Saguru Hakuba

2012-08-12T22:27:06Z

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{{InfoBox Char
| name = Saguru Hakuba
| japanese-name = 白馬探 (Hakuba Saguru)
| english-name =
| image = Saguru Hakuba Profile.jpg
| age = 17
| gender = Male
| date-of-birth = August 29th
| relatives = Superintendent General Hakuba (first name not given; father) Grandfather (unnamed)
| nicknames =
| first-appearance = [[Magic Kaito]] Chapter 15 Manga: File 299 Anime: Episode 219
| appearances = Manga: [[Saguru Hakuba Appearances|8]] Anime: [[Saguru Hakuba Appearances|2]] Movies: [[Saguru Hakuba Appearances|1]]
| cases-solved =
| keyhole = [[Volume 30]]
| japanese-voice = [[Akira Ishida]]
| english-voice =
| footnotes = [[Magic Kaito]] character
}}
'''{{nihongo|Saguru Hakuba|白馬探|Hakuba Saguru}}''' is a character in the manga ''[[Magic Kaito]]'', who has made multiple appearances in the manga and anime franchise ''[[Detective Conan]]''.

== Background ==
Hakuba is another teenage detective, just like [[Shinichi Kudo]] and [[Heiji Hattori]]. However, he does a lot of his work in England, as well as Japan, and claims to have handled more cases than Heiji. His main goal is to capture the master thief, [[Kaitou Kid]].

== Personality ==
[[File:Hakuba as Sherlock Holmes.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Saguru Hakuba as Sherlock Holmes.]]
As a detective, Hakuba takes great interest in learning culprit's motives, asking "How come you did that?" Hakuba also pays a great deal of attention to time, carrying a pocket watch that only loses 0.001 seconds per year. In cases, Hakuba tends to note the time to the second. He is even more extreme in his earliest appearances; he notes during the ''Adam's Smile'' painting heist that Kaitou Kid is a minute and 13.02 seconds late.<ref>{{cite book|last=Aoyama|first=Gosho|title=Magic Kaito|volume=Volume 3|publisher=Shogakukan|date=1994-10-15|isbn=4-09-122093-5|chapter=The Great Detective Appears!!|language=Japanese|location=Tokyo|page=}}</ref> During his first appearances in Magic Kaito, Hakuba is seen often wearing an Inverness cape and a deerstalker, much like the stereotypical portrait of [[Sherlock Holmes]]. In later appearances he has given up this look opting for a suit instead.

His speech is usually formal and polite, like his attire; for example, he uses the more humble pronoun 'boku' to refer to himself during the Detective Koushien case, while Heiji uses 'ore,' which is a cockier and less polite way of referring to oneself. However, Hakuba displays a distinct sense of arrogance himself, particularly during his earlier appearances. He displays an arrogant assurance in his ability to capture the [[Kaitou Kid]], and conveys a superior attitude towards Inspector Nakamori's men in volume 3 of [[Magic Kaito]]. In the Detective Koushien case in Detective Conan he frequently mocked Heiji, calling him rash and hotheaded. Kaito describes his tone as sugary yet obnoxious.<ref>Magic Kaito Volume 4, File 5, pg 5: "Golden Eye 1"</ref>.

Hakuba also appears to be something of a flirt. He kissed Aoko's hand and tried to sweet-talk her into going on a date with him, <ref name="Vol3Chp3" /> And during the Detective Koushien he was particularly attentive to the [[Natsuki Koshimizu|female detective]] present, even promising that he would "solve the case for her." However, it's possible that in both of those cases his actions were at least partly intended to irritate Kaito and Heiji, respectively.

== Appearance and Skills ==
Saguru Hakuba has brown-blonde hair; his eye color is usually blue in the manga, but brown in the anime. According to Hakuba's own introduction to [[Aoko Nakamori|Aoko]], Hakuba is 180 cm tall (5'11"), weighs 65 kg (143 lbs), was born on August 29th under the Virgo zodiac, and is blood type 'A'.<ref name="Vol3Chp3">{{cite book|last=Aoyama|first=Gosho|title=Magic Kaito|volume=Volume 3|publisher=Shogakukan|date=1994-10-15|isbn=4-09-122093-5|chapter=Kaitou Under Scrutiny|language=Japanese|location=Tokyo|page=}}</ref>

In the Twilight Mansion case, he showed himself to be skilled at billiards, and to have at least basic knowledge of falconry.

He also seems to have an eidetic memory, just as Shinichi, Heiji and Kaito have proven themselves to have, and is capable of remembering long strings of data, particularly (in Hakuba's case) precise times down to the millisecond.

==Appellations==
<tabs jsId="nicknames">
<tab title="Friends and relatives">
{| class="chartable cells-centered" style="margin: 0px;"
! style="width:60px;"|Picture !! style="width:125px;"|Name !! style="width:200px;"|What they call Saguru !! style="width:200px;"|What Saguru calls them
|-
| [[File:Kaito Kuroba 60px.jpg]] || [[Kaito Kuroba]] || Hakuba || Kuroba-kun
|-
| [[File:Kaitou Kid 60px.jpg]] || [[Kaitou Kid]] ||That Hakuba Bastard ''(Hakuba no yarou)'' Hakuba (anime only) || Kaitou Kid Kid
|-
| [[File:Aoko Nakamori 60px.jpg]] || [[Aoko Nakamori]] || Hakuba-kun || Aoko-kun Young Lady ''(Ojou-san)''
|-
| [[File:Hakuba's Housekeeper 60px.jpg]] || [[Hakuba's Housekeeper]] || Young Master Saguru ''(Saguru-bocchama)'' Young Master ''(Bocchama)'' || Nanny ''(Baaya)''
|-
| [[File:Keiko Momoi 60px.jpg]] || [[Keiko Momoi]] || Hakuba-kun || ???
|-
| [[File:Ginzo Nakamori 60px.jpg]] || [[Ginzo Nakamori]] || Hakuba-kun || Inspector Nakamori ''(Nakamori-keibu)''
|}
</tab>
</tabs>

== Plot overview ==
''Main Article: [[Saguru Hakuba Appearances]]''

=== In Magic Kaito ===
Prior to arriving in Japan, Hakuba spent time as a detective in England and attended London Bridge High School. According to Hakuba's father, Saguru is most interested in meeting the infamous [[Kaitou Kid]] and is taken to the ''Bronze Statue'' heist.

In the special [[The Brilliant Rivals]] it is revealed that Hakuba has no interest in capturing Kaito Kid, but rather, [[Spider]] who is part of the mysterious organization that Kaito is after. Hakuba humiliates the police and he figures out where Kaito Kid was hiding. He nearly captures the thief with sleeping gas, but Kaito Kid takes his gas mask so Hakuba is taken down by his own trick. Kaito Kid then disguises as Hakuba to get close to the gem, but the scheme is quickly figured out when the police finds Hakuba's sleeping body. Later, Hakuba forces himself to wake up when Kaito Kid is caught in Snake's illusion. Hakuba saves him by spraying him with water. After both Spider and Kaito Kid escape, Hakuba falls asleep once more. Much to Kaito's dismay, Hakuba transfers into Ekoda High School Class 2-B and continues his mission to unmask Kid. He is now the classmate of [[Kaito Kuroba]], [[Aoko Nakamori]], [[Akako Koizumi]], and [[Keiko Momoi]].<ref

In the special [[The Secret of the Red Tear]] Hakuba appears briefly in class, reading a book that mentions Spider. He is shocked by Akako's beauty and is seen blushing.

Although Magic Kaito is no longer frequently continued, Hakuba has made several appearances in the cases that have come out alongside Detective Conan. He telephoned Kaito from Paris to give him information on the thief known as Chat Noir, and also appeared in the Dark Knight arc, where he arrived too late to stop Kid's theft but correctly deduced his methods and kept up with Kaito in uncovering the identity of the mysterious 'Nightmare.'

[[File:Hakuba_Watson.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Saguru Hakuba's pet hawk '''Watson'''.]]

=== In Detective Conan ===
Saguru's first appearance in Detective Conan was in the Twilight Palace case, where he was one of six detectives invited to investigate a murder that had been committed 40 years ago in an old mansion. During the case it is revealed Hakuba has a pet hawk named Watson whom he got in England. <ref>{{cite book |last=Aoyama|first=Gosho|date=2009-07-21|isbn=1-4215-2198-9|title=Case Closed|volume=Volume 30|publisher=Viz Media|chapter=File 4: Condemnation|language=English|location=San Francisco|page=67}}</ref>

[[image:479_Heiji_and_Saguru.JPG|250px|right|thumb| Heiji and Saguru didn't get along during the Detective Koushien.]]
His second, and only other canonical appearance, was in the [[Volume 54#Detective Koshien Case|Detective Koshien Case]]. Although he initially believed that he was to represent the 'east' in a contest between four high school detectives, in fact the competition had been arranged by a woman seeking a detective 'with a strange accent' who had incorrectly accused her friend of committing a murder. Thinking that Hakuba's Japanese might be accented due to his time in Britain, she invited him, as well as [[Heiji Hattori]], who is well known for his strong Kansai accent.

During the Detective Koushien, it was stated that Hakuba had returned to England sometime before the case, and had returned to Japan specifically to compete in the koushien, thus explaining his absence from the Kaitou Kid heists in Detective Conan.

Although not actually present, Hakuba was mentioned in [[The Gathering of the Detectives! Kudo Shinichi vs. Kaitou Kid|'''Episode 219''': The Gathering of the Detectives! Kudo Shinichi vs. Kaitou Kid (2 Hour Special)]]. During the Kid case, set some time before [[Shinichi Kudo|Shinichi]] was shrunk, Kaito thinks to himself that the heist will be much easier without Hakuba around, as he has apparently returned to England. Kid was therefore not expecting a challenge, so when the officers trick him into revealing himself and successfully locate him in the ventilation shafts, Kid wonders aloud who, if not Hakuba, could be helping the police.

Hakuba also made a cameo of sorts in the tenth Detective Conan movie, ''[[The Private Eyes' Requiem]]''. Claiming that someone dear to him had been captured by the theme park, he assisted Conan and Heiji in their investigations that day but later disappeared after they were separated by attackers. It is later revealed that 'Hakuba' was actually the Kaitou Kid in disguise.

== Relationships analysis ==
=== Family & Friends ===
{{main|Hakuba Family}}
Hakuba's father is the Metropolitan Chief of Police in Japan. His mother is British. His family also apparently runs a research laboratory in Japan. His father appeared only once in Magic Kaito, when he asked [[Ginzo Nakamori|Inspector Nakamori]] to look after Saguru.

In subsequent appearances in both manga series, Saguru's sole caretaker seems to be a [[Saguru's Housekeeper | housekeeper]] whom he refers to as 'baaya'<ref>{{cite book|last=Aoyama|first=Gosho|title=Magic Kaito|volume=Volume 4|publisher=Shogakukan|date=1994-10-15|isbn=4-09-122093-5|chapter=Dark Knight (Part 1)|language=Japanese|location=Tokyo|page=}}</ref> or 'governess' in the English translation.<ref name="Twilight">{{cite book|last=Aoyama|first=Gosho|date=2009-07-21|isbn=1-4215-2198-9|title=Case Closed|volume=Volume 30|publisher=Viz Media|chapter=File 6: Murder|language=English|location=San Francisco|page=96}}</ref>

==== Kaito Kuroba ====

The relationship between Hakuba and [[Kaito Kuroba|Kaito]] is a rather tense one; Hakuba convinced himself early on that Kaito was indeed Kid, and during the first few volumes he's constantly throwing out offhand comments that show his suspicion. However, later on in the Manga, we have a small scene where Hakuba calls Kaito from Paris in order to give him some information on 'Chat Noir', a dangerous, fellow gem thief trying to outshine Kid.<ref>{{cite book|last=Aoyama|first=Gosho|title=Magic Kaito|volume=Volume 4|publisher=Shogakukan|date=1994-10-15|isbn=4-09-122093-5|chapter=Golden Eye Part 1|language=Japanese|location=Tokyo|page=18}}</ref> Though Kaito continues to vehemently deny being Kid, Hakuba gives him the information anyways, ending the conversation with, "Do your best at least. I don't want to see you lose to anyone before I capture you myself". Whether that was his actual motive, or if he was merely concerned for Kaito's well being, or a mix of both, is unknown.

==== Aoko Nakamori ====

Prior to the heist in Volume 3, Chapter 3, Hakuba seems to flirt with [[Aoko Nakamori|Aoko]] after Kaito turns down Aoko's offer to go to the Prince Prince concert. Hakuba and Kaito then make a bet that if Hakuba manages to catch Kid then Hakuba will go to the concert with Aoko, and if he fails to capture the thief, Kaito will go instead. When interviewed before the heist, Hakuba notes "Tonight's battle has a special meaning to me".<ref name="Vol3Chp3" /> Although initially excited to have Hakuba want to go to the concert with her, Aoko during the actual heist seems to want Hakuba to fail so that she can go to the concert with Kaito instead. This relationship has not been touched upon much since then because of Hakuba's limited appearances in Magic Kaito and Detective Conan.

==== Akako Koizumi ====
In [[The Secret of the Red Tear]] Hakuba is shown blushing at Akako's beauty. Aoko notices and teases him, which he quickly tries to deny. Akako looks delighted.

== 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. Hakuba placed 10th in the poll with 57 votes out of the 5,883 that were cast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ebookjapan.jp/ebj/special/conan/vote_kekka2.asp|title=『名探偵コナン』人気投票結|date=2011-05-12|publisher=eBookJapan|accessdate=2011-05-15}}</ref>

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. Hakuba placed 9th out of 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conan-movie.jp/camp_chara/camp15th_res.html|title=名探偵コナン「キャラクター人気投票」|date=2011|publisher=www.conan-movie.jp|accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref>

== Name origin ==
The kanji reading for 探 (Saguru) means "to search" and the reading for 白馬 (Hakuba) means "white horse".

== Quotes ==
{{cquote|How come you did that?}}

== Trivia ==
*Saguru, along with Shinichi, Heiji and [[Kaito Kuroba|Kaito]], are sometimes referred to as 'The Four Geniuses' or 'The Gosho Boys' by fans. If [[Ai Haibara|Haibara]] is included, they are referred to as 'The Five Geniuses.'
*Hakuba's eyes are blue in his manga appearances, but brown in the anime.
*In the tenth Detective Conan movie it was stated that Hakuba had been studying Criminal Science in London.
*Hakuba wasn't given an English name in Case Closed. In Volume 30, the Twilight Mansion case and his only translated American appearance to date, he was simply referred to by his original name, like the other one-shot detectives in the case.
*In [[Magic Kaito]], Saguru acquires a strand of the Kid's hair and runs a genetic scan on it, determining that the Kid is a fifteen-to-seventeen year old male with a higher-than-average IQ. He then runs this information against a database of Tokyo teenagers and comes up with a list of possible Kaitou Kids, at the top of which was Kaito Kuroba's name. However, it's interesting to wonder whether [[Shinichi Kudo]], another sixteen-year-old Tokyo resident with a similar build and above-average intelligence, made Saguru's list.

== See also ==
* [[Characters]]
* [[Hakuba's Housekeeper]]
* [[Hakuba family]]
* [[Saguru Hakuba Appearances]]
* [[List of characters who know Kaitou Kid's identity]]
* This fan-made [http://www.mischif.net/1412/kid.htm Kaitou Kid reference page].

== References ==
<references/>
{{Magic Kaito}}
{{Characters}}

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[[Category:Magic Kaito characters]]
[[Category:High school detectives]]
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Saguru Hakuba