Culture
The following page is a look at the culture of the world of Detective Conan as well as Japan.
Contents
Books
Night Baron Series
A book series written by Yusaku Kudo. In the course of the series, the Night Baron plays several pivotal roles as various individuals and groups, among them the Black Organization. frequently borrow the titular character's name and/or modus operandi for their own twisted purposes.
Detective Samonji
A murder mystery book series originally written by author Nintaro Shinmei, and continued by his only daughter Kaori, that has received a television follow-up, with Samonji's role being performed by the actor Osamu Kenzaki. The ID of the murderer changes each time to maintain viewer interest. In the Funimation Dub, the character's name is Detective Simon.
An Agent in Scarlet
An Agent in Scarlet (緋色の捜査官 Hiiro no Sōsakan) is a screenplay written by Yusaku Kudo. The model of the main character is Shuichi Akai, an FBI agent.
Sherlock Holmes
The series have heavy influence in Detective Conan. The name Conan Edogawa is derived from Sherlock Holmes' author, Arthur Conan Doyle. Shinichi Kudo, and some other people, are "Holmes freak" and could recall all the details of the stories. Many of the methods and plot devices in Sherlock Holmes are incorporated into the story. At least in one case, Sherlock Holmes was the central theme, where the main character Conan Edogawa visits London and solves a cryptic code featuring many of the Sherlock Holmes story.
Entertainment
List of Tv Shows and Movies
Kamen Yaiba
A Tokusatsu-type TV show in Japan which is admired by the Detective Boys. Its real-life counterpart is the Kamen Rider series of which it is a parody. In the Funimation Dub, the character's name is Masked Yaiba.
Gomera Movies
A collection of movies centered around a giant monster named Gomera. Its real-life counterpart is the Gamera & Godzilla movie franchises. Conan mentions that he watched this series "to death" when he was younger.
Star Blade Movies
Star Blade is a movie franchise based on the real life Star Wars franchise. Star Blade 6 was released during the series. The recurring characters are Dark Sashim, Dark Takio, Bei Ju, and Kisasa[1]. In the 5th film Dark Takio turned to the good side and defeated Dark Sashimu. While not mentioned in the manga, the anime adds a Yoda-like voice in a preview for movie 6.
Idols
Japanese idols, usually females from their teens to their early twenties, are seen in a wide range of media, from being J-pop singers, actors in dramas, TV personalities, and models for advertisements. An idol's popularity can range anywhere from a few months to several years.[2]
Yoko Okino
Yoko Okino is an idol who sings, dances and acts. Kogoro is a huge fan of Yoko, never missing her television programs or specials; he even has had the opportunity to star in several TV shows and commercials in which Yoko participates (and particularly when she participates). The name comes from Yoko Okino (沖野 ヨーコ Okino Yōko), Japanese cartoonist who is one of Gosho Aoyama's senior.
Television and Movie Stars
Yukiko Kudo
Yukiko Kudo, previously known as Yukiko Fujimine, was an actor and movie star 20 years ago. She stared in the film series "The Dangerous History of A Female Police officer". At the age of 19 she won the "Greatest Japanese Award". At age 20 she met and married novelist Yusaku Kudo and she retired from acting.
Osamu Kenzaki
Osamu Kenzaki, age 26, is an actor who plays the TV version of the katana-wielding mystery novel character Detective Samonji. He has also done work as the MC of the show "Which Sweets Show".
Sharon Vineyard
Sharon Vineyard is a well known, Oscar winning, American Actress who died a year ago. She has a daughter named Chris Vineyard who also became an actress.
Chris Vineyard
Chris Vineyard is an American actress who has recently disappeared from the public eye. Very little was known about her until around the time her mother died.
Sports
Soccer
Shinichi is very fond of soccer and often fiddles around with a soccer ball when solving cases to help himself think. This trait continues when Shinichi is shrunk and becomes Conan. Shinichi's soccer abilities help Conan out of bad situations and even in capturing criminals, thanks to the Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes. Early on in the series, Conan would kick just about anything around in order to stop criminals in their tracks. Later on Professor Agasa invents the Anywhere Ball Dispensing Belt, providing Conan with an instant missile for his use.
Two major soccer teams found in Detective Conan are the fictional Tokyo Spirits (東京スピリッツ Tōkyō Supirittsu) and Big Osaka (ビッグ大阪 Biggu Ōsaka). There have also been several cases relating to soccer in some way, including but not limited to: Pro Soccer Player Blackmail Case, The Indiscriminate Stadium Threatening Case, and The 3 "K"s of Osaka Case. According to an interview Gosho Aoyama gave in regards to The Eleventh Striker the Tokyo Spirits uniform is inspired by the Juventus F.C. uniform (the Juventus being one of Aoyama's favorite soccer teams).[3]
In the movie The Eleventh Striker, many teams and players in real life are featured. Tokyo Spirits is actually modeled as Juventus F.C., with their mascot being a blue zebra (a parody from Juventus' stripe zebra in real life).
Baseball
Baseball is one of the most popular team sport in Japan and is usually taken seriously from high school onwards, particularly the high school Koshien Tournament. Shinichi has not shown much interest in the sport, however as Conan, he often plays baseball with the Detective Boys despite preferring a game of soccer. On the other hand, Heiji Hattori is a big fan of baseball and is often seen wearing a baseball cap, which appears to be a non-trademarked reference to the Chicago White Sox.
Martial Arts
Most of the female protagonists in the series, particularly the ones in their teenage years, are shown to be proficient in the unarmed martial arts. Ran is the captain of the Teitan High School karate team who sometimes uses her karate to defend herself or protect others, though on occasion she also uses it to intimidate Conan, Shinichi, and Kogoro to do exactly what she wants. Kazuha is a high-level practitioner of aikido, Masumi Sera is skilled in jeet kun do, and Eri Kisaki has been taught judo by her estranged husband, Kogoro.
The male main protagonists, on the other hand, usually make use of fighting styles which depend on physical objects as auxiliaries, leaving them in a state of dependency if they have no suitable weapon to aid them. Conan/Shinichi's skill in soccer could be defined as a martial art since he uses it to knock out fugitive or violent antagonists whenever he has something to kick nearby, leaving them stunned with just one hit, and Heiji employs his kendo skills for personal defense whenever he has a sword at hand. Nevertheless, some male characters are strong at martial arts, for example, Kogoro Mouri, who was a judo champion in his student years, Makoto Kyogoku, Sonoko's boyfriend, who, like Ran, is a high-level karate champion, Akai Shuichi who taught jeet kun do to Masumi Sera, and Tooru Amuro for boxing.
Shogi
Shogi is Japanese chess, counterpart to chess in the West. Though its popularity is not as soccer or baseball, it does attract a sizable player base, and top players like Shukichi Haneda attract fame, celebrity status (he is nicknamed Taiko Meijin) and money (they earn up to 100 million yen per year). Ironically, for a long time, Shukichi's girlfriend, Yumi, was completely oblivious about his profession.
So far, there is no reference of main characters (for example, Conan and Detective Boys) playing shogi, though it is assumed they do recognize the pieces and know the basic rule of the game. Shogi is occasionally featured in cryptic codes or clues in cases.
The main title matches in Shogi include Meijin (名人), Ryu-oh (Ryūō 竜王), Kisei (棋聖), Oi (Ōi 王位), Oza (Ōza 王座), Kioh (Kiō 棋王) and Osho (Ōshō 王将), each held between the current title holder and a challenger, chosen from a qualifying tournament between top players. Each title match happens once a year. The match consists of several games, with the winner is the first one winning 3 or 4 games, depending on the match. Holding all seven titles at the same time is an extraordinary feat that in Detective Conan, so far only Shukichi Haneda managed to do that, and Kohji Haneda came really close before he was murdered in America.
Holidays
Golden Week
Golden Week is a large consecutive holiday in Japan observed on April 29 through May 5th. Several companies shut down for the entirety of Golden Week, giving employees the longest vacation period of the year. Schools also close for Golden Week. Golden Week contains the following holidays:
- April 29 - Shōwa Day: Celebrates the birthday of the late Emperor Hirohito.
- May 3 - Constitution Memorial Day: Celebrates the promulgation of the 1947 Constitution of Japan.
- May 4 - Greenery Day: Celebrates nature.
- May 5 - Children's Day: Celebrates the happiness of children.
Valentine's Day
In Japan, only girls give chocolates on Valentine's Day. This aspect has been explored in Detective Conan in many cases, such as The Valentine Murder Case and The Truth Behind Valentine's. Girls typically will give out different types of chocolate:
- Obligation Chocolate (義理チョコ Giri-CHOKO) - Given in general to others with no feelings attached.
- Favorite Chocolate (本命チョコ Honmei-CHOKO) - Given to the person the girl loves.
- Friend Chocolate (友チョコ Tomo-CHOKO) - Given to friends.
White Day
In Japan White Day is celebrated on March 14th and exists as a "reply day" for the boys to respond to the girls who gave them chocolate on Valentine's Day. Men are expected to respond with gifts at least two or three times more valuable than what they received on Valentine's Day. This aspect was explored in The White Day Murder Case.
Christmas
In Japan, Christmas is mostly celebrated as a lovers' holiday. It is shown often in the show, including even a winter themed opening in season 10 with the song Winter Bells by Mai Kuraki. There have been various Christmas-themed episodes, including the most recent Christmas episode featuring Kaitou Kid, Christmas Eve - Two Kaitou Kids.
New Year's Day
Unlike the Chinese New Year, New Year's Day in Japan has been celebrated on January 1st since 1873. It is typically celebrated with family. Some of the traditions include cooking and eating certain foods, and sending greeting postcards to family and friends. A tradition seen in Detective Conan is the giving of decorated envelopes containing money to children, which occurs in the TV Special Fugitive: Kogoro Mouri
Vehicles
Business
- Cheetah Delivery Service: First appearing in the Sweet and Cold Delivery Service, Cheetah delivery trucks have been spotted in many later episodes and movies in reference to this case. These include the "UFO Sighting Murder Case" (Vol 89), Munch's Missing Scream, After That Hundred Million Yen, The Disappearance of Conan Edogawa: The Worst Two Days in History, and Sunflowers of Inferno.
Phones
Food
Recurring dining locations include:
- Ramen Ogura: A noodle restaurant that was the site of two murders. It capitalizes on its notoriety with the slogan "Ramen so wicked, it's to die for."
Trivia
- In Japan, the national police telephone number is 110. The number for medical and fire-related emergencies is 119.
References
- ^ the Japanese kana are ダーク・サシム；ダーク・タキオ；ベイ・ジュウ；and キササ
- ^ "Japanese idol". Wikipedia. 2010-04-17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_idol. Retrieved on 2010-06-28.
- ^ "Translating Interviews". justwantanaccount. 2012-04-29. http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/forum/topic/1555-translating-interviews/page__view__findpost__p__267880. Retrieved on 2012-04-29.
