Detective Conan Files 812-814 Discussion Thread: "Cold Case"

[Wakarimashita]

Yes.

[Kaito Lady]

Holy Hell, I nearly had a heart attack reading this chapter.

Spoiler:

I mean, Conan's slipped up before but never THAT hard. He all but told everyone standing there "I'M REALLY SHINICHI GUYS!!" I actually found myself muttering "Shut up Conan... Shut up Conan... You're blowing it... Ran's going to kill you.... Shut up right now!" I really hope this isn't going to set up to yet another near miss. Ran needs to find out, and seeing as that was pretty much the biggest slip I've EVER seen Conan make, I feel like this could set up the big reveal at long last. Okiya obviously knows now. Sera I think has always known, or at least suspected, and now Conan's pretty much told her as well. how many other people get to find out before Ran does?

Anyway, that aside, it's obvious the Bourbon arc is coming to a head, and I can't wait. What Sera said intrigues/concerns me. I've always had this small amount of apprehension about her. something about the way she acts just puts me on guard. It wouldn't suprise me if she, and not Amuro, turns out to be Bourbon. What if she doesn't know her brother is FBI? What if she only found out he used to be in the BO and let herself get recruited to find out what happened to him? We're told Bourbon hates Akai. What if that's because Bourbon is his bitter obsessive sister who hates him for disappearing from her life? And now she wants to find out the truth about what happened because if he's dead she can never have it out with him? Just my two cents. I guess we'll find out when Gosho reveals it.

^ same here

[JareX]

Please I would really want to know the answer to this question:

Spoiler:

Conan as been more sloppy than ever, specially in this chapter. Shinishi has proven to be the smartest of them all in every situation so for me there are only 2 options:

1.- Conan is making this on purpose for a very complex reason

2.- Gosho is out of his mind and making conan dumber

Which one is it?

[Citan]

Spoiler:

Well, we've seen that Conan tends to drop his guise when he gets sucked into a case, and this one is rather personal to him as it involves his father. Given also how long he's had to keep this up, the psychological strain of maintaining this charade might be getting to him. Or he might have been that obvious as a test to Okiya and Sera to see who's figured out what. the way Okiya was acting earlier seemed to me like he was covertly asking him "Are You Shinichi?" and this could have been Conan answering him "Yes I Am". He knows he can usually shake off Ran with some kind of excuse afterward, so he might not have been worried about her being there seeing him all but drop the guise because of that. Though I really hope that doesn't end up beign the case. Given the behavior we've seen from Ran before during her "Conan is Shinichi" phases there's no way she should just ignore something this blatant. Even Gosho can only hand her the Idiot Ball so many times over this.

[leokiko]

It's not a test. It's the first option, Citan. He got absorbed in the case. And I don't think there is a strain in keeping the secret there. It can't be, if this manga will continue, Conan must keep Ran from finding out. There will be no major changes in this arc.

And Ran is way past just an Idiot Ball. It's like that because it needs to be, just like how Kogoro doesn't question why he solves cases and don't remember afterwards.

[mihai]

It's not a test. It's the first option, Citan. He got absorbed in the case. And I don't think there is a strain in keeping the secret there. It can't be, if this manga will continue, Conan must keep Ran from finding out. There will be no major changes in this arc.

And Ran is way past just an Idiot Ball. It's like that because it needs to be, just like how Kogoro doesn't question why he solves cases and don't remember afterwards.

I also think that the last case was a bit personal to him knowing it involved his father and he got too absorbed in it. As for Kogorou, I think he's just happy with the fame he has as a great detective and he doesn't question his sudden greatness

[stella007]

I don't think there would be major changes. Gosho has definitely a reason to let Ran suspects Conan's real identity. I assume he wants to involve Ran in the Bourbon Arc, too. She was neglected in the Kir Arc and Boss Number Arc. Maybe Gosho wants to change it this time. Don't forget, Ran is actually a main character. :/

[believer08]

I don't think there would be major changes. Gosho has definitely a reason to let Ran suspects Conan's real identity. I assume he wants to involve Ran in the Bourbon Arc, too. She was neglected in the Kir Arc and Boss Number Arc. Maybe Gosho wants to change it this time. Don't forget, Ran is actually a main character. :/

I'm looking foward to it. It will add tension to the story and she definitely needs to get involved. She is "getting closer" to Sera, so maybe that was a hint too.

[Midi]

There are three or four points that jumped out to my mind in these recent files, and reading the thread just made more pop up, like...

Spoiler:

a) Does Okiya know Ba Gua, or another form of non-resistance martial art? Are FBI agents taught basic self defence and 'how to fall' techniques? I am sold on Chek's theory, but I never saw Akai performing any Martial Art.

b) The Rat-Tail comb. This site http://www.articlesbase.com/beauty-arti ... 27574.html actually lists it as a requirement for lace wigs, and a quick google search of 'rat tail comb' brought up many sites first about lace wigs. Not sure if its a Googine sign of providence, but for me its at least telling. It could be a red herring. Sera may be looking for a scar of birthmark (Akai does not have an adam's apple either). Or Sera may have noticed something wrong with the wig, which Okiya proceeded to fix once the door was shut. Which leads me to:

c) His neck. Sera's expression at the start showed surprise, which can go either way with 'oh dear, it's {whatever she was expecing} really there', or 'oh dear, its not there'. However her expression while closing the door is very grave. This could also go both ways of course, as both conclusions may have grave implications (especially if she is Bourbon... which I don't quite believe. However there is a chance that the sister was kept away from the brother by Ano Kata, to bring out as an ace. Time will tell). Still, the fact that Okiya brought out the comb right after her exit is a rather heavy hint, in my opinion, as Gosho doesn't usually highlight gestures for nothing.

Lace wigs also tend to leave marks, even when attached well. The photos on this website http://amarieadhis.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... ront-wigs/ show how it can go wrong, and how it is not healthy to keep it on for long (which Okiya is doing permanently, if I'm reading the clues well.) Ai may have been looking for those marks when she took his scarf off, or Sera may have spotted them. Okiya may have also just applied the wig, as he possibly doesn't sleep with it, and it still had fresh marks. A voice changer is possible; but then one would have to ask where he got if from. If Chek is right, then it would be easy for Agasa to sneak a few of the adhesive ones to him, but if Chek's theory falls through, that would mean the BO, or whoever else is involved in this one, has similar technology.

d) A thought I have been recently flirting with came to mind after Chek's comment 'there was no hint of external participation this arc (with reference to Okiya/Sera/Amuro= Bourbon)'. Amuro said that he was a private detective, but never mentioned his agency's name, or whether he was the owner or just a member. Sera is also a detective, and comes from America. That lit a bulb in my head, of the first detective agency in the world that is mentioned even in Sherlock Holmes Canon, the Pinkerton Detective agency. Sera's talent is very advanced,  And Amuro is no slouch. I personally do not know if the Tantei Koshien arc is manga-canon, but if it is it wouldn't be the first time that an older girl mascaraded as a high-schooler to get what she needed (Akemi). Sera may be doing the same. It also makes you reflect to find that Pinkerton nowadays has also become a security (thus bodyguard, thus martial arts trained) group who are subcontracted by the government, and Gosho has used this before (FBI, CIA). I haven't gone back to dig through the chapters and see whether there are any blatent Pinkerton hints yet, and since I really should be studying, I'm not sure I'll have the time, but I'll try. This brings me to:

e) The Lipstick. Now that the Pinkerton idea has struck me, it has also reminded me that Yuusaku and his conveniently latex-magic wife live in the States, and Yuusaku would no doubt have contacts within the detective agency. Therefore at least one of them (Okiya, Sera, Amuro) may be Pinkerton agents. The idea HAS also tickled my mind that Okiya may be Yuusaku in disguise, at least part of the time, and this his been reinforced in this chapter. My reasons are as follows: Gosho has the tendency to let a few characters lie low for a number of issues or arcs, then resurrect them when they are once again convenient, or when the reader has forgotten them for long enough to get a slight jump (such as; Dr Araide: while he was present in the Vermouth arc, he was low-key all along, long enough for you to forget him). Yuusaku and Yukiko have been absent for a while, to appear briefly in the London arc (coincidentally just on time to remind us how much influence and how many contacts Yuusaku has, and how good with wigs and disguises Yukiko is), and now there is a flashback which brings Shinichi's father to the forefront of the reader's mind, and a glass with lipstick, which points to a woman's presence. There is then the false hair in the sink, and Okiya taking out his comb within panels of each other. The evidence is not all-inclusive of this theory; it may still be Vermouth, Okiya may still be Bourbon, and they may still be plotting together while Conan does exactly what Ai accused him of doing.

However, Gosho has already used the modus operandi of making Yukiko appear to be Vermouth or a stranger (the Ghost Ship reveal), and having his mother or both his parents return without overtly showing the readers (Ghost Ship reveal again, their Introduction Arc). In the Ghost Ship episode, too, she has used her make-up and magic-latex skills to help Shinichi out on his case, using it both on him, and on his allies. While again it is not an all-inclusive clue, it may be indicative when seen cumulatively with all the rest. Yuusaku may be helping out by giving Akai (as I said, I am on Chek's boat) a time to rest and recuperate from having to wear make-up constantly, and he may be doing some of his own son-protecting investigation and contact work himself.

I am not sold on the Yuusaku-alternates-with-Akai-as-Okiya theory, however, as there are not enough inconsistencies in canon that I have seen to support this. That is to say; Okiya has not behaved in starkly different ways, or used different hands too often. And Yuusaku has a mustache. Though good make-up may hide it, many a villain has been caught by Holmes because they had lighter skin on their upper lip.

that is my (wordy) two cents... feel free to dismantle with a toothpick and a Kaito Kid patented set of lockpicks.

[Partsu]

damn...just...damn...

I feel like an total idiot compared to you guys...

[Whiskey]

Spoiler:

Conan is definitely getting sloppier, but I think its probably because he hasn't challenged the BO in a while. Gotta hand it to Subaru though, he really own'd Shinichi this time. He solved the case first AND figured out his secret.

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

There are three or four points that jumped out to my mind in these recent files, and reading the thread just made more pop up, like...

a) Does Okiya know Ba Gua, or another form of non-resistance martial art? Are FBI agents taught basic self defence and 'how to fall' techniques? I am sold on Chek's theory, but I never saw Akai performing any Martial Art.

Akai was going in for a crouching backhanded sort of chop in the bus hijacking case, only to have Conan stun the guy before he could connect. Okiya also slapped a knife out of a guy's hand to rescue Ayumi. In the Agasa hostage case, whatever Okiya did laid the guy out.

b) The Rat-Tail comb. This site http://www.articlesbase.com/beauty-arti ... 27574.html actually lists it as a requirement for lace wigs, and a quick google search of 'rat tail comb' brought up many sites first about lace wigs.

These lace wigs are interesting. I think the comb is simply used to part and control the hair rather than for upkeep though. I wonder if rat-tail combs are not common in Japan or only used for specific purposes because a lot of natural haired guys I know use them often to control cowlicks and style their hair in the morning.

[KokoConan]

OMG This case is the one in long time that made me feel this excited. I've always dreamed of this moment coming up again. I mean, Conan's identity being [almost] revealed. Time to tell all my friends about this case!
Also, I hope they start building up the tension even though I doubt it. I wish the next few cases were about Ran finding out Conan's identity...or almost going to

[User 4869]

damn...just...damn...

I feel like an total idiot compared to you guys...

LoL. Me too.

[Mareliini]

Is it bad that while reading the chapter I was like "yeaa yeaa make a  mistake, bwahahaa they're all going to knoww!! :DDD"

Except it didn't happen. Damn, it was so close. :I