Toichi Kuroba

Toichi Kuroba
Profile
Japanese name:	黒羽 盗一 (Kuroba Tōichi)
English name:	Toichi Kuroba
Age:	unknown
Gender:	Male
Relatives:	Chikage Kuroba (wife) Kaito Kuroba (son)
Occupation:	Magician
Status:	Missing (probably alive)
Aliases:	Kaitou Kid Phantom Thief Kid 1412 Kaitou 1412
Statistics
First appearance:	Magic Kaito Chapter 1 Anime: Episode 219
Appearances:	Chapters: 4 Episodes: 4 Movies: 1 Specials: 3 Episodes: 13 Chapters: 12 Magic Kaito: 6
Keyhole number:	Volume 55
Actors
Japanese voice:	Shuichi Ikeda

Toichi Kuroba (黒羽 盗一 ,Kuroba Tōichi) is Kaito Kuroba's father, a world-renowned magician, and the original Kaitou Kid.

Background

Toichi's first heist was how he first met his wife. It involved him wearing an outfit that was in homage for the great Arsène Lupin for his next magic show. Toichi saved Chikage which is how they fell in love. When people saw it, Toichi automatically knew the outfit was going to be his costume.

Toichi as Kid was the greatest jewel thief in Japan as well as the best stage magician in Japan until he was murdered in a fake magic accident. Sometime prior to his death, Toichi had his attendant and friend Konosuke Jii promise him that he would never tell Kaito about his thieving. In the manga Kaito's mother was aware of her husband's double life and is aware that Kaito discovered Toichi's secret room within their household.

It was implied in Magic Kaito that Toichi's magic teacher was world-renowned British magician James Hopper, whose granddaughter Kaito defended against Snake.

Personality

Toichi seems to have a playful atmosphere about himself, like his son Kaito Kuroba, as demonstrated by his amusing magic tricks to delight his audience.

Relationships analysis

Family and friends

Kaito Kuroba

Kaito Kuroba is the son of Toichi Kuroba. His father died under mysterious circumstances when Kaito was only nine years old. Eight years later, Kaito discovers that his father was the internationally famous thief, Kaitou Kid. Kaito then takes his father's place as the second Kaitou Kid, without the knowledge of the local police department.

Konosuke Jii

Jii is Toichi's loyal friend and assistant.

Chikage Kuroba

Toichi's wife, Chikage, was a former thief who he met by chance. Toichi became a thief to redirect the police's attention away from Phantom Lady so that she could live normally. They have a child, Kuroba Kaito.

Yusaku Kudo

Toichi seems to have had a friendly rivalry with Yusaku Kudo, as Yusaku successfully stopped one of Toichi's jewelery heists and then gave Toichi the "Kaitou Kid" name when he purposely misread a "1412" a news reporter had scribbled down. Toichi daringly sent a letter as the Kaitou Kid to Yusaku once with only a question mark on it, questioning whether Yusaku would be able to stop him again. (Yusaku replies with an exclaimation mark, meaning that yes, he will.)

Yukiko Kudo

It is subtly implied that Toichi is the very man who taught Yusaku's wife Yukiko and Sharon Vineyard the finer art of disguise. This theory is given credibility by the intricateness of Kaitou Kid's disguises, the secrets of which he has inherited from his father. However, Yukiko remains ignorant about Toichi's true identity and his actual relationship with her husband. Also she called him one of her seven knights.

Shinichi Kudo

Despite the fact Toichi and Shinichi only met once prior to Toichi's death, it's worth mentioning Toichi referred to Shinichi as his "older brother" and himself as the "younger brother". This is because of Yusaku, Shinichi's father, being the father of the name of Kaitou Kid, Toichi's secret identity.

Plot overview

Toichi and his young son Kaito, as they appeared in a flashback in episode 473.

Having maybe died eight years before the start of the Magic Kaito manga, Toichi has not played an active role in the plot. However, he still has a posthumous influence on his son Kaito, whose stated reason for dressing as the Kaitou Kid is to find the men who killed his father. Kaito later unearths that his father was killed by Snake over a mysterious jewel known as the Pandora Gem. It was confirmed by Gosho Aoyama, in the 2019 Nagasaki Newspaper interview, that Toichi was probably alive, which means he undoubtedly escaped the mischievous plan organized by Snake.

Magic Lover's Murder Case (Manga: 192-196, Anime: 132-134)

Toichi's flashback.

Thought not seen during this case, Toichi was mentioned by Yoshinori Ara as his favorite japanese magician, when Katsuki Doito (disguised as Kaitou Kid) agreed with him.

Shinichi Kudo's New York Case (Manga: 350-354, Anime: 286-288)

Thought not seen during this case, Toichi was mentioned by Yukiko Kudo that he had taught her and Sharon disguise techniques.

Shinichi Kudo's Childhood Adventure (Manga: 570-573, Anime: 472-473)

Toichi appeared in a flashback episode of Detective Conan, where he challenges his "older brother" Shinichi to a treasure hunt. Toichi gives the challenge to Shinichi thinking his father Yusaku Kudo will read it after Shinichi finds it too difficult. At the end of episode 473 it was revealed that he had instructed Yukiko in disguises and that Yusaku replied to his challenge with a single exclamation mark, indicating that they were semi-friendly rivals and Yusaku knows his identity.

Speculation

Toichi is alive as Kaitou Corbeau

Some fans believe that Toichi Kuroba has faked his death somehow and revived as the phantom thief from Las Vegas, Kaitou Corbeau. Kaitou Corbeau's face looks exactly like Toichi's, and his voice sounds exactly like Toichi's.

Kaitou Corbeau is not Toichi

Other fans believe that Kaitou Corbeau is not Toichi and that Corbeau is a master of disguise who wears a Toichi mask and mimicks Toichi's voice; this is what Corbeau tells Kid. The fake Toichi is part of Chikage's plan to convince her son to leave his dangerous night job as Kaitou Kid and let her and her assistants take over luring out the Magic Kaito Organization.

Name origin

The characters in Kuroba (黒羽) mean "black feather" and one of the characters in Toichi (盗) means thief.

Different looks

Detective Conan (episode 219).

Detective Conan (episode 473).

Magic Kaito 1412 (episode 3).

Quotes

Kaito, I’m going to teach you the secret of being a magician. To begin with, do you know what the most important thing for a magician is?

Before you do a trick, you must never explain what’s going to happen. That’s one of the principles of magic, as laid out by the great Thurston.

Magic tricks and magic spells can both be considered "magic", but they're completely different.

As the famous magician, Al Baker once said, "Don’t run away before they chase you". If given a chance, the audience will begin to doubt us magicians. However, if you fear their gaze, you’ll definitely make a mistake. A first-rate magician never fears being scrutinized. You can trust in your own ability.

Kaito, in order to continue being a magician, there is something you must never forget. That is a child’s heart. By the time you realize that, you’ll be an adult.

When you’re unsure about which way to take a trick, the greatest tool at your disposal is reverse psychology. A magician must always outwit his audience. If you get stuck on an idea, then you’ll just have to take it in the opposite direction.

Challenging hecklers who interfere with your magic are always a pain to deal with. Thinking you’ll floor them right away is the height of foolishness. Magic is not a battle. It’s something that entertains many people. You can divide challenging audience members into two groups. The first type wants to stand out more than the magician. All you can do to deal with that sort of person is silence them. And then there’s a type that is so curious, they can’t stand not knowing the trick, even if it means interfering with the magic. For them, don’t be bound by theory, but intoxicate them with a display of brilliant magic that verges on the impossible...If you can do that, your troublesome heckler will turn into an ardent fan. This is how a true magician ought to be.

Kaito...Finally, I’ll just say this to you once more. Remember it well. When you come in contact with the audience, it’s the scene of a duel. Never be arrogant. Never underestimate them. See into their minds. Give undivided concentration to your fingertips. Use every trick you know. On top that, never lose your smile or dignity. And at all times...remember your poker face.

When a performer continues to have strong conviction, true showmanship lies within.

At the very end, I want to leave you with these words. If you can imagine it, you can create it. The words of a great magician describing his attitude when he comes up with a new trick. This also applies to an entertainer who aims to reach even higher heights. And with your conviction, if you aim for something, I have faith that you’ll reach it.

Trivia

• When Toichi meets Shinichi and Ran in Shinichi Kudo's Childhood Adventure, he's seen reading Arsène Lupin: Gentleman Burglar by Maurice LeBlanc.
• His crimes have totaled 134. Fifteen have occurred overseas, including in America, France, and Germany, bringing the number of affected countries to at least 12. The number of Jewels stolen has reached 152, with damages estimated at 3,872,500,000 yen.

In other languages

Language	Given Name	Family Name
Japanese	盗一 Tōichi	黒羽 Kuroba
English	Toichi	Kuroba
French	Tôichi	Kuroba

Gallery

• 

  Toichi Kuroba challenge to Yusaku Kudo asking will he stop him in his next heist.

• 

  A flashback of Toichi telling Kaito about the red tear.

See also

• Characters