What is the purpose behind the character Sera?

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

I don't think they could have been sent to her. Jodie obviously doesn't know her and how else could the police know who to send it to? Only James could possibly have sent them to her.

They don't have to get sent to her in particular, they could have been sent home, the way a dead soldier's personal effects get sent back. While the FBI can't get ahold of the body or Chevy because they are in police custody as murder victim John Doe and his stuff, the FBI might send back everything where Akai was shacking up.

While he is of course a prominent lead, it hardly explains why she is still hanging around. Conan acted suspicious enough in the first case she appeared for her to put the pieces together. It seems to me that she is testing or teasing him, especially when she is pitting him against Heiji.

Testing more likely. She still thinks Conan is a lead, otherwise she would have moved on. Remember Conan knew FBI agent Camel "he's here in Japan on vacation!" (761.10). That was good info for her because it proved a connection between Conan and the FBI. There is still the unresolved matter of Shinichi to work out as well and Conan is also the primary lead on him.

It's less likely that they are going to include her if they don't know who she is at all.

True, but it means Conan is slightly less on guard. She's suspicious but Conan hasn't started treating her like he did Eisuke. And as I said, the FBI might try to send her back if they knew who she was which would ruin all chance of an investigation.

Apart from that, can you answer the following questions:
1) Why did Okiya start tailing Ai and eves drop on Conan & Co. as soon as he knew that Sera was here?
2) Why is Conan acing so completely carelessly? Why would he have any reason to trust her? Even if we assume that Okiya told him about her: He'd either get her involved so that she doesn't do anything stupid or try to act even more inconspicouos iso that she doesn't get involved.

1) http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/foru ... __p__74941
2) That's pretty much what Haibara asked. Conan had a "hunch" that she was not an enemy, so he seems to be trusting it, no matter how irrational that seems. I am of the mind Okiya hasn't told Conan about her or else Conan would have began treating her differently.

[Memesu]

...*Feels very tiny*

It would be nice to know how Sera pays her staying in Japan.
If her parents sent her money or something, they are probable pretty rich ( If they already bought her apartment)
Since she says she came to Japan just a while, I don´t think she has a job or anything.

But why wouldn't she tell them who she is? Wouldn't it make her task substantially easier?

It would also mean that her task would become substantially harder if Conan or the FBI decide to exclude her because it means she has laid all her cards on the table. Conan would exclude her no questions asked because he is harboring Akai and she is a liability. Conan locked down on Eisuke the moment he realized he might be connected to Rena and did as much as he could to avoid doing anything Eisuke would be interested in. That lockdown didn't let up even when Conan decided that Eisuke was probably not an enemy (nail and hammer case) because Conan was still worried that Eisuke could be used by the Org, and it could be the same deal with Sera. The FBI would probably try to ship her back to America if they could, or at least not tell her anything because it would be involving a civilian and they want to keep the Org investigation secret and all. Of they'd tell Mom to come collect her daughter, and I would be scared of anyone who could order a teenage Akai to clean his room or ELSE.

That could have ended badly, thought. That time Eisuke was already desperate enought to try to stab Rena with scissors. Had she not been awake already, she could have been killed. Not that I know how Sera would react in same kind of situation, but if she was ready to move Japan alone, she must be really worried about her brother. Plus I think it would be much harder for Conan to try avoid Sera than Eisuke, especially since she- unlike Eisuke- is also interested in Ai.

[Sherry86]

Sera's purpose: To come looking for missing big brother Akai, run into scar Akai, think scar Akai is the real Akai, and then get rescued by Okiya and Conan thus ending the Bourbon arc.

She's really Mary Sue, then.

[Abs.]

Conan is the Mary Sue

[Dus]

Testing more likely. She still thinks Conan is a lead, otherwise she would have moved on. Remember Conan knew FBI agent Camel "he's here in Japan on vacation!" (761.10). That was good info for her because it proved a connection between Conan and the FBI. There is still the unresolved matter of Shinichi to work out as well and Conan is also the primary lead on him.

True, Conan being involved with the FBI makes him all the more interesting - not that she could have foreseen Camel being there. But I don't think Shinichi is an unresolves matter. It was quite clear that he is using Shinichi as an alias, as she must have suspected before. She doesn't really need anything else. A better tactic would be to confront Conan with the truth, otherwise she is just stalling.

True, but it means Conan is slightly less on guard. She's suspicious but Conan hasn't started treating her like he did Eisuke. And as I said, the FBI might try to send her back if they knew who she was which would ruin all chance of an investigation.

How does being a mysterious nosy stranger make her more trustworthy? And the FBI don't have any jurisdiction over her whatsoever. They are here on an illegal mission.

1) http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/foru ... __p__74941
2) That's pretty much what Haibara asked. Conan had a "hunch" that she was not an enemy, so he seems to be trusting it, no matter how irrational that seems. I am of the mind Okiya hasn't told Conan about her or else Conan would have began treating her differently.

The problem is: Apart from scenario #1, it makes more sense for him to tail Sera and to keep her from doing something stupid as well as protect her as his baby sister.
You do realise that's right up there with " A Holmes fan can't be a bad person"?
And in the most recent case he made it even more obvious. He could have just told Heiji his deductions, he would know who really won that round.
Is his pride really more important to him than his life?

[Sherry86]

Conan is the Mary Sue

I always thought he's Gary Stu.

[Abs.]

Side effect of the APTX

[angelranchan]

She will discover Conan's identity 

[Stopwatch]

She will discover Conan's identity 

I thought she already had

[Kaito Lady]

She will discover Conan's identity 

I thought she already had

how did you come to that conclusion?

[Sherry86]

She will discover Conan's identity 

I thought she already had

how did you come to that conclusion?

Conan tell her indirectly for unknown reasons.

If Sera is looking for Akai, why she try to get info about Ai?
It's weird.

My suspicion is she got ahold on those photos Akai's buddies took of the Detective boys as they were going into the film studio. This one. Ai features fairly prominently so it would encourage Sera to go after her because she was probably Akai's POI, but Conan is the most interesting one as far as publicly available info is concerned because of the cases he is involved in. So basically she did all the research ahead of time like Eisuke.

Sera has a very good imagination, doesn't she? She find a photo of a little girl among her brother's things then she make a conclusion that those little girl will bring her to her brother.

[Xytan]

I think Okiya being concerned with the appearance of Sera is a lead to follow. He was after all being very creepy in the window, even had his own slides which would indicate that Gosho has a use for his spying tendencies. Such could possibly lead to a more distinctive identity for Sera and Okiya.

[Watson]

My theory, for what it's worth, is that she is essentially what she says she is.  She is a high school detective from the United States who originally grew up in Japan. As such, she has had run-ins with law enforcement, including the FBI, specifically James Black and possibly Akai.  As has been shown, with few exceptions, law enforcement doesn't normally allow teenagers to aid in investigations and doesn't treat their interference kindly, regardless of the results.  She, in turn, would likely resent being considered a liability and feel a need to prove herself.

However, the Black Organization knows about the FBI presence in Japan.  They also suspect a connection to the Mouri Detective Agency.  Conan is a witness to Organization activity and, as such, is a valuable component in the FBI investigation.  Unfortunately, he also has a habit of putting himself in dangerous situations.  They would want to watch and protect him, but any FBI activity around the Agency risks drawing the attention of the Organization and endangering Conan and everyone else.

One way around that would be to bring in an outside asset, someone who is not an FBI agent and who could visit the agency and interact with Conan and the others.  A student, especially a detective, could suit that role.  Eisuke was an example of that, albeit one they had no influence over.  I think James Black and/or Akai, brought her in for that purpose.  No one else in the FBI would be aware of this to avoid risks of exposure.  She would likely be given rules to follow, as well, to maintain her cover.  Of course, that doesn't mean she'd follow them.

As for other speculation...

I agree that she may have a familial connection to Akai, though I think a niece or a cousin would be more likely than a sister.  Her "job" as a high school detective could have been inspired by his career.  It, and the various risks she took, could also have made Akai annoyed by, but protective of, children.

Her knowledge of Japanese law enforcement isn't any more remarkable than the specialized knowledge other high school detectives have shown.  She could also have studied it intentionally before coming to Japan.  There is also always the possibility that she has a personal or familial connection to Japanese law enforcement.

Her interest in Conan is directly related to her assignment.  She may be overzealous in her approach, wanting to assess him for herself and choosing to ignore any boundaries she was given.

If she is aware of Conan's identity, it is either because she was briefed with the truth to avoid her discovering it and accidentally exposing it or because she did uncover it while doing her own research, challenging restrictions she was given.  She may also be a fan of Kudo, making the deduction easier and making her want to see him in action.

The same would apply to whatever knowledge she has of Ai, though I imagine she was instructed to stay away from her.  She is likely being guarded by someone else.

I think her assessment of Ran's strength refers to her faith in Shinichi.  That she was willing to risk not only her life, but also those of her father and others, shows how much Ran believes in Shinichi's abilities and how convinced she is that he will not fail her.  Ran is Shinichi's greatest weakness.  There will always be a risk that she will be used against him.  If she's strong enough, however, Ran wouldn't allow that.

As for why Conan seems to trust her, it's likely for the same reasons he seems to trust Okiya.  He either knows something about her and the purpose behind her presence, or he needs to keep track of her until he can confirm his suspicions.

Overall, I think she's one of the good guys, but is a loose canon.  Something will likely happen that will threaten Conan, Ai, someone close to them, or the FBI (I would guess Jodie), and it will be her fault.  This will reveal her history and purpose to the audience, but her cover will be maintained.  Afterward, she'll restrain herself, but remain a part of the cast.

[Xytan]

I'm too lazy to go look back but... When Sera first appeared, didn't she already know mostly everyone's name?

Considering that her and Akai look similar - Sera = Scar Akai? Disguised for whatever reason.

[kkslider5552000]

Considering that her and Akai look similar - Sera = Scar Akai? Disguised for whatever reason.

that's what I'm going with