The Good

Major Characters and ones that frequently appear.


The Hero:

Shinichi Kudo

The 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 year 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 Edogawa

When 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 alot 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 Mouri

Shinichi'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 Mouri

Ran'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 Hattori

A 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 and Heiji 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 cap back-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 Agasa

Shinichi'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.

Ayumi

Genta

Mitsuhiko

The Detective Boys

Ayumi, 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 Miyano

The 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 her sister'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 alot about the Black Organization and its most deadly members, however any hint of their presence frightens her greatly.

 

Sonoko Suzuki

Ran'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 alot. However, in volume 22, Sonoko met Makoto Kyougoku, a karate champ, and is in a semi-relationship with him. This doesn't stop her eyeing cute guys though!

 

Kazuha Toyama

Kazuha 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.


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