The Boss of the Black Organization
| Ano Kata | |
|
| |
| English name: | That Person |
|---|---|
| Age: | Unknown |
| Gender: | Unknown |
| Date of birth: | Unknown |
| Relatives: | Unknown |
| First appearance: | Unknown |
| Appearances: | Unknown |
| Japanese voice: | None as of yet |
Ano Kata (あの方 That Person) is what the Black Organization refer to their boss as. The true identity and gender of "That Person" is still unknown, with only a few insignificant facts about them revealed in the manga's 15 year (and counting) run.
Known canon information
- The boss uses the first few notes of the song Nanatsu no Ko to encode his/her phone number. The number is #969#6261, which was purposefully made non-functional by Gosho Aoyama to prevent prank calls. The number might have a Tottori area code; but it is uncertain because of the way the number, including the area code, was altered to prevent prank calls. It is worth noting that Haibara reacts to the word Kurayoshi – a city in Tottori province, when she notices Shinichi Kudo had taken an interest.[1]
- The operatives dress in black, which Akemi says is supposed to resemble crows. This is probably an expression of the boss’s dress code preferences.
- He/She uses alcoholic codenames for agents.
- The boss is very careful. Vermouth says, “The boss is always careful to the extreme. He’s the type to ruin the plan by overthinking it.”[2]
- Vermouth is the boss’ favorite for an unknown reason and he/she allows her some degree of independence.
- The Boss thought Shuichi Akai could become the Black Organization’s silver bullet.[3] In that regard he/she's more like Vermouth than Gin who doesn't believe a single person who can take the syndicate down in one shot exists.
Gosho Aoyama's interviews
Gosho Aoyama has given several interviews concerning the boss, however there are few primary sources. The following interview accounts come from transcripts from fansites and blogs on the web and have not been independently verified.
- Aoyama specified that the name of the boss has appeared somewhere in the manga.[4] It was not clarified whether the boss has appeared in person.
- The Black Organization's formal name gives away the boss' name.[5] "The Black Organization" is not the real name of the organization.
- Minami Takayama, Gosho Aoyama's former wife and Conan's voice actor, knows the boss' identity.[6]
- Aoyama revealed that he didn't expect the Detective Conan series to last longer than three months.[7] This indicates that the boss might have been hinted early in Detective Conan.
Speculations
The organization uses clever codenames, passwords, etc. based on mysteries and history. If the boss is behind the naming scheme then perhaps the boss has an interest in detectives and mysteries.
Fan speculation has led to many theories concerning "that person's" identity, ranging from Vodka to Yusaku Kudo to even one of the Detective Boys after having taken APTX 4869. In a "Who is That Person" fan poll in Shonen Sunday, Professor Agasa was ranked the most likely suspect, while Gin was voted in a Case Closed FUNimation community poll.
References
- ^ Manga Volume 45, File 9: Chapter 466
- ^ Manga Chapter 704. "He" stands for a gender unspecific pronoun with no English equivalent.
- ^ Manga Chapter 434
- ^ 2006年朝日新聞夕刊のインタビュー記事より (2006年1月13日（金）)
From 2006 Asahi Evening Newspaper interview article (Friday January 13, 2006)
実はボスの名前は既に原作のどこかにでている。捜してみて下さい。…
In fact, the boss' name already appeared somewhere in the manga. Please see if you can find it. . . .
http://anokata.xxxxxxxx.jp/anokata.html
Translation credit to JustWantAnAccount - ^ 2005年青山剛昌とコナンファンの集いでの質問コーナーより
From Q&A in a gathering between Gosho Aoyama and Conan fans in 2005
Ｑ．黒の組織について？
Q. On the Black Syndicate/Organization?
Ａ．正式名称はある。言うとボスの名前がバレちゃうので言えません。
A. A formal name exists. If mentioned, the boss' name will be exposed so I can't say.
http://tsukiyotsukiyo.blog66.fc2.com/blog-entry-57.html
Translation credit to JustWantAnAccount - ^ 『名探偵コナン＆金田一少年の事件簿』4号より
From "Detective Conan & Kindaichi Case Files" 4th Issue
Ｑ.これに気付いているor知っているのは自分だけ！！
Q. Only self noticed/knows about this!!
高山みなみ｢｢あのお方｣が誰なのか…。キャストは誰も知らない。｣
Minami Takayama: [I know] who "anokata" is . . . None of the [other] casts know.
Translation credit to JustWantAnAccount - ^ Kindaichi & Conan creators interview
さとう：「金田一」の連載当初は、１年ぐらいだと思ってました。
Sato: At the beginning of Kindaichi's serialization, I thought it would only last about a year.
青山：僕もネタ的に続かないから、３か月ぐらいかなと。
Aoyama: I, too, thought that it [Detective Conan] would only last about three months, since it's difficult to continue material-wise.
Translation credit to JustWantAnAccount
