"The Criminal"

No specific name
Profile
Age:	Never certain
Gender:	Never certain
Date of birth:	Never certain
Relatives:	Never certain
Nicknames:	Never certain
Statistics
First appearance:	Unknown
Appearances:	Amount unknown
Actors
Japanese voice:	Always changes
English voice:	Always changes

The criminal (犯人 ,han'nin) in Detective Conan is a substitute image for the culprits presented in Detective Conan and is usually depicted as a black or dark humanoid figure. It is used whenever the reader or watcher is to be made aware of the culprit's actions while attempting to keep his or her identity secret for the time being.

Character evolution

First appearances

The first criminal silhouettes were very shady and roughly drawn in, and had no real body formation. They usually didn't even have a clearly drawn in face (as was shown in Opening 3). Sometimes, the figures resembled enough of the actual criminal's body that it could give away the true identity of the culprit.

Later changes

As the series went even further, the figure received a more human-like appearance with the gradual addition of eyes, noses, mouths, and finally muscles. In general, the figure reamined rather generic, looking more like a man rather than a woman, or genderless people, keeping the audience guessing about the true identity and physical characterstics of the culprit in question.

Trivia

• Though usually depicted as a criminal, the silhouettes are sometimes protagonists, but their identity has to be kept a secret from both the viewers/readers and/or Conan.
• In Japan, a hooded jacket is sold with the face of "The Criminal" on the hood. When this is pulled down over the wearer's face, it makes them look like it.

Also see

• Characters