Scar Akai
| Scar Akai | |
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| |
| Age: | ? |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Nicknames: | Scar Akai (fan nickname) |
| First appearance: | Manga: File 677 Anime: Episode 563 |
| Appearances: | Chapters: 19 Chapters: 1 Episodes: 12 Openings: 5 |
Scar Akai is a mysterious person of unknown allegiance who appeared some time after Kir apparently killed Shuichi Akai. It isn't clear if he is in fact the real Akai or someone else, possibly Bourbon, disguising as him. Scar Akai appears silently in front of the FBI and vanishes just as quickly.
Background
Plot overview
Teito Bank Heist (Manga: 677-679, Anime: 563-564)
In his debut appearance, Jodie Starling encountered a man on the street in the Beika district who looks exactly like Shuichi Akai, but with a huge burn scar on the side of his face. She chased after him while calling out to him, but he turned down an alley without responding. James Black, not aware of the mysterious man's appearance, stopped Jodie from following after Scar Akai. Jodie assumes she saw a lookalike and, still upset, visits Teito bank. The bank is then hijacked by robbers who round up everyone. Jodie discovers that Scar Akai is sitting next to her. She tries to talk to him, saying his name, but he doesn't acknowledge that he even heard her. She assumes he has amnesia and cannot speak. The robbers then order everyone's eyes and hands to be taped up.
As the bank heist progresses, Jodie is knocked out and Conan and the Detective Boys design and execute a ploy to trick the bank robbers and rescue the hostages they plan on blowing up. In the confusion, Conan is grabbed and about to be killed by one of the vengeful robbers. Scar Akai rescues Conan by shooting the robber in the shoulder. Scar Akai vanishes after the case, Conan never being aware of his presence, although it is later discovered that Scar Akai caught on tape by reporters. Jodie, reluctant to believe that this man was Shuichi, doesn't tell James Black or Camel about the meeting.[1]
Beika Department Store bomb threat case (Manga: 700-704, Anime: 578-581)
Conan learns about the existence of Scar Akai from the Detective Boys who had recognized him from the Teito Bank heist. Conan is shocked by the news. In the meanwhile, Jodie has tracked down the maker of the hat Scar Akai has worn to the Beika Department Store and she questions the sales clerks if someone matching Scar Akai's description had bought a hat recently. While Andre Camel is in the bathroom, he sees Scar Akai pass behind him. Camel rushes from the bathroom, but Scar Akai is nowhere to be seen.
Scar Akai, along with Subaru Okiya and Conan, is then trapped on one of the department store floors by a bomber demanding to find the sender of thirteen red shirts. Meanwhile the Black Organization has heard that someone who looks like Akai appeared at the department store. Gin and Vodka park outside the department store with the snipers Chianti and Korn to wait for Scar Akai. Gin holds a gun to Kir's head explaining that if Akai is alive, he will kill her.
Back on the bombed floor, Subaru Okiya sees Scar Akai in the crowd and ducks away before Scar Akai could spot him. Jodie finds out Scar Akai is trapped on the floor from someone's video phone. Conan tranquilizes Kogoro Mouri to begin his deduction show just as Kogoro receives a text message containing a mostly complete solution to the case. Wanting to know who else deduced the solution, Conan and Ran trace the text to a man who reveals Scar Akai had "found his phone" and must have sent it. Conan is astonished and anxiously attempts to catch up to Scar Akai, but Conan is stopped by Jodie and Camel who tell him they also saw Scar Akai. Andre reveals the Black Organization are waiting outside with a sniper. Jodie rushes after Scar Akai to stop him from being killed, but is prevented from reaching him by Okiya who knocks her over.
Scar Akai leaves the store and walks into Chianti's scope. She informs Gin who also sees Scar Akai. Before Gin can order Chianti to shoot, Vermouth appears and speaks with Gin about a plan that she received the boss's authorization for. Scar Akai spots Chianti and smirks at her. She loses her aim and Scar Akai disappears into the rushing crowd which Conan had stirred up. Gin lowers his gun from Kir's head and decides to drop the assassination, commenting how Bourbon always likes to do what he pleases.
Encounter at Mouri Detective Agency (Manga: 801)
While Masumi Sera is walking with Ran and Sonoko back to the Mouri Detective Agency, she spots Scar Akai in a crowd. She chases after him, but he slips out of sight. Ran asks Sera what happened, and Sera replies she thought she saw someone she knew, but then mentally adds there is no way that is possible. Hidden out of sight around a corner, Scar Akai watches Sera talk to Ran silently.
Bell Train Arc
Scar Akai appears on the Bell Train that the Conan and his friends have boarded. When Haibara passes him by, she senses the Black Organization vibe from him.
While investigating the case, Masumi Sera finally comes face-to-face with Scar Akai. She demands to know who he is. Scar Akai says, "You haven't changed at all, Masumi," He lifts his face up so Sera gets a clear look. Startled, Sera only utters, "Shuu-nii" (-nii is the honorific used to address older brothers). She then begins to ask Akai the reason why he was there, since she heard that Shuichi Akai died. Before she can reveal her speculation as to why he was there, Scar Akai knocks her out with a stun gun. He then mailed someone (the text is too illegible to read) and grinned. He is seen again, checking the passenger list but was spotted by an attendant. He immediately said he thought he saw an old acquaintance on the train. He looked back, where a person was sitting, and a can is seen under the chair (possibly a smoke grenade). Afterwards, he is next seen in a room, throwing a suitcase out of the window. As it flew out, the woman (possibly Yukiko Kudo), who was with Subaru earlier, entered the room. She then revealed Scar Akai's true persona, Vermouth.
Identity
It is unclear at this point if Scar Akai is the real Shuichi Akai or an imposter. So far, the commentary in the manga sidebars assumes Scar Akai is the real Shuichi Akai; however, the commentary has been purposefully misleading in past arcs. FBI agent Jodie Starling thinks he is the real Akai who managed to escape from death somehow, but has amnesia and cannot speak. Agent Camel is confused and wonders if Scar Akai is a trap from the Black Organization. Although Conan has yet to come into direct contact with Scar Akai, Conan seemed thunderstruck after hearing about his existence and worriedly chased after him.
Known facts about Scar Akai
- Scar Akai seems to be right handed given how he shot the handgun. Shuichi Akai is known to be left-handed.
- Scar Akai somehow knows Kogoro Mouri's cell phone number.
- So far, all of Scar Akai's appearances have been in Beika city very close to one another. Teito Bank and the Beika department store are almost adjacent. Mouri Detective Agency is also in Beika City.
- Scar Akai is good at deduction. His red shirts case solution wasn't as complete as Okiya's and Conan's deductions, but he may not have had access to the internet and therefore info on the snowy mountains case with his "borrowed" phone.
- He is cautious enough to use a handkerchief to avoid leaving fingerprints while handing back the random man's cell phone which Scar Akai used to text Kogoro.
- Scar Akai is most likely male.
When Scar Akai handed back a cell phone to its owner, he spoke to that man. If he can't imitate voice in the first place, he must use his real voice which would alert the owner if he has a woman voice but an appearance of man. However, this alone can't rule out the possibilities of him being female because there was a situation in which Ran and Sonoko mistook Sera's gender from her appearance, even though they spoke with her for several minutes. However theories about Scar Akai being Masumi Sera took a new turn when both of them were seen separately in chapter 802.
Shuichi Akai
Scar Akai looks like Shuichi Akai. He seems to recognize the FBI and the Black Organization agents. He also rescued Conan from the bank robber.
Bourbon
Scar Akai could be Bourbon who, with Vermouth's help, has disguised as Akai and is appearing before the FBI agents in order to gauge whether the real Akai is alive or not based on their reactions. Bourbon, who hates Akai and refuses to believe that anyone else could kill him, believes Akai's death was faked with help of Kir and the FBI.
Arguments for Scar Akai being Bourbon note his inconsistent behavior; so far, Scar Akai has only been appeared in front of FBI agents rather than around Tokyo generally. Scar Akai seems to recognize the FBI agents which suggests he doesn't have amnesia, but he puts Kir in danger by wandering around in the open. If he recognized the FBI enough to leave Jodie a message, it is strange that he would not speak to the FBI agents since Scar Akai is capable of speaking. Also, Scar Akai is right handed based on how he fired a handgun, not left handed like Akai.
The FBI agents Scar Akai has appeared in front of so far, Jodie and Camel, were known to be close to Akai and thus would be considered likely compatriots if Akai needed help faking his death. Given the circumstances of Akai's death, Bourbon must also suspect Kir is a spy and was in on the plan. In light of this, it makes sense that Scar Akai would know Kogoro's cellphone number; Kogoro texted Kir after the Ding Dong Dash case, and Bourbon got Kogoro's number from Kir's cellphone which was left in Gin's Porsche when the FBI mistakenly intercepted her.
Gin lowering his gun from Kir's head shows that he doesn't think Scar Akai is the real Akai. Since Gin called Kir in the "Thirteen Red Shirts" case, he has held a gun to her head the entire time. After Gin observes Scar Akai, he gives the order for Chianti to leave, and he removes the gun from Kir's head. He wouldn't have done so if he thought she was a traitor.
During the Bell Tree arc, when Scar Akai passes Haibara, she has a Black Organization vibe reaction to him.
While on the train, Scar Akai throws away a briefcase. Yukiko Kudo sees what he did, and told him he should stop doing this nonsense. Scar Akai finally revealed himself and his true identity was Vermouth.
Name origin
"Scar Akai" is a popular fan created nickname used to distinguish this character from Shuichi Akai in discussion.
Trivia
- In the the anime version of the Teito bank heist case[2] Scar Akai's scar and the skin where the duct tape which had covered his eyes are visible. In the manga, it is much more ambiguous; the gun and the shadow of the hat Scar Akai is wearing hide the scar and the part of his face where the tape had been removed from his eyes.
