Mary Sera

2016-03-23T00:14:10Z

112.203.247.139: /* Akai family mother */

{{InfoBox Char
| name = Mary
| japanese-name = メアリー (Mearī)
| english-name =
| image = Mary_Profile.jpg
| age = Looks approximately middle school aged according to Conan
| gender = Female
| date-of-birth =
| occupation =
| relatives = [[Masumi Sera]] (unknown relationship)
| nicknames =
| first-appearance = Manga: [[Volume 83#Red Tragedy|File 875]] Anime: [[The Tragedy of the Red Woman|Episode 756]]
| appearances = {{:Mary Appearances}}
| keyhole = [[Volume 83]]
| japanese-voice = [[Atsuko Tanaka]]
| cases-solved = 1
| footnotes =
}}
{{nihongo|'''Mary'''|メアリー|Mearī}} is a middle-school age girl with light hair shown hiding with [[Masumi Sera]]. The child's eyes have a remarkable resemblance to those of [[Shuichi Akai]] and Masumi Sera. "Mary" appears to be the child's real name, as stated in [[Volume 88#A Killer in Ramen Ogura|File 930]] and on several of [[Gosho Aoyama]]'s [[postcards]] and other hints.

==Background==
Mary's background is currently unknown. As far as the manga goes, it seems like she has been living with Masumi since sometime after the Mystery Train incident.

She reacts to the name [[Kohji Haneda]], so its possible that she knows about his case.

==Personality==
Mary seems very mature and direct, especially when speaking to Masumi. She seems hesitant to trust others at the moment and is being extremely cautious about who knows about her. Currently because of her cautiousness, she and Masumi have been moving from one hotel to another to keep their location hidden.

== Appearance ==
[[File:Mary different eyes.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Mary's two different eye patterns]]
Mary is a girl of middle school age (12-15) with light colored, curly, neck length hair. The child has eyes similar to those of [[Masumi Sera]] and [[Shuichi Akai]]. In her appearance in File 877, she was shown wearing a high-neck pleated top, hoodie jacket, and hat. Like all the other manga characters, the color of her eyes is supposed to be blue, as seen in the keyhole of manga volume 83.

In her varying appearances, Mary's eyes have been drawn slightly differently. In her original and current chapter appearances she seems to have an extra lash on the top of her eye, where as in the Pool case and [[Conan Edogawa|Conan]]'s comparison of her and [[Ai Haibara|Haibara]]'s eyes in the Department store case she does not have that extra lash.
{{clear}}
[[File:Mary wall climbing skills.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Mary's hiding skills]]
==Skills==
Mary seems to know about several types of wire taps. When she and Masumi find Conan's wire tap in their room, she says that she hasn't seen that type before. She also describes the components of it such as its battery life and performance.

She has demonstrated the ability to hang from a balcony by a thin rope/wire and hug the wall like a ninja. Afterword she has the strength to vault back up on to the balcony, much like [[Vermouth]] did in the New York case.
{{clear}}

== Appellations ==
<tabs jsId="nicknames">
<tab title="Unknown relationships">
{{appellations/head|Mary}}
{{appellations|Masumi Sera|Mama<ref name="file953">[[volume 90#Soul Detective Murder Case|File 953: As If Connecting with a Demon in the Darkness (Volume 90)]]</ref> The little sister from outside the domain (''ryōiki-gai no imōto'')|Masumi<ref name="file953" />}}

{{appellations|Conan Edogawa|Mary<ref name="file930">[[Volume 88#A Killer in Ramen Ogura|File 930: Excessive Seasoning (Volume 88)]]</ref> That girl (''ano shōjo'')<ref name="file930" /> The little sister from outside the domain (''ryōiki-gai no imōto'')|Edogawa Conan<ref name="file903">[[Volume 85#Poolside Case|File 903: The Corpse in the Pool (Volume 85)]]</ref> This boy (''kono shōnen'')<ref name="file903" />}}

{{appellations|Ran Mouri|That girl (''ano ko'')}}

{{appellations|Kohji Haneda|-|Kohji<ref name="file952">[[volume 90#Soul Detective Murder Case|File 952: In the Suspicious Next Room (Volume 90)]]</ref> Haneda Kohji<ref name="file952" />}}
|}
</tab>
</tabs>

== Plot overview ==
[[File:Another person with eye bags appears.png|thumb|left|Mary on Masumi's phone.]]
=== The Red Woman Murder Case (Manga: [[Volume 83#The Red Woman Murder Case|875]], Anime: [[The Tragedy of the Red Woman|756]])===
Masumi asks Conan to find her cellphone by calling it with his. When he does he notices the call background screen is a child with eye bags similar to those of [[Shuichi Akai]] and [[Masumi Sera]]. He remarks that the girl looks similar to Masumi. Earlier in the case she only mentioned having two brothers; a mother; and a father, so Conan suspects Masumi was intentionally trying to show him the child for some reason.

=== Romance Novelist Murder Case (Manga: [[Volume 83|876-878]], Anime: [[The Romance Novel with the Unexpected Conclusion|759-760]]) ===
[[File:Unknown child and Masumi.jpg|thumb|right|Mary and Masumi]]
When Ran, Sonoko, and Conan visit Masumi's apartment, Mary is shown opening Masumi's door as Conan, Masumi, Sonoko, and Ran rush to investigate a crime. It is implied she was hiding in Masumi's bedroom while the other three were in the dining area because Masumi asks Conan not to enter her bedroom. Mary later goes downstairs to the scene of the crime where she is seen by Conan. At some point off screen Conan leaves behind a bug in Masumi's room. After the case is solved, Mary is shown examining Conan's bug along with Masumi. Mary comments on the quality of the performance of the bug itself and that she has never seen one like it. She says that it is still early to trust Conan, and asks Masumi to introduce her as "{{nihongo|the little sister from ''outside the domain''|領域外の妹|ryōiki-gai no imōto}}", should Conan question her in the future.

=== Shogi Tournament (Manga: [[Volume 85#Shogi Tournament|899-902]], Anime: [[Taiko Meijin's Match of Love|785-786]]) ===
Mary is interested in [[Shukichi Haneda|Shukichi]]'s shogi match. When Masumi returns to the hotel room in the middle of the case while Mary is napping, she turns on the TV and sees the shogi match. Later after the case is solved, Masumi enters the room for a second time to see Mary turning off the TV. Presumably she saw the end of the match and was happy at Shukichi's victory, as was Subaru Okiya, whose identity was revealed in the case before this one, to be Shuichi.

[[File:Ran and Unknown Child.jpg|thumb|left|Ran sees Masumi and Mary.]]

=== Poolside Case (Manga: [[Volume 85|903]]-[[Volume 86|905]], Anime: [[The Mystery Sinking in the Midsummer Pool|787-788]]) ===
Mary is waiting for [[Conan Edogawa|Conan]] to visit her and [[Masumi Sera|Masumi]] in their hotel room. She expresses her still-lingering concern of trusting Conan, even though she thinks he is bright enough. Mary does comment that if anything were to go wrong they would have to move hotels again. Her talk with him alone is put on hold, however, because [[Ran Mouri|Ran]] and [[Sonoko Suzuki|Sonoko]] have invited themselves in accompanying Conan in order to enjoy the hotel's pool. As Conan, Ran, and Sonoko head back home after the case is solved, Ran turns around and sees Masumi talking to her. Ran gets the feeling that she has seen that child before.

[[File:Conan and the handkerchief.jpg|thumb|right|Conan with the handkerchief.]]
=== A Killer in Ramen Ogura (Manga: [[Volume 88#A Killer in Ramen Ogura|928-930]], Anime: TBA) ===
[[Masumi Sera]] is at Ramen Ogura with Conan, Sonoko and Ran. [[Katsumasa Ogura]] asks Masumi (mistakenly calling her "Mari") if she's going to take the same food to her apartment again. Conan implies that Masumi could be giving food to someone she's letting stay in her apartment, making a clear reference to Mary, but she jokes saying that it's for her secret boyfriend. At the end of the case it is revealed that Ogura had found a handkerchief that Masumi had left behind that said "Mary" on it in English. Ogura had confused the English name with the Japanese name "Mari". Conan believes that the handkerchief may be related to the child as well.

[[File:unknown child and haibara.jpg|thumb|left|Conan makes a connection between Mary and Haibara due to some remaining makeup.]]
=== Department Store Stabbing Case (Manga: [[Volume 89#Department Store Stabbing Case|939-941]], Anime: TBA) ===
Conan thinks about Mary, "the little sister from outside the domain looks a lot like Sera, no wait, more than that girl resembling Sera..." (領域外の妹と名乗る… 世良によく似た… いや…　あの子世良というより…‥ ). Conan also thinks to himself that the child's name is probably Mary. At the end of the case Haibara tried to wipe some of the makeup off of her face in the bathroom, but she missed some just below her left eye. The left over makeup made it look like she had the same eye bags as Shuichi, Masumi, and Mary. This causes Conan to make a connection between her and Mary.


=== Soul Detective Murder Case (Manga: [[volume 90#Soul Detective Murder Case|951-953]], Anime: TBA) ===
[[kogoro Mouri|Kogoro]] is put in contact with a Soul Detective who wishes to reveal some information about the [[Kohji Haneda]] case. When Conan and Kogoro go to meet with him at a hotel they find him dead and that [[Masumi Sera|Masumi]] and Mary have mysteriously moved in to the next hotel room. During the investigation Conan runs into Masumi's hotel room and checks the balcony. Mary has hidden herself by anchoring herself to the balcony and hiding by hugging the wall underneath it. Conan nearly discovers that she is hiding there by trying to take a picture over the edge, which startles her. Conan then drops his voice-changer on his way back inside. Mary picks it up. Masumi calls her "Mama".

{{clear}}

== Non-Canon Plot Overview ==
=== Movie 18: [[Dimensional Sniper]] ===
Mary is only shown two times at dawn under her hotel bed's blankets.

==Identity==
Mary's relationship to Masumi Sera is unknown. Masumi testifies that she has two older brothers: [[Shuichi Akai]] and an [[Akai family's middle brother|unknown middle brother]] living in Japan.<ref>Manga [[Volume 82]], File 11 (872), pg 3: Red Woman. "We're three siblings: My two oldest brothers and me, their little sister!" </ref> Masumi only started claiming to have a "younger sister from outside the domain" after the unknown child coached her to use that cover story if Conan asked about her.<ref>Manga [[Volume 83]], File 6 (878), pg 16: "The Phone, the Sea, and I" She requests Masumi call her the younger sister from outside the domain if Conan asks</ref><ref>Manga [[Volume 83]], File 7 (879), pgs 2-3: "Detective's Master" Conan asks about the girl and Masumi uses the "younger sister from outside the domain" explanation as she was instructed. Conan notices the discrepancy between this and her earlier statements which didn't mention a sister.</ref><ref>[[Episode 759]] 1min 41sec Crunchyroll translation: "If she has two brothers and doesn't know of her relatives, then who is that young girl I saw on her phone that looks just like her?"</ref> She says her father is dead, and her mother lives overseas in America. Masumi says she doesn't have any more relatives close enough to depend on.<ref>Manga [[Volume 83]], File 4 (876), pg 3: "The Romance Novelist"</ref> She is currently being financially supported by a friend of her father's. If Masumi has told the truth, minus what she said about having a "younger sister from outside the domain", that leaves relatively few options for Mary's identity assuming the child is related by blood somehow to Masumi.

=== Fan speculation ===

==== Mary is an adult shrunken by APTX 4869 ====
Mary acts like an adult despite apparent middle-school age. When Masumi and Mary speak, the speech honorifics are not those appropriate for an elder Masumi talking to a younger girl. Instead, they appear to indicate the two are on equal levels, or even reverse with Mary expressing greater seniority.

The secrecy surrounding Mary and Masumi's attempts to get her to trust Conan, whom Masumi knows is a shrunken Shinichi, might be indications that Masumi is trying to get the child help about an APTX 4869 problem. At that point in time Masumi did not know Conan has relations with any of the other Akais, including Shuichi.

Mary appears to be sickly and is often seen coughing. This could be a side effect of the ATPX she may have ingested.

In anime, the voice actor for this character has a deep female voice, which resembles a middle-aged woman.

==== Akai family mother ====
One possibility is that Mary is the mother of Masumi Sera and Shuichi Akai, shrunk by a drug like [[APTX 4869]]. There are currently five known members of the Akai/Sera family: a deceased father, a mother, a son who resembles the father, and Masumi Sera and Shuichi Akai, who presumably resemble the mother. Her eyes and features are similar to those of Masumi Sera and Shuichi Akai as noted by Conan, and so she presumably looks like the mother of the family. Masumi seems to recognize Conan Edogawa to be Shinichi Kudo despite him having such a young appearance, and if she does indeed recognize him she is not surprised by his appearance, which could imply that she is aware of age regression and the drugs which cause it; and perhaps even looking into it because her mother was affected by such a regression. And in chapter 953 of the manga, Sera calls her "Mama".

In anime, the voice actor for this character has a deep female voice, which resembles a middle-aged woman.

===== [[Elena Miyano#Elena Miyano and Mary are sisters|Mary is the sister of Elena Miyano]] =====
This very popular fan theory<ref>According to polls at DCW as of Sep 10, 2015, the most popular choice for her true identity is APTX-dosed Akai family mother</ref> was born after Gosho hinted that two mother characters are sisters.<ref>[http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/forum/topic/1555-translating-interviews/?p=316639 Leaked interview notes from the May issue of the magazine 「ダ・ヴィンチ」 (da Vinci) with the fans/reporters/whatever, leaked April 15, 2014] "Two mothers will also be revealed as being sisters, etc.…… A lot of things are connected together. This is bad, I'm talking too much. Well, please look forward to the manga."</ref> After it was confirmed the sisters were not the previous most popular choice [[Yukiko Kudo]] and [[Chikage Kuroba]], and that the Akai family mother was one member of the sister pair<ref>[http://forums.dctp.ws/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12439&p=842050#p842050 Super Digest Book 70+: Gosho Aoyama's Interview] "Are Yukiko and Sera's mum sisters?" 
Answer : The sister isn't Yukiko but... 
</ref>, fan suspicion fell squarely on Elena Miyano as the other mother. Gosho has given evasive answers when asked about Elena and the Akai family mother being related, which is his habit when a fan theory is correct but he can't admit to it.<ref>When answering fan questions, Gosho often bluntly says "no" if a guess is wrong. If it is correct and would spoil a mystery, Gosho's habit is to be vague and avoid giving a firm answer rather than lying or giving in and revealing the truth. After narrowing down the choices, fans started trying to trap Gosho. 
[http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/forum/topic/1555-translating-interviews/?p=361432 Conan Super Digest Book SDB 80+]
 
Q5: Are Elena Miyano and Shuichi Akai's/Sera's mother sisters? 
A: Eh? Why's that? 

Q62: Are Sera and Haibara cousins? 
A: Stop asking in a roundabout way, I'm not going to get tricked! (laughs) </ref>

==== Middle brother ====
Along the same lines as the mother theory, another option for the child's identity is the [[Akai family's middle brother|middle brother of the Akai family]] shrunken by some drug such as APTX 4869. Mary's appearance as a girl may be misleading similar to how Masumi is mistaken for a man, something the child is taking advantage of in order to conceal his true identity. Although the eyes are similar to Masumi's and Shuichi's, the light colored curly hair sets the child apart from the other two in appearance. Contradicting this, Conan believes the child looks very similar to Masumi<ref>Episode 759</ref> which suggests the child does not look like the Akai father and by extension the middle brother.

Mary said to Masumi that he/she is still a long way from trusting Conan<ref>Manga [[Volume 83]], File 6 (878), pg 16: "The Phone, the Sea, and I"</ref>, while the middle brother approves of Conan over the phone: "If it is him [Conan], there is no problem."<ref>Manga [[Volume 81]], File 10 (860), pg 16: "The Smell of Kerosine"</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths=185px perrow=5>
File:2014-06-08 00.25.28.jpg|Mary in file 899
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Akai family]]
*[[Shuichi Akai]]
*[[Masumi Sera]]
*[[Akai family's middle brother]]

== References ==
<References/>
{{Characters}}
[[Category:Characters]]

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Mary Sera