Ai's Black Organization Sense
Posted: June 21st, 2012, 1:59 am
I thought that this might deserve its own thread. Ai's Black Organization sense is a major point of the story and her character. She can supposedly identify BO members through their "smell" or something (which I find to be kind of a funny way to describe it, due to the other meaning of BO), but it doesn't always work. From this, I've developed my own idea of how her sense works. Here's what I think contributes to it:
-Time spent in the Organization. Think of it like smoking: the more you smoke, the harder it is to get rid of the smell.
-Involvement and rank. The more deeply involved one is in the Organization, the more likely they'll arouse her sense. For example, Ai has strong reactions to codenamed members such as Gin and Vermouth. However, she only reacted once to Akemi, who'd been kept on the fringes of the Organization. Additionally, Numabuchi was apparently a no-name assassin in the Organization, and he'd even been slated for death.
-Intent. Her senses to react a lot depending on their "intent" or actions. Shiho only reacted to Akemi once, when Akemi was planning the bank heist. She also reacts to Okiya when he's intensely focused on someone, or about to do something (for example, right before he knocked a knife out of someone's hands). The same applies to Akai: she'd reacted to him during Jame Black's kidnapping, when he was intently following the kidnappers. On the other hand, she seems to have a constant reaction to Vermouth, as seen in the bus. This could have been the result of Vermouth's intense focus on Conan.
-Ai/Shiho's personal history with the person. This one is a bit iffy, even for me, but I think it explains a lot. Ai's only been seen with members she's met (or is hinted to have) in the past. Even Pisco, who gave a minor reaction, met her as a baby. If you meet someone, they'll seem familiar to you the next time you meet; this could apply to Ai's senses. Of course, this could easily be disproved if Amuro is Bourbon and they've never met.
Keeping these points in mind, here's a quick examination of everyone who's incited the reactions and how those points would fit them:
-Gin: Her reaction to him is pretty strong. Gin has been in the Organization for at least five years, as he was Akai's boss. Even two years ago he was an executive, and it would take a bit of time to reach that position in this group, even if he were to be a second-generation member or something. Also, he's VERY heavily involved; it seems almost like he has no life outside the Organization. As such, in all of his appearances, his "intent" is always very strong. As for history, there's clearly SOMETHING big going on between them; that much is undeniable. Her reaction is pretty strong, other than being taken by surprise when he shot her. Of course, that was probably related more to drama and storytelling than the sense itself.
-Shuichi Akai: Akai was undercover for three years, fulfilling the time requirement, and earned the codename "Rye". It's been implied that it takes a lot of dedication to earn a codename. Really, there was only one or two times where they were in the same area (while Ai was conscious), the most memorable being James Black's kidnapping. While looking for James, Akai happened to see Ai. They've met before (allowing for personal history), and Shiho WAS his girlfriend's sister, so he might be able to recognize Ai as Shiho, especially with that unusual hair color. Naturally he'd focus his gaze on her just because he saw a faint resemblance. After all, if you see someone who looks a bit like a friend of yours, or just plain familiar, usually you'll look at them pretty closely for a minute or two.
-Subaru Okiya: She's had various reactions from Subaru Okiya, starting with his first meeting. Unfortunately, due to the lack of actual information about Okiya himself, most of this would be largely based on the Okiya=Akai theory, so I can't go into the time or involvement/rank. However, I can say this: Okiya arouses her reactions a lot based on his intent. For example, the sense is aroused right when he's about to disarm the killer in the Ikkaku Rock case, and also while intensely focusing on the kids during his introduction. I can't say much more about him at the moment until it's officially confirmed he's Akai.
-Vermouth: A HUGE reaction, that terrifies Ai to the point of being willing to die in a fiery explosion. (Yeah, they probably have some kind of history too.) Vermouth is one of the more enigmatic members, with a lot of mysteries surrounding her. However, she's been a member for at least twenty years, as stated by Jodie. It's obviously a huge part of her life, and that's an understatement: her life seems to revolve around it, as she had enough free time to disguise herself as Araide full-time. Not only that, but when she killed her off her Sharon persona, she kept her place in in the Organization as Chris, so the two are most likely very closely linked. Her appearances all feature some sort of "intent" or "actions" that would trigger Ai's sense: observing Conan (probably to initially confirm that he's Shinichi, and later to make sure he doesn't get into trouble), observing her to confirm she's Shiho, impersonating Araide so she can continue observing them, etc. As for personal history, it's debatable, but I believe a history has been implied once or twice, and I think that her reaction to Vermouth is a bit too intense for there not to be one.
-Tooru Amuro: With the latest chapter confirming his identity as Bourbon, I now have gathered a bit more data. Prior to his reveal to Ai/Shiho in Chapter 823, they had been in the same area only once. During Conan's kidnapping, her Organization Sense was aroused by someone behind Okiya's car, and with his identity confirmed, it's pretty much assured it was Amuro who triggered it. To get a codename, you probably have to have a bit of influence in the Organization. This would take time to build up. Also, his "intent" would be pretty strong as he was focused on pursuing Conan's kidnappers. However, last I checked, there's no evidence that Shiho ever met Bourbon, thus severing the possibility of the past history theory. Of course, it's possible he saw her as a baby, as he seems to have met Ai's mother. I'll update this when more information is revealed.
-Akemi Miyano: Ai's own sister. She's essentially been in the Organization since birth, but was kept on the very fringes of it. The only time she aroused Shiho's senses was when she was planning the bank heist (making her a prime example of the "intent" part). Most likely, her generally kind nature and sister status, as well as lack of involvement, kept her from arousing a reaction from Shiho.
-Pisco: An old member. While it's not known how long he was in the Organization, he did mention being an "old member" when trying to talk Gin out of killing him. His rank was said to be pretty high within the Organization, and the wiki says he funded it. This provides both time and involvement. As for intent, his whole appearance was a prime example: he singled out Ai as Shiho and kidnapped her after he killed a guy at the party. Of course this would get some sort of reaction from Ai. As for personal history, he'd met Ai as a baby.
-Ki'ichiro Numabuchi: Honestly, I'm basing most of my theory off of Ai's lack of reaction to this guy. He seems to have been one of the less involved members. He was an assassin, but was deemed useless and slated for execution. He didn't seem important enough for a codename; Ai would have probably mentioned if he had a codename. The intent also wasn't really present: he was watching them, listening for information, but didn't really have anything malicious in mind. He even found Mitsuhiko and took him back to the others. Nothing sinister about that (other than how creepy he was acting). The only reason I included "personal history" at all is because they don't have any. Shiho was given his file and thus knew a lot about him, but never actually met him.
This is just a theory, and I doubt that how Ai's sense works will ever be explicitly detailed in the manga. However, I figured I'd share it anyway. ^_^
-Time spent in the Organization. Think of it like smoking: the more you smoke, the harder it is to get rid of the smell.
-Involvement and rank. The more deeply involved one is in the Organization, the more likely they'll arouse her sense. For example, Ai has strong reactions to codenamed members such as Gin and Vermouth. However, she only reacted once to Akemi, who'd been kept on the fringes of the Organization. Additionally, Numabuchi was apparently a no-name assassin in the Organization, and he'd even been slated for death.
-Intent. Her senses to react a lot depending on their "intent" or actions. Shiho only reacted to Akemi once, when Akemi was planning the bank heist. She also reacts to Okiya when he's intensely focused on someone, or about to do something (for example, right before he knocked a knife out of someone's hands). The same applies to Akai: she'd reacted to him during Jame Black's kidnapping, when he was intently following the kidnappers. On the other hand, she seems to have a constant reaction to Vermouth, as seen in the bus. This could have been the result of Vermouth's intense focus on Conan.
-Ai/Shiho's personal history with the person. This one is a bit iffy, even for me, but I think it explains a lot. Ai's only been seen with members she's met (or is hinted to have) in the past. Even Pisco, who gave a minor reaction, met her as a baby. If you meet someone, they'll seem familiar to you the next time you meet; this could apply to Ai's senses. Of course, this could easily be disproved if Amuro is Bourbon and they've never met.
Keeping these points in mind, here's a quick examination of everyone who's incited the reactions and how those points would fit them:
-Gin: Her reaction to him is pretty strong. Gin has been in the Organization for at least five years, as he was Akai's boss. Even two years ago he was an executive, and it would take a bit of time to reach that position in this group, even if he were to be a second-generation member or something. Also, he's VERY heavily involved; it seems almost like he has no life outside the Organization. As such, in all of his appearances, his "intent" is always very strong. As for history, there's clearly SOMETHING big going on between them; that much is undeniable. Her reaction is pretty strong, other than being taken by surprise when he shot her. Of course, that was probably related more to drama and storytelling than the sense itself.
-Shuichi Akai: Akai was undercover for three years, fulfilling the time requirement, and earned the codename "Rye". It's been implied that it takes a lot of dedication to earn a codename. Really, there was only one or two times where they were in the same area (while Ai was conscious), the most memorable being James Black's kidnapping. While looking for James, Akai happened to see Ai. They've met before (allowing for personal history), and Shiho WAS his girlfriend's sister, so he might be able to recognize Ai as Shiho, especially with that unusual hair color. Naturally he'd focus his gaze on her just because he saw a faint resemblance. After all, if you see someone who looks a bit like a friend of yours, or just plain familiar, usually you'll look at them pretty closely for a minute or two.
-Subaru Okiya: She's had various reactions from Subaru Okiya, starting with his first meeting. Unfortunately, due to the lack of actual information about Okiya himself, most of this would be largely based on the Okiya=Akai theory, so I can't go into the time or involvement/rank. However, I can say this: Okiya arouses her reactions a lot based on his intent. For example, the sense is aroused right when he's about to disarm the killer in the Ikkaku Rock case, and also while intensely focusing on the kids during his introduction. I can't say much more about him at the moment until it's officially confirmed he's Akai.
-Vermouth: A HUGE reaction, that terrifies Ai to the point of being willing to die in a fiery explosion. (Yeah, they probably have some kind of history too.) Vermouth is one of the more enigmatic members, with a lot of mysteries surrounding her. However, she's been a member for at least twenty years, as stated by Jodie. It's obviously a huge part of her life, and that's an understatement: her life seems to revolve around it, as she had enough free time to disguise herself as Araide full-time. Not only that, but when she killed her off her Sharon persona, she kept her place in in the Organization as Chris, so the two are most likely very closely linked. Her appearances all feature some sort of "intent" or "actions" that would trigger Ai's sense: observing Conan (probably to initially confirm that he's Shinichi, and later to make sure he doesn't get into trouble), observing her to confirm she's Shiho, impersonating Araide so she can continue observing them, etc. As for personal history, it's debatable, but I believe a history has been implied once or twice, and I think that her reaction to Vermouth is a bit too intense for there not to be one.
-Tooru Amuro: With the latest chapter confirming his identity as Bourbon, I now have gathered a bit more data. Prior to his reveal to Ai/Shiho in Chapter 823, they had been in the same area only once. During Conan's kidnapping, her Organization Sense was aroused by someone behind Okiya's car, and with his identity confirmed, it's pretty much assured it was Amuro who triggered it. To get a codename, you probably have to have a bit of influence in the Organization. This would take time to build up. Also, his "intent" would be pretty strong as he was focused on pursuing Conan's kidnappers. However, last I checked, there's no evidence that Shiho ever met Bourbon, thus severing the possibility of the past history theory. Of course, it's possible he saw her as a baby, as he seems to have met Ai's mother. I'll update this when more information is revealed.
-Akemi Miyano: Ai's own sister. She's essentially been in the Organization since birth, but was kept on the very fringes of it. The only time she aroused Shiho's senses was when she was planning the bank heist (making her a prime example of the "intent" part). Most likely, her generally kind nature and sister status, as well as lack of involvement, kept her from arousing a reaction from Shiho.
-Pisco: An old member. While it's not known how long he was in the Organization, he did mention being an "old member" when trying to talk Gin out of killing him. His rank was said to be pretty high within the Organization, and the wiki says he funded it. This provides both time and involvement. As for intent, his whole appearance was a prime example: he singled out Ai as Shiho and kidnapped her after he killed a guy at the party. Of course this would get some sort of reaction from Ai. As for personal history, he'd met Ai as a baby.
-Ki'ichiro Numabuchi: Honestly, I'm basing most of my theory off of Ai's lack of reaction to this guy. He seems to have been one of the less involved members. He was an assassin, but was deemed useless and slated for execution. He didn't seem important enough for a codename; Ai would have probably mentioned if he had a codename. The intent also wasn't really present: he was watching them, listening for information, but didn't really have anything malicious in mind. He even found Mitsuhiko and took him back to the others. Nothing sinister about that (other than how creepy he was acting). The only reason I included "personal history" at all is because they don't have any. Shiho was given his file and thus knew a lot about him, but never actually met him.
This is just a theory, and I doubt that how Ai's sense works will ever be explicitly detailed in the manga. However, I figured I'd share it anyway. ^_^
