Yusaku Kudo
| Yusaku Kudo | |
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| |
| Japanese name: | 工藤 優作 (Kudou Yuusaku) |
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| English name: | Booker Kudo |
| Age: | 37-38 |
| Gender: | Male |
| Relatives: | Yukiko Kudo (wife) Shinichi Kudo (son) |
| First appearance: | Manga: Chapter 49 Anime: Episode 43 |
| Appearances: | Chapters: 59 Chapters: 3 Episodes: 38 Movies: 3 OVAs: 3 Specials: 1 Openings: 12 Closings: 3 |
| Keyhole number: | Volume 22 |
| Japanese voice: | Hideyuki Tanaka |
| English voice: | Randy Tallman John Swasey |
Yusaku Kudo (工藤 優作 Kudou Yuusaku) is the father of Shinichi Kudo and, along with his wife Yukiko, is one of only a few characters to know he is Conan Edogawa. He is also a world famous novelist and the creator of the popular Night Baron series.
Background
Yusaku Kudo was already noted for his sharp intellect and deductive abilities at a young age. He met Inspector Juzo Megure and became a good friend and valuable adviser to him in solving very difficult cases.[1] While he often assisted the police, Yusaku's primary aspiration was that of a writer. As a young novelist quickly attracting acclaim in his early twenties, he encountered the girl whom he resolved to marry: Yukiko Fujimine, an already famed and beautiful actress. While taking her out in an expensive restaurant to make his proposal, he was involved in a murder case which he solved brilliantly, and right afterward proposed to a startled Yukiko - which she accepted. (Twenty years later, his son Shinichi would become involved in a follow-up of the exact same case, but unlike Yusaku he wouldn't be able to profess his feelings to his own love.)[2]
Instead of pursuing a career solely with the police or as a detective, Yusaku's detective stories have won international acclaim, especially his novels involving the character called Night Baron, who has become a popular cultural item. He prefers to be known as a novelist, despite multiple demonstrations of a Mycroftian tendency to solve a case before Shinichi reaches the same conclusions. In the course of his career, he also encountered the first Kaitou Kid and struck a sort of competitive friendship with him; it is implied that Yusaku knew Kid's identity, but chose to chase Kid only during heists in order to foil the theft and no further.[3]
After Shinichi becomes Conan, Yuusaku learns from Agasa what occurred and stages an elaborate false kidnapping to drive home to Conan what the stakes are if he is caught by the Black Organization. He offers to take Conan to a new life in America, but understands when Shinichi refuses due to a desire for independence and feelings for Ran - though Yuusaku doesn't expect that resolve to last.[4] He and Yukiko occasionally check up on Conan, but seem content to respect Shinichi's wishes to pursue the Black Organization without their help.
Personality
Yusaku Kudo possesses a very sharp intellect and observation skills, traits which his son inherited, though Yusaku's own abilities remain more well-honed. He demonstrates in multiple cases an ability to operate one step ahead of both Shinichi and criminals, but he chooses to not get involved unless Conan appears unable solve the case alone in time to save the intended victim.[5][6] His success as a novelist is to a large part based on his keen understanding of the criminal mind, as his most famous recurring character is a criminal. While he is an excellent author, he will occasionally blow off his editors in order to do other things, such as travel with Yukiko.[4] He is very laid back and calm, never seen to lose his temper. Some might think him too laid back, as he often took his son to crime scenes before Shinichi was eleven,[1] and showed no concern over six-year-old Shinichi dragging Ran and Agasa into a potentially dangerous area of town to investigate a code.[7] The only time he has been shown to be caught off-guard or stressed by a situation is after the false kidnapping, when Shinichi alerts Yusaku's editors to his location and they force him to make up for missing his deadlines.[4] His less tolerable personality traits include a certain cockiness and a very bad touch at making humor.[5]
Yusaku loves to read, and is the one who compiled the massive library of mystery fiction Shinichi read as a child. His love of Sherlock Holmes is briefly explored in the non-canon 6th movie, 'The Phantom of Baker Street', wherein Yusaku and Agasa helped develop one of the Cocoon VR modules as 19th Century London and included Holmes, Watson, and Irene Adler as non-playable characters modeled visually after Yusaku, Agasa, and Yukiko, respectively.
Plot overview
Name origin
Yusaku's name comes from Shunsaku Kudo (protagonist of the TV Drama Tantei Monogatari (Detective Tales) and actor Yusaku Matsuda (who portrayed Shunsaku Kudo).
Trivia
References
- ^ a b Manga Chapter 204: The Initial Call
- ^ Manga Chapter 260: The Memorable Place
- ^ Manga Chapter 573: Setting Sun
- ^ a b c Aoyama, Gosho (1995-07-18). "File 1" (in Japanese). Detective Conan. 6. Tokyo: Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-123376-7.
- ^ a b Manga Chapter 218: The Last Station
- ^ Manga Chapter 752: A Troublesome and Difficult Case
- ^ Manga Chapter 572: Broad Daylight
