The GoodMajor Characters and ones that frequently appear.The Hero:Shinichi KudoThe only son of wealthy parents (who left him to fend for himself in Japan when he was 14 and they went to the US) and a brilliant high school detective. Seventeen years old Shinichi idolizes the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and wants to be the Holmes of the modern age. He's clever and confident, an ace soccer player (he could've been a professional), can shot a gun on target, fly a helicopter and drive a motorboat. Naturally Shinichi has a big ego and enjoys his fame as a detective, especially as he's hailed as the 'saviour' of the police force! He's very popular at school (as seen by the reaction to his brief return in volume 26) and receives lots of fan letters. However, he's had a crush on his childhood friend, Ran, for years and wasn't tempted by other girls, not even when an older girl pursued him (Volume 18 ~ First Love Case). Shinichi's few failings include being tone-deaf (don't ask this boy to sing!) and his inability to own up to his feelings for Ran.Conan EdogawaWhen Shinichi investigates 2 mysterious men in black he comes up against more than he bargained for. Force-fed a poison meant to kill him, Shinichi is shrunk into a child's form. Needing to hide he adopts a new identity, impulsively choosing the name Conan Edogawa (Conan from Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, and Edogawa from the Japanese mystery author Ranpo Edogawa) and claiming to be a distant relative of Shinichi and Professor Agasa. He discovers that being a child has a lot of disadvantages, the main one being that he is no longer taken seriously and can't solve cases as he used to. However, thanks to Professor Agasa's devices (voice changer and a wrist watch stun-gun), Conan can still solve cases, he just has to use other people! Conan is also quick to discover the advantages of being a child, often using his 'cuteness' to find out information. He becomes a lot more aware of his feelings towards Ran when he finds out her true feelings and sees how much Shinichi's absence hurts her.The Others:Ran MouriShinichi's childhood friend and Conan's 'big sister'. Ran is an attractive, intelligent and sensitive girl. She has looked after her father since her mother left and happily accepts Conan into her home, often making him her confident. Ran is also the captain of her high school karate club and has won many competitions. She is quite capable of kicking someone into the middle of next week, when she isn't scared that is! Despite knowing Shinichi for years, Ran has only been aware that she loves him since they went to New York together when they were 16 (vol. 34-35), one year before Conan's "birth", but she hasn't the confidence to tell him. Ran continues to deny her feelings for Shinichi, although she doesn't fool anyone! She misses Shinichi very much and constantly worries about him, always asking him when he calls to come back soon. Ran is a little naive and has a tendency to cry when overwrought (or missing Shinichi). She is also scared of ghosts.Kogoro MouriRan's father, a former police officer and now a private detective. At the beginning of the series, Kogoro is not very successful. He almost always leaps to the wrong conclusion and isn't very good at checking clues. He is also very lazy, drinks heavily, chases women and likes to gamble. He's wildly jealous of Shinichi's success and accuses Shinichi of 'stealing' his business. However, thanks to Conan using him to solve cases, Kogoro becomes very famous and is known as the 'sleeping detective' (as he is unconscious when Conan uses him). He is too vain to question how he solves the cases while unconscious and believes, like the others, that he goes into a trance. Kogoro can be very abrupt with his daughter and Conan, but it's clear that he loves Ran very much. He does demonstrate a strong streak of moral fibre ~ and intelligence ~ in times of crisis. Kogoro is also a judo expert and an ace shot with a gun.Heiji HattoriA high school detective and the son of the Director General of the Osaka prefecture police department. Heiji is referred to as the'Western Detective' and Shinichi is the 'Eastern Detective'. Heiji came to Tokyo to seek out Shinichi to challenge him (volume 10), and ended up meeting Conan, Ran and Kogoro... and later Shinichi after an accident briefly turned Conan back into his true form. Heiji figured out that Conan was Shinichi after Conan used Heiji to solve a case. Conan couldn't mimic Heiji's distinctive Osaka dialect correctly andHeiji was half awake (but stayed quiet so the case could be solved) so he realised what Conan was doing. After the situation was explained, Heiji changed from a rival to an ally and good friend. Now Heiji and Conan frequently solve cases together, often reaching the same conclusion simultaneously. Heiji is a very cheerful, outspoken guy, he usually has a grin on his face and he's more impulsive than Conan. He usually dresses in casual clothes and wears a baseball capback-to-front when he pulls the cap to the front it means that he's started investigating. He calls Conan "Kudo" and, like Shinichi, he has a female childhood friend, Kazuha, whom he likes, but he refuses to admit it. His first stand-alone case was in volume 31.Professor AgasaShinichi's next door neighbour and a self-proclaimed inventing genius. He has known Shinichi for years and is the first person that Shinichi confides in, he's also the one who suggests that Conan live with Ran and her father. Agasa's inventions are frequently odd and usually fail. However, the devices he has invented for Conan (voice changing bow-tie, stun-gun wrist watch and solar powered skateboard) all work well and prove that Agasa is actually quite a good inventor. Agasa becomes a grandfather type for the Detective Boys, often taking them and Conan on trips. Later, Agasa adopts Ai Haibara after finding her outside Shinichi's house.The Detective BoysAyumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko, three very curious six year olds who like adventure. They make friends with Conan after his arrival at their school... Well, rather they decide to be friends with Conan whether he likes it or not! They thoroughly enjoy the mysteries that they encounter with Conan and a club called the 'Detective Boys' is quickly formed. Conan often views them as a hindrance and tries to keep them out of danger, but the kids are very persistent and actually often prove their worth as detectives. Ayumi likes Conan very much while Genta and Mitsuhiko like Ayumi and get annoyed with Conan about it sometimes, but lately Mitsuhiko seems to have transferred his affection to Haibara. However, all three admire Conan very much and are very loyal to him.AI Haibara/Sherry/Shiho MiyanoThe 18 year old creator of APTX 4869, the poison which shrunk Shinichi. She was raised by the Black Organization and studied in the US while her older sister, Akemi, lived in Japan. After learning of hersister's murder at Gin's hands, she refused to work for them any longer. Locked away and due to be executed as a traitor, she decided to take APTX 4869 and shrank into a child's form (volume 18). Escaping, she made her way to Shinichi's house as she believed that he was also in a child's form. Found by Professor Agasa, she was renamed Ai Haibara and enrolled in Conan's school. She disclosed her identity to Conan and, although he distrusted her at first, she becomes an ally and starts to work on an antidote to APTX 4869. Ai is very enigmatic and a bit fatalistic. She seems to like Conan, but is very cryptic on the subject. Unlike Conan, Ai doesn't act childish at all, but she hangs out with him and the Detective Boys, often helping them solve cases. Ai knows a lot about the Black Organization and its most deadly members, however any hint of their presence frightens her greatly.Sonoko SuzukiRan's school friend and the second daughter of a wealthy and powerful businessman. Sonoko is spoilt and loves to chase handsome boys, but she is a very good, loyal friend to Ran and has a good heart. Conan often uses Sonoko to solve cases when Kogoro isn't around as she, like Kogoro, is vain enough not to question her unconscious deductions. Initially Sonoko was jealous that Ran had Shinichi and would tease Ran about it a lot. However, in volume 22, Sonoko met Makoto Kyougoku, a karate champ, and is in asemi-relationship with him. This doesn't stop her eyeing cute guys though!Kazuha ToyamaKazuha is Heiji's childhood friend and her relationship with him is much like Ran's with Shinichi. However, Kazuha is more prone to jealousy than Ran and she initially thinks that the person called 'Kudo' who Heiji talks about is Ran! Once the misunderstanding is cleared up and Kazuha is assured that Ran is not interested in Heiji the two girls become good friends. Kazuha often claims that she is not interested in Heiji, but is instead his 'big sister' and has to look after him ~ she doesn't fool anyone, except maybe Heiji. Kazuha is more aggressive than Ran and is not afraid to speak her mind. She is a great believer in protective talismans and insists that Heiji wear one to protect him from danger. The talisman she made Heiji contains pieces of some old handcuffs, relics of a childhood accident when they were handcuffed together for a day.The MinorCharacters who have reoccurring role, but have only appeared a fewtimes in the manga.Ayako Suzuki（铃木绫子）Sonoko's older sister who first appeared in manga volume 5. She's 24 years old and her personality is a lot different from Sonoko's - she's much quieter for one thing! She's also engaged to be married to a man with 2 identical brothers.Eri KisekiRan's mother and Kogoro's wife, she first appeared in manga volume 11. Eri and Kogoro were childhood friends, and went to school together much like Ran and Shinichi except Kogoro and Eri were a lot more antagonistic towards each other! She left Kogoro when Ran was about 6-7 years old, but hasn't divorced him yet. A famous lawyer and very intelligent, Eri is much better at making deductions than her husband and often aids Conan on some cases. She's verystrong-willed and holds a grudge for a long time. Despite claiming that she doesn't care about Kogoro any more, she still wears her wedding ring and gets mad when Kogoro flirts with other women. She is also a judo expert.Saguru Hakuba（白马探）Kid's rival and a detective. Saguru lived in London for a while before returning to Japan. He goes to the same school as Kaito Kuroba and longs to unmask the Kaito Kid. Has a pet hawk called Watson. He met Conan and co during a case involving Kid (vol 30).Makoto Kyougoku（京极真）Karate champion who likes Sonoko and is in sort-of a relationship with her, he first appeared in manga volume 22. He admired Sonoko when he saw her cheering Ran in a competition, but didn't have the courage to say anything to her. When Sonoko's life is threatened by a psycho, Makoto saves her and she realizes that he's a nice (and cool) guy. Makoto goes to many competitions in other countries which annoys Sonoko, but they talk to each other via the phone and she often sends him presents (which he doesn't usually understand). In volume 33 they seemed to be making some progress in their relationship ^_^.Shizuka（服部静华）Heiji's mother, she first appeared in manga volume 28. She is a very refined lady who always wears a kimono and acts aloof, but clearly loves her son very much. She first met Conan and co when she came to Tokyo to find out more about Kogoro as Heiji had been hurt a couple of times when with Kogoro and co (naturally she has no idea that Heiji was really investigating with Conan!)and she was concerned for her son's safety. Shizuka has a mischievous sense of humour which is probably where Heiji gets his teasing nature from. She is also a former kendoist.Tomaki Araide（新出智明）Doctor and basketball coach at Ran's school, he first appeared in volume 24. Araide is handsome and a very nice, amiable guy. He seemed to like Ran quite a bit, and Conan regarded him with some suspicion, wondering if Araide was a rival for Ran's affections. He was supposed to play the part of the Black Knight in Ran's school play, but was replaced by Shinichi (vol. 26). He also turned up withJodie-sensei in volume 29 and was involved in the Bus Jack case. Later it was revealed that after Vol 24 onwards Araide was actually Vermouth who had taken his place after (she thought) killing him. After this, it was discovered that the real Araide had been rescued and was quite safe and sound!Yoko OkinoKogoro's favourite idol singer, she first appeared in volume 1. Yoko is very sweet and charming, much like most idols and doesn't appear to mind (or is perhaps oblivious to) Kogoro's infatuation with her. She knows Conan and co fairly well since they've helped her out a couple of times.Yukiko KudoShinichi's mother, a former actress and model, now a housewife in LA. She first appeared, with Yusaku, in volume 6. Fancies herself to be a detective, and while she's clever, her skill is not as good as her husband or her son's. She's proud of her fame in Japan and tends to disguise herself when she's there. Yukiko loves her 'Shin-chan' very much, but also enjoys teasing him. Often has fights with Yusaku and complains about them to Shinichi. She likes to drive motorcycles andswish cars, however she is also a very crazy driver! She went to the same school as Kogoro and Eri (with whom she has a bit of a friendly rivalry). She was also good friends with actress Sharon Vineyard (Vermouth).Yusaku KudoShinichi's father, a famous mystery writer who used to help the police out with baffling cases. Yusaku likes to travel around, mainly to escape his publishers from nagging him about deadlines. His most famous fictional creation is called 'The Night Baron'. Although Yusaku claims to be merely a writer and not a detective, he sometimes gets involved in cases. He still thinks Shinichi has much to learn about being a detective. Like his wife, he enjoys teasing his son.The BadThe major villains and others who seem to be on the wrong side of the law... for now that is.Gin and VodkaThe mysterious members of the Black Organization and the ones responsible for turning Shinichi into Conan. Only their codenames are known and their exact relationship to each other isn't clear, but Vodka calls Gin "Aniki" which roughly translates as brother, so it is possible that they are related (even if they look nothing alike). Vodka seems to act at the brawn while Gin seems to be the brains.GinThe most sinister of the pair, Gin is a cold-eyed, ruthless man with a frightening smile. He is the one who killed Haibara's sister and is intent (one could say he's almost obsessed) with finding, and killing, Sherry (he does not know that she is Ai Haibara). It's unknown what his position is in the Black Organization, but he seems to be pretty high up. Gin is intelligent and often picks up things quickly; he's also one of the few people who can see through Vermouth's disguises. He drives a large black car of a type not usually seen in Japan and claims that he never recalls the faces of those he has killed.Chris Vinyard/VermouthShe first appears in volume 24 as a glamourous US actress who doesn't speak or understand Japanese. However, at the end of themanga she is seen with Gin and Vodka, speaking perfect Japanese and planning to stay in Japan for a while. Vermouth is a master of disguise and also seems to have some sort of relationship with Gin. Also, there is some indication that her position in the Black Org. is quite high.Publicly, Chris is the 'daughter' of Sharon Vinyard, who supposedly died a year before Shinichi became Conan, and was one of Ran's favourite actresses as well a friend of Shinichi's mother Yukiko. Ran and Shinichi met Sharon in New York when they visited Yukiko. Recent events in the manga have revealed that Vermouth is both Chris AND Sharon... she faked her death as Sharon to come back as her 'daughter'. Somehow Vermouth has discovered how not to age, but whether she is also a victim of the same poison that shrunk Shinichi is not yet known. Vermouth's true goals are unclear. She has some affection for Ran whom she refers to as 'Angel' and went so far as to hold back from hurting Ran who was protecting Ai. She also calls Conan a 'silver bullet' which may indicate that she has another agenda for the little detective in mind!Shuichi AkaiThis mysterious man showed up in volume 29 during a bus jack. At the end of the case he spoke into a receiver to an unknown party saying that the 'target' didn't show up. In volume 32 he reappeared and in volume 33 showed up intermittently, usually places where Ran was. At one point was shown in an alleyway outside the Mouri Detective Agency, watching the lighted windows. Ran is troubled when she sees him, as he is familiar to her, but at first she can't remember where from. However, later she remembers a time when she was with Shinichi in New York and how she met Shuichi, but then he had long hair and seemed to be a law officer, maybe even an FBI agent.Later on, Ran's recollection is confirmed and Akai IS an FBI agent, one who knows Vermouth fairly well by his words. However, I've put him in the villains section as he claims that he is searching for hisex-girlfriend to make her cry "tears of blood" and his real motives are not yet clear.Kaitou Kid/Kaito KurobaHe's not really a villain and certainly not part of the Black Organization, but he IS on the wrong side of the law and is the one criminal Shinichi/Conan hasn't caught. A 17 year old master thief, he is a master of disguise and can change his voice, plus he has lots of nifty gadgets to aid him in his escapades. When he's going to steal something, Kid leaves the police puzzling riddles, usually only Conan can solve them. Interestingly, he can't ice-skate and he hates fish! Like Shinichi and Heiji, Kaito also has a female childhood friend, Aoko Nakamori (the daughter of the police detective determined to catch him), but she doesn't know about his secret identity.The PoliceThe officers from Tokyo and Osaka who regularly appear in the series. Inspector MegureThe first police officer seen in the series and an old colleague of Kogoro's. Megure used Shinichi's detective talents after he found out how good Shinichi was (volume 21). At first Megure seems quite foolish, he's actually quite a good policeman, just prone to depending on Shinichi and then Kogoro to solve baffling cases. Megure always wears a hat and refuses to take it off, even when he's hospitalized! Inspector ShiratoriShiratori appears quite often in the manga, but tends to figure more prominantly in the movies. He first appeared in the first Conan movie (Timed Skyscraper). He's a good detective, very clever, but sometimes overlooks some evidence in favour of a more logical explanation. He seems to be a little suspicious of Conan's intelligence.Wataru TakagiTakagi is one of the most frequently appearing police characters along with Megure despite appearing late in the manga volumes (18). He's young, good natured and sweet. He doesn't have the greatest analytical skills, but he does make some good intuitive deductions. Conan and the Detective Boys often take advantage of his good nature to get information or so they can tag along on cases. Takagi respects Conan's intelligence and will often listen to him. He is in love with Detective Satou and recently it seems that his affection is being returned.Detective Miwako SatouSatou is a very good detective, clever and active. Her first appearance was in volume 19. She's often teamed up with Takagi and tends to be better at handling the cases. She is highly suspicious of Conan and Haibara's intelligence and, like Takagi, often listens to Conan's deductions. Her father, also a police officer, was killed when she was young. Recently she seems to be returning Takagi's affection.Detective YokomizuAn inspector in Isu, a popular resort area in Japan, he appears in every case that happens there. Naturally he comes to know Conan, Ran and Kogoro very well! He is also a big admirer of Kogoro's deductions. He has an identical twin brother who turns up in volume 34.Heizo HattoriHeiji's father and the Director General of the Osaka Prefecture police department. He first appeared in volume 15. A very stern and forbidding man, many find him a little scary! He is very strict with Heiji and doesn't think Heiji should involve himself so much in cases since he thinks Heiji messes up the investigation - this is a cause of friction between father and son. However I think Heizo is secretly proud of his son's abilities! Heizo is quite tricky and very good at his job.ToyamaKazuha's father and the Head of the Osaka City police department, he first appeared in volume 19. He and Heizo have known each other for years. Toyama is also stern, but he's more lighthearted than Heizo. At one point Toyama suggests to Heizo that Heiji and Kazuha should get married, but it turns out he was only joking... maybe. He gets along very well with his daughter.OtakiOsaka police officer who has known Heiji for years (calls him'Hei-chan') and has a good opinion of Heiji's skills. He often appears in cases set in Osaka. His first appearance was in volume 19. YamamuraA very eager police officer who first shows up in volume 14, Yamamura tends to jump to conclusions easily. He is a great admirer of Kogoro and also of Yukiko Kudo. He is located outside of Tokyo - one of the areas he works in is Gunma prefecture. Conan has used him once to 'solve' a mystery.ChibaOne of the officers under Megure's command. Chiba is often aback-up to Takagi. He is a good policeman, very genial and often encourages Takagi's romance with Sato.YumiA policewoman in the traffic division, Yumi is good friends with Takagi and Satou. She often teases Takagi about his feelings for Satou and tries to play matchmaker. She and Satou frequently hang out together - which is how Yumi knows that Satou likes Takagi about as much as he likes her. She is a little envious of Satou's popularity with the male officers.Jodie SaintemillionRan and Sonoko's new English teacher from the US. She shows up in volume 27 and gets mixed up in a murder case. Jodie is very cheerful and friendly, and tends to mix in lots of English with her Japanese. At the end of the case in vol. 27, after Sonoko has successfully "solved" it, Ran mentions Shinichi and Jodie says, "He is so cool!". As Ran, Sonoko and Conan walk away, Jodie murmurs, "Bye bye cool guy." indicating that maybe she knows that Conan and Shinichi are the same. Jodie turns up in subsequent issues, calling Conan "Cool Kid", watching him closely and acting very oddly. In volume 34 Conan and Heiji investigated Jodie, but found nothing to prove their suspicions that she was connected to the Black Org. There were many indications that linked Jodie with Vermouth (thanks to Aoyama-san being very sneaky!), but recent events show that Jodie is an FBI agent whose father was killed by Vermouth and Jodie has been on Vermouth's trail for a long, long time.Timeline of appearances of the Black Organization in the mangaOkay, I personally put the Conan timeline as to occurring over 1 to 1 1/2 years. We know that Shinichi was sixteen when he was poisoned and that he turned seventeen not long afterwards (in the first movie which is set before Ai turned up anyway and possibly not long after meeting Heiji), also Ran's birthday is close to Shinichi's. As there as been no mention of another birthday for either I think it's safe to assume that they are still seventeen. Also, some cases occur over 1 - 2 days and take up an entire manga volume (volume 26 for example), so I think that works out!Volume 1: Shinichi's encounter with Gin & Vodka. They leave before his "death" so they don't know about the shrinking effect. Only appear in the 1st chapter & were conducting some blackmail business when Shinichi was spying on them.Volume 2: Probably occurring about a month later. Sherry/Ai Haibara's sister Akemi Miyano is shot by Gin after doing her last job for the Black Org. Gin mentions that Akemi's sister is very important to the Black Org. Gin & Vodka leave before Conan and Ran reach Akemi - who dies after speaking with Conan.Volume 4: Conan encounters Gin & Vodka on the Shinkansen to Kyoto - this is where he finds out their code names. Gin & Vodka leave the train after setting up a bomb (which Conan foils later). Biiiiiig gap in time before Gin & Vodka's next appearance. They are highlighted in volume 12 when Conan meets Tequilla and over hears him talking to Vodka. Tequilla is later killed by a bomb. Conan learns that the man Tequila was meeting with was planning to sell a list of genius computer programmers to the Black Organization.There is a case in volume 8 involving a computer virus that has some ties to the Black Org. This is the first time that the Org. is shown (however vaguely) to be dealing with computer programs.Volumes 18 - 19: I guess I would time this gap as about 4 - 5 months. Ai's first appearance, she reveals her identity to Conan and explains how she managed to escape the Black Org. Note: Ai tells Conan how APTX 4869 has killed others and that a team went to his house because the death of Shinichi Kudo had not been confirmed Ai changed the records to show Shinichi's death as confirmed and there were no more investigations (that she knew of). The Black Org destroyed her lab after her escape and all the files on APTX 4869 were destroyed despite an attempt on Ai and Conan's part to retrieve them. Ai decides to stay with Professor Agasa and work on anantidote to APTX. Gin and Vodka appear briefly trying to track down Sherry.Volume 24: One month or 2 later... Gin & Vodka back in Tokyo. Aispots Gin's distinctive black car, Conanputs a bug in it & they follow G & V, listeningin on the plans. Gin spots the bug and astrand of Ai's hair, he figures it is Sherryand only Sherry following. Conan and Ai goto the memorial of a famous filmmaker to tryand stop G & V, they also suspect that theoperative at the memorial (Pisco) may havethe Apotoxin. Ai is caught by Pisco whoknew her as a child and nearly killed by Gin,she manages to escape with Conan's help. Pisco is killed by Gin for failing to be discreet in his assassination. At the end, one of the attendees at the memorial, US movie star Chris Vineyard, is revealed to be another Black Org. member, codename: Vermouth. Hints that Vermouth is very high up in the Black Org. She states her intention to stay on in Japan.Volume 27: Maybe another month later? First appearance of "Jodie Sensei" but she's been around since volume 26, just not seen, as she saw Shinichi when he returned briefly. Calls Shinichi "Cool Guy" (andConan "Cool Kid") and knowsConan's identity. Calls an unknownperson and says she's found one forthe targets, whom she doesn't name,but calls 'Rotten Apple'.Volume 29: Bus Jack episode.Starts with Vermouth meeting Gin & Vodka at the bar/club. It is quite clear that Vermouth has not told anyone else regarding her suspicions about Conan/Shinichi. Gin says that she likes to keep secret to which Vermouth replies: "A secret makes a woman, woman." There are hints of a relationship between。
