Shuukichi Haneda Discussion Thread

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

Please post any theories you have concerning Sera's second oldest brother here. Here is the known information about him and some of the most common theories so far: Akai family's middle brother.

Timeline of Akai family history: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/forum/topic/4679-masumis-second-oldest-middle-brother/#entry302982

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Theory is out of date, it was last updated sometime early in 2014!
The brother is probably Haneda Shuukichi 

Index
. . .Unresolved issues about Masumi
. . . "The Wizard"
. . . . . . Evidence
. . . . . . Wizard related speculation
. . . The Middle Brother
. . . . . . Straight theories
. . . . . . Twist Theories
 

 

Unresolved issues about Sera Masumi
The mystery child: See here

Why did Masumi come to Japan in the first place? Is there more to it than her thoughts about returning to Japan because she wanted to meet "the wizard"? (874) Why does Masumi want to meet "the wizard"?

When and how did Masumi find out Shinichi was Conan? All evidence for when points to sometime before the bus ride where Conan and Ran first met her. How is a complete mystery. What would prompt Masumi into chasing the connection to Conan and Shinichi in the first place?

What were the circumstances of Masumi's meeting with Ran and Shinichi in the past? Look under the Wizard evidence.

Why did Masumi initially try to gather information about Haibara, and then delete it? Why did she recognize Shiho (V77-11 pg 11)? Did Masumi realize the woman on Mitsuhiko's video looked like the girl's photo she deleted earlier, which is why she got in Ai's face on the train? Why did Masumi want to speak with Ai on the train? Why did she not follow up?

Why did Masumi react to seeing Okiya, but then not follow up?


Suspicions
When was Masumi told about her eldest brother's (Shuuichi's) death. She doesn't seem to experience much sadness related to it, the emotion I would expect if it was a recent even and still raw, so I wonder if she was told he died years ago?
 
The Wizard's identity
The Wizard is Shinichi

Evidence
Regarding the middle brother's PS "Have you met the Wizard yet?" I think the brother was asking about Shinichi. Sera's response, "you could say so", makes sense in that she didn't actually meet Shinichi, but she met Conan, so she sort of met Shinichi. (Manga Volume 81, File 11 (861), pg 15-16: "Just like Magic") Sera apparently knows Conan's real identity already, so this theory logically checks out. (See Sera's theory) In 874, Sera looks at Conan again when thinking of the Wizard which seems affirm the wizard is Shinichi.

It seems the event where Shinichi earned the nickname of Wizard was at the beach meeting from the past. Ran specifically mentions "sounds of rippling waves, as if some sort of magic were at work." in Volume 80, File 7 (846), pg 4. Sera also seems to focus on the word "magic" when Conan says "just like magic" with Kogoro's voice in V81-11 (861) pg 7. Knowing Detective Conan, this was probably a case that young Shinichi helped solve. I want to put out there for stab-in-the-dark potential that bioluminescent phytoplankton that glow when the water is disturbed would qualify as magical.

Wizard related speculation
Masumi wants Shinichi to figure out Akai's death
In File 874, Sera mentally confirms that her reason for returning to Japan is to meet The Wizard again. Since her prior interaction with Shinichi will probably be related to a case (and how he earned the nickname The Wizard), it stands to reason that she is looking for Shinichi in order to question him about a mystery.

Since she also seems to be inquiring after her brother Akai's death (See Sera's theory under Goal), it is sensible that she is trying to get Shinichi to look into Akai's death. She would have been stonewalled by the FBI, and perhaps could not get full help from her brother who is hard to reach.
Shuuichi's death may not be the only case Sera is interested in though, now that more information about the Akai family is available. Masumi may be looking into the death of her father, the disappearance/self-seclusion of her middle brother, or something related to the child Sera started hiding.

The middle brother may have met Shinichi during a case
The middle brother knew enough about the Wizard to ask Masumi if she had me him. The middle brother might have been present at the ocean meeting with Sera, Shinichi, and Ran since he knows about "The Wizard". If so, he could recognize Conan as Shinichi from back then.

Masumi is hiding that she knows Shinichi is Conan from her middle brother
Although Masumi has been getting advice on her brother about cases, she has not informed her brother about her working with Conan. After an exchange of information regarding deductions in the bowling alley drowning case, the middle brother asked Masumi whose deductions she was referring to. This means Masumi hadn't told her brother about who she was getting deductions from in earlier cases.
Masumi shows her brother Conan's picture thinking he will be surprised. That means she thinks her brother will either 1) not know Conan and will judge him based on his youthful appearance or 2) be surprised because he will recognize Conan. It is clear the first option is correct because Masumi is shocked when the brother replies back that "if it's him, then there's no problem".(861.4) Masumi didn't expect her brother to know about Conan and is shocked her brother does know him. This means Masumi has not shared any of her deductions regarding Conan's true identity with her middle brother.

Based on developments post mystery train, Sera knew Conan's true identity before she even arrived in Japan. Sera admits that she has met Conan before, but she can´t tell him until "the time" comes in 846.16. Conan realizes he met Sera before because he finds her snaggletoothed smile familiar,(845.16) but she refuses to tell him where they met prior.(846.16) Ran appears to have met Sera as well because Sera's figure as she runs away reminds her of "sounds of rippling waves, as if some sort of magic were at work."(846.4)
If Masumi wanted Shinichi to solve a case, then investigating the teen is the natural step. If she did so, she would have found that he vanished, and may have been able to track down Conan through Ran. She may have also encountered Conan in a picture from Akai as discussed in pre-train Sera theories. Ignoring the Akai's picture theory, it still isn't clear why Masumi had an interest in Haibara initially, at least more than anyone else connected to Conan.

The middle brother may know Shinichi is Conan, but is keeping this a secret from Masumi
This argument has two parts: 1) deducing the unseen contents of Sera's text and her brother's return text main body, and 2) analyzing the exchange to prove the brother may know Conan is Shinichi. It also assumes that the brother knows the Wizard refers to Shinichi.

The two unseen text parts were Masumi asking her brother how he knew Conan and the brother's reply that he met Conan under mundane circumstances
After the conversation in the previous paragraph that ended with Sera being shocked that her brother recognizes Conan, Sera texts something we didn't get to see to her brother. The brother later sends a reply to Masumi that we also don't get to see, which makes Masumi react "Ah, I see. So that's how it is." In that same reply's PS, the brother asks Masumi if she has met the Wizard.

Masumi knows Conan didn't exist prior to Shinichi shrinking which means that her brother must know Conan because either
1) he some experience with Conan as Conan or someone talked about Conan with him before
2) he figured out Conan is Shinichi.
Masumi doesn't yet know which of the two explanations her brother has.

Given the previous exchange, the single, most logical followup question Sera could ask her brother is how he knows him. In fact, that's exactly what Masumi was thinking after she got his message (861p4). Masumi's thought reply "Ah, I see. So that's how it is."(861.15-16) to her brother's answer fits a conversation where her brother explained something after being questioned. The reason why this part of the conversation was kept hidden from the reader is because it would spoil who the middle brother is, or whether or not he was lying which could be used to rule out suspects.
Circling back to which of the two possible explanations the brother has, the one he must have claimed to have (not the necessarily the one he really has) in the reply can only be the first; the brother claimed to have had an experience with Conan as Conan. The brother's answer had to be something mundane like "I met him during a case recently" or "He met Shuuichi once and Shuuichi told me about how skilled he was" and not something like, "I recognize Conan is Shinichi" or "I met him a long time ago". Sera's reaction to his reply was some surprise, but not a whole lot, as well as a little happy blushing. Overall, his answer satisfies her. If the brother had come out with something like "I know Conan is Shinichi", I think that would have surprised Sera more than she was shown to be. Also, if he had said something like that, Sera would now know Conan is Shinichi. There would be no reason for the brother to ask if she had met the Wizard if he had told her an answer like that. If the brother had tried to cover for himself with a vague half-truth like "I met Conan a long time ago", Masumi would catch the lie and not be satisfied with that answer. That only leaves mundane explanations.

The middle brother may have brought up the Wizard as a test for Sera because he knew Conan is Shinichi
After Sera texts her brother Conan's picture without telling him about her suspicions about Conan's true identity, the brother then asks if she met the Wizard. It seems non-coincidental for the middle brother to bring up the Wizard right after Sera reveals to him she met Conan. Unlike most people, the brother easily acknowledges that Conan is a brilliant detective. (860.16) Most people who haven't been around Conan extensively don't realize this because Shinichi uses other people as mouthpieces for his deductions. That implies the middle brother has either observed closely observed Conan at work, has had someone tell him a lot of personal details about Conan, or deduced Conan is Shinichi for himself.

Masumi has neglected to tell her brother that she knows Conan is Shinichi, so the brother is probably not aware that she knows Conan's secret identity. Thus, he may have asked her that in order to probe if she knows Conan's identity without revealing that he himself already knows Conan is Shinichi.

At this point, the main issue is when the brother had the opportunity to learn Conan's secret identity. The middle brother might have been present at the ocean meeting with Sera, Shinichi, and Ran since he knows about "The Wizard" in the first place. Assuming the middle brother is the same age as his classmates, and Shinichi was around 7 or so during the magical encounter, then the middle brother would have been 18-19. At that age, remembering Shinichi's appearance from 10 years ago isn't unlikely especially if the brother has a good memory and the case was especially notable. Also, the brother may have had a recent encounter with Conan (as in he wasn't lying about how he knows Conan to Sera) where he linked Conan with his memories.
Masumi may not be the only person that consults his brother on cases. Shuuichi might do it too, and thus the brother learned about Conan from Red vs. Black and cases with Okiya after that.

Middle Brother Suspects
For traits of the middle brother, see the Wiki article on him. I focus on characters introduced during the Bourbon arc who are around 28-29 years old, the age of his classmates. For pictures of phones, see this post: http://forums.dctp.w...uukichi#p786870

Straight theories

New character
New characters who haven't been introduced yet are always suspects. The main problem with a new character who has yet to be introduced by now is that a special resolution is needed to explain how he knows Conan. That requires a flashback case (possible considering the magic one with the sound of waves has yet to happen) or some other equally good explanation.

Haneda Shuukichi
Shuukichi is pretty promising overall because he matches most of the basic requirments. He is the right age (28) with pale white skin (like Akai/Okiya), but doesn't superficially resemble Akai or Sera. He appears to be incredibly smart because he is a pro at Shogi, and would probably be characterized as smarter than Akai by Sera. He is good enough at mysteries to advise Masumi by phone, as shown in his intro case which he easily figured out. He is an expert at memorization and could definitely recall Shinichi's child face from when they met before. This meshes with his immediate treatment of Conan as a skilled detective with no prompting or testing. Because he met Conan on a case, he could explain by text how he knows Conan per the speculation above. He appears to be right handed.
Shuukichi's fame as a Shogi player makes it difficult to imagine that Masumi couldn't find him, but he did change his name from Sera when he graduated according to Masumi.

Subaru Okiya
He's Akai. So it can't be him, unless there is a twist. (See below)

Amuro Tohru
The age is right (29). The brother's hand appears to be light skinned, which doesn't match Tohru's appearance. Also Amuro would have to hate his own brother which is possible, but highly awkward.

Date Wataru
He is the right age (29 if alive), but dead.

Enomoto Sugihito
Poirot waitress Azuha's brother (28), he is out of the running because we already know his family background and he is not smart enough.

Twist theories

The mystery child i.e. shrunken by APTX
See this thread under theories.

Subaru Okiya
The way the twist works is that Okiya Subaru is actually the middle brother and Akai Shuuichi is borrowing the appearance of his own brother (Okiya is definitely Akai based on how he is behaving). The main problem is that Sera has met Okiya on a case with Conan (Yuusaku's cold case), so it doesn't make sense for Masumi to wonder how her brother met Conan in private conversation with him. Okiya's most recently seen phone is black and similar to the one the middle brother possesses. Subaru is also close to the right age (27).

Masumi's brother is being impersonated by someone
These types of theories involve someone pretending to be Masumi's brother by phone, taking advantage of the fact Masumi hasn't been in direct contact with her brother. This allows the middle brother suspects to be any male in the proper age-range. Impersonators could be anyone intelligent enough to pose as the brother who are familiar with his writing style and personality.

Akai (Okiya) pretending to be Amuro
Okiya/Akai has a similar phone to the one used by the apparent middle brother. Akai is smart enough to advise Masumi on cases by phone (despite Masumi thinking her middle brother is smarter), and can presumably impersonate his own brother's personality and phone habits. Okiya/Akai is left-handed rather than right handed, but characters are shown using their phones with their off hands frequently enough.
Amuro is both smart and strong, but doesn't seem to be particularly more outstanding in either category than Akai, making Sera's characterization of Akai as the strong one and Amuro as the smart one somewhat suspect. He looks quite different than Akai and Sera which fits. Amuro would be out of contact with Masumi because he is in the Org, and it wouldn't be safe to talk to her. It's even possible Amuro became loyal to the Black Organization and Akai has been impersonating him in order to keep Masumi out of danger.
It is worth noting that Masumi still hasn't gotten a particularity good look at Amuro, even after the crash in 800. (801)

Akai (Okiya) pretending to be Date
Okiya/Akai has a similar phone to the one used by the apparent middle brother. Akai is smart enough to advise Masumi on cases by phone (despite Masumi thinking her middle brother is smarter), and can presumably impersonate his own brother's personality and phone habits. Okiya/Akai is left-handed rather than right handed, but characters are shown using their phones with their off hands frequently enough.
Date is dead, so any impersonation by Akai must have started a year ago at least. Date is both smart and strong, but claims not be as good as Amuro in either category, and Amuro doesn't seem to be more outstanding than Akai. This makes Sera's characterization of Akai as the strong one and Date as the smart one somewhat suspect. He looks quite different than Akai and Sera which fits. Assuming Date went out of contact before he died, it isn't clear why he would bother because police training isn't secretive. Unless Date had another mission regarding Amuro or something like that, I'm not sure why he would need to leave contact.

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Original post
Copypasta from before

 

Regarding the middle brother's PS "Have you met the Wizard yet?" and Sera's response "you could say so"...

I think the brother was asking about Shinichi. Sera's response, "you could say so", makes sense in that she didn't actually meet Shinichi, but she met Conan, so she sort of met Shinichi. Sera apparently knows Conan's real identity already, so this holds together. It seems the event where Shinichi earned the nickname of Wizard was at the beach meeting from the past. Ran specifically mentions "sounds of rippling waves, as if some sort of magic were at work." in Volume 80, File 7 (846), pg 4. Sera also seems to focus on the word "magic" when Conan says "just like magic" with Kogoro's voice in V81-11 (861) pg 7.I want to put out there for stab-in-the-dark potential that bioluminescent phytoplankton that glow when the water is disturbed would qualify as magical.

It implies the middle brother might have also been present at the ocean meeting with Sera, Shinichi, and Ran since he asked about "The Wizard" in the text message. If so, he too could recognize Conan as Shinichi from back then.

PS: My guess is that the main body of the message that Sera received was a response to her question of how the brother knows Conan. Sera is of course surprised that anyone would have met Conan since she knows he is Shinichi and thus "shouldn't exist". She would ask this right away. The answer was something mundane like "I met him during a case" and not, "oh I recognize Conan is Shinichi" or the brother would not have followed up with the PS.

Individual characters

New character
I think this might show the most promise so far given the brother may turn out to be more important to the plot later. The problem of when the brother met Conan as Conan still has to be resolved somehow though, either with a flashback case or some other equally good explanation.

Subaru Okiya
(Assuming Akai disguised as his own brother because the Okiya we have seen is definitely Shuuichi) Sera has met Okiya on a case with Conan (Yuusaku's cold case), so it doesn't make sense for Masumi to wonder how her brother met Conan.

Haneda Shuukichi
Shuukichi is an expert at memorization and could recall Shinichi's child face from when they met before, which meshes with his immediate treatment of Conan as a skilled detective with no prompting or testing. He also met Conan on a case. However Shuukichi's fame as a Shogi player makes it difficult to imagine that Masumi couldn't find him.

Amuro Tohru
The brother's hand appears to be light skinned, which doesn't match Tohru's appearance.

Koumei
Too old I think. That would mean Masumi and Akai are 20 years apart. That's pretty far for 100% blood siblings. "He was still working in Nagano as a police officer though, so Sera should be able to find out where he and what he was doing. Sera also lacks a Nagano accent, something that might be expected learning Japanese with a family who lived in Nagano for a period of time. (Koumei's lived in Nagano as a child.)"

The owner of the Poirot
He likes mysteries and would know Conan. Not much else to add.
 

[AndrewA 5]

Personally I hope it is an existing character because I think the series is already starting to get a bit overloaded with Super Sleuth characters.

 

Consider also the possibility that the sibling could be a half-brother or step sibling, (either to Sera, Akai or both) which could explain lack of shared family names, allow for a less (or no) family resemeblence, and even allow for having grown up in different areas with different accents

[fangirlwhocanspell 3]

maybe, almost hopefully he'll turn out to be anokata, though that means he has to have appeared before.

[Aries Bless 18]

Maybe the 'wizard' is Ai Haibara. She and Sera met on the train case, but they didn't really get to talk together.

[rohitjadhav42 10]

I guess The Middle Brother is A new Character?

& for the WIZARD, It Is Definitely Shinichi.

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

Requested by Shadow

Edit: Corrections 11-2-2013

?? years ago Shuuichi born.

28-29 years ago middle bro born

16 years ago Masumi is born in Japan and the middle bro is 12 in junior high (US equivalent grades 7-9 in Japan).

??? Sometime after Masumi is conceived, the father dies. (*Clarification. His death anywhere between this and current, although Masumi implies it affected the family names.)

>14-15 years ago Masumi and the middle bro start using the name Sera instead of Akai

14-15 years ago the middle bro enters high school with the family name Sera. Masumi is 2,

11-12 years ago, the middle bro graduated high school and changed his family name from Sera to something else. Masumi is 4-5. (Masumi says all three siblings have different family names. Masumi has "Sera" and Shuuichi has "Akai".)

5-10 years ago, Shuuichi sends Masumi Jeet Kun Do videos. (Masumi is 6-11 elementary school)

5 years ago Akai starts infiltrating the Org. Middle bro is 23-24. Masumi is 11,

4 years ago Masumi starts junior high at 12,

3 years ago Akai family moves to America, Masumi goes to middle school

2 years ago Shuuichi kicked from the Org

Current timeline, Masumi comes back at the age of 16 to Japan

So the middle brother changed his family name before their father died. Why? Was the father doing something that required his family's name to be changed?

This also means that unless Masumi took the family name Sera at a later date than her brother took Sera as his family name, she never personally used the last name Akai.

[Black Demon 466]

Why are you sure their father died before he went to high school? According to my interpretation, it goes like this: Father died -> Last name changed from Akai to Sera -> Graduated middle high school -> Last name changed from Sera to something else. 

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

I make a mistake on the timing. The brother had the name Sera when he was in high school and something else ("Akai?") before.

@Black Demon, I didn't give an upper bound on the father's death, only a lower one: Masumi's conception.

[detectiveRJB 15]

Shuuichi have a twin brother.it possible?

[User 4869 100]

Masumi already specify there are three sibilings (When she say there noone else she consider as close family)

[Glass Heart 34]

Shuuichi have a twin brother.it possible?

You might have a point. In fact, I have wondered if Subaru Okiya is still the same person. Ever since Masumi discovered the hair of the wig and the recent presence of Yukiko, I've almost never seen Subaru using his left hand again (except once, for a drink of Bourbon at the end of the camping case). While before, he was always using it.

 

And that's not a question of habit (using a hand for a particular thing) since he even changed the hand he uses to brush his tooths between two similar scenes in volumes 60 and 77. And the way he was holding Masumi in volume 78 is definitely right-handed. I don't think anyone could hold someone with his right shoulder like that if he isn't naturally right-handed.

 

Maybe there are two people posing as Subaru Okiya: the real one (right-handed) and Shuichi Akai (left-handed). When Sonoko thought Subaru might hid something and was proven wrong in volume 77, Subaru was right-handed. While when Haibara tries to see the same thing in the car just one case before, Subaru stopped her with his left hand.

 

Also, when Subaru is clever enough to deduce that Conan is Shinichi Kudo, he is the right-handed one (not Shuichi Akai) which could also explain a few things. It's also the right-handed one who is acquainted with Yukiko, who is in the Belltree Express with her and who is supporting the sleeping Masumi with his right shoulder later (not necessarily meaning he is also the Shuichi Akai who appeared, he might not be).

[ThatLee4 10]

I though this too. But thought that the one on the bell tree is Akai because of what he said to Ai and his intetaction with Yukiko. But they may both be?

[PetePete 8]

I think the wizard is of course shinichi, but i think he earned it in the manga version of episode 96

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/The_Cornered_Famous_Detective!_Two_Big_Murder_Cases

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Volume_14#Magician.27s_Suicide_Case

 

There is a lot of unsolved questions in this episode, but in the manga it showed how Ran thought Conan was Shinichi because of the picture of them with kids with the magician right? Sera even hinted she knew him a long time ago, when asked if he liked anyone before the novelist killing. Probably happened when he was younger and did a trick to prove a point and was named the wizard. Plus that episode 96 left a lot of unanswered clues that was unanswered later, like how ran kept her suspicion but let people wondering where the lipstick lips came from on Shinichi's shirt.

[Glass Heart 34]

I though this too. But thought that the one on the bell tree is Akai because of what he said to Ai and his intetaction with Yukiko. But they may both be?

The right-handed Okiya could have been playing a role. His intention was to bring Haibara to a certain place and, since she suspects Okiya from being Akai and a BO agent, it was the easiest way.

 

But I think Okiya is now a different person from Akai (with some help from Yukiko). And maybe that's the reason why Conan wanted Ran to stay away from the mansion in the first place.

[Glass Heart 34]

I think the wizard is of course shinichi, but i think he earned it in the manga version of episode 96

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/The_Cornered_Famous_Detective!_Two_Big_Murder_Cases

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Volume_14#Magician.27s_Suicide_Case

 

There is a lot of unsolved questions in this episode, but in the manga it showed how Ran thought Conan was Shinichi because of the picture of them with kids with the magician right? Sera even hinted she knew him a long time ago, when asked if he liked anyone before the novelist killing. Probably happened when he was younger and did a trick to prove a point and was named the wizard. Plus that episode 96 left a lot of unanswered clues that was unanswered later, like how ran kept her suspicion but let people wondering where the lipstick lips came from on Shinichi's shirt.

You might have thought about something crucial. I have already thought about Kazumi Sanada, but there was a missing link about his connection with Sera. Now, if I thought about Sanada being the brother, Sera having met Shinichi and Ran somewhere during their childhood (with the magic show of Sanada's future mentor being one of the occasion), Yukiko's connections with the world of magic, the need for "Subaru" to suddenly use Yukiko's talent for disguise, and the definite possibility of Subaru being a different person now (with a different main hand) with the right-handed one discovering Shinichi's true identity and later the brother having trust in Conan, everything makes perfect sense.

 

But that changes a lot of things. Of course, Akai didn't need Yukiko to conceive a disguise he already had. Plus the long dark hair of the wig which didn't connect with Subaru's hair. If we connect everything together, especially the fact that there is a second Subaru Okiya, it is likely the disguise they conceived was not Subaru Okiya (at least, not only) but Shuichi Akai. That would explain why Subaru was right-handed aboard the train despite Akai's appearance: it would have been his brother disguised as him.

[Chekhov MacGuffin 1089]

Plus the long dark hair of the wig which didn't connect with Subaru's hair.

 

Be careful with assuming the wig hair color was black. It's extremely hard to draw a hair as anything other than a black line in a black and white manga. Remember, shiho's auburn hair was also drawn as a black line as well when Gin held it up. The only thing Sera said about the hair was that it is long and fake, so I think those facts are the only one's it is safe to assume.

[Glass Heart 34]

Be careful with assuming the wig hair color was black. It's extremely hard to draw a hair as anything other than a black line in a black and white manga. Remember, shiho's auburn hair was also drawn as a black line as well when Gin held it up. The only thing Sera said about the hair was that it is long and fake, so I think those facts are the only one's it is safe to assume.

Yes, you're right. I didn't thought about that (I just saw a dark hair, so I assumed it was black).

[MelonyMutou 0]

Okay, this has been eating me like crazy, I've been DYING to discuss my theories with someone so maybe you guys will be my fix.

 

 

Before I start, this is a VERY ROUGH THEORY. I'm absolutely open to arguments in response to it. I'd like to explore ALL of the possibilities myself so if anything doesn't sound quite right to you, PLEASE tell me because I'd like to try and explore those areas myself as well.

 

 

My theories are going to revolve Sera in general and her family - not quite the middle brother part. I apologize for that but the whole thing has been driving me crazy and I NEED to get it off of my chest.

 

 

First of all, I'm at least 80-90% convinced that the new "young" female character introduced in the most recent case file is Sera's Mother.

 

Just think about it for a minute. It would actually completely make sense. They've NEVER introduced any parents for Sera or Shuichi, so that area is covered. It could ALSO explain one of the main reasons Sera has suddenly returned to Japan. Like, are we REALLY believing her excuse that "she just wanted to come back"? Come now, Sera. We're smarter than that. At the VERY least it was to search for Shuichi, but WHAT IF - and just bear with me here - WHAT IF, in searching for her OWN answers, Shuichi/Sera's mother was ALSO fed APTX4869, because the Organization felt she was getting too close??? Gosho HIMSELF said he was going to probably introduce more shrunken characters, and gosh to me it just makes SO MUCH SENSE.

Also, it helps explain even more how Sera seems to be quite sure Conan is Shinichi - it seems certain that they met when he WAS Shinichi, so if she knows about her own mother's predicament, maybe she knows about HIS as well? After seeing him in action a few times, maybe it dawned on her?

Which MAY explain why she's suddenly trying to drop hints about her to Conan. Maybe, after realizing who he was (because she didn't seem to know in the very beginning), and after confirming it somehow TO HERSELF, then telling her mother, they decided to try and start initiating Conan into their own little operation to take down the Organization and find an antidote? Of course, the mother still needs some more goading before trusting him, but it makes sense -- it ALSO explains the whole "Tell him I'm your sister from outside the domain" part, as well. It's possible the Japanese-to-English can't be translated with full understanding, and THAT'S why it sounds weird. Maybe the Japanese word is a bit closer to something that COULD SOUND LIKE 'sister from a different viewpoint' or something of that sort - why say sister unless you ARE actually related? If she's the mother, but SHRUNK, then 'sister' is kind of close, isn't it? and the 'outside the domain' part (in its original Japanese wording) could probably hint toward her situation better.

 

Another little tidbit, Sera said that all three of her and her siblings have different surnames. I don't believe we ever got a FULL reason for this (we got why one of them and herself had different names - she took her mother's maiden name and I believe she said Shuichi took their father's name, but what of the third child?), but that definitely leaves open a lot of speculation.

 

For example, what if the third sibling is actually AMURO? I know that's already a consideration -- but what if the mother IS the shrunken one (BLONDE), and the FATHER has dark skin? Amuro's looks could make sense, in that case. And it could REALLY explain why Shuichi and Amuro HAVE the relationship they do. What if Amuro, the middle child, was born of some sort of affair the mother had with a man in the Organization? Shuichi would PROBABLY BE at odds with a boy that more-or-less ruined his parents' relationship. Evidently it couldn't have been ruined too much, since Sera came along as well - though, Sera has her MOTHER'S name, right? So maybe she had her out of wedlock... Maybe not even with Shuichi's father?? Unless I've read things incorrectly, I don't think Sera ever actually said they had the same fathers, or the same mothers either, for that matter. Was it ever actually fully confirmed that all three siblings had the same parents for certain? It's possible I can't tell because maybe there would be Japanese translation that would make that clear and obviously I read the English translated version. D=

The only possible issue I see with this theory is age, a little bit. I actually am not entirely sure of Amuro or Shuichi's age, which is why I'd like input on this theory. They'd have to be at least fairly close in age, since they're "rivals" and all, but they'd also have to be far enough apart that their births would make sense - and Shuichi would have to be older, for sure.

Also, the fact that Amuro didn't out his own brother using the name "Moboroshi Dai" with the Organization is definitely a hole in this theory. Maybe he just didn't out his brother because they WERE siblings, or maybe he somehow didn't even recognize it was his brother? But then the whole history thing doesn't work, either. That whole part seems a little bit suspicious, but maybe it COULD BE as simple as not wanting to get family killed, even if you ARE their rival. Some sort of higher, familial standard that Amuro is holding himself to, over the Organization's priorities. Because, surely Amuro would have to know that if his brother was going by an assumed name with the Organization, that he was up to something no good, like trying to infiltrate them for the government?

 

However, thinking about it, it seems more likely to me that Subaru is the second brother. The only issue with that one is that (PRESUMABLY) Shuichi is Subaru. But what if Shuichi is simply disguising as Subaru on occasion, to keep himself hidden? Working with his brother to stay anonymous? They HAVE shown Subaru, ONE TIME, without a turtle neck or scarf when he was brushing his teeth and Ran and Sonoko walked in on him in Shinichi's house. Implying that, at least at that time, he wasn't wearing a mask. I assumed, AT THE TIME, that it was because he had gone to much greater lengths to maintain the disguise, just for that moment, because earlier in that file someone had expressed suspicions BECAUSE he never showed his neck - one of the girls, if I remember correctly - but if THAT was the real Subaru, and if most other times when you've seen him with a scarf or turtle neck, it was Shuichi DISGUISED as Subaru, it could be VERY likely it's because they're siblings and Subaru's looking out for his Oniisan. There was one time where Subaru took off his glasses/opened his eyes and he HAD the Shuichi/Sera eyes, right?? What if that was the REAL Subaru at the time...?

 

Gosho has gone to incredible lengths (only noticable if you really pay attention, though) to specifically keep characters like Haibara away from Amuro, Sera, and Subaru, though, up until recently. AND to keep characters like Sera, Amuro, and Subaru THEMSELVES apart as well. You've never REALLY seen any of the three together at one time, there WAS a case where they crossed paths - that would be when Sera was riding her motorcycle and used it to stop a culprit(if I remember that right, it's been a while), where all three of them kind of saw each other and ALL THREE of them got onto phones almost immediately. If, in Sera's case, it was because she recognized one as her brother and was maybe calling her mother to confirm, that would be quite interesting in itself. Of course, for Amuro it could simply be that he spotted Sera and recognized the eyes, knew it was Shuichi's little sister and called Vermouth to tell HER. And then, Subaru himself doesn't need much explaining because we're already at least half-sure of his identity. Assuming he's not JUST Shuichi -- because I think we're all pretty sure of that so far.

 

Then there's James Black. I think most people have forgotten about this, but he RECOGNIZED Sera when Jodie showed him a picture. Now. Maybe we can just brush that off as the fact that, crap, he's FBI, and Sera's probably been involved in a LOT of cases in America with HER skills, so maybe he just recognizes her from there? But, come on, has Gosho ever made it THAT simple?

As an INCREDIBLY wild theory - that's ALL this is, a kind of 'wouldn't that be freakin' crazy and just like Gosho' kind of theory - what if James is actually the FATHER of one or two of the three siblings? Sera simply got her eyes from the mother (the little sickly blonde girl, in my opinion). I can't remember if it was ever impled James had a family, but even assuming it WAS somewhere, couldn't he just be lying to try and protect the mother, Sera, and her two brothers? If the Amuro-being-middle-child theory is correct, it could imply something like maybe he's Sera's father, and Sera was born out of wedlock. Or hell, the Amuro-middle-child theory doesn't even have to be correct for that to work, really. Anything could've happened to make the three children with different fathers.

 

And then, in an even WILDER theory, what if Amuro is James' son? And James is actually Black Organization? 8D But honestly that one's an INCREDIBLY wild theory and I don't have much faith in it at all xD;

 

Or hell, maybe James just knew Sera's father, because he was FBI, and maybe he diiied and that's why Shuichi himself went after the Organization?? Because the father was killed by them?? OoooooOoo 8D (again, another of the more wild theories, but at least this one is more probable!)

 

 

Last but not least, just as a little add-on that doesn't have much to do with Sera and her family, I'm quite convinced at this point that APTX4869 is supposed to be a youth serum. D< I'm super behind this theory - though I honestly only have vague proof to back it up Dx.

 

SOO sorry for the super long post. I hope I didn't put anyone off .__.UU i had a lot to present!!

[PetePete 8]

Subaru didn't talk with his turtle neck out because maybe its a voice changer?

[MelonyMutou 0]

Subaru didn't talk with his turtle neck out because maybe its a voice changer?

I don't really think we should be assuming anyone other than Hakase has the ability to create a voice-changer Dx. I think, if that were the case, we'd be hinted about it somewhere. And assuming it is, even CONAN has to keep his in front of his mouth - how is it changed when it's all the way down there at his neck?

I buy more that it's because it was a different person at the time. Or Gosho made us want to THINK it was a different person. I mean, he did have a toothbrush in his mouth xD;

[PetePete 8]

Do you remember Heiji dressing up as Shinichi for the Halloween costume party? Do you remember how they made his voice change with Heiji's tie? Same could be done with his turtle neck? Or something hidden below it?

[User 4869 100]

I believe Conan voice his own conversation through Heiji microphone (Conan has the mask himself). It has been setup in desperate revival arc that Heiji cannot speak in Tokyo dialect (Voice changing or not). IIRC Heiji seem to avoid speaking if unnecessary before he rip his mask off. How Conan manage to do that while sitting beside Jodie, convince her he is Haibara, is another matter.

[MelonyMutou 0]

Do you remember Heiji dressing up as Shinichi for the Halloween costume party? Do you remember how they made his voice change with Heiji's tie? Same could be done with his turtle neck? Or something hidden below it?

 

Yes but see, that wasn't 'Heiji using a voice changer' that was Conan speaking through a microphone, like User 4869 said, it's been established rather clearly that Heiji is unable to speak with a Tokyo dialect, meaning there's no way he could JUST use a voice changer when disguising as Shinichi - he's just not capable of such a feat.

 

So the only way what you said would work is if someone ELSE was speaking for him whenever he wears the scarf -- though to be fair, he doesn't ALWAYS wear a scarf, he wears plain turtle necks, too. Anything to hide his neck, not JUST scarves. I can't see a turtle neck working as well for something like that.

 

Though I do admit it kind of IS possible for someone to be speaking FOR HIM all the time - I just see it as incredibly unlikely and inconvenient. Why not just disguise yourself as the person you're using a voice for and go out for them, letting THEM stay hidden while you contact them for help on cases or information or whatever you need? Or, hell, if someone else is disguising AS Okiya and Okiya is a person of his own, and Okiya is the one providing his own voice, that seems FAR more dangerous that they're letting a person go out DISGUISED AS HIM, where he could be found out if his disguise is compromised - it would make more sense if Okiya himself was the one who left the house and simply contacted the other person that is currently disguising as him.

 

There is also the possibility that Hakase made Okiya his voice changer - but the ONLY reason why I dismiss this idea is because Okiya showed up and was using that voice from the very beginning, before beginning to stay next door to Hakase, at Shinichi's house, and maybe even before Conan realized who he was - I still can't fully tell if Conan realized he was Shuichi from the beginning. It's entirely possible he did, but if he didn't, it would make it even harder for him to have helped Okiya/Shuichi come up with a voice-changer of some sort. Really it just seems unlikely because Okiya would have needed it from the very beginning.

 

And, for that last part of User 4869's post there, Conan was actually not sitting beside Jodie, he was inside the vehicle and could have spoken quietly behind the mask during the whole deduction show - they were very careful to make sure Conan-Haibara was definitely off-screen while the deduction show was happening. There were a few times where he seemed to kind of be mumbling to himself, too even. When he'd cough discreetly - they kind of hinted once too when they had 'Haibara' cough and then changed scene to 'Shinichi' coughing as well xD;

[MelonyMutou 0]

There is also the possibility that Hakase made Okiya his voice changer - but the ONLY reason why I dismiss this idea is because Okiya showed up and was using that voice from the very beginning, before beginning to stay next door to Hakase, at Shinichi's house, and maybe even before Conan realized who he was - I still can't fully tell if Conan realized he was Shuichi from the beginning. It's entirely possible he did, but if he didn't, it would make it even harder for him to have helped Okiya/Shuichi come up with a voice-changer of some sort. Really it just seems unlikely because Okiya would have needed it from the very beginning.

 

I've found some new insight on this issue, and I'd like to edit myself to make up for it.

 

After some reanalyzation of the Faked Shuichi Death on my part, honestly I should have thought about it more in-depth sooner, I've decided that it actually WOULD make sense if Shuichi had a Hakase-made voice changer as Okiya. My reasoning for this is as follows:

 

If Conan was fully involved in Shuichi's-Faked-Death (which more than likely he was, really he's too bright NOT to be), it's very likely, that when Shuichi went underground, that Conan sent him to Yuukikou for disguising. He probably even told him something like, "When you and I run into each other again sometime (accidentally, or on-purpose randomly), quote this specific line from Sherlock Holmes, OR proclaim yourself as a vigorous Holmes fan, OR just talk my ear off about Holmes in general, and I'll know it's you." Though we've never SEEN a scene like this of course so we can't be sure, but if I remember virtually the first thing Okiya said to Conan was a Holmes quote. If this is all how it played out, then it stands to reason that, Shuichi, in going to Yuukikou for his disguise, was able to obtain some sort of voice-changer because Yuukikou could most definitely get something of that sort from Hakase, whether she snagged it or commissioned it. Hell, she might even HAVE ONE OF HER OWN that she had already asked Hakase to build for her so SHE could disguise HERSELF better out in public!

 

So with all of this in mind, it means that the scene where Okiya is seen in the bathroom COULD simply be to point out to us that he can't talk without his scarf/turtlenecks because they hide a voice-changer.

 

Even with THAT in mind, it still doesn't change the fact that Okiya COULD be two people - actual Okiya Subaru and Shuichi. Shuichi could be using voice changers STILL, and when Okiya is himself, he keeps wearing the scarves and turtle necks to keep up appearances. Or, Shuichi, as Okiya, could be wearing a speaker that goes to the REAL Okiya who talks for him, not unlike the Halloween Party case.

Really I don't see at least the speaker one as likely, because that's incredibly inconvenient and rather dangerous, because if Shuichi ever got disconnected from the real Okiya, he'd be in big trouble.

 

This brings to mind that, in leu of all of this, who was the Okiya in the bathroom? Shuichi or Real-Okiya? If it was Real Okiya, why not just actually talk? Possibly just because he had a toothbrush in his mouth and it IS rude. But if it's Shuichi, then it's because he can't. More than likely the former is the case, because we've never had Gosho input something like that unless it WAS somehow actually relevant, somehow a clue.

 

Though it certainly leaves open that Shuichi really is the only Okiya - for a while I had thought Shuichi was just changing his voice on his own, but if he's using a voice changer it DOES make far more sense. But again, even if he IS using a voice changer, that still does not necessarily rule out that there IS a second, real Okiya.

 

The thing is, there IS the fact that Okiya has reportedly changed his handedness as we've seen him. It's possible this is because there are two Okiya's - and obviously, that's the most probable scenario. For one, I would imagine Shuichi wouldn't be stupid enough to ACCIDENTALLY be using the wrong hand repeatedly. He's reportedly left-handed, so that means he's accidentally USING his left hand here or there - because I'd imagine he'd pretend to be right-handed as Okiya, or at least try to be -- especially if Okiya is a real person and he's just DISGUISING as Okiya, who is, in fact, right-handed -- there's NO WAY he'd screw up pretending to be someone else. He's just not that kind of person - he's hailed at Shinichi's intellect/observational level if not higher because of his age, and Shinichi would NEVER make that mistake - plus, it would be incredibly important to be astute about a thing like that. Though if all of this is the case, you know, I'd HOPE that if Shuichi is pretending to be Okiya, that they would both WORK TOGETHER to use the same hand, to keep the proper image. But maybe Gosho simply uses the handedness thing to try and give us another clue, despite the fact the two men should work together to be really careful about making a mistake as simple as using the wrong hand, or MAYBE Gosho's just screwing with us with the whole handedness thing in the first place, trying to make it SEEM LIKE Okiya IS actually two people when he's not - I could really kind of see Gosho doing something like that, and also, manga artists and their assistants HAVE been known to make mistakes in panels too - though usually Gosho is really good about not making THAT kind of mistake. Secondly, maybe Shuichi is actually just ambidextrous, in which case, the whole handedness "clue" doesn't even matter, but it WAS basically shown to us that Shuichi, AT THE VERY LEAST, uses his left hand as his MAIN hand.

 

Or Gosho could just be screwing with us entirely, and all of these heavy implications that Shuichi IS Okiya are a bunch of smoke and mirrors, and Shuichi actually ISN'T Okiya xD. I find this incredibly unlikely, don't get me wrong, but wouldn't it be amazing if Gosho pulled that on us? I mean, there really was barely any indication that 'Haibara' was actually Conan in the Halloween Party case, so Gosho pulling something like that is totally not out of the question.

[75aichan 49]

I really find it very unlikely to have  2 Okiya,for  me all the clues showed that Okiya is Akai and nobody else.Haibara senses that he's Akai.

As for the second brother maybe we'll get some clues after the Shinichi flashback case.