn, but no wrinkles so i believe Mitsui Tanami story, plus she has a witness that saw her run and leave. Nihei Sumika was the fox, because she is sly and cunning. She set up the trick,she left where Sawaguri Isao broke in( she is the only one fit enough to do it). She probably disposed of any other evidence because it happened a month ago, but their is still hope because it was ruled a suicide before she left the hotel, she may have gotten comfortable and forgot something important that she should have disposed of, like the clothes she wore, knife used, or a receipt she used to get the blood out of her clothes from the cleaners. so there is only two animals left. Yuchi Shinobu seems pretty self centered and lazy so i say she is the rat and her buck teeth, leaving Mitsui Tanami as the elephant (obvious reasons).

the light in the window

sniper lights usually isn't that noticeable and is red in color, Sera may have contacted who ever it is, maybe someone from England(when Sera was first introduced, recall the UK's flag on the back of Conan's pants on the cover?) That may have something to do with this. Not sure. It could be Subaru signaling Sera because Kudo contacted him to do so (makes more sense), or even Takagi, still inconclusive though. The DB did go do something about the police right? they may have also tried to grand stand Conan(not the first time they tried that).

The trick for the crime

The culprit drugged the victim maybe a sleeping pill, which means she had to give it to her a while before in a drink or something. Came back, and impersonated a the rat. This person was cunning as a fox, Nihei Sumika. She came with the intent of killing the victim. But because the victim texted her brother goodbye as a dying message, he ran to help her. The Culprit was surprised and hid in the dense steam and grabbed her book(The victim just got out of a shower and now the culprit had the water running), when he noticed his sister he ran to her aid, while the culprit escaped. Her plan was to blame this on the rat, but the locked room was even better, so she kept quite. This is why her book was distorted because of the steam. She chose to impersonate the rat because of her low IQ. This explains Nihei Sumika reaction to the SNS messages

Sera definitely put two and two together a long time ago, the DB probably are going to tell her about the bowtie thing afterward

Also Conan may try to say he put Shinichi on three way with Ran and his connection, but he still may have to use an antidote, we will see.

And Detective Kudo has done it again! *claps*

You can really be amazing with your deductions...still a couple of editorial errors though (sorry, I am in full editor mode due to one of the author's of my favorite fics asking me to beta).

[hopes 237]

Read English chapter!!

So, the snipers WERE the police. They were trying to wait to shoot and stop the hostage situation. The lady with the buckteeth was the fox, the lady with glasses was the elephant, and the rat was the lady with the beanie hat. (Sorry, too lazy to use names. ) Anyway, Sera tricks the hostage taker guy to go in front of the window after she told Ran who the culprit was. Ran wonders why Shinichi hasn't revealed it. Sera tells her he doesn't want two people dying, only one if they can help it. The snipers have a clear shot, but Ran suddenly closes the curtains. Sera asks if she's out of her mind, but she replies that Shinichi wouldn't want anyone to die. The Detective Boys come down and Ai scolds them. They reply they forgot to tell them something. When they asked around town, people told them the hostage taker had asked for information before. The hostage taker gets impatient, and Conan reveals that he knows the culprit. He announces the woman with the hat.

That's basically the gist of it.

[Stopwatch 36]

Technically he doesn't announce the culprit, he announces the rat. Just mentioning in case the rat isn't the culprit.

[hopes 237]

Technically he doesn't announce the culprit, he announces the rat. Just mentioning in case the rat isn't the culprit.

I thought he said it... I just checked. He says that the woman with the beanie hat is the culprit.

[Stopwatch 36]

Eh? I thought it said she was the only one who could be the rat, not that she was specifically the culprit. Oh well (it'll probably end up with the rat being the culprit anyway...)

[hopes 237]

Eh? I thought it said she was the only one who could be the rat, not that she was specifically the culprit. Oh well (it'll probably end up with the rat being the culprit anyway...)

It will. I read the new chapter. He actually said her name.

[Akazora 293]

Aw man! Why does the next chapter have to be delayed? Well, we'll have to wait a bit.

Anyway, I'm quite excited at how everything is going. I have no theories on how Conan will manage to get his way out of this one, but I'm sure none of us will be disappointed when the conclusion finally does come out.

[hopes 237]

Aw man! Why does the next chapter have to be delayed? Well, we'll have to wait a bit.

Anyway, I'm quite excited at how everything is going. I have no theories on how Conan will manage to get his way out of this one, but I'm sure none of us will be disappointed when the conclusion finally does come out.

It's not actually delayed...

[Detective Kudo 28]

I thought he said it... I just checked. He says that the woman with the beanie hat is the culprit.

No he doesn't, he says The last person to enter the room is none other than you, the culprit could be someone else. :grin:

[justwantanaccount 125]

I can't think of any way that Mitsui/rat could be the culprit - the culprit locked the room to make it look like a perfectly sealed room, then (according to Isao) escaped through the balcony. Mitsui ran out of the front door. I agree with what some of you are saying, the culprit probably isn't the rat.

Hi, btw. *waves*

[Detective Kudo 28]

I can't think of any way that Mitsui/rat could be the culprit - the culprit locked the room to make it look like a perfectly sealed room, then (according to Isao) escaped through the balcony. Mitsui ran out of the front door. I agree with what some of you are saying, the culprit probably isn't the rat.

Hi, btw. *waves*

I agree, although the animals were wrong i still think it may be the same culprit in my deduction

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

Some of the translations were changed in between releases. The original chapter said that "The first one to come pester me for an autograph was the elephant. Her hair hadn’t yet dried from her time in the bath... What a burdensome elephant." Now the chapter says the vic's hair hadn't dried yet. Not sure what happened there, but I wish that was made clearer in the first chapter, because it would have helped in the scene recreation.

Here is the blow by blow analysis of the crime with a theory to who the culprit is:

For questions about the animal->color->profession nickname scheme, see this prior post and the post below it.

Analysis of the room and slipper setup

Based on the conversation, it seems that the toilet and the bath might be in the same room - Mitsui wanted to use the toilet, but Miku said she was going to use the bathroom soon and Mitsui believed that she was lying because she already had taken a bath. Toilets and baths/showers may be in separate rooms in Japanese households because of uncleanliness beliefs. Also, toilet rooms typically have their own set of slippers per Japanese cleanliness habits. Miku took a bath in her own room, without wearing her slippers by the door. I don't know if this indicates that there are only one pair of guest slippers and no special bathroom pair, or if we are supposed to assume there is a pair for the toilet as well. (More knowledge of typical accommodations in Japanese ryokans would help.) It's possible there is no extra pair because the bathroom might be by the entrance, based on the panel in file 773 pg 15, so a single pair of slippers serve a double purpose.

Summary of the visiting suspects timeline

According to Conan's story, Miku took a bath in her own room, so she didn't use her slippers. Elephant Nihei Sumika came in, got her book signed by the wet Sawaguri Miku which messed up her book's front page, lined up the slippers and noticed none were wet. Her story checks out with what we know.

Then fox Yuchi Shinobu visits twice. Yuchi left her still warm slippers, meaning they were recently used, in the entryway when Mitsui comes later. From Miku's message, "Next to come was the fox... She made up some excuse to come again. How annoying. Well I’ve signed my autograph, so hurry up and leave!”, I think it ok to assume Yuchi got the autograph signed when she came the first time because the second visit was an "excuse". When Yuchi visited the second time, she had just finished taking a bath and had left warm wet slippers by the door which Mitsui accidentally put on. Presumably Yuchi had Miku's pair at the time.

Finally, rat Mitsui Tanami comes in to have her book signed. Mitsui Tanami claimed to have an upset stomach, wanted to use Miku's bathroom, but said she was not allowed to because Miku was planning on using it herself. Miku took her time signing Mitsui's book to hassle her, and Mitsui tried to take it back quickly, tearing the front page slightly. After putting on the wrong slippers when leaving and finding they were warm and soaking, Mitsui came to the conclusion that Miku just came back from the onsen, and thus Miku's intention to take a bath was a lie. Mitsui fled the room while looking nervous with her book in hand, which is expected of someone with gastrointestinal distress who needs to find a bathroom.

Analysis of evidence, the culprit, and theory of events

There are four strange points related to the theory that the rat, Mitsui Tanami, is the culprit, the messages, and testimony.

#1: Mitsui claimed that Miku said she was going to use her bathroom after she already had a bath in her own room according to Conan.

#2: Mitsui's story contrasts with the text saying Miku wanted to rush Mitsui out, perhaps that changed when Mitsui wanted to use her bathroom and Miku felt like harassing her or was trying to hold her up in order to tell her she can't use it. Also, Miku doesn't seem to have the nicest personality

#3: A person with gastrointestinal distress isn't going to stick around, contrasting with the final message that some person was still here.

#4: The culprit was supposed to have left via the balcony door after Isao rushed to the bathroom. Mitsui was witnessed leaving via the main door. She would have had to come back in at some point for Isao's story to work.

Resolving these contradictions comes down to two main possibilities: Miku was lying about wanting to use the bathroom, or Mitsui was lying about what Miku was saying.

Mistui is not lying, nor the culprit

If Mitsui is lying, then she is the culprit; however there are several contradictory points. The facts pointing against Mitsui being the culprit is that her gastrointestinal distress story matches up with what was witnessed. Also there is Miku's message, "How bothersome, she’s still here.", implying the culprit person never left, although Mitsui was witnessed leaving. Mitsui also left via the main door which contradicts with Isao's observation about the culprit leaving through the balcony. He doesn't have a reason to lie because he is on a revenge mission to figure out the truth.

For Isao's info to be true and Mitsui to be the murderer, Mitsui had to come back later either before or after the murder, which is really foolish after being seen; Mitsui knew she was witnessed and actually fled towards the witness. It doesn't make sense to rush towards a witness after killing someone because they will remember you and might see bloody evidence on your body or her book. Miku's second to last text message "How bothersome, she’s still here" doesn't make sense if Mitsui left Miku alive after fleeing and then returned again to kill Miku.

Conclusion, Mitsui is probably not the culprit and most likely isn't lying.

Miku was lying about the bathroom and Yuchi is the culprit

Miku lying about wanting to use the bathroom later makes some sense. She had already been in it once earlier based on the dry slippers and Nihei Sumika's book, so why go again? If this is the case, then Yuchi is the most likely culprit because her story is the only one that doesn't check out. Note, the text message never said fox Yuchi left after hr second visit. Basically Yuchi came, got her book autographed, left, and came back a second time with wet slippers, hid in the bathroom while Mistui was came by, killed Miku after Mitsui left, forged the suicide, sent the last message, and hid in the room waiting for her chance to escape after Isao is distracted by Miku's body.

Theory of events

My theory of events is that on the second visit, Yuchi drugged Miku's beverage, and they began to have some form of conversation that Miku and Yuchi didn't want to have others know about. Then Mitsui came knocking to have her book signed. To avoid having Mitsui know Yuchi was in Miku's room, Yuchi crossed to the entry, and grabbed one of the slipper pairs (Miku's pair by mistake) so Mitsui couldn't count the slippers and figure out Miku had a guest, and hid in the bathroom. Meanwhile Mitsui got her book autographed and asked to use the bathroom. Miku, not wanting to reveal Yuchi, came up with the lie that she was going to use the bathroom later. After Mitsui left, the drugs began to kick in, and she texts, “How bothersome, she’s still here. Oh no… I’m getting sleepy… What should I do?” with 'she' referring to Yuchi. Yuchi then did the deed, texted out the final message on the phone, and waited for Isao to come and give her time to escape through the balcony.

This solution is mostly a matter of elimination without much evidence to support (vs. exclude others. The best I could come up with was Yuchi said, "Are you sure you didn't put your own slippers on? Since you have a fatty constitution..." How would she know that Miku's slippers weren't wet and that Miku didn't go to the onsen in between visits? The three suspects claimed to not see each other after all, so how would they know when the other arrived and where Miku was when not visiting?

Motive

Most likely something typical. The obvious one is somebody's story or ideas were stolen, or maybe Miku was slamming someone with bad reviews or interfering with publication and thus ruining somebody's chance of success. If this aforementioned somebody isn't Yuchi, then perhaps it is someone related to her or her now divorced husband. The motive explains why Yuchi's book is in an untouched state: she didn't even want to read it because it made her angry/it was her idea to begin with. Also, whatever Miku did could be related to/have resulted in Yuchi's divorce.

As for Isao's bomb, I wonder if it is armed with a dead man's switch, i.e. if he releases the button, it explodes. He did note there is a limit to how long he could stay awake in 771. On the other hand, he was also looking at his watch nervously in 773, indicating they may be timed bombs.

Finally that whole "Shinichi wouldn't allow anyone to die! He absolutely wouldn't!!" line may convince Sera that Conan/Shinichi probably didn't come up with a plan that allowed Akai to die. It might result in extra pressure.

[justwantanaccount 125]

The original chapter said that "The first one to come pester me for an autograph was the elephant. Her hair hadn’t yet dried from her time in the bath... What a burdensome elephant." Now the chapter says the vic's hair hadn't dried yet. Not sure what happened there, but I wish that was made clearer in the first chapter, because it would have helped in the scene recreation.

I can answer that. The original Japanese was ambiguous - it didn't specify who had the wet hair. I can tell you that there are Japanese people who thought that the elephant was the one with the wet hair.

Also, lookee what I found on Japanese blogs! I think that this is the kind of info you guys would love:

光井珠美 (Mitsui Tamami)：ツイッター (tsuittaa = Twitter)

湯地志信 (Yuchi Shinobu): YouTube

二瓶純夏 (Nihei Sumika)：Facebook

沢栗美紅 (Sawaguri Miku)：GREE、mixi (popular Japanese SNS's)

降塚屋 (Furitsuka-ya): フリッカー(furi[small tsu]kaa = Flicker)

Pretty cool, yes? This would go with your theory, Chekhov, since out of the suspects (and Miku, I guess), YouTube is the only site that's not quite an SNS.

[beaver8 0]

Some of the translations were changed in between releases. The original chapter said that "The first one to come pester me for an autograph was the elephant. Her hair hadn’t yet dried from her time in the bath... What a burdensome elephant." Now the chapter says the vic's hair hadn't dried yet. Not sure what happened there, but I wish that was made clearer in the first chapter, because it would have helped in the scene recreation.

Here is the blow by blow analysis of the crime with a theory to who the culprit is:

For questions about the animal->color->profession nickname scheme, see this prior post and the post below it.

Analysis of the room and slipper setup

Based on the conversation, it seems that the toilet and the bath might be in the same room - Mitsui wanted to use the toilet, but Miku said she was going to use the bathroom soon and Mitsui believed that she was lying because she already had taken a bath. Toilets and baths/showers may be in separate rooms in Japanese households because of uncleanliness beliefs. Also, toilet rooms typically have their own set of slippers per Japanese cleanliness habits. Miku took a bath in her own room, without wearing her slippers by the door. I don't know if this indicates that there are only one pair of guest slippers and no special bathroom pair, or if we are supposed to assume there is a pair for the toilet as well. (More knowledge of typical accommodations in Japanese ryokans would help.) It's possible there is no extra pair because the bathroom might be by the entrance, based on the panel in file 773 pg 15, so a single pair of slippers serve a double purpose.

Summary of the visiting suspects timeline

According to Conan's story, Miku took a bath in her own room, so she didn't use her slippers. Elephant Nihei Sumika came in, got her book signed by the wet Sawaguri Miku which messed up her book's front page, lined up the slippers and noticed none were wet. Her story checks out with what we know.

Then fox Yuchi Shinobu visits twice. Yuchi left her still warm slippers, meaning they were recently used, in the entryway when Mitsui comes later. From Miku's message, "Next to come was the fox... She made up some excuse to come again. How annoying. Well I’ve signed my autograph, so hurry up and leave!”, I think it ok to assume Yuchi got the autograph signed when she came the first time because the second visit was an "excuse". When Yuchi visited the second time, she had just finished taking a bath and had left warm wet slippers by the door which Mitsui accidentally put on. Presumably Yuchi had Miku's pair at the time.

Finally, rat Mitsui Tanami comes in to have her book signed. Mitsui Tanami claimed to have an upset stomach, wanted to use Miku's bathroom, but said she was not allowed to because Miku was planning on using it herself. Miku took her time signing Mitsui's book to hassle her, and Mitsui tried to take it back quickly, tearing the front page slightly. After putting on the wrong slippers when leaving and finding they were warm and soaking, Mitsui came to the conclusion that Miku just came back from the onsen, and thus Miku's intention to take a bath was a lie. Mitsui fled the room while looking nervous with her book in hand, which is expected of someone with gastrointestinal distress who needs to find a bathroom.

Analysis of evidence, the culprit, and theory of events

There are four strange points related to the theory that the rat, Mitsui Tanami, is the culprit, the messages, and testimony.

#1: Mitsui claimed that Miku said she was going to use her bathroom after she already had a bath in her own room according to Conan.

#2: Mitsui's story contrasts with the text saying Miku wanted to rush Mitsui out, perhaps that changed when Mitsui wanted to use her bathroom and Miku felt like harassing her or was trying to hold her up in order to tell her she can;t use it. Also, Miku doesn't seem to have the nicest personality

#3: A person with gastrointestinal distress isn't going to stick around, contrasting with the final message that some person was still here.

#4: The culprit was supposed to have left via the balcony door after Isao rushed to the bathroom. Mitsui was witnessed leaving via the main door. She would have had to come back in at some point for Isao's story to work.

Resolving these contradictions comes down to two main possibilities: Miku was lying about wanting to use the bathroom, or Mitsui was lying about what Miku was saying.

Mistui is not lying, nor the culprit

If Mitsui is lying, then she is the culprit; however there are several contradictory points. The facts pointing against Mitsui being the culprit is that her gastrointestinal distress story matches up with what was witnessed. Also there is Miku's message, "How bothersome, she’s still here.", implying the culprit person never left, although Mitsui was witnessed leaving. Mitsui also left via the main door which contradicts with Isao's observation about the culprit leaving through the balcony. He doesn't have a reason to lie because he is on a revenge mission to figure out the truth.

For Isao's info to be true and Mitsui to be the murderer, Mitsui had to come back later either before or after the murder, which is really foolish after being seen; Mitsui knew she was witnessed and actually fled towards the witness. It doesn't make sense to rush towards a witness after killing someone because they will remember you and might see bloody evidence on your body or her book. Miku's second to last text message "How bothersome, she’s still here" doesn't make sense if Mitsui left Miku alive after fleeing and then returned again to kill Miku.

Conclusion, Mitsui is probably not the culprit and most likely isn't lying.

Miku was lying about the bathroom and Yuchi is the culprit

Miku lying about wanting to use the bathroom later makes some sense. She had already been in it once earlier based on the dry slippers and Nihei Sumika's book, so why go again? If this is the case, then Yuchi is the most likely culprit because her story is the only one that doesn't check out. Note, the text message never said fox Yuchi left after hr second visit. Basically Yuchi came, got her book autographed, left, and came back a second time with wet slippers, hid in the bathroom while Mistui was came by, killed Miku after Mitsui left, forged the suicide, sent the last message, and hid in the room waiting for her chance to escape after Isao is distracted by Miku's body.

Theory of events

My theory of events is that on the second visit, Yuchi drugged Miku's beverage, and they began to have some form of conversation that Miku and Yuchi didn't want to have others know about. Then Mitsui came knocking to have her book signed. To avoid having Mitsui know Yuchi was in Miku's room, Yuchi crossed to the entry, and grabbed one of the slipper pairs (Miku's pair by mistake) so Mitsui couldn't count the slippers and figure out Miku had a guest, and hid in the bathroom. Meanwhile Mitsui got her book autographed and asked to use the bathroom. Miku, not wanting to reveal Yuchi, came up with the lie that she was going to use the bathroom later. After Mitsui left, the drugs began to kick in, and she texts, “How bothersome, she’s still here. Oh no… I’m getting sleepy… What should I do?” with 'she' referring to Yuchi. Yuchi then did the deed, texted out the final message on the phone, and waited for Isao to come and give her time to escape through the balcony.

This solution is mostly a matter of elimination without much evidence to support (vs. exclude others. The best I could come up with was Yuchi said, "Are you sure you didn't put your own slippers on? Since you have a fatty constitution..." How would she know that Miku's slippers weren't wet and that Miku didn't go to the onsen in between visits? The three suspects claimed to not see each other after all, so how would they know when the other arrived and where Miku was when not visiting?

Motive

Most likely something typical. The obvious one is somebody's story or ideas were stolen, or maybe Miku was slamming someone with bad reviews or interfering with publication and thus ruining somebody's chance of success. If this aformentioned somebody isn't Yuchi, then perhaps it is someone related to her or her now divorced husband. The motive explains why Yuchi's book is in an untouched state: she didn't even want to read it because it made her angry/it was her idea to begin with. Also, whatever Miku did could be related to/have resulted in Yuchi's divorce.

As for Isao's bomb, I wonder if it is armed with a dead man's switch, i.e. if he releases the button, it explodes. He did note there is a limit to how long he could stay awake in 771. On the other hand, he was also looking at his watch nervously in 773, indicating they may be timed bombs.

Finally that whole "Shinichi wouldn't allow anyone to die! He absolutely wouldn't!!" line may convince Sera that Conan/Shinichi probably didn't come up with a plan that allowed Akai to die. It might result in extra pressure.

That's awesome deduction skills. I think you're probably right! :wink:

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

I can answer that. The original Japanese was ambiguous - it didn't specify who had the wet hair. I can tell you that there are Japanese people who thought that the elephant was the one with the wet hair.

Thanks, I was wondering about that.

Also, lookee what I found on Japanese blogs! I think that this is the kind of info you guys would love:

光井珠美 (Mitsui Tamami)：ツイッター (tsuittaa = Twitter)

湯地志信 (Yuchi Shinobu): YouTube

二瓶純夏 (Nihei Sumika)：Facebook

沢栗美紅 (Sawaguri Miku)：GREE、mixi (popular Japanese SNS's)

降塚屋 (Furitsuka-ya): フリッカー(furi[small tsu]kaa = Flicker)

Pretty cool, yes? This would go with your theory, Chekhov, since out of the suspects (and Miku, I guess), YouTube is the only site that's not quite an SNS.

I wish I knew Japanese so I could catch all the name puns. This is brilliant.