[SPOILER DISCUSSION] File 951-953: Soul Detective

[Black Demon 466]

Yeah the Kanji used is 手鏡, which is also used for Kohji's mirror in the past, so it's probably the same one. 

[Aries Bless 18]

If Asaka had mirror, then maybe he/she used it to refresh a diguise.

[MeiTanteixX 184]

Here's My DC FILE 953 Review/Discussion!

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Case Discussion:

 

 

So we finally find out what the trick was that Fukuri used. I wasn't far off with my deduction but there still was a handful of differences, as usual. It was interesting to see a unique way of tilting glass without making it fall(makes me wonder where Gosho finds all these interesting techniques). The one trick that did disappoint me was the fact that a string was used in the case of the "suspicious movement" mystery(below). It's not that it didn't make sense, but rather that it was too simple and repetitive. I was expecting a more extravagant approach to that trick after Sera mentioned the wind, so I neglected easier solutions similar to FILE 129 or FILE 186. The most accurate comparison to this trick is the one used in Detective Conan vs Kindaichi Crossover Game(below), which was the one I hoped this trick wasn't like.

 

 

 

Plot Discussion:

 

 

Mary("Sister Outside The Domain")

 

We finally got the confirmation to the theory that has been spreading through out the DC fandom. This was Gosho's definite way of officially revealing that Mary("sister outside of the domain") is indeed Sera Masumi's, and Akai Shuichi's, mother! it was a rather simplistic way of revealing it, but it did Sera a disservice, since it portrayed her character as rather sloppy when she is in a bind(not that this is the first time).

 

 

An unexpected semi-confirmation was to the semi-popular theory that Mary worked with the secret service(SIS/MI6). This has been hinted at a couple of times, but those hints where quite vague. One time was when she was inspecting Conan's gadget in a manner that of an experienced agent(who possessed gadgets) during her first appearance(below). Bourbon made it quite clear that MI6 would be surprised by Agasa's inventions(below), which was similar to Mary's reaction. The second one was the more vague one that happened in the previous chapter(FILE 952), where Mary showed signs of having an "athletic" body, following to the strongest hint so far, from this chapter, where she made the suspect unconscious(below). This strong indication of her being a former SIS(MI6) agent further supports the theory regarding the meaning behind the "Sister Outside The Domain" statement, that she's from the SIS-TERritory who's outside Brittain(her domain).

 

 

Asaka and Rum

 

We just got new info regarding the bodyguard of Amanda hughes, Asaka. Sera heard that Hotta Gaito had gotten the information of Asaka being witnessed holding a hand-mirror. This information gives us more clarity regarding Haneda Kouji's case and what could've transpired. We know from the previous case that haneda Kouji left a dying message, which Conan assumes is read "Asaca=Rum", and that he cut the letters forming that message from a hand-mirror. Haibara assumed that it probably belonged to Kouji, since shogi players cares for their look, even though it's normally used by women(like Elena and Akemi). This new information possibly indicates that it could've belonged to Asaka, and that it was dropped during his confrontation with Kouji, while attempting to kill him, indicating even further that Asaka was the murderer. Another possible indication is that it was removed from the crime scene by Asaka, soon after the photograph of the murder scene was taken, but one thing is certain, the photographs of the dying message/hand-mirror was never meant to be taken, and therefore leading to BO trying to cover it up by deleting the posts and photos regarding that case. This is confirmed by the fact that Gin mentions that Rum made a mistake seventeen years ago(below), which also further finalizes the assumption of Asaka, our murder suspect, being Rum.

 

 

Another interesting information we got is that Hotta Gaito thinks that Asaka is a woman. If Asaka is Rum, which at the moment seems highly likely, then that means it will contradict the code-naming pattern of alcohols that Gosho has been using for males and females so far. Rum was assumed to be male because of that pattern, and though it's unusual, it's still possible for him to break it, if Gosho decides to take more inspiration from Urusei Yatsura's Lum. But since Hotta Gaito has the information of the hand-mirror, it's very likely that it was just an assumption on Hotta's part, since the hand-mirrors are usually used by women. Mary's reaction to that seemed quite indifferent(below), as if it was facts that was either already known or already neglected. Her suspicious comment from last chapter about "they" appearing is giving rise to the possibility that she is running away/hiding from someone and that it might be related to the Haneda Kouji case(hence their reaction last chapter). If they were Running from Rum/Asaka, the suspect for Kouji's case, then it's highly likely that Mary might possess additional information regarding Rum/Asaka, and therefore possibly knowing the gender. If her reaction to Sera implied that she neglected the idea of Rum being female, then that further supports Gosho's naming pattern, as well as the other descriptions of Rum being a "feminine", "old" and/or "strong" man. As mentioned in my previous review, it is looking like Mary and Sera are the ones posting and uploading information regarding the Haneda kouji case, in hopes of finding more info.

 

 

To summarize the information we have regarding Asaka, we can pretty much assume that he's/she's definitely Rum, the murderer of Haneda Kouji, and that he made the mistake of letting Kouji leave a dying message about his killer through a hand-mirror, whether it belonged to Asaka or not. The information we have of Rum is limited, but from the descriptions we have gotten, majority of them fits well with the picture(below, assuming it wasn't a disguise) and indications we've gotten of Asaka. Asaka has feminine hairstyle, he/she possess physical strength enough to become a bodyguard and he/she has to be old by now, 17 years later. The only thing that is yet to be explained is the artificial eye.

 

 

One question remains, who is Rum/Asaka? I'll go through some of the ongoing theories of Rum:

 

Kuroda Hyoue

 

The most unsettling question regarding this character is his past. We know that he was in an accident that took his right eye 10 years ago. If he looked more like more like Asaka, 17 years ago, then all of his characteristics fits well with Rum's profile. But here comes the problem, not only was he the obvious suspect(like a red-herring), but his whole past is fuzzy because of the coma he was in and the change that transpired with him. He has been acting like he doesn't remember details of his past and during his coma, his hair colour changed drastically from black to white. these points of his background is what opens a vast room for possibilities, among them being that he was swapped by someone else during his coma. We know that he worked with the NPA before, so if he is indeed Rum, it implies that Rum had infiltrated the NPA before his accident. But, if a change has occurred with the current Kuroda, is he still Rum? was he switched by someone else? is Kuroda a stolen identity by Rum?... so far, it is more likely that he is not Rum. Evidence to that was Haibara's lack of response to his presence(since she can sense the BO presence), and another is Kuroda's lack of response to seeing Sherry.

 

 

Mr. Akai ("Kiritake"?)

 

So far, he looks like a plausible Rum candidate. Akai mentioned that his father was involved in the Haneda Kouji case, though he didn't specify how. How much Akai knows of his father's involvement is still unknown, and if he was in the impression that his father was the victim, rather than the assailant, it is still possible that after he fulfilled his BO mission, he disguised his own death as if he was a victim as well(which lead to Akai wanting to avenge his father and joining the FBI). Gosho's answer to the question "is the Akai father dead?" was quite ambiguous: "Unfortunately he's already,.... it's a secret". As far as looks goes, he could fit majority of the descriptions of Asaka/Rum as well, seeing as his son Shuichi grew long hair(below), he could have inherited it from his father and therefore being mistaken for a woman/feminine, just like his daughter Masumi is mistaken for a guy. He should be quite old as well, if he's still alive. Because of the lack of information regarding him, it's hard to say for certain what his involvement in the Kouji case was. We know that he didn't work for the FBI but he could have also been a private detective/CIA who, with James Black's/Amanda Hughes' request, investigated "Asaka" and was later killed by Rum. If Asaka/Rum took the hand-mirror from the murder scene before the police arrived, then the one who took the photographs could've been Akai's father and the photos could have been forwarded to James/Mary before he was silenced, which further explains how they were able to get photos of Kouji's case and post it(unless the police already took photos of it), assuming Mary and Sera posted them.

 

 

Karasuma Renya:

 

This theory is a pretty unique one, since it brings back an old, seemingly unrelated, mentioned character. In this theory, it brings back the importance of the APTX4869/SB("Silver Bullet") effect, since we are talking about a suspect that was 99 years old before he was presumed dead. Karasuma Renya died 40 years ago. During that time, Elena and Atsushi were barely adults, assuming they were between 25-35 when they died, so no SB project was in the progress. But, if we take to consideration these two things:

- File 189, Haibara says that the BO project is 50 years old(below).

- File 434, Vermouth saying that Sherry's parent's took over the research(below).(translations might not be accurate)

It implies that the research started 10 years prior to Karasuma's death and long before Sherry's parents started working with SB project, which is enough time to make a prototype that gives similar shrinking side effects to APTX. This could also give new meaning to Kouji's dying message("CARASUMA") or the name "Asaka". If Rum used the alias "Asaka" from the subtraction with "Rum" of his name "Karasuma", then Haneda kouji's message can give out "Asaca" and "Rum", even when "Carasuma" was the original message(Which means, Haneda kouji really didn't know about BO or Asaka's codename). His name itself also connects him to the whole theme the BO is going with, "karasu" meaning "crow"(which could've been intentionally planted by Gosho).

 

 

Gin and Kogoro

 

Gin's suspicion of Kogoro started all the way since the start of the Kir arc. After he realized that Kir was bugged(File 503), with the same listening device that he suspected Sherry used(File 238), he suspected Kogoro, who Kir met before being bugged, to be affiliated with Sherry somehow, since they both used the same device(below). After Akai was able to mislead their suspicion, Gin was never satisfied and still held Kogoro under suspicion(below). This is the first time, since then, where Gin once again recognises Kogoro as a danger(hence calling him a "demon")(below) because of his not-so-coincidental involvement in Haneda Kouji's case(according to Gin). If Gin is already suspecting that the "sly fox" in the Itakura case(File 383) was Kogoro(because of his prior involvement in his murder case)(below), then that means his current suspicion could be strong enough to actually execute plan to get rid of "sleeping Kogoro" for good. We will have to wait and see what File 954 has in store.

 

[Aniki01 0]

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but does Conan consider the possibility that Asaca took the drug and shrank to become Mary towards the end of Ch 953? Does that mean it has bypassed Conan that the incident, which was 17 years ago, was around the same time that Sera was born? I just think that this is an important part as, if Conan suspects that Asaca has taken the drug, then there is a reasonable possibility that it has actually happened.

[MeiTanteixX 184]

  On 3/25/2016 at 8:23 PM, Aniki01 said:

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but does Conan consider the possibility that Asaca took the drug and shrank to become Mary towards the end of Ch 953? Does that mean it has bypassed Conan that the incident, which was 17 years ago, was around the same time that Sera was born? I just think that this is an important part as, if Conan suspects that Asaca has taken the drug, then there is a reasonable possibility that it has actually happened.

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he has considered many possibilities that later have been proven wrong, so I wouldn't actually call it a fact just yet, but yeah, he did consider her identity possibly being Asaka/Rum towards the end...but I doubt it means anything, it's just Gosho's plan B for a red-herring...

[Aniki01 0]

  On 3/25/2016 at 9:31 PM, MeiTanteixX said:

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he has considered many possibilities that later have been proven wrong, so I wouldn't actually call it a fact just yet, but yeah, he did consider her identity possibly being Asaka/Rum towards the end...but I doubt it means anything, it's just Gosho's plan B for a red-herring...

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Yeah I think so too, something else that has intrigued me is that Mary states that Conan "is not the same boy we met 10 years ago," which confirms that Mary has met Shinichi along with Sera. I think she said that because she noticed how Conan is now involved with trying to take down the Black Organisation, a significant change from when he was Shinichi. Mary also tells Sera to "be careful" around Conan as he's like a "demon in the darkness", which may suggest that she perceives him as a danger. Does anyone know why this could be?

[MeiTanteixX 184]

  On 3/25/2016 at 10:10 PM, Aniki01 said:

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Yeah I think so too, something else that has intrigued me is that Mary states that Conan "is not the same boy we met 10 years ago," which confirms that Mary has met Shinichi along with Sera. I think she said that because she noticed how Conan is now involved with trying to take down the Black Organisation, a significant change from when he was Shinichi. Mary also tells Sera to "be careful" around Conan as he's like a "demon in the darkness", which may suggest that she perceives him as a danger. Does anyone know why this could be?

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possibly to do with how far he acts based on curiousities(like how he took a picture of her or when he forcibly tries to find her) that could make evenutally lead to them being revealed or put in danger... the demon sentence probably means that like a demon in the darkness, he might bring with him inescapable trouble(unintentionally) because of his personality,...it really is open to interpretation compared to Gin's comment...

 

[Guest]

  On 3/25/2016 at 8:23 PM, Aniki01 said:

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but does Conan consider the possibility that Asaca took the drug and shrank to become Mary towards the end of Ch 953? Does that mean it has bypassed Conan that the incident, which was 17 years ago, was around the same time that Sera was born? I just think that this is an important part as, if Conan suspects that Asaca has taken the drug, then there is a reasonable possibility that it has actually happened.

 

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He didn't necessarily assume that Asaka would have taken the drug 17 years ago, just that Asaka could have taken it period. 

chances are that if Asaka were Mary, that if a shrinking occurred, it would have happened more recently

[Shreevatsa 14]

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Is it only me or did she (Sister Sera from Outer Domain) grow-up (See height, face  .etc) as if she has & took a APTX Prototype antidote, after everyone left? See last pages (pg .14 to be precise)..

[EthanHunter 7]

  On 3/26/2016 at 12:34 PM, Shreevatsa said:

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Is it only me or did she (Sister Sera from Outer Domain) grow-up (See height, face  .etc) as if she has & took a APTX Prototype antidote, after everyone left? See last pages (pg .14 to be precise)..

Yes I noticed it too, I don't think it has anything to do with what you say, it's just because now she looks more middle-school aged as Conan claimed her to look like. Earlier on I did point out she looks no different in age compared to the DB.

[Jorind 0]

thanks for these spoilers, I like to know what to wait for! this black death essay the ruthless murderer will answer all your questions about black death!