Sumiko Kobayashi
| Sumiko Kobayashi | |
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| Japanese name: | 小林 澄子 (Kobayashi Sumiko) |
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| English name: | Liz Faulkner |
| Age: | 26 |
| Gender: | Female |
| Nicknames: | Kobayashi-sensei (formerly) Oni-baba ("old demon hag") |
| First appearance: | Manga: Chapter 154 Anime: Episode 112 |
| Appearances: | Chapters: 62 Chapters: 1 Episodes: 46 Movies: 1 OVAs: 3 Openings: 7 Openings: 1 |
| Keyhole number: | Volume 50 |
| Japanese voice: | Yuko Kato |
| English voice: | Stephanie Young |
Sumiko Kobayashi (小林 澄子 Kobayashi Sumiko), also known as Liz Faulkner in the Funimation dub, is a character in the manga and anime franchise Detective Conan. She is the homeroom teacher of Conan Edogawa and the girlfriend of Ninzaburo Shiratori. She is also the self-appointed (and somewhat unwelcome) "manager" of the Detective Boys.
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Background
Sumiko Kobayashi attended Teitan elementary and was in the 18th graduating class, two classes above Officer Chiba. She became the new class teacher of Conan and the Detective Boys after their previous teacher had married and retired. Her harsh behavior towards her charges had earned her the nickname "oni-baba" amongst her students.
One night, the Detective Boys came into the school to investigate strange occurences involving busts from art class and an anatomy model from the sick room, which had been mysteriously moved around, and the mysterious absence of the vice principal. The busts and the model had actually been used by Kobayashi for a rehearsal for the next parent-teacher conference. Kobayashi is in fact very fond of children, but her kindness had caused her to have very little control over her class at her previous school, resulting in a disastrous parent-teacher conference. To fix this, she had forced herself to be strict and harsh when she transferred to Teitan Elementary, but after the Detective Boys discovered her nicer side, she decided to be herself again and has become very popular with her students ever since.[1]
On one occasion, she accompanied Conan and the Detective Boys to an interview which became a murder investigation as they found the reporter slain. After witnessing Conan in action, she announced her desire to join the Detective Boys and become their manager - a decision which was immediately vetoed[2] and is commonly neglected in the field.[3]
As it turned out later, when Kobayashi was still a small child, she had confronted two no-good juveniles attempting to steal mangas from a bookshop. When the culprits contemptuously shoved her aside, a young boy intervened on her behalf, cooly citing a paragraph from Japanese law concerning theft. As a sign of gratitude, Kobayashi bought her rescuer a drink ornamented with a circle of sakura flowers made from the straw wrapper, as a symbol of goodness and justice (referring to the Japanese police badges). It would not be until many years later that she would encounter him again as a member of the police force, under the name of Ninzaburo Shiratori.[4]
Because Shiratori first wanted to win Kobayashi's affection and then tell her about what he viewed as the hand of fate, he kept silent about their first encounter - a scheme that backfired when she found out that she had a dead lookalike in the polie department whom Shiratori had once pursued romantically. Thinking that he considered her a mere replacement for Sato, Kobayashi was understandibly hurt and started distancing herself from him, even after Shiratori personally confessed their common past to her - a move which came at a bad time, because she had become an unwitting (and the sole) witness to a murder and the murderer would therefore try everything to silence her.[5] When the culprit was apprehended, Kobayashi did indeed remember Shiratori as her childhood savior, and the relationship was reaffirmed.[6]
Personality
Kobayashi is very kind and fond of children, considering them the most wonderful thing in the world. Kobayashi is also quite timid and sensitive. Even though she has appointed herself the manager of the Detective Boys, the kids often leave her out of case or ignore her warnings. She was also quite hurt when she believed Inspector Shiratori was only interested in her because of her resemblance to Miwako Sato - a resemblance so striking it even fooled her close associates Chiba and Yumi.[7][8]
Kobayashi loves mystery novels, particularly the works of Edogawa Rampo. Because of this, Ai Haibara suggests that she and Shiratori would work well together because Kobayashi would enjoy hearing about cases from him.[9]
Relationship analysis
- Shiratori and Kobayashi-sensei
Name Origin
Kobayashi-sensei is named after a friend of Gosho Aoyama's and a junior detective character created by Edogawa Rampo.
Trivia
References
- ^ Manga Chapter 155: Is Someone There?
- ^ Manga Chapter 517: The Detective Boys
- ^ Manga Chapter 691: Conan vs. The Detective Boys
- ^ Manga Chapters 687-689: Sakura Girl Case
- ^ Manga Chapters 707: The Sakura Girl is...?
- ^ Manga Chapters 708: The Sakura in Full Bloom
- ^ Manga Chapter 706: Kobayashi-sensei's Misunderstanding
- ^ Manga Chapter 707: The Sakura Girl is...
- ^ Manga Chapter 690: The Haunted Warehouse
