Conan Edogawa

"Conan Edogawa" (  江戸川 コナン Edogawa Konan) ' is the alias used by Shinichi Kudo in his shrunken form. Shinichi took the appearance of his six year old self after being exposed to a prototype poison called APTX 4869, which he had been forced to swallow by two men in black later revealed to be members of the Black Organization. The poison de-aged Shinichi's entire body except for his nervous system and therefore he still has the personality, memories, and incredible deductive ability of his teenage self. Conan/Shinichi's goal is to hunt down the Black Organization and have them arrested for their crimes, as well as find an antidote to the APTX 4869. To do so he plans to make the washout detective Kogoro Mouri famous in hopes of attracting cases related to the Black Organization.

Conan is often treated as a separate character from Shinichi by fans, and often viewed as the main character of the series while Shinichi is viewed as a recurring character. He has become a popular figure in Japan and even appeared at numerous occasions in different anime series (i.e. mainly cameo appearances) as well as other medias.

Background
"Conan Edogawa" is Shinichi Kudo's alter ego. He did not exist prior to the chain of events, involving members of the Black Organization, that led Shinichi to transform back into a child.

The Transformation
At the beginning of the series, Shinichi brings his friend Ran Mouri to Tropical Land, a local theme park, to celebrate her victory in the Metropolitan Karate Championships. He later ends up solving a murder case there. As they are leaving, Shinichi witnesses a suspicious exchange between an unknown business man and a man in black in a secluded area by the ferris wheel. While spying on the suspicious men, Shinichi does not notice another man in black, who knocks him out from behind and forces him to swallow a new experimental poison known as APTX 4869. They then leave him to die. However, instead of killing Shinichi, a rare side-effect occurred. Shinichi's body shrunk back to that of his six-year-old self. In desperation and confusion, Shinichi heads back to his house and runs into his next door neighbor and close family friend, Professor Agasa. After a few attempts at proving he's in fact Shinichi, he finally succeeds in convincing the Professor. The latter warns him he must keep his identity secret as the Black Organization will surely try to kill him and others associated with him should they learn the truth.

Taking a new identity
Shinichi comes up with the alias "Conan Edogawa" using the mystery author names Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Rampo and pretends to be a distant relative of Agasa's who then places Conan in Ran's care. Ran's father, Kogoro Mouri, owns a Detective Agency which may provide a chance for Shinichi to run into a case involving the Black Organization. However, Kogoro is a terrible detective with little credibility. Using helpful gadgets that Agasa makes, Shinichi sets out to improve Kogoro's detective reputation by solving cases for him while also hiding the truth that Shinichi is really the one solving cases. By knocking Kogoro out at crime scenes with a fast-acting tranquilizer and using a voice modulator to relay deductions in Kogoro's voice, Shinichi creates 'Sleeping Kogoro'. The conceited Kogoro enjoys his newfound reputation and the money it brings in so much that he doesn't question why he is suddenly passing out at crime scenes and solving cases in his sleep.

Creation of the Detective Boys
Conan/Shinichi enrolls at Teitan Elementary to further protect his identity and is befriended by classmates Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta, who create the Detective Boys not long after.

Solving cases
As "Conan", Shinichi helps Ran's father solve cases by putting him to sleep and simulating Kogoro's voice using the special bowtie gadget Professor Agasa made for him. He also spends a good amount of time with his Detective Boys fellows and solves many small cases with them and sometimes in the company of Professor Agasa. In some situations, when there's only Ran, Sonoko, and himself, he will use Sonoko instead to solve the case at hand. Because of that, Sonoko eventually becomes another moderately well-known "sleeping" detective, although her reputation is only known to the local police investigation team and Sonoko's friends. In much later files, Conan has solved the case as himself then claimed afterwards that Shinichi told him what to say.

Personality
As Conan, Shinichi tries to behave like a child. He refers to Ran as "Ran-neechan" (nee-chan meaning older sister, a common nickname Japanese children give to teenagers and young adults they look up to), and refers to Shinichi as "Shinichi-niichan" (nii-chan meaning older brother). He also refers to Kogoro as "Oji-san" or "Occhan" (both meaning Uncle), although he also does this as Shinichi. As Shinichi, he refers to Conan as usually "Conan-kun" or the "Kid in the Glasses". Shinichi treats Conan as a separate person completely, thinking for example, "changing back into Conan". Conan remains very close to Ran, who in return is very protective of him. However, because Ran is unaware of his true identity, Conan often finds himself in awkward situations with her, such as when she confessed her feeling for Shinichi to him and when she made him bathe with her at a hot spring.

Conan's intelligence remains intact even though he is shrunk to a child. As Shinichi, his deductive ability earned him the monikers "Heisei Holmes" and "Savior of the Japanese police force". Conan maintains an extraordinarily broad knowledge of many subjects and trivia that help him solve cases and escape tricky situations. Conan tries to speak in a child-like manner when dealing with adults, but he often gets caught up in the current case and begins speaking like an adult, referring to advanced topics and using reasoning much too complex for a normal child. When this happens, he often tries to pass it off as "something [he] heard on TV" or "taught by uncle Kogoro/professor Agasa/Shinichi-niichan".Likewise, he makes no effort to hide his love for Sherlock Holmes and soccer, so if he called out for talking about either subject in too much detail, he tries to escape suspicion by saying it was something Shinichi told him about. Although as the series has progressed the adults around him have become more used to his "being quite smart for a child", causing him to behave more like himself around them, he still tries to pass as a normal child. The only police officers with whom Conan can speak in a professional manner are the FBI, especially Jodie Starling, Shuichi Akai, James Black, and Inspector Kansuke Yamato of the Nagano Police, all of whom suspect that there is more to Conan than meets the eye.

Conan tends to act more like himself around the Detective Boys, even to the point that they find it odd when he acts like a child around adults. He will often play games like baseball with the Detective Boys, but he is too used to soccer to perform well and will even instinctively use soccer techniques, such as kicking in games that do not call for it. Because he is unfamiliar with popular games and TV shows, and bad at video games, Genta and the others tend to think of him as dumb. This annoys Conan so much that he will secretly watch TV in the living room after Kogoro and Ran go to sleep to get more "practice" in.

Appearance
Conan has dark brown hair which mostly hangs downwards just above his blue eyes, but there are also a few strands that stick up at the front and back of his head. Conan's usual outfit consists of a blue suit jacket with a single button and a pair of shorts, red trainers and white socks, even though he has taken to wearing more casual clothing as time goes on. He also wears a red bowtie and his dad's old glasses. Both these items were later specifically modified by Professor Agasa to include a voice changer, microphone, and homing device, to aid in Conan in his cases. His red shoes have also been modified to harness electric and magnetic fields to stimulate pressure points on Conan's foot, greatly enhancing his kicking power.

Skills

 * See also: Shinichi's Skills

Detective skills
All of Shinichi's detective skills carry over to his Conan form, although Conan does not the have the reputation Shinichi had. He repeatedly demonstrates the ability to remember every detail of an investigation or other topics he cares about, and may have a photographic memory to manage such perfect recall so consistently. Conan's fastidious attention to detail allows him to notice minor inconsistencies in crime scenes and suspect testimony that other people miss, and using astute logic he uncovers the reasons behind those inconsistencies in order to link them to the crime. Conan has extraordinarily broad knowledge of many subjects and trivia that help him solve cases; something he likely acquired from his incessant reading in his "first childhood". There are only few people like, Heiji, Kaito and Hakuba who are as intelligent as Conan.

As a child, Conan can attract less suspicion while investigating crime scenes, get away with searching people's personal property, and ask innocent questions without setting suspects on guard, although it comes with the drawback of not having Shinichi's authority or reputation. He is also shown able to read lips.

Athletic ability
Conan is just as skilled as Shinichi in soccer, but a lot less powerful because he only has the strength of a young child. To make up for this, Conan uses Agasa's Power-enhancing kick shoes. Conan uses signature, powerful precision kick to knock out criminals using soccer balls or whatever substitute is handy. Like Shinichi, Conan's kick is accurate over distances and he is capable of mentally reckoning the angle of impact necessary to rebound a soccer ball off a wall and strike an attacker from behind. He is also good at skiing, snowboarding, and ice-skating.

Conan also has some skill with firearms despite the recoil being much more severe for a child's body. He shoots out a bus window during a bus hijacking, and precisely grazes Ran's leg to render her useless as a hostage in the second movie.

Conan's nimbleness is especially noticeable in the non-canon movies. For example, in the sixth movie, Conan is seen to fight with various antagonists, and he even holds his own against Jack the Ripper, a notorious serial killer who bests even Ran in combat. In the fourteenth movie, Conan does a back flip on his skateboard in order to avoid being killed by the blimp's hijackers. Conan shows a proclivity for skateboarding. In the movies and anime, Conan can easily perform very complicated tricks and dodges with his skateboard at high speed.

First Aid
Conan has repeatedly dispensed first aid to stabbed/shot/cardiac/poisoned/hurt victims before the rescuers arrive.

Music
Conan sings in the Karaoke.Conan cannot sing on key in the slightest so he is often accused of being tone deaf. Despite being a hilariously awful singer, Conan has perfect pitch and can identify notes accurately even in difficult contexts like the sound of phone button presses forming a melody. In Episode 11: The Moonlight Sonata Murder Case, he knows that the piano is in tune and deciphers a message at the end just by listening to the notes that are played. Haibara directly described Shinichi Kudo as having perfect pitch in the last scenes of the twelfth Detective Conan movie, Full Score of Fear. He also manages to replicate and sing dial tones for a phone, showing that the reason he can't sing is because he simply doesn't have relative pitch. In File 728 (Episode 614), Conan stated he isn't very knowledgeable about music but identified the untuned piano key whereupon Haibara joked about his sharp ears despite being tone-deaf.

Also, to be like his favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, he plays the violin. This was confirmed in movie 12 of the 'Full Score of Fear' when he played "Amazing Grace" for Ran. However, he is stumped on what Ran meant when she said, "He has a funny habit when he plays."

Appellations
Although most people will call Conan by his name suffixed with -kun, or simply kid, a lot of the characters have different ways of calling him due to the special relationships they share. The following is a list of the different appellations for Conan (and the ones Conan gives in return) encountered in the series.

Protagonists=
 * -|Detective Boys=
 * -|Family & Friends=
 * -|Black Organization=
 * -|Law Enforcement=
 * -|Thieves=
 * -|Soccer players=
 * -|Others=

Initial pursuit
After Shinichi becomes Conan, he sets out to find the men in black almost immediately. At the suggestion of Agasa, he moves in with Ran and Kogoro, hoping that cases related to them come by. Pretty soon, a case involving a woman name Akemi Miyano (using the alias Masami Hirota) appears. Akemi robs a bank for the men in black in the hopes that they will free her sister from their organization. Conan is unable to realize the case's connection to the organization until after the men in black have shot Akemi and left her for dead rather than give up such a valuable asset as her sister. In her dying moments, Akemi warns Conan of the danger of the organization.

Conan runs across the men in black again on a bullet train, this time learning their codenames: Gin and Vodka.

At a game convention, Conan meets a third man in black named Tequila, only to have him die in an explosion meant for someone else. Conan learns about a meeting place from the murderer, but just before he reaches the bar an explosion set by the men in black destroys the place entirely, leaving Conan without any leads.

Introduction of Ai Haibara
Later on, Conan meets child-size biochemist Ai Haibara, the creator of APTX 4869. Ai grew up within the Black Organization as Shiho Miyano and is a former member of it along with her deceased sister, Akemi. After Akemi died, Shiho refused to keep working and took APTX 4869 to die before the Black Organization could execute her. Instead, she shrinks like Conan did and is adopted by Agasa so she and Conan can work together to find a cure and catch the men in black.

The Phone Number of 'That Person'
After Conan solves a case of serial murders, the culprit tells Conan that the tune created by dialing the phone number for the Leader of the Black Organization is the song "Seven Children".

Returning Back to Shinichi
Throughout the series Conan has returned back to Shinichi several times, but never permanently.

East versus West Detective
First he temporary returns to normal after drinking alcohol while infected with a cold. He quickly turns back into Conan after solving the case and develops an immunity to the alcohol.

Desperate revival
Main article: Antidote (Prototype)

Haibara invented an antidote prototype for the APTX 4869, and Conan first uses it in Volume 26 to conceal his identity and allay Ran's suspicions that he is Shinichi. Haibara disguises as Conan and appears in front of Ran with Shinichi in order to put Ran's fears to rest.

Shiragami case
The antidote prototype is again taken, this time accidentally in place of cough syrup. It wears off 24 hours later, with Haibara giving him another one to protect his identity. This time it wears off in a shortened 4 hours, once again interrupting his chance to confess his feelings to Ran.

London Arc
During the Holmes' Revelation arc in London, Conan takes an antidote so he can go overseas, because "Conan Edogawa" does not exist in real life, and has no passport. Ran quickly deduces that Shinichi is in London as well. She asks some Londoners about a Japanese boy, and they give her directions, without specifying it was actually a six-year-old they saw. In a phone booth, Conan takes the pill originally meant for his return trip to Tokyo in order to conceal his identity from Ran. During this time, he manages to confess his feelings to her. Luckily for Conan, Haibara asks Yusaku and Yukiko Kudo, his parents, to go to London and give him a third pill, as she guessed he would have used his spare one for Ran.

Ran Mouri
Main article: Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri

Although they are romantic interests as Shinichi and Ran, Conan and Ran share a brother/sister kind of relationship. Ran plays a nurturing protective role and treats Conan like a child version of Shinichi. They do a lot of activities together, such as swimming, going to the movies or festivals, and more. Ran and Conan both look out for each other's wellbeing. Ran stands up for Conan during Kogoro's outbursts and destroys any criminals seeking to inflict harm on Conan with her karate. Conan lends an ear and advice when Ran is in an difficult situation or needs to vent, and he comforts and encourages her when she is feeling down, especially about Shinichi being away for so long. It is even likely that Ran unconsciously knows that Conan actually is Shinichi, even though she seems reluctant to follow that notion.

Kogoro Mouri
Kogoro and Conan most often see each other as nuisances. Conan dislikes Kogoro's usually poor detective ability and case handling, slovenly personal habits, and overinflated ego. Kogoro's deduction doesn't seem to improve so Conan almost always needs to knock Kogoro out when he starts spouting off incorrect theories. Although in most cases Conan merely sees Kogoro as a drunk idiot, he often is impressed when Kogoro gets serious and actually gets the case right, so he will allow the "non-sleeping Kogoro" to take the spotlight. Kogoro views Conan as a freeloader who constantly gets underfoot and never fails to insinuate himself at cases, "interfere" with the scene, and pipe up with childish observations that consistently ruin Kogoro's deductions. However, their relationship is actually intimate and Kogoro takes care of Conan just like a member of the house.

Yusaku and Yukiko Kudo
Conan's parents, Yusaku and Yukiko, like to push their child towards becoming an even better detective. They enjoy giving him challenges, typically without letting Conan know who's giving them; once they disguised as Black Organization operatives trying to kill Shinichi Kudo in order to show Conan how dangerous his goals are.

Yukiko loves to meddle in Conan's (and Shinichi's) love life, as she will often make allusions regarding Ran being her possible future daughter-in-law and Ai or Ayumi having feelings for Conan. He doesn't usually pay much attention to them. Once she told Conan that Ai has romantic feelings for him because she looked at him ten times in a short span of time, saying that the only time a girl would do that is if she likes the boy or the boy has something on his face. Conan simply pushes it off as Ai checking on her "lab mouse," but at night, in bed, Conan asks Ai if he has something on his face.

Yukiko helped him out once to keep his secret identity from being exposed to Ran by creating an alibi for him. Yukiko once nearly called Conan "Shinichi" in public but Conan was able to cover it by creating a distraction.

Hiroshi Agasa
Conan investigates with Agasa.Conan treats Agasa as a member of his own family, like an uncle. Due to the fact that they both share the secret behind Shinichi's transformation and knowledge about the Black Organization, Conan often comes to him when in trouble or seeking for help. Agasa's willingness to help whenever possible makes Shinichi's life as Conan more convenient. He was the one who created most of Conan's gadgets, including his power shoes and tracking glasses. He willingly plays Conan's case solving mouthpiece when Conan lacks someone else convenient to use. When Conan needs something, such as information regarding past cases, he usually asks Agasa to get it. Agasa often acts as a chauffeur because he is trustworthy and the only adult with a car regularly available.

Agasa often worries about Shinichi, especially when he thinks Shinichi might be getting over his head. Agasa almost always responds positively to Shinichi's requests, but doesn't like it when Shinichi hides the reasons for it, especially if it is dangerous.

Heiji Hattori
Heiji enjoys teasing Conan.When they first meet, Conan and Heiji seem bound to become lifelong rivals, especially after Kudo bests Heiji in their first case. However, after discovering Conan's real identity, Heiji starts to act like an older brother towards him, much to the annoyance of Conan. Since then, the two have become closest friends, and consult one another on cases, developments concerning the Black Organization, and even their "girlfriends". They tend to stick together on cases, although sometimes this is because Heiji forces the less enthusiastic Conan to come along. While fond of Heiji as a fellow detective he can relate to, Conan finds Heiji's antics occasionally annoying. Much to Conan's chagrin, Heiji even convinces others that Conan is his disciple. Conan especially dislikes Heiji's dangerous habit of unthinkingly calling Conan 'Kudo' when others are present.

Heiji still maintains some of his original feelings of rivalry, and gets annoyed if anyone claims Shinichi is better, and will often go to great lengths to show that the "west" (Osaka) is better than the "east" (Tokyo). Shinichi usually starts off acting like he is disinterested in the frivolous competition, but may then become competitive himself if Heiji starts "winning" or someone bruises his ego. Others, like Ran and Kazuha, see them both as equally skilled detectives.

Ai Haibara
Main article: Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara

Ai Haibara is the third girl that seems to have somewhat romantic feelings for Conan/Shinichi, although she never truly admits it; indeed, it is a mystery just exactly what she feels for him, whether friendship or otherwise. Some people, such as Conan's mother, have stated that she has feelings for Conan. It could be said that, because of their almost equal level of intelligence as well as similarities in their pasts (i.e. both victims of the APTX 4869), she finds it easier to talk to him. She certainly has no qualms about teasing him, and is more than willing to poke a hole in his ego. While Conan initially was disgusted by Ai's ties to the Black Organization, especially with how she introduced herself, seeing her remorse and pain has improved his opinion of her. He is repeatedly protective of her and tries to give her hope when her fear of the men in black is overwhelming.

Ayumi Yoshida
Main article: Conan Edogawa and Ayumi Yoshida

Conan grows to respect the little girl in his class for her sharp wit and observational skills, along with the other members of the Detective Boys. Ayumi in turn clearly seems to like Conan and isn't aware that the other two Detective Boys are jealous of him because of this.

Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya and Genta Kojima
Mitsuhiko sees Conan as a role model, someone he looks up to. Genta, and more so Mitsuhiko, are often impressed by Conan's fast knowledge and incredible deduction skills. However, they both become quite jealous of Conan whenever Ayumi shows gestures of affection towards him (usually a small kiss on the cheek). While Conan initially only tolerated their presence, he has grown fond of them despite their relative immaturity.

Police
With the exception of a few inspectors, most listen to the little clues that Conan points out. After a while, Conan gets the attention of the whole Tokyo police department for noticing things even pros miss. Wataru Takagi in particular has taken to trusting Conan completely and doing whatever Conan asks him to without hesitation.

FBI
The FBI contains most of the few people that Conan acts normally around despite them not knowing his identity. Conan seems to place trust in the FBI, and occasionally helps in their operations.

Jodie Starling
Jodie nicknamed Conan "Cool Kid" and Conan (despite being wary when he first met her) now places complete trust in Jodie. Jodie has also called Conan to share what would normally be classified information, notifying him of a new Black Organization member, Bourbon.

Shuichi Akai / Subaru Okiya
Shuichi has been shown to respect Conan's detective skills. He has discovered that Conan and Shinichi are one and the same by spying on him in a recent plot line. Conan once says to Shuichi, "I'm glad you're an ally."

Gin and Vodka
Even though Gin and Vodka do not yet know who's interfering with their operations, Gin has been shown to be curious who "that guy" is, referring to Conan. In the movie The Raven Chaser, Gin tries to catch a glimpse of Conan's face from a helicopter, but fails when Conan successfully downs the helicopter. Conan seems to have a very bitter hatred towards them, and this only increases as more people are targeted by the Black Organization.

Vermouth
Vermouth seems to have great personal interest in Conan, referring to him as the Black Organization's 'Silver Bullet'. She also protects Conan, probably because when she was disguising as a serial killer in New York she was saved by Conan (Shinichi at the time) and Ran. When the Organization plans on killing Kogoro, and later Conan, she strongly objects to a degree where Gin suspects whether Kogoro is related to Vermouth. Because of this, Conan does not react strongly when she is mentioned, as opposed to Haibara. He also seems to consider her less of a threat than the other members because he is able to bargain with her about Haibara and knows Vermouth is keeping his secret for personal reasons.

Bourbon
Tooru Amuro (codenamed Bourbon) has attached himself to the Mouri Detective Agency as Kogoro's "apprentice". Conan initially treats him in a somewhat friendly manner, though he privately thinks "another annoying person's showed up" when he learns Amuro will be joining Kogoro on cases. After learning of Amuro's membership in the Black Organization, though, Conan has been relatively nervous about him being near Ran. He's become more cautious and is somewhat confused by Amuro's helpful behavior, though he attempts to pretend nothing has changed. His bond with Amuro later seemed to improve when he learns that Amuro is actually an undercover operative from Japanese Secret Police when the two exchange smiles in Café Poirot.

Kaitou Kid
Main article: Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kuroba

Before being shrunk, Shinichi encountered Kaitou Kid once during the Clock Tower heist, though they did not meet face-to-face. In their next encounter, however, after Shinichi has become Conan, Kid disguises himself as Ran in order to steal the Suzuki family's Black Star pearl. When Conan corners him on the Suzuki cruise ship, Kid implies that he stole all of Ran's clothes to impersonate her, and left her naked on the deck. While this ends up being a bluff, Conan displays a much more intense desire to capture Kid in subsequent encounters. Conan stops Kid from escaping with the jewel often enough that Conan has gained reputation with the press as Kid's "natural enemy". In several instances Conan appears to be able to 'sense' Kid's presence, and seems excited by the chance to catch Kid again; appropriately, Kid seems to find Conan dangerous enough to warrant specific measures to keep him distracted.

Conan does not buy in to Kid's reputation as a mysterious, uncatchable phantom, saying once "He's only a thief that uses magic", and encouraging police officers that Kid is only a man and he can be arrested. However, if necessary, the two can put their rivalry aside for a little while and work together. Conan has something of a gentleman's agreement with Kaitou Kid, in that he doesn't try to find or catch the thief outside of heists. In several instances, when Kid does Conan a favor, such as saving Genta's life, Conan reciprocates by halting his investigation just shy of capturing Kid, thereby allowing him to escape mostly unhindered. This exchange of favors can sometimes become a bit unbalanced; in exchange for not giving Kid away on a train Conan has Kid face down the Black Organization in disguise, and because Kid narrowly escapes an explosion with his life, he says that Conan now owes him one.

In the non-canon movies, it is implied that Kid knows Conan's identity; he even helps Conan maintain his cover by disguising himself as Shinichi so that a suspicious Ran would stop suspecting Conan. However, this has not been confirmed by Gosho Aoyama, nor has it been implied in the manga.

People who know Conan's real identity
Main article: List of characters who know Conan's identity

There are only a few characters in the series who know Conan's real identity. None of them have ever betrayed Conan's identity to date. The main characters to know the secret are Hiroshi Agasa, Yusaku Kudo, Yukiko Kudo, Heiji Hattori, and Ai Haibara. Vermouth of the Black Organization also knows about Conan's secret. Later, in Episode 508 of the anime, Eisuke Hondou confirms Conan's identity as Shinichi Kudo straight from him. In manga chapter 812-814, Subaru Okiya (Shuichi Akai in disguise) confirms that Conan is Shinichi. Masumi Sera may also be suspicious that Conan is Shinichi Kudo.

The 3rd, 8th, and 14th movies also demonstrate that Kaitou Kid apparently knows Conan's identity and acts to protect it. However, this has yet to be backed up by the original artist, Gosho Aoyama, in the manga or (as would follow) the anime main series.

Gadgets
Main article: Gadgets

Professor Agasa has made many gadgets for Conan, including a tranquilizer wristwatch, voice-modulating bow tie, kick-enhancing shoes, tracking/binocular glasses, stretchable suspenders, and a solar powered skateboard. Conan uses the first two regularly to create "Sleeping Kogoro", and the glasses and other gadgets to investigate cases or catch criminals. Agasa also created radio badges and watch flashlights Conan and the other Detective Boys.

Character popularity

 * eBookJapan held a character popularity poll from April 12, 2011 to May 12, 2011 in which readers of Detective Conan (international included) could vote for their favorite character. Conan placed 3rd in the poll with 866 votes out of the 5,883 that were cast.
 * In honor of the release of the 15th movie, Quarter of Silence, the official Conan movie website held a popularity poll for the top 10 Detective Conan characters. Shinichi/Conan placed 1st out of 10 with 30.46% of the votes cast.
 * In honor of the release of the 800th manga chapter, Shonen Sunday held a popularity poll/contest containing 91 Detective Conan characters to choose from. Conan placed 1st overall with 2,843 votes.

Name origin
Gosho Aoyama (and Shinichi, in the story) got the name 'Conan Edogawa' from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the famous Sherlock Holmes stories, and Edogawa Rampo, the pen name of Japanese mystery fiction writer Hirai Taro. Hirai Taro himself got the pen name "Edogawa Rampo" from a transliteration of "Edgar Allan Poe." Pronouncing Poe's name in a Japanese accent sounds like 'Edogawa Rampo.'

Character inspiration
Gosho said Conan's hairstyle was designed in about one minute. He smoothed Yaiba's hair and added a tuft modeled after the apostrophe hairstyle of Kabu from Sally the Witch. The tuft on hair on the top of Conan's head comes from the character Shichimi in Niji Iro Togarashi. Conan's clothes were modeled after Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3) clothing. Young Gosho wore a bow tie and shorts in his Shichi-Go-San photographs. Gosho tries to restrict Conan's gadgets to what Conan can wear, but he has run out of ideas lately. The use of glasses as a disguise was modeled after Superman's Clark Kent. Conan's speech habits were meant to be slightly rough like Joe from Ashita no Joe and Touch.

General
Conan Edogawa, a detective! (Edogawa Konan, tantei sa!)

—One of Conan's catchphrases.

There is always only one truth! (真実はいつもひとつ！ Shinjitsu wa itsumo hitotsu!?)

—One of Conan's catchphrases.

Only one truth prevails!

—One of Conan's catchphrases, which appears at the end of every solved case in Case Closed.

Ghosts are illusions created by fear.

Specific
After all, I'm the guy who's been breaking her heart by making her wait an eternity... even though I'm always by her side.

—Talking to Haibara about Ran

Don't run away, Haibara. Don't look away from your fate.

—After rescuing Haibara from a suicidal situation.

Ah, if you want to know, I'll tell you... In the afterlife...

—Conan's response when Takagi asked who he really is.

Even if you're facing a bitter aspect of life, drugs and murder are foul without any excuse, deserves a red card for a loser.

—Talking to Ray Curtis in English

Ran, If we die, we die together...

—The Time-Bombed Skyscraper

Because I love you. I love you. In this world, more than anyone...

—Captured in Her Eyes

Words are like swords. If you use them the wrong way they'll turn into ugly weapons. Once those words leave your mouth, you'll never be able to take them back.

—Quarter of Silence, talking to the Detective Boys

If you’re going to hide a leaf, hide it in a forest. When there’s no forest, you can make one yourself.

—OVA 4, talking to Phillip

Detectives are also human, not God who knows everything.

—Talking to Ran

Culprit: I thought my crime is perfect. Just like my operations. Conan (voiced as Kogoro): Crimes committed by humans can never be perfect.

—Episode 55

Quotes about Conan
While pursuing the truth and justice without thinking about consequences...you stand the strain of all pressure alone in order to protect everyone...Such boy-like temperaments of yours are astonishingly intriguing, however...I wonder if you realize it...That clean scent of yours is strangling her, us, and yourself with lonelinesss and danger.

—Ai thinking about Conan, File 336: "Clean Scent"

Trivia

 * Conan's bad singing came to light as a joke after the anime began airing because Conan's voice actress Minami Takayama is a well-known singer. In Volume 15 of the manga, Takayama herself is kidnapped and Conan, who sounds similar to her, tries to take her place at a concert. However, despite having similar voices, they sound completely different when it comes to singing.
 * EP622-623 Gallery 16.jpg's cellphone wallpaper - Kogoro changed it when he was drunk. He owns two cellphones, the one he uses as Conan and one that he uses as Shinichi. He is also shown using different kinds of cellphones throughout the series.
 * Conan often uses the expression "Ah-le-le?" when he is trying to point out a clue, something that is usually said by Japanese gradeschoolers. The expression was even said by Kogoro out of irritation at Conan (right before Conan tranquilised him). Conan's habit of acting juvenile to disguise his real abilities also draws the ire of the Detective Boys.
 * Conan/Shinichi and Ran share the same blood type.