Translating Interviews

[skyechan 82]

This is an interview (technically I guess it's just words from Gosho) taken from page 169 of Detective Conan vs. Kaitou Kid Perfect Edition, if you'd be so kind as to translate it for us.

どーも青山剛昌です。　

コナンとキッドの対決が詰まった本とはいえ、みんな買ってくれるのか不安だったけど、少なくともこれ読んでる人は買ってくれてるんだよね、ありがとう。　

でも最初にキッドを登場させたときは、１回きりのスペシャルゲストみたいな感じで描いてたから、正直、本が作れるくらい出てくるとは思わなかったな、驚き（笑）。　

はじめは単純にコナンに強力なライバルが欲しかっただけだからね。　

服部平次は、推理する上ではライバルだけど探偵仲間。　

そうじゃなくって探偵の宿敵というか天敵みたいなライバルを出したかったんだよね。　

だったらやっぱり、アルセーヌ・ルパンやルパン三世みたいな神出きぱつ*で大胆不敵な怪盗でしょ？　

自分も子供の頃から、彼らのファンだったしね。　で、コナンも相当頭がいいから、ちゃんと対抗できる相手を、いろいろ考えていたんだけど…　待てよ！？　

そういえば、　ちょうどピッタリなヤツを、　オレは知ってるぞって。　

しかも、身近にいる！（笑）　

ただ自分の作品とはいえ、別作品の主人公を出していいのか悩んだから、当時の少年サンデーの編集長に相談してみると、あっさりといいって言ってくれて。　

めでたくコナンと怪盗キッドの対決が実現したってワケ。　

そんないきさつもあって、『まじっく快斗』の「ブラック・スターの巻」（この本では「最初の対決」として収録）で、新一が登場してくる話なんて、当然、最初は全然考えてなかった（笑）。　

もちろん今はコナンとキッドの関係とか、ちゃんと考えてあるけどね。　

でも『まじっく快斗』に新一を出したのは、時期的に新一の姿での活躍をちゃんと描いてやりたかっただけど、別に深い関係とか意味はないなぁ。　

もともとキッド＝快斗には、中森警部や白馬君っていうライバルがいるからね。　

新一は、いわばスペシャルゲスト。　

というわけで、コナンになる前の新一の貴重な活躍をこの本でじっくり楽しんでください。　

あと『まじっく快斗』ファンのために解決しておくと、時計塔の話は中森警部が警視庁に転属になる前、まだみなと**警察署にいるころの話になってます。　

追いかけるものと、それから逃げる者、『名探偵コナン』でのコナンと怪盗キッドの対決は、これからもまだ続いていくと思います。　

まあ、最後に勝つのはどっちかわからないけど（笑）。　

自分でも楽しみながら描いていくと思うんで、期待しててください！！

*The furigana reads "kipatsu" but I guess the kanji is something different? I can't seem to get the correct kanji to show up for the life of me.

**Furigana reads "Minato" but it doesn't match the kanji used for "Minato-ku", so I'm not sure what kanji is used.

If there's something that doesn't quite make sense lemme know and I'll double-check the kanji in my book.

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

I had a debate with someone about the Kaito Kid knowing Conan's identity canonically at one point. It was complicated by a disagreement on the definition of canon. It's clear Kaitou Kid knows in the movies and Gosho wrote or endorsed that script, but it isn't clear if this knowledge caries over to the manga like how most of the other movie stuff has no relation to the manga. Kazu quoted some interview from an early guidebook, but without context I'm not sure what to believe.

Besides, the way Kaitou treats Conan in the manga is noticeably different than how he treats Conan in the movies. In the movies he teases Conan about being Shinichi quite often, in the manga, no.

[skyechan 82]

I had a debate with someone about the Kaito Kid knowing Conan's identity canonically at one point. It was complicated by a disagreement on the definition of canon. It's clear Kaitou Kid knows in the movies and Gosho wrote or endorsed that script, but it isn't clear if this knowledge caries over to the manga like how most of the other movie stuff has no relation to the manga. Kazu quoted some interview from an early guidebook, but without context I'm not sure what to believe.

Besides, the way Kaitou treats Conan in the manga is noticeably different than how he treats Conan in the movies. In the movies he teases Conan about being Shinichi quite often, in the manga, no.

Wish I could help you out there. I own the guidebook in question and it does look like page 160 does have information from Aoyama regarding "The Last Wizard of the Century", but unlike the previous interview (words, whatever) I posted above, the interview contains no furigana and therefore I cannot read it. :/ (My kanji reading ability is horrible.)

In my personal opinion, it seems to be fact that Aoyama contributes story ideas to the movies even now, as the movie 16 interview proves but until Aoyama actually puts information into the manga itself, it should be deemed non-canon. At this stage in the manga, the only thing known for certain is that Kid knows Conan is unusual and not to be taken lightly.

As for the Super Digest +10 book, I currently do not own it and cannot confirm Kazu's quote.

[Miss Smiles 105]

But Kaitou Kid had not confirm his identity, right? Kaitou Kid will like Heiji over again, predictably scoff to idea Conan being Shinichi is farfetched.

[angelranchan 56]

kyaah~ my heart goes "doki doki" while reading! belated thanks justwantanaccount!

[ALAKTORN 170]

“A. Only Detective Takagi isn't based off of a real-life person;”

am I the only one who found that curious? O_o

and thanks again for a great translation

[Cindy Xin 5]

I found something interesting. Someone went to his school library and he found the newspaper, and every doubt of the interview is cleared. Now I guess that the source for the 2006 Asahi evening newspaper interview article can be confirmed

朝日新聞1月13日夕刊)

日テレ「名探偵コナン」１０周年

アニメ・原作「いい刺激」

声優陣安定「家にコナンがいる」（原作者青山）

日本テレビ系の人気アニメ「名探偵コナン」が、１月で放映１０周年を迎えた。平均視聴率は１０％台後半、４月には映画版第１０作を公開、発売中の原作マンガは５１巻までで累計１億部突破と、快進撃が続く。「推理ものはアニメに不向きと思っていた。ここまで盛り上がったのはスタッフの頑張りのおかげ」と原作者の青山剛昌は話す。

高校生探偵・工藤新一は、正体不明の「黒の組織」は毒を飲まされ子供の体に。彼は江戸川コナンと名乗り、幼なじみの蘭らと共に数々の難事件を解決しながら、「黒の組織」を追う。

小学館「週刊少年サンデー」での連載開始から１年ほどで、アニメ化の話が来た。「会話や説明ばかり多くて、人もたくさん殺される。こんなマンガをアニメにするなんて、何言ってるの？と思った」と青山。/

大学生の時アニメーターを志していたほどのアニメ好き。映画では原作にも参加する。アニメ版「コナン」への思い入れは深い

「自分がサラッと描いた原作が、アニメで、凝った絵とメリハリのきいた演出でいい作品になっていると、『おれも頑張らなきゃ』と刺激になる。逆に、力を入れて描いた話なのになあ、と思う回もあったりしますが」

９日に放映された１０周年スペシャルは、宿敵「黒の組織」とコナン攻防を描いた。エピソードを重ね、両者の距離はかなり縮まってきた。直接対決、そして完結日は近い？

「今何会目に当たるのかは、秘密です。実は、ボスの名前はすでに原作のどこかに出ている。捜してみて下さい」

ドジな中年探偵・毛利小五郎役のベテラン神谷明ら、声優陣の安定した演技がアニメの大きな魅力。「ぼくのイメージにぴったり」と青山が言うコナン役の声優高山みなみは、妻でもある。昨年５月に結婚した。

「話作りに詰まって『こんなときコナンなら何て言うかなあ』と聞くと、『こんな感じじゃない？』って答えてくれる。家にコナンがいて助かるなあと感じる時です。反対に、仕事が片づいてマンガのことを忘れたいのに、家でもコナンの声が…という時もありますけどね」。

Edited May 3, 2012 by Cindy Xin

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

In case anyone is wondering, ^this^ is one of the boss relevant interviews.

「いま何合目に当たるのかは、秘密です。実は、ボスの名前はすでに原作のどこかに出ている。捜してみて下さい」

*text changed to match picture*

I am pretty sure the last two of the three sentences say something like: "As a matter of fact, the boss's name has already appeared somewhere in the original work. Please search for it for me."

According to the last paragraph which talks about Aoyama's then recent marriage to Takayama Minami, Conan's voice actor, apparently Gosho has trouble relaxing from work because he keeps hearing Conan in the house.

*Note: they divorced later*

SUPER late edit later: The last file before this boss's name has appeared interview was 551 (Nail and Snake) and was in Shounen Sunday issue #5-6 2006 (a double issue with a week break afterwards) which was published January 4, 2006.

[beautiful bird 0]

Hmm, the content does check out, according to this blog that talked about this interview. I guess that a Mainland Chinese person who's somewhat familiar with Japanese but not quite had typed this, or something like that. I'll do my best to translate, then. BRB . . .

EDIT: Found the source on Baidu. Funnily enough, Baidu says that this interview was on OtonaFami June issue, but the Japanese fan blog (which so far has given me quality information) I mentioned above says that this was on monthly B.L.T. magazine. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but I'll translate anyway . . .

(Since the Japanese text doesn't seem completely faithful to the original, I'll translate loosely this time. The translation isn't completely direct.)

Ｑ: いつ顷から、どういうきっかけでサッカーを好きになったか。

Q: Since when and how did you come to like soccer?

⇒好きになったのは“ドーハの悲剧”（1993年に开催された日本代表とイラク代表のサッカーの国际试合）の顷から。コナンが始まる前。日本中ががっかりした试合だったけど…顽张れって気持ちにもなった、あの顷からサッカーは好きですね。

A: I liked soccer since the Agony of Doha (the international soccer match between Japanese and Iraqi representative opened in 1993). This is before Conan started. Although this was a match that let down Japan, I also felt like cheering (Japan). I've liked soccer from that time, yes.

Ｑ. ロベルト・バッジョ选手（イタリアの至宝と呼ばれた选手）が好きだと闻いたが、他に好きな选手は？

Q. I heard that you like Roberto Baggio (footballer who was called Italy's treasure), but who else do you like?

⇒确かにバッジョ选手は好き。他にはＣＳＫＡモスクワで活跃している本田圭佑选手もいい。喋りがかっこいいし、面白い。昔だとヒデ。コナンにもヒデがいるが、コナンの方のヒデ（赤木英雄）の方が先に出ている（笑）

A. Yes, I do like Baggio. As for other players, I also like Keisuke Honda, who is active in CSKA Moscow. His way of speaking is cool, and (his speaking? he?) is interesting. In old times, (my favorite was) Hide. Although there's another Hide in Conan, Conan's Hide (Hideo Akagi) appeared first (laughs).

Ｑ. 今回、剧场版シリーズとして“サッカー”を题材するに至って、先生のこだわりとは？

Q. What is sensei's fixation when researching about soccer for this year's film series?

⇒やっぱり前回のワールドカップ南アフリカ大会での远藤选手のフリーキック、凄かった。远藤选手のあの时のフリーキックは凄いカーブで、弧を描きゴールネットに…これをコナンに蹴らせたい!!と思った。その思い入れは込められたかな(笑)。本田の无回転シュートもいいんだけど…今回の作品的に无回転だと无理かなと思って(何で无理かは剧场で确认してくださいね）。

A. Endou's free kick in World Cup South Africa was amazing. Endou's free kick at that time had an amazing curve, drawing an arc toward the goal net . . . I thought, I want to make Conan kick this!!. Maybe this wish was included (laughs). Honda's knuckle shot was amazing, too . . . but I thought that knuckle shots would be impossible this time, product-wise (to understand why, please confirm at the movie theater).

Ｑ. コナンのリフティングについて。

Q. About Conan's (soccer ball) juggling . . .

⇒１巻ぐらいにしか出て来ないんだけど…コナンが推理するときに、リフティングをしてたら面白いなぁと思ったんだけど、リフティングのシーンを描くと、意外とコマをくっちゃうんだよね(笑)。だから１回しかやってない。だから今回はせっかくだし…コナンにリフティングを思う存分、やらせてみた（笑）。

A. This appeared only around the first volume . . . I thought that it would be interesting if Conan was juggling (a soccer ball) while deducing, but the juggling scenes, when drawn, eat up the panel, contrary to expectations (laughs). That's why I only did it once. That's why I had Conan juggle to his heart's content, given the opportunity (laughs).

Ｑ. 现役の选手の方々に声优を実际にして戴きましたが、どうでしたか？

Q. You had actual soccer players voice acting. How was it?

⇒みなさん、顽张って戴いてよかった。カズさん(三浦知良选手)は、とても自然な感じだったし。

A. Everybody did their best for us, it was great. Kazu-san (Kazuyoshi Miura) was a natural, too.

Ｑ. 作品中に出てくる东京スピリッツ、ビッグ大阪のユニフォームのデザインは、どこかのチームのユニフォームからインスピレーションはあったか？

Q. Did you get inspiration from some team for your work's Tokyo Spirits' and Big Osaka's uniforms?

⇒东京スピリッツはイタリア、セリエＡ“ユベントス”。昔、ロベルト・バッジョがいた、あのチーム。ビッグ大阪は特にないんだけど…あえて言うなら、昔の浦和レッズ、鹿岛アントラーズの襟部分などを参考にしたかな。

A. Tokyo Spirits' is from Italy's Serie A Juventus F.C.. The team Baggio was a part of a long time ago. There's no specific (inspiration) for Big Osaka . . . but if you insist, I may have consulted Urawa Red Diamonds', Kashima Antlers' collar.

Ｑ. 今回の构想期间はどれくらい？

Q. How lond was the planning process this time?

⇒大体２年前から始めた。それくらい始めないと间に合わない。

A. We started about two years ago. We can't finish on time if we don't start around there.

Ｑ. 作品を描く时、どうしているか？

Q. When drawing your work, what do you do?

⇒音楽がかかっていると集中できない、だから无音。たまに気分展开したい时に音楽をかけたり、気晴らしに映画を観たりしている。集中して考える时は绝対に音はない。逆に絵を描くときは、音楽をかける。昔は、大滝咏一さんとかブルーハーツ。ブルーハーツは“1000のバイオリン”という曲が大好き。がっかりすることがあると、この曲を聴く。大体オレの头の中って、この曲の歌词みたい。ブルーハーツはコナンの最初の主题歌だし。あとはアニメを流したりもする。例えば、“ちはやぶる”は超おもしろくてあれはいい。このアニメを流しながら、コナンの杀人シーンを描いたりした(笑)。

A. I can't focus when music is playing, so no music. I play music to improve my mood, or play movies to brighten my mood. When I'm thinking with focus, there is never any sound. In the old days, (I played) Eiichi Otaki, Blue Hearts, etc.

Ｑ. 今回のようにサッカーという要素の中に、事件・推理・爆破などの要素を入れて、１つの作品として完成させるのは大変だったと思うが、どうだったか？

Q. It must have been a lot of work to include elements of soccer, incident, deduction, explotion and finish them as one product. How was it?

⇒大変だった。漫画の原作でサッカースタジアムで犯人が狙撃して、コナンが阻止するというのをやってしまったので、狙撃はもうできないし(笑)。狙撃できないなら爆発しかないよね(笑)。

It was a lot of work. (I) already did (a case) in the manga where the culprit is sniping, and where Conan stops him, so (we) couldn't do sniping anymore (laughs). If sniping is out, you can only do explosions, right? (laughs)

Ｑ. 打ち合わせは何度も重ねたんですよね？

Q. Business meetings were held repeatedly, right?

⇒打ち合わせは大体仆の家でするんだけど、暗号をどうしようとみんなで悩んでいたとき、仕事场でトリックの一部を完成させて“これにしよう”と言って决めたり…。トリックは思い浮かんで决まるときは早い。作品を完成させる时は、まず“トリック”を完成させる、トリックが决まらないと全然话にならないので。今回の场合だと、サッカーに全体が引っ张られ过ぎるとよくないし。トリックをしっかり决め、そしてサッカーの要素などを加えて完成させた。

A. Business meetings are usually done at (Not a Japanese name, not sure wtheck this is)'s house, but when everyone was pondering over the cipher, we'll complete one part of a trick at the workplace and decide while saying "Let's use this!" . . . For tricks, the time when thinking up and deciding is fast. To finish a work, first finish the trick. If the trick isn't decided, the story doesn't form. In this case, it's not good to pull apart soccer as a whole. (We) first firmly decided the trick, then added elements of soccer to finish.

Ｑ. これまでの作品で、実在する人がモデルになっているキャラクターはいるか？

Q. In your work so far, do you have character(s) who are modeled off of people in real life?

⇒高木刑事だけ実在ではないけれど、漫画家“よしまさこ”さんの作品で、です・ます调のキャラクターがいて、そのキャラの见た目でなく、中身を参考にさせてもらった。

A. Only Detective Takagi isn't based off of a real-life person; he is based on a character who speaks politely in the manga artist Masako Yoshi's work. I consulted that character's insides, not (his/her) appearance.

Ｑ. 今回の作品を実际に観て、特に印象に残ったシーンや“细かいところだけど気づいてほしい”というシーンがあれば教えてください。

Q. Tell us about scenes that left you an impression or scenes that you want others to notice despite being insignificant when you watched this year's work.

⇒お～っと思ったのは、スタジアムの电光掲示板が爆発して…あることが起きるじゃない?!あとコナンのサスペンダーが(あとは剧场で)。それとカズのシーンが良かった、全体的にアップテンポな进行の中で、ゆったりとしていて。

(The scene that) made me think Wow! is when the stadium's electronic bulletin board explodes, and . . . something happens, right?! Then Conan's suspenders (go to the theater for more). And Kazu's scene was good, its pace was easy-going in the middle of an up-beat one.

Ｑ. 剧场版コナンを一般の映画馆で観るか？

Q. Do you watch Conan's films in an average (or public, I think) theater?

⇒耻ずかしくて一般の映画馆では観ない。でも『世纪末の魔术师』という作品で、怪盗キッドを出そうってオレが言ったんだけど、本当に作品に登场するのか？と思って、映画馆へ『世纪末の魔术师』の予告编だけを确认しに、ガメラか何かの作品を観に行きました(笑)。あの时の怪盗キッドはオレが描いた原画だったし、スクリーンサイズで観れて感动した。

A. I'm embarrassed to watch in an average theater. But in the work "The Last Wizard of the century", since I suggested making Kaito Kid appear and I thought, Will (he) really

appear?, I went to a theater to just confirm "The Last Wizard of the Century"'s trailer while watching Gamera or whatever (laughs). Kaito Kid at that time was (based on) my storyboard, and I felt happy to see it on the big screen.

(My comment: . . . Does this mean that Kaito Kid knows Conan's identity in canon? Hmm.)

Ｑ. 今回のコナンは冒头からハードアクションだったが、どんなアクション作品のイメージがあったのか。

Q. This time's Conan is hard action from the beginning. What action work did you base it on?

⇒ダイ・ハードか２４かな。それと、“パニック・イン・スタジアム”というスタジアムの中が大騒ぎになる作品も少しイメージした。

A. Die Hard or 24, maybe. (My comment: Gosho has mentioned in the manga how he has watched 24 before. It's a US detective series, so you guys should be able to watch it, if you wanted to.) I also based it a little on the work Panic in Stadium (Note: the US title is Two-Minute Warning), where there's turmoil in a stadium.

Ｑ. 兰が新一に携帯电话で连络するシーンについて。

Q. On the scene where Ran contacts Shinichi with a cell phone.

⇒原作では既にエクスペリアじゃなくてエクスペリカンというスマホを使っているし、灰原はプ●ダフォンだし、ベルモットはアイ●ォンだしね。

A. In the original work (Note: the manga), (Conan?) uses a smart phone called XPERIKAN (Note: this is what's on the manga to avoid copyright violations, probably - not a real phone), not Xperia. Haibara (uses) Prada phone, and Vermouth (uses) iPhone.

Ｑ. 兰など素敌な女の子たちが登场しているが、『名探侦コナン』という作品の中で特に好きな女の子は谁か？

Q. Charming girls like Ran appears (in your work). In the work called Detective Conan, which female character do you especially like?

⇒やっぱヒロインの兰かな。好きなのは兰、そして特别な女の子が灰原かな。こなん通信社の中で灰原の一言もオレが考えているんだけど、ほぼ灰原はオレの代弁者になっているね。あと兰は勇往迈进というか（新一のことを）待っていてくれるのは嬉しいというか…あと强いしね。ちなみに女の子が强いシーンを描くのって嬉しい。今、世良ちゃんも出ているけど、描くのが楽しい…目の下にクマがあるけど(笑)。

A. I guess it would have to be the heroin, Ran. I like Ran, and the special girl would be Haibara. I think about Haibara's comments in the Conan News Agency, too; she's become my spokeswoman, hasn't she? Ran is full of courage, and she waits for Shinichi, which makes (Gosho?) happy . . . she's strong, too. By the way, I feel happy drawing scenes where girls are strong. Right now, Sera-chan is appearing, too, and it's fun to draw (her) . . . although, she has bags under her eyes (laughs).

(My comment: Whoa whoa whoa, does this open the possibility that Sera isn't Akai's sister, if the lower eyelid thing is just bags under her eyes and not some kind of genetic appearance-related thing?)

Ｑ. ジャイアンツが好きだと闻きました。剧场版の作品で、スポーツに関する题材としてどんなスポーツをやってみたいか。

Q. I hear that you like the Giants. What kind of sports do you want to do as the theme of a film, if the theme is sports-related?

⇒野球だね。でもジャイアンツに肩入れするのも…(笑)。やるなら世界的に有名なスポーツがいいと思う。スポーツ観戦するのが好き。基本、何でも観る。

A. It would be baseball. But supporting Giants might be . . . (laughs). If (I'm/we're/etc) going to do it, I think that it's good to (pick a) sport that's famous all over the world. I like to watch sport matches. Basically, I watch anything.

EDIT: I'm done!

Thank you very much you are really wonderful

[Black Demon 466]

This apparently is Gosho's new interview that I've found in the DCTP Spoiler Cbox: http://sankei.jp.msn...07000000-n1.htm

As you can see there are 4 pages in total. Unfortunately, not much is translated into English, and I'm not even sure if it's real or not. According to the translators in the Cbox:

The Boss' full name has been mentioned. I'm still not sure whether it's safe to conclude that The Boss him/herself has appeared in person or not. (Well, that doesn't help much...)

[angelranchan 56]

and may not reach hundred volumes? T_T

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

One from the German forum. It's old and may have been done before by someone else.

http://detektivconan-wiki.com/wiki/Interview_mit_Gosho_Aoyama

[ALAKTORN 170]

can someone translate it to English?

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

can someone translate it to English?

Google translate does a half decent job of it for being ... well google translate. : P

[Aki-kun 7]

One from the German forum. It's old and may have been done before by someone else.

http://detektivconan-wiki.com/wiki/Interview_mit_Gosho_Aoyama

Not sure, if the whole interview has already been translated to English somewhere before.

Anyway, here we go:

English Translation:

This interview was given on 22nd July 2006 during a press conference at "Comic-Salon" in Erlangen (Germany). [TN: Actually, the interview was given on 17th June 2006.]

Note: At this time, volume 54 was published in Japan, while there were 44 volumes obtainable in Germany. So the events in Japan were 10 volumes ahead in comparison to the German ones.

[Tranlator note: Part of this interview was published in the German version of volume 50, but only a few of the questions/answers. I guess the other questions just weren't written down there for some reason, but were asked and answered during that convention.]

Q: How many volumes is Detective Conan going to have?

A: The amount of volumes is not certain yet.

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama already know, how the series is going to end?

A: He does already know what the last scene is going to be, but of course he won't reveal it yet.

Q: Will there be a happy end?

A: He won't reveal it, either.

Q: On which day is Heiji's birthday?

A: It's not certain yet, but it should be July or August.

Q: Is Conan going to grow older over the course of the series, e.g. becoming a second grader?

A: No, Conan is not going to grow older. He may be at the end of the series, but that's still a secret.

Q: During one of the movies Sonoko got a different hairstyle (see movie 5). Is she also going to get this hairstyle in the manga version?

A: The movies and the manga version are completely separated from each other. So Sonoko will keep her old hairstyle in the manga version.

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama plan to write the last volume already and to keep it in a safe for now?

A: No, he does not plan to.

Q: Is the antidote of APTX related to Necrosis?

A: It's still uncertain.

Q: Are there going to be new members of the Detective Boys in the future?

A: For now, no new members are planned.

Q: Are there going to be big surprises for Japanese fans in the near future?

A: Yes, there are going to be some big surprises. The name of Haibara [TN: could be either her name or Haibara herself; probably Haibara herself though] is going to be a big part of it [TN: referring to the surprises].

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama plan to have children in the future?

A: For now, he does not.

Q: How does Gosho Aoyama like Germany? Is Conan going to solve some case in Germany sometime?

A: Gosho Aoyama really thinks Germany is very beautiful. He especially likes the sausages.

There probably won't be a case for Conan in a foreign country since he wouldn't been able to get a passport.

Q: But in one of the movies Conan has solved a case in London already (see movie 6).

A: He wasn't really in London. But maybe he will get a faked passport... (At that time Steffen Hautog interjects how nice it is that the German fans are traveling to Japan just to see the Conan movies as the movies weren't published yet in Germany at that time.)

Q: Where do the ideas for the cases come from?

A: He has to answer this question a lot of times. He gets his inspiration from everyday life, for example from a toilet:

If the lid is up, a man has used the toilet. If it's down, it was a woman. Such details can become part of the cases.

Q: In the manga version there often are little extra comics. [TN: Not sure what they are referring to, here] Are they just little jokes or are the assistants using them to annoy their boss?

A: They are just little jokes.

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama plan to have a cameo in Detective Conan?

A: No, he's not going to appear in the series himself.

Q: What is Gosho Aoyama's bet for the WC soccer game between Japan and Croatia? [TN: of the soccer WC 2006 in Germany]

A: He hopes for a 2:0 for Japan. However, he thinks the Croatian team is very srong, so the Japanese team won't have it easy.

Q: Gosho is actively doing sports, e.g. Kendo. Does he also play soccer?

A: He is only a viewer when it comes to soccer. His favorite soccer team is Juventus Turin.

Q: How tall is Conan?

A: Gosho shows with his hand that it's at about 1,30 meter.

Q: Why are all members of the BO named after alcoholic beverages?

A: Because it's cool.

Q: Why did Gosho Aoyama put a detective in the body of an elementary school pupil?

A: Since the series primary audience are children, the protagonist should also be a child.

Q: Why are almost all characters in the series blue-eyed, while blue-eyed people aren't very common in Japan in reality?

A: Blue is more colorful.

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama want to continue Kaito Kid?

A: He wants to, but he has no time to do so at the moment. So the master thief is only going to appear occasionally

in Detective Conan for now. In Japan a volume recently was published, which tells the story of the origin of Kid's name.

Q: Is Conan going to find out who's Kid? Is Kid going to be captured, by Conan or police?

A: It's not certain for now.

Q: Is Yusaku Kudo going to reappear in the future?

A: Gosho Aoyama is drawing a story which plays ten years before the current storyline. Conan's father is going to appear in this case, too. [TN: Obviously referring to volume 55 chapter 6-9]

Q: When Gosho Aoyama started Detective Conan, did he expect his series to get so successful?

A: No, he didn't expect it to get so successful. He estimated that it would be only published for three months in a Japanese magazine.

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama teach talented young manga artists?

A: No, he does not teach.

Q: Which part of Detective Conan is done by Gosho Aoyama himself and which part by his assistants?

A: Gosho Aoyama himself draws the characters, his assistants draw the backgrounds and painting big areas.

Q: Is Sonoko going to have a boyfriend?

A: She already has a boyfriend and they are going to stay together.

Q: Are there going to be further entanglements between Kaito Kid and Conan?

A: No, because the story would become too complicated, otherwise.

Q: Why does Makoto always wear a plaster on his face?

A: Because it's cool.

Q: Why are there so many pairings in Detective Conan between old childhood friends?

A: Childhood friends becoming lovers is an easy concept to comprehend for everybody. That's why it's used so often.

Q: How much hours in a week does Gosho Aoyama work and what is he doing when he's not working?

A: Gosho Aoyama claims that he sleeps three hours a day. When he's not working, he plays computer games, watches TV and movies, reads crime novels, and - of course - watches soccer.

Q: How is Kogoro able to get sober ai an instant?

A: Gosho Aoyama didn't even notice that before.

Q: In one movie, the divorce of Kogoro and his wife was shown (see movie 2). Is it going to be shown in the manga series, too?

A: Gosho Aoyama is drawing a story, where they are still together. [TN: Probably again referring to volume 55 chapter 6-9]

Q: What is the first name of Professor Agasa's first love?

A: Her first name is Fusae.

Q: Why is Ran so violent?

A: For that you have to ask Ran herself.

Q: Who is Gosho Aoyama's favorite caharcter from Detective Conan?

A: The little master detective himself.

Q: Why does Shuuichi hate Gin so much?

A: It is going to become clear soon in the manga.

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama plan to start a new series after Detective Conan is finished?

A: As of yet, there's no new series planned.

Q: How old is Gosho Aoyama?

A: He is going to be 43 years-old on 21st June [TN: 2006].

Q: For how long has Gosho Aoyama worked on Detective Conan?

A: For this, Gosho Aoyama has to ask his editor, who traveled along.

He has worked on Detective Conan since 1993.

Q: Who is the boss of the BO?

A: It's already decided and it is going to be revealed sometime.

Q: Which style of music does Gosho Aoyama prefer?

A: He doesn't listen to music very often and he prefers no particular style.

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama have some role models among other mangaka?

A: Yes, for example the famous movie director Kurosawa is one of his role models.

Q: How old was he, when he published his first manga?

A: That has to be answered by his editor as well. Gosho Aoyama was 24 years-old at that time.

Q: When did Gosho Aoyama buy his first manga?

A: When he was in kindergarten, he bought his first manga, which probably isn't known by anyone in Germany.

By the way, his father bought him "Peter Pan".

Q: Does Gosho Aoyama have contact to other mangaka?

A: He visits parties where he meets his colleagues.

Q: Would he like to visit Germany again, even if the Japanese national team doesn't play there at that time?

A: Gosho Aoyama really likes German sausages, so he would like to visit Germany again in the future.

Q: Which manga does Gosho Aoyama like to read?

A: Among other things he is a big fan of "Vagabond".

Q: Which crime story authors did inspire Gosho Aoyama the most?

A: He is a big fan of Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes.

Q: When did Gosho Aoyama start to draw manga?

A: He began to draw manga when he was three years old. However, those drawings could only be called scribbles.

Q: On the internet, there is a rumor that Gosho Aoyama would be on a two month-break. Is it true?

A: No, it's not. If someone would offer him such a long break, he wouldn't decline, but, alas, no one does.

Q: Is Gosho Aoyama also interested in European and US comics?

A: Yes, he is. His favorites are "Superman" and "Batman" among other things. But he also likes works from Moebius.

Q: How many persons work on the manga?

A: Gosho Aoyama works together with six assitants.

Q: Would Gosho Aoyama read and answer fan letters from Germany, if they are written in Japanaese?

A: He would read them. But instead of answering each of them, he would send a new years card.

Q: To what extend is Detective Conan autobiographic?

A: From time to time, there are events of Gosho Aoyama's daily life, which are represented in the manga.

Q: Is Gosho Aoyama able to imagine one day in the life of Conan without a murder?

A: He would like to write such a story one day.

Q: Are there really as many murders as shown in Detective Conan in Japan?

A: No, thankfully not.

Q: The word is that the Japanese police has used Conan for an anti drug campaign in the past. Is it true?

A: It's true. The campaign was directed at children. Many children watch Deective Conan and while watching it catch this message.

TN: That's it ~

I'm sorry for my bad English.

Feel free to ask if some parts do not make sense in Englisch or to correct any mistakes.

Also, my translation may not be 100 % literal all of the time since it isn't really possible at some parts with how the German sentences are worded.

[ALAKTORN 170]

thanks for the translation

[CarpetCrawler 280]

Many thanks!!

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

Sankei newspaper 2012.6.30 interview: http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/news/120630/bdy12063007000000-n1.htm

It was mentioned in a post by Black Demon earlier. The interview kind of got ignored in the middle of the Bourbon stuff, and there were some fakes that added details floating around that got confused with the original. The Sankei interview linked above appears to be legitimate.

Only a little was about the actual story; most was about Gosho's past and development as an author. The story-relevant bits were these two lines: the first is about if DC will hit 100 Volumes, the second is about the boss.

Q: 今年1月3日の「青山剛昌ふるさと館」などが主催したイベントで「コナンは100巻まで続かない」と発言されたとか?

A: 「続くかもしれないし、続かないかも…。でも、結末は決めていますよ」

Q: コナンに登場する犯罪組織の黒幕は、男ですか、女ですか

A: 「それは言えない。でも、今までにフルネームで登場している人です」

From what I can tell, the only new information is Gosho's response specified the boss's full name (フルネーム) rather than just "name". There was a translation by Mina in the DC spoiler DCbox "a person who has appeared with his/her full name" HOWEVER I think a corroboration by another skilled translator is necessary before it is safe to reject the more conservative reading "the boss's full name has appeared" - something which Gosho has said before. (subject フルネームで?)

[ALAKTORN 170]

I think that translator is right, the boss has appeared him/herself on screen with his/her full name

btw the question was “is the boss of the crime organization a man or a woman?” to that, Aoyama replied “I can’t say”

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

Apparently an informal interview was given by Gosho on Jan 3rd, 2013 to fans. There is no transcript I know about (hopefully something more detailed will pop up to confirm) but reports of what was talked about made it onto Baidu. Usually interviews from there are somewhat suspect, but this info seems to be well regarded because it isn't absurdly revealing, the poster included pictures of the informal meet, and a similar informal interview (linked) was given last year around this time. The Japanese person who was at the previous year’s interview also had commentary on this one. The Chinese and Japanese accounts do not contradict each other, so it is extremely likely the info is accurate.

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2081711892

今天柯南作者见面会问答 组织消息

Posted by 我爱贝尔摩得

Y大蟹酥Y微博消息 大叔说还会有新的组织成员登场

否认boss是阿笠博士 灰原和琴酒确实有关系，但具体是什么关系敬请期待 怪盗基德不会再和组织有交集 明年20周年可能会画组织相关内容 大boss没有酒名代号，但成员的代号都是大boss起的

Translation by Conan4869 with edits: Gosho said there [could be] a new member of the Black Organization [appearing], denied Agasa is BO boss. There is a relationship between Sherry and Gin, wait to see what relationship between them. Kaito Kid won't be involved in the BO story anymore. Next year 20th anniversary (Year 2014) he may create a story about BO. BO boss had no codename related to alcohol, but members' codenames are named by BO boss.

Analysis

• Likely no big BO confrontation cases will happen in 2013, although the plot with Amuro, Sera, and Akai should go on. Chapter 900 will fall in approx February-March 2014 at the current rate, which suggests Gosho will hold off until 2014 - the 20th anniversary of DC. (For anime watchers, BO cases or cameos often occur on manga file numbers that are multiples of 100)
  
• Gosho may be thinking about introducing another new BO member, but he is probably going to clean up some of the current plot first. It will probably be a while before there are any new BO. To put it in perspective, the Nagano case Gosho talked about last year in January still hasn't happened yet. It would make the most sense to introduce a new member in File 900 in 2014 to coincide with the 20th anniversary.
  
• We already knew Agasa wasn't the boss and the boss gave out alcohol codenames.
  
• No more Kaitou Kid messing up the BO plot!!! <- BEST NEWS
  
• I doubt Gosho will clear up Sherry and Gin's relationship. Whenever the issue came up in earlier interviews, he gave pretty much the same answer. The only new development about that mystery since the early Vermouth arc is Gin thinking of Shiho naked again in the train case. Fans have been asking Gosho about the two of them since the Vermouth arc without success, so it must be sensitive and/or something Gosho is saving for later.
  

[CarpetCrawler 280]

... That is quite interesting news.

I'm actually more than a little OK with Gosho Aoyama nixing the idea of Kaitou Kid being involved with any Black Organization cases and plots. I feel like no matter how much Kaitou Kid fangirls want it, it would be written and executed poorly. It's just not a smart idea if you don't want backlash from people that pay enough attention to the series to ask certain kinds of questions and find certain kinds of plot holes. Just wouldn't work at all.

Not surprising that we won't be seeing anything Black Organization-related until 2014, but how unfortunate. And the series snails its way to the neverending finish line.

[Black Demon 466]

So far I have not found any recording or whatever in Japanese, but the Chinese fan who attended the meeting on 2013.1.3 and originally reported the news above have translated many of Gosho's answers in one of his/her Weibo (微博) blog entries. He/she saved everything written as a very long image file rather than typing it out (possibly because there's a character limit). And since this is based on this person's memory only, he/she said that not every detail can be correct. And of course it means that not every Q&A can be remembered here.

User/poster: Y大蟹酥Y

Original link to the Weibo blog: http://weibo.com/u/1986450982

UNFORTUNATELY, to be able to gain access to Weibo, you must have an account, which I don't think anyone here does. The image and my crappy English translation can be viewed in the spoiler boxes below (I cropped it into 7 parts).

DISCLAIMER: I don't own this image. Image source is on the bottom right corner of the last part. And just so you know, I don't even think I have the permission to post this thing, even though it seems to be meant for public view -__-"" ...

About the character designs and the movie posters

1. A girl asked whether the "horn" on Ran's head is a bone. Gosho laughed and said that it's not a bone, it's just the hair style. He also emphasized that Ran wouldn't be Ran if she didn't have the "horn" on her head. And Conan wouldn't be Conan if he didn't have the hair strands that gone straightened up at the back of his head.

2. About the origin of Shinichi's birthday (May 4), Gosho said that it's the day that Holmes and Prof. Moriarty died at Reichenbach Fall, which would make it look like Shinichi is the reincarnation of Holmes, however, Holmes never actually died...

3. Gosho said that when he designs the characters and draws the manga, the principle that he sticks to is: Boys must look handsome and girls must look cute (男の子はカツコよく、 女の子は可愛く). He always reminds himself to think and draw seriously.

4. Gosho draws the movie posters, but the texts on the side are not written by him.

About the creation and experience as a mangaka

Nothing important in this part really, I'm too lazy to translate right now =.=

About ShinRan

I (the poster) helped a friend ask this: Shinichi has already confessed to Ran back in London. What will their development in the future be, will they have a kissing scene like Takagi and Sato ?

Gosho answered that there'll definitely be a development, he wasn't sure how much he should spoil, but he said that we can expect the "kiss" thing, there will be that part.

About Kaitou Kid and Magic Kaito

1. Basically Gosho said that there is a reason behind Kid and Shinichi's resemblance and he purposely made it like that. That reason may be brought up in the future if he has the chance to draw, but maybe not if he's too busy.

2. A fan asked that: In "Magic Kaito" where Kaitou Kid is the main character, the first Kid (Toichi) was killed by a mysterious organization. Kaitou Kid both find the "Pandora" and hunt the enemies who killed his father at the same time. But in the "Mystery Train" arc, Kid showed up to help Conan. Will Kaitou Kid's story be relevant to the Black Organization because of this ?

Gosho said because that was a special case, so [he] let Kid appeared and have an encounter with the organization. However, Kid has his own story plot, which may be developed in "Magic Kaito", so Kaitou Kid will probably not have any intersection with the BO in the future.

He also said that he really wants to draw MK, at least one volume per year, but since he's too busy with Conan's releases, especially with the "Mystery Train" thing, he never had the time.

About the Black Organization

1. Gosho said that after Amuro there'll also be a new member/new members. Even though he didn't say clearly, but it seems that there won't be only one.

2. A fan asked: All BO members have alcoholic code-names. Does Gosho like alcohols ? Will his most favorite alcohol be The Boss' code-name ?

Gosho said he doesn't really drink, he just picked up the alcoholic names that he thinks are cool. The cool code-names are almost used up now, maybe there's only Whiskey or something... left. [black Demon: I find this strange because Rye and Bourbon are already whiskeys.]

The Boss doesn't need to have a code-name because (he/she) is the "boss", of course the member's code-names are all come up by The Boss.

3. A fan asked whether Gosho has already come up with the name and character design/setting for The Boss ?

Gosho gave out an ambiguous statement: The Boss has already been come up with/has already appeared; the name also has already been come up with/has already appeared. But which option is the correct understanding, everyone has their own opinion.

However, Gosho stated that it's not Agasha Hiroshi, to which the audiences clap enthusiastically.

4. A girl asked about the "Sherry naked" thing, that why does Gin always think about her without clothes, what exactly is their relationship ?

Gosho answered that they indeed had a relationship, but it wouldn't be interesting if (he) revealed it there, so please wait for it. The poster also mentioned that Gosho had a trolling (or something like that) laugh/smile at the time.

5. From what I (BD) understand here is that a fan asked why Gosho didn't name Amuro directly after Tohru Furuya but had to use a character that has the same pronunciation (透 vs. 徹). Gosho said that it would be too obvious if he did that. [Except it's still very obvious ]

6. A fan asked whether there will be a special story that Gosho wants to write next year (Conan's 20th anniversary) ?

Gosho said that he wants to write a BIG case that involves the organization. However, he said that he "wants to write", so...

About the ending

The poster asked about the ending and Gosho's answer is basically the same as in the past: It may not end just yet, but he also said that doesn't mean (Conan) doesn't have any ending. [so what I understand here is that there may or may not be a ending, and Gosho is also not certain about when will he write the end either.]

Nothing important in this part really, I'm too lazy to translate right now =.=

[ALAKTORN 170]

“but he said that we can expect the "kiss" thing, there will be that part.”

awesome *_*

“Gosho gave out an ambiguous statement: The Boss has already been come up with/has already appeared; the name also has already been come up with/has already appeared. But which option is the correct understanding, everyone has their own opinion.”

from previous Japanese texts, I believe he actually means that Anokata appeared on screen as a whole person, but it really is not certain… just what I think

thank you for that BD

[Cider 1]

Thank you for the translation, BD! You're awesome!

HYPE for new BOrg member. Even more hype for the fact that Kid is no longer involved.

[S.Vineyard 0]

Interesting new Infos, thanks.

@Anokata: Imo. Gosho will keep this for the series finale as a big surprise.

@Kiss: This "might" happen during the next Shinichi/Ran confrontation. Could be in one of the next cases. The Mystery Train Arc, with it's "late" BO confrontation pushed the next Shinichi appearence a bit behind.