Yukiko Kudo
| Yukiko Kudo | |
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| Japanese name: | 工藤 有希子 (Kudou Yukiko) |
|---|---|
| English name: | Vivian Kudo |
| Age: | 37 |
| Gender: | Female |
| Relatives: | Yusaku Kudo (husband) Shinichi Kudo (son) |
| Nicknames: | The Night Baroness |
| Aliases: | Yukiko Fujimine (maiden name) Fumiyo Edogawa Fumiyo Akechi |
| First appearance: | Manga: Chapter 49 Anime: Episode 43 |
| Appearances: | TV: ? Movies: ? Specials: ? Openings: 5 |
| Keyhole number: | Volume 14 |
| Japanese voice: | Sumi Shimamoto |
| English voice: | Laurie Steele |
Yukiko Kudo (工藤 有希子 Kudou Yukiko) is the mother of Shinichi Kudo and, along with her husband Yusaku, one of few characters who knows he is Conan Edogawa. She was once a famous actress, but retired after marrying Yusaku. She was also close friends with fellow actress, Sharon Vineyard, both being excellent masters of disguise.
Background
Despite her then-tender years as a student at Teitan High, Yukiko was already an internationally famous actress and had a prospectively prosperous future in the film industry.[1] Thus it came as a major surprise to the world when, practically out of the blue, she married Yusaku Kudo and retired from acting.[2] She still retains good contacts in the acting industry, however, and has since become known as the Night Baroness (named after one of her husband's characters) after babbling out some clues provided by Yusaku which helped solve a criminal case on a live television show.[3]
During her acting years, Yukiko went to a famous stage magician and disguise artist to learn the finer arts of disguise for a role she was preparing to play. There she met another actress who would become one of her closest friends: Sharon Vineyard. Until Sharon's (supposed) death, the two women stayed in touch, and Yukiko even attended her funeral, but her appearance was overshadowed by a small scandal involving Sharon's 'daughter' Chris. Yukiko has since learned from her son about Chris/Sharon's secret life, a revelation which troubles her deeply.[4][5]
Despite a certain rivalry for popularity in their high school years, which had culminated in a Miss Teitan Election, Yukiko is also a close friend of Eri Kisaki, and (unlike Eri) finds her daughter Ran a perfect match for her son.[6]
Personality
Despite her adult age, Yukiko still behaves like a teenager. She is bubbly, overconfident and attention-seeking, and prefers to stand in the lime-light (literally) whenever possible. She is an extremely reckless driver and very sensitive about her age: Whenever her son dares to call her "oba-chan" in Japanese (in English, the closest equivalent would be "aunt"), she sets up such a furious face that Shinichi must quickly correct himself by calling her "one-chan" ("older sister").
Name origin
The name Yukiko Fujimine (藤峰) name comes from Lupin III character Fujiko Mine and actress Yukiko Nikaido (the original voice of Fujiko). Her alias, Fumiyo (文代), comes from Fumiyo Akechi, wife of Edogawa Rampo's Kogoro Akechi.
Quotes
Episode 286 (talking about Ran): Hey, you may be looking at my future daughter-in-law.
Episode 335 (talking to Conan about Haibara): There's only two reasons for a girl to look at a boy like that: he has something on his face or she likes him.
