Tsutomu Akai

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Tsutomu Akai
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Profile
Japanese name:	赤井 務武 (Akai Tsutomu)
Age:	unknown (deceased?)
Gender:	Male
Relatives:	Mary Sera (wife) Shuichi Akai (first son) Shukichi Haneda (second son) Masumi Sera (daughter)
Statistics
First appearance:	Manga: File 974 Anime:
Appearances:	Chapters: 6 Episodes: 5 Movies: 0 OVAs: 0 Specials: 0 Openings: 1 Closings: 0
Keyhole number:	Volume 92

Tsutomu Akai (赤井 務武 ,Akai Tsutomu) is Mary Sera's husband and the father of Shuichi Akai, Shukichi Haneda, and Masumi Sera.

Background

17 years prior to the current timeline, Tsutomu Akai was involved in the double murders of Kohji Haneda and Amanda Hughes. What happened to him during and after the incident is currently unknown. Tsutomu was believed to be deceased by his family, though his body was never found. It was his involvement with the murder case that prompted his son Shuichi to join the FBI in order to investigate what happened to him, and his assumed death led Shuichi to seek vengeance against those responsible.

Before he went missing, Tsutomu sent his wife a message telling her that he had made enemies with "horrible people," asking her to take their children to Japan, and to think of him as someone who no longer existed. Sometime after his daughter Masumi was born, so both Masumi and her father never got to know each other.

Appearance

Tsutomu Akai looks quite similar to his second son, Shukichi, having roughly the same hairstyle and facial design; unlike his son, Tsutomu did not appear to shave his facial hair regularly. In Mary's memory, he wore a large jacket, a loose white tie, and a cap which, along with his hair, concealed part of his face.

Appellations

Picture	Name	What they call Tsutomu Akai	What Tsutomu Akai calls them
	Mary	Tsutomu-san Husband (Shujin) Ano hito (literally "that person", but the intended meaning is "husband")	-
	Shuichi Akai	Father (chichi)	-
	Subaru Okiya	Father (chichi)	-
	Shukichi Haneda	Dad (Otōsan)	-
	Masumi Sera	Papa	-

Picture	Name	What they call Tsutomu Akai	What Tsutomu Akai calls them
	Conan Edogawa	Akai-san's father (Akai-san no otōsan)	-

Plot overview

The Suspect is Makoto Kyogoku (Manga: 859, Anime: 744)

Masumi tells Conan that while she and her oldest brother resemble their mother, her middle brother resembles her father.

Red Woman Case (Manga: 872, Anime: 754)

Masumi tells Conan that several things, including the apparent death of her father, led to she and her brothers each having three different surnames.

Shukichi's Envelope Case (Manga: 945-947, Anime: 849-850)

Tsutomu had his name printed on Shukichi's marriage certificate. However, the pronunciation of his name was not revealed.

The name on the marriage certificate.

Anime version.

The Clenched Scissors and the Clipped Letters (Manga: 949, Anime: 861-862)

Shuichi tells Conan that his father's involvement in the Kohji case is why he joined the FBI. But Shuichi isn't much for talking about it before Conan will tell about himself in return.

A Chance Meeting at the Beach (Manga: 972-974, Anime: 881-882)

Mary reminds Shuichi of his father's last words before his death, "Pretend I never existed. I seem to have made some serious enemies". Shuichi reflects that Tsutomu's body still hasn't been found.

When Shuichi speaks of being "infected by the disease called curiosity," Mary is immediately reminded of Tsutomu. Shukichi is also reminded of Tsutomu when Mary tells Shuichi to "purge the fog that covers the truth."

Speculation

So far, the amount of information on the patriarch of the Akai family is very vague. 17 years ago, he was involved in some way with the murders of Kohji Haneda and Amanda Hughes. During which, or shortly after, he became an enemy of "horrible people," prompting him to message his family that they should move to the safety of Japan. From this point on, the father is thought of as dead, however a body was never discovered.

Fan speculation

Some fan theories have been floating around about how, specifically, he was connected to the Kohji case, as well as whether he's truly dead or not. Such theories include that Tsutomu was truly dead. His missing body implies that he was captured and terminated by the Black Organization after his involvement with the case. Another popular theory is that Tsutomu is alive and has now changed into Hyoue Kuroda because Kuroda is remarked by Yui Uehara to have changed his appearance completely after a 1-decade coma. Another theory is that Tsutomu is in fact the bodyguard Asaka who has gone missing for 17 years because both Tsutomu and Asaka are both missing in the current timeline and were involved with the Kouji case 17 years ago.

Relationships analysis

Mary Sera

Much isn't known about their relationship, but it seems that she trust her husband's judgment enough to go into hiding with their children, when he instructed them to.

Shuichi Akai

Tsutomu's disappearance drove Shuichi to seek revenge.

Masumi Sera

Masumi was born after the family moved to Japan, so she never met her father. But a good friend of her father would provide for her. It is unknown if he was aware that Mary was pregnant with their third child before he died.

Trivia

• His name was first revealed via Shukichi's marriage registration in Volume 89. However, at the time, the exact pronunciation of the name was unknown.
• The kanji in his name, 務武, can also be read as "Zumu". This is a possible reference to Zeon "Zum" Deikun (ジオン・ズム・ダイクン ,Jion "Zumu" Daikun), Char Aznable's father.
• Technically, Tsutomu's first appearence in the anime was in the new opening theme song during September 2017.

See also

• Characters