Yukiko Kudo

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Revision as of 07:15, 28 December 2011 by 89.148.1.20 (talk) (Background)
Yukiko Kudo

Yukiko Kudo Profile.jpg

Profile
Japanese name: 工藤 有希子
(Kudou Yukiko)
English name: Vivian Kudo
Age: 37[1]
Gender: Female
Date of birth: Unknown[1]
Relatives: Yusaku Kudo (husband)
Shinichi Kudo (son)
Nicknames: The Night Baroness
Aliases: Yukiko Fujimine (maiden name)
Fumiyo Edogawa
Fumiyo Akechi
Statistics
First appearance: Manga: Chapter 49
Anime: Episode 43
Appearances: Chapters: 92
Episodes: 55
Movies: 2
Episodes: 1
OVAs: 3
Specials: 1
Openings: 12
Closings: 4
Keyhole number: Volume 14
Actors
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

Yukiko was born in the Tosa Province (today's Kochi Prefecture, located in the southern portion of Shikoku), and became a fan of Sakamoto Ryoma after having played the part of his older sister Otome in a historical drama. (This role also made her internationally famous as a talented actress.)[2] According to Gosho Aoyama, she is a descendant of the Japanese emperor Meiji [3]

Despite her then-tender years as a student at Teitan High, Yukiko had a prospectively prosperous future in the film industry.[4] Thus it came as a major surprise to the world when, practically out of the blue, she married Yusaku Kudo and retired from acting.[5] She still retains good contacts in the acting and film 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 on a live television show which helped solve a criminal case.[6]

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 Vineyard. Yukiko has since learned from her son about Chris/Sharon's secret life, a revelation which troubles her deeply.[7][8]

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 Mouri, a perfect match for her son.[9]

Personality

Yukiko and her childhood friend, Eri Kisaki.

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 can be prone to jealousy over Yusaku occasionally flirtatious behavior, and can demonstrate impulsive tendencies. 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 "onee-chan" ("older sister").

However, despite her faults, Yukiko is extremely loyal and cares for both her husband and her son (though a heavy streak of mischief causes her to often tease Shinichi). Her loyalty extends to her friends, as she thinks nothing of flying across the Pacific to help a friend from elementary school.[10] She takes pride in being an excellent actress and a mistress of disguise, able to fool even close friends and family with her skills.

Plot overview

Conan Edogawa Kidnapping Case

Yukiko first appearance was disguised as Fumiyo Edogawa, a woman claiming to be Conan's mom.

The Cornered Famous Detective! Two Big Murder Cases

After having a quarrel with her husband, Yukiko secretly returned to Japan. She then meets Ran and Conan in front of her house. She successfully covered for Conan who Ran suspected at that time.

Relationships analysis

Character popularity

eBookJapan held a character popularity poll from April 12, 2011 to May 12, 2011 in which readers of Detective Conan (international included) could vote for their favorite character. Yukiko placed 17th in the poll with 37 votes out of the 5,883 that were cast.[11]

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.

Different looks

Yukiko's "Before" Appearance (Episode 43)
Yukiko's "After" Appearance (Episode 621)

Quotes

Hey, you may be looking at my future daughter-in-law.

Episode 286

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.

Episode 335

Trivia

In other languages

Language Given Name Family Name
Flag of Japan Japanese 有希子 Yukiko 工藤 Kudou
Flag of US English Vivian Kudo
Flag of France French Yukiko Kudo
Flag of Germany German Yukiko Kudo
Flag of Vietnam Vietnamese Yukiko Kudo
Flag of Saudi Arabia Arabic يوكويو Yokoyo كودو Kodo
Flag of Finland Finnish Yukiko Kudo

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Conan Drill page 58
  2. ^ Manga Chapter 733: Kaitou Kid and Ryoma's Gunbelt
  3. ^ Shinichi Kudou by Gosho Aoyama chapter 2 page 7 websunday.net/Conan/shinichikudou/ref?19291
  4. ^ Manga Chapter 414: Mama's Rival!?
  5. ^ Manga Chapter 260: The Memorable Place
  6. ^ Manga Chapter 342: Golden Apple 2
  7. ^ Manga Chapter 341: Golden Apple 1
  8. ^ Manga Chapter 433: The Truth Behind The Mask
  9. ^ Manga Chapter 342: Golden Apple 2
  10. ^ Aoyama, Gosho (1997-03-18). "File 4" (in Japanese). Detective Conan. 14. Tokyo: Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-125044-0. 
  11. ^ "『名探偵コナン』 人気投票結". eBookJapan. 2011-05-12. http://www.ebookjapan.jp/ebj/special/conan/vote_kekka2.asp. Retrieved on 2011-05-15. 
Main Characters
Protagonists Shinichi KudoConan EdogawaRan MouriKogoro Mouri
Detective Boys Ai HaibaraAyumi YoshidaMitsuhiko TsuburayaGenta Kojima
Family & Friends Hiroshi AgasaSonoko SuzukiEri KisakiYusaku KudoYukiko KudoHeiji HattoriKazuha ToyamaYoko OkinoSumiko KobayashiTomoaki AraideMakoto KyogokuShizuka HattoriJirokichi SuzukiEisuke HondouAzusa EnomotoSubaru OkiyaMasumi SeraShukichi HanedaSakurako YoneharaRumi WakasaMomiji OokaMuga Iori
Tokyo Metropolitan Police District Juzo MegureWataru TakagiMiwako SatoNinzaburo ShiratoriYumi MiyamotoKazunobu ChibaNaeko MiikeKiyonaga MatsumotoInspector YuminagaShintaro ChakiHyoue KurodaKenji HagiwaraJinpei MatsudaWataru Date
Osaka Police District Heizo HattoriGinshiro ToyamaGoro Otaki
Nagano Police District Kansuke YamatoYui UeharaTaka'aki Morofushi
Other police districts Sango YokomizoMisao YamamuraJugo YokomizoChihaya HagiwaraFumimaro Ayanokoji
NPA and Public Security Bureau Rei Furuya (Bourbon)Hiromitsu MorofushiYuya Kazami
FBI Shuichi AkaiJodie StarlingJames BlackAndre Camel
CIA Hidemi Hondou (Kir)Ethan Hondou
MI6 Mary SeraTsutomu Akai
Black Organization The BossRumGinVodkaVermouthChiantiKornShiho MiyanoAkemi MiyanoElena MiyanoAtsushi MiyanoTequilaPiscoCalvadosRikumichi KusudaKi'ichiro Numabuchi
Magic Kaito Kaito KurobaKaitou KidAoko NakamoriGinzo NakamoriMidoriko NakamoriToichi KurobaChikage KurobaKonosuke JiiKeiko MomoiAkako KoizumiSaguru HakubaSnakeKaitou Corbeau
Others "The Criminal"Hideo AkagiRyusuke HigoTakahiro SanadaScar AkaiKohji HanedaKamen YaibaAmanda Hughes