Interviews in 2025

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Gosho Aoyama’s Comment on the Film One-Eyed Flashback

Date: March 7, 2025
Published in: In theaters and on the official Detective Conan movie website

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Raw:

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原作:青山剛昌

どーも青山です!
今回の舞台は長野県!
奇跡の邂逅! 定石破りの銃弾!!
せき そして、思わず赤面しちゃうラブシーン♡ などなど･･･
ガンガン来るので観てくれないと許ざんぞォ〜♪
なんちって･･･(笑)

Translation edited by: Manvel

Original Story: Gosho Aoyama

Hey there—Aoyama here!
This time, the stage is set in Nagano Prefecture!
A miraculous encounter! A bullet that breaks all the rules!!
And yes—there are even blush-worthy love scenes that’ll make you look away for a second ♡ …and so much more!
It just keeps coming at you nonstop, so if you don’t watch it, I won’t forgive you〜♪
Just kidding… (laughs)

Gosho Aoyama Honored with Japan’s Media Arts Ministerial Award

Date: March 13, 2025
Published in: Nippon TV News Culture, entax news

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Source: Link
Link
Video
Video

Some photos

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  Gosho Aoyama and Masahiro Sakurai

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  Minister Toshiko Abe And Gosho Aoyama

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  Gosho Aoyama, Masahiro Sakurai, Kiyotaka Oshiyama, Katsura Hashino

Translation edited by: Manvel

“Media Arts Division – Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award” Manga Artist: Gosho Aoyama

Gosho Aoyama:
“I’m very happy—truly. It still hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but when I think about the people who have received this award before, they’re all incredible figures, so I wonder whether it’s really okay for someone like me to receive it. Still, if it’s something I can receive, I’ll gratefully accept it.”

Gosho Aoyama Interview

Q: You’ve continued creating for many years. What has been your driving force?
Aoyama: Without a doubt, it’s the fans. Their comments on social media and messages in fan letters—hearing them say “It was great”—those words really give me strength.

Q: What are your guiding principles when drawing Conan?

Aoyama: I’ve said this many times before, but: I don’t make Conan cry. When the person doing the reasoning starts crying, it would be disrespectful to the culprit. So in my mysteries, the detective role hardly ever cries.

Q: There are many mystery works out there. What do you think is the unique appeal that only Detective Conan has?

Aoyama: Since it’s enjoyed by both children and adults, I think what works well is how we include Romantic Comedy elements and skillfully weave in humor. Mysteries tend to be pretty grim and intense, so it’s usually hard to add comedy, but I think Conan manages to incorporate it well.

Q: How do you feel about the theatrical films—on which you also worked on the original drawings—being highly praised?

Aoyama: “When I watch them and my own original drawings appear, I feel embarrassed—it’s hard to put into words. But when people are happy because of my original artwork, that makes me very happy. It gives me a sense of fulfillment as an artist. I always say, ‘Let me draw the good scenes,’ so please look forward to it as well (including the April theatrical release).”

Q: What do you think about the excitement and growth in your hometown?

Aoyama: “I’m very happy. I was a bit disappointed that the Camel-themed trick art was changed before I could take a photo of it, but once it’s renewed, I’d like to take pictures with the new trick art again. If Conan helps bring excitement and vitality, and the prefecture benefits from it, that makes me extremely happy.”

Q: If a case were to occur at this Arts Selection Award Ceremony, what kind of story would you come up with?

Aoyama: Since things like the seating order and the timing of bows were all carefully instructed, I thought that could be used to set something up. There was also a female SP officer standing there—I actually wanted to interview her… (laughs)

Q: Conan has many fans overseas as well. Do you have a message for international fans?

Aoyama: When I went to Germany before, I was told, “Germans can’t understand Japanese-language codes—what should we do?” But in the end, there’s no choice but for people to study Japanese and solve them. If the riddles mix in English, then fans all over the world can probably solve them, but if you really want to understand the codes, I’d like you to study Japanese.

Q: In the films, fans are delighted when they notice scenes said to feature “Aoyama’s original drawings.” From an animator’s perspective, how do you view those scenes?

Aoyama: When I watch them myself and see my original drawings, I feel embarrassed… so it’s hard to describe. But when people are happy because of my original artwork, that really makes me happy, and it feels rewarding to draw. I usually say, “Let me draw the good scenes,” so please look forward to them.

Q: What are your plans and outlook for the future?

Aoyama: “I feel like I’ve already accomplished many things, so my goal now is simply to finish drawing the story safely all the way to the end. It looks like it will still take quite some time, so please look forward to it.”

Animage 2025 Interview

Date: April 10, 2025
Published in: Animage Magazine, May 2025 Issue

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Source:
Digital Raw

Raw:

Translation edited by: Manvel

Interview with Gosho Aoyama
Original Work: Gosho Aoyama

The nationally renowned manga artist Gosho Aoyama, known to everyone, finally makes his first appearance in this magazine!

More than 30 years after its creation, his breakout work was adapted into an anime. We asked him to share his candid thoughts on seeing the series brought to animation after all this time.

The moment 'I wish it were like this' actually came true!

Cut out the Shōwa-era gags and update it for the Reiwa era

Interviewer:
As the original creator of Detective Conan, Aoyama-san is already very familiar to readers, but this is actually your first time appearing in our magazine, isn’t it?
Aoyama:
I used to buy Animage back in the day. I liked anime too—especially around the time when Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was being serialized.

Interviewer:
It’s been 31 years since YAIBA was last adapted into an anime, but the conclusion of the previous anime, Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba, actually came at almost the exact same time as the magazine serialization of Nausicaä came to an end.

Aoyama:
Really? Wow, it’s been that long already! The earlier YAIBA anime was really good too, but back then there were various circumstances, so they couldn’t adapt the original story all the way to the end. This time, I don’t think there are any such constraints in particular, so I really hope they manage to take it all the way to the finale—I’d love to see that.

Interviewer:
When you received the offer for an anime adaptation, how did you feel?

Aoyama:
I was really happy. I thought, “So it finally came!” And honestly, these days I even figured that some people might accidentally watch it thinking it’s “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” instead! (laughs)

Interviewer:
That would take quite a bit of absent-mindedness, wouldn’t it? (laughs) But the finished product this time looks incredibly cool. When it came to the anime adaptation, did you make any requests as well?

Aoyama:
Yes—regarding various settings and things like that, when I first met with the anime staff, I told them upfront what I thought would be better if we’re doing it now. From the script stage onward, I said things like, “Cut out all the Shōwa-era gags that don’t fit the times, and update them for Reiwa.” Beyond that, whenever I felt, “This part should be handled like this,” I’d bring it up as we went along.

Interviewer:
I’ve heard that director Takahiro Hasui and character designer / chief animation director Yoshimichi Kameda are both huge YAIBA fans. Especially Kameda-san’s love for YAIBA—I’m told it’s on another level.

Aoyama:
They’re really passionate, aren’t they? I actually gave him a YAIBA New Year’s card I made years ago when we met. I said, “If you like it that much, here you go,” and he was absolutely thrilled (laughs).

Interviewer:
With that level of passion, I imagine there were quite a few ideas coming from the production side as well?

Aoyama:
There were—there really were. Things like rearranging and organizing the order of episodes from the original manga, or increasing the number of regular characters—those kinds of ideas all came from the anime staff. And with each of them, I thought, “I see—that makes sense.”

Interviewer:
How did you feel about the anime being produced by WIT STUDIO, a studio known for working on many popular titles?

Aoyama:
I was honestly just happy. On a personal level, I’d been watching and enjoying shows like SPY×FAMILY and Ranking of Kings.

Interviewer:
What about the voice cast? I’ve heard that Minami Takayama, who reprises her role as Yaiba from the previous anime, was very much your personal wish, Aoyama-san.

Aoyama:
Oh, absolutely—Yaiba can only be done by Minami Takayama.

Interviewer:
I’ve heard that you were present at the first recording session as well. How was it?

Aoyama:
As expected, Minami Takayama is… really good. Well, I mean, she’s a professional, so of course she is (laughs). And Manaka Iwami, who plays Sayaka, is also incredibly good. There’s that airport scene in episode one where she runs up to her father—on the very first take, I was already thinking, “This is great, let’s go with this.” But then she said, “Would it be okay if I tried it again with a bit of a smile?” and re-recorded it. Watching that, all I could do was sit there thinking, “Wow… she’s so good,” completely impressed.

Interviewer:
So that was something Iwami-san suggested herself?

Aoyama:
Exactly. And what’s more, even though she was doing little retakes like that here and there, we still finished earlier than scheduled. She was really great in Oshi no Ko too, playing Akane Kurokawa. Of course, Yoshimasa Hosoya’s performance as Onimaru was excellent as well. Voice actors these days really are something else.

A complex visual/page composition that I could only draw in my twenties.

Interviewer:
YAIBA is especially known for its reaction scenes—they’re one of its biggest highlights. In episode one of this new adaptation, for example, the opening (avant-title) where Yaiba and Onimaru fight is such a spectacle that it almost feels like a Gundam mobile suit battle.

Aoyama:
Ahaha (laughs). It really went all out right from the start, didn’t it? It was great. Since the Hōōken and the Maōken show up immediately, I couldn’t help asking the staff, “Is it really okay to do this right away?” And then they replied, “This is our declaration of intent!”

Interviewer:
So once you decided to show it at the very beginning, that meant you were committed to portraying everything up to that point. In that case, were there any scenes in episode one that stood out to you as favorites?

Aoyama:
Hmm… where would that be? Honestly, probably all of them. It felt like the exact images I’d been thinking, “I wish it were like this!”, were unfolding right in front of my eyes. It was really moving.

Interviewer:
I imagine there are many younger readers who came to the series through Detective Conan and are discovering YAIBA for the first time with this anime. On the other hand, for fans from the original generation, one thing to listen for is how Minami Takayama will differentiate Yaiba’s trademark lines like “barō” and “ikkeee!”

Aoyama:
As for “barō,” that one’s probably the same, I guess… though, knowing Takayama-san, who knows? (laughs). Back when they made a special anime where Conan and Yaiba appeared together (OVA—Conan vs. Kid vs. Yaiba - The Grand Battle for the Treasure Sword!!)—Takayama-san asked me, “Is it okay if Yaiba uses ori as his first-person pronoun?” I said, “Sure, let’s go with that.” Compared to Conan’s ore, Yaiba’s ori sounds a bit goofier, you know.

Interviewer:
Yaiba does feel more innocent, doesn’t he? And when it comes to the connections between the two works, Onimaru’s subordinate, Kuro Oni, also seems to show glimpses of those “culprit-like” (Shadow Man) elements you see in Detective Conan.

Aoyama:
Ah—now that you mention it, that’s true (laughs). But with Kuro Oni, the idea was simply to give him what you might call a Shocker-like role. We needed him to be drawn a lot by the assistants, so I made the design something that would look like “Kuro Oni” no matter who drew him. Basically, he’s just a black figure with horns stuck on—that’s all.

Interviewer:
Looking back now, are there any moments where you think, “I wish I’d taken the story in this direction,” or “I wish I’d included this kind of idea”?

Aoyama:
Toward the end, there’s a girl named Moroha who appears, and around that time there was also a cool character named Okita-kun—the sixth-generation Okita Soshi, who later shows up in Detective Conan as well. If the story had continued, I remember thinking, “I’d really like to do a romantic-comedy storyline.” Besides Yaiba and Sayaka, I felt like I wanted one more element like that. But, well, before long the serialization itself came to an end, so now that I look back on it, I also feel that maybe it was fine the way it was.

Interviewer:
Now that you’ve reached your 60th birthday, looking back at the time when YAIBA was being serialized—when you were still in your 20s—are there aspects you feel you could only draw back then?

Aoyama:
Oh, absolutely! If it were now, the artwork would probably be too demanding for me to handle. There are just so many characters around Yaiba. Kagetora and Shōnosuke too—they’re almost always together wherever they go, right? The Detective Boys in Detective Conan can get pretty crowded as well, but they’re not together quite as constantly as Yaiba’s group is.

Interviewer:
And on top of that, wherever they go, they end up fighting with enough force to practically destroy entire towns.

Aoyama:
Exactly! But well, there wasn’t actually that much dialogue, so the name—or rather, the story construction—was pretty easy. I was still young back then, so I drew fast. If I had five days, I could go from planning the story all the way to a finished chapter. With the extra time, I’d work on 3rd Base Fourth or continue Magic Kaito. It’s unthinkable now, but on top of all that, I was even playing amateur baseball at the time (laughs).

Interviewer:
Even though it was a weekly serialization—that’s unbelievably powerful!

Aoyama:
It really was. It was tough, no question—but it was fun. So when YAIBA ended, I felt lonely… To be honest, I didn’t really want to end it yet.

Interviewer:
That said, Detective Conan had already been decided as your next serialization at that point, right?

Aoyama:
Right, right. I think I’ve mentioned this somewhere before, but when Detective Conan first started, I honestly thought it would end pretty quickly. I was like, “Conan will probably wrap up soon anyway—then I can do a sequel to YAIBA!” (laughs).

Interviewer:
Hearing that, the way we experience both works might change a bit. Lastly, could you leave a message for readers who are looking forward to the broadcast?

Aoyama:
Let’s see… I think it’s an anime that people who know the original will enjoy, of course—but even those who don’t can have plenty of fun with it. So I’d say, please give it a watch! Unlike Detective Conan, one of the great things about YAIBA is that you can watch it without having to think too hard. I’d be happy if people just cleared their minds and enjoyed it.

One of YAIBA’s great strengths is that you can watch it without having to think about anything.

Interview with TMS Entertainment Producer Yuhei Okada
In complete contrast to last year, it’s taken a more serious direction
Even the fade-to-black is a key point!? Director Katsuya Shigehara’s deft touch

Interviewer:
First of all, could you tell us how the project got started? Given the usual timeline, did things begin moving around 2022?

Okada:
Yes, that’s right. By the time of Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween, it had already been decided that “the 28th installment would feature the three members of the Nagano Prefectural Police.” I joined from around the following round of meetings. Actually, my predecessor, Kiyoaki Terashima, is from Nagano Prefecture, and I was told that—thanks to that connection—the setting was chosen to be Nagano.

Interviewer:
I’ve heard that making Kogoro the central focus was actually your idea, Okada-san.

Okada:
I think it was something that Gosho Aoyama-sensei, the original creator, and Takeharu Sakurai, who handled the script, had already been considering from the start. But during the scenario meetings, I was the one who said, “How about letting Kogoro really shine?” One of my personal goals, once I became a producer, was to give Kogoro a chance to be active and show his strengths—and I wanted to make sure I said that out loud.

Interviewer:
So both of them were on board with that right away?

Okada:
Yes—more or less like, “Sounds good, let’s do it.” I personally had wanted to try a hard-boiled approach for a while, and if the main focus was going to be the three members of the Nagano Prefectural Police, it was bound to become a more adult-oriented story. Since the previous film had a very bright tone, I thought maybe this time we could really commit—go all in on something different, and push the series fully in a serious direction.

Interviewer:
When you read Sakurai’s script once it came in, what was your first impression?

Okada:
Honestly, it felt like there was nothing left to say—in the best possible way. The slightly oppressive, heavy atmosphere that permeated the entire story, the way the key moments were staged… it already felt almost complete at the stage it was submitted. And once the overall framework was set, Katsuya Shigeyama, Takeharu Sakurai, and Gosho Aoyama moved things forward at a real clip, so the back-and-forth up to the final draft only took about two or three rounds—it was incredibly fast.

Interviewer:
This marks Director Shigehara’s first time taking the helm. I’ve heard that his appointment was directly backed by you, Okada-san, and by character designer and chief animation director Masatomo Sudo.

Okada:
From my perspective, I wanted to ask a director who was relatively close in age to the younger staff supporting the production, so I’d talked with Masatomo Sudo about that idea for quite some time. The very first person we recommended was Katsuya Shigeyama. As a side note, when the three of us had a meeting together with Shigehara himself present, Sudo jumped the gun and said something like, “Why don’t you try directing the next one?” And I was like, “Hey, it’s not even officially decided yet—why are you saying that now?” (laughs).

Interviewer:
From Sudo-san’s perspective as well, wouldn’t that suggest that he saw Shigehara as someone highly trustworthy as a director?

Okada:
Yes, I think so. He’s always been someone who directs with great precision, and one of his strongest points is how well he works with the production side. While he doesn’t compromise on points that are non-negotiable for him, he’s also flexible and receptive to the opinions of those around him, and he kept to the schedule properly. It’s not like we had a lot of breathing room, but the production moved forward smoothly without delays, and I feel he delivered extremely strong results on the management and progress side as well.

Interviewer:
Director Shigehara’s involvement with the Detective Conan theatrical films began with The Zero Enforcer, correct?

Okada:
Yes. Shigehara-san had already worked together with Director Yuzuru Tachikawa on Mob Psycho 100, so at the time—when I was serving as a production desk—I approached him with an offer to handle direction. After that, during the two years when I moved over to the TV side, I also asked him to work on opening sequences. I’ve been able to watch his work ethic and approach up close for a long time now.

Interviewer:
If you had to pinpoint specific examples of Director Shigehara’s "signature style" or his strengths, what would they be?

Okada:
I feel that rather than action, he really excels at emotional acting and drama. What stood out to me most when working together this time was just how strong his editing sense is—his cutting is excellent. I think he was very much in sync with editor Terumitsu Okada as well. For example, in meeting scenes where dialogue goes on and there’s a risk of the pacing dragging, he uses black frames extremely deliberately—almost to the point where you think, “He’s going that far?”

Interviewer:
So you mean the screen actually goes completely dark—using fade-to-black transitions?

Okada:
Exactly. Some people might feel it’s cutting a bit too abruptly, but personally, I thought it worked well. It was a first for Detective Conan, but thanks to that approach, I think we were able to change scenes with a really good sense of tempo.

A Western-film vibe with sharp contrast between light and shadow

Interviewer:
Nagano was the hometown of the previous producer, Terashima-san—but did you personally have any connection to the area, Okada-san?

Okada:
None at all (laughs). The only time I’d ever been there was when my parents took me along as an elementary school kid. On top of that, the three main Nagano Prefectural Police characters were ones I’d never been directly involved with before. They hadn’t appeared in any theatrical films, and even during the two years I was working on the TV side, they never showed up. So I made sure to properly reread the original manga and rewatch the anime.

Interviewer:
In that case, were there probably very few key animators who had prior experience drawing them?

Okada:
That’s exactly right. Compared to the previous film—where there were fewer notoriously difficult elements to animate, like Kaito Kid’s cape and the wind effects—the bigger issue this time was that most animators simply weren’t used to drawing the main characters. To be honest, the only person who had really drawn these three properly before was Masatomo Sudo. Even something as specific as Kansuke’s beard—depending on who draws it, the density can vary quite a bit.

Interviewer:
So in that respect, was Sudo-san adjusting the overall balance to make sure nothing felt out of place?

Okada:
Yes, exactly. Characters like Takaaki Morofushi, who had far more scenes showing overt emotion than usual, were probably even harder to deal with than Kansuke, I’d say. The Nagano Prefectural Police don’t appear that often in Detective Conan to begin with, so there really isn’t a large collection of facial-expression references for them (wry laugh). In the end, though, I think the animation directors and Masatomo Sudo did a great job pulling everything together.

Interviewer:
This was Yo Shimizu-san’s first time participating—how did you find his image boards? I’ve heard that bringing him on board was very much Director Shigehara’s wish.

Okada:
Oh, he was fantastic. Apparently he’d liked Detective Conan to begin with, and from the moment we reached out to him, he replied almost immediately with, “I’ll do it.” He was overflowing with enthusiasm, which we were extremely grateful for. He kept submitting a ton of material weeks ahead of the deadline—even things we hadn’t specifically asked for—and he also made lots of proactive suggestions like, “How about something like this?”

Interviewer:
According to the artist himself, he "incorporated a Western film atmosphere and was very conscious of the lighting." The footage in the trailer certainly looks mature and cool.

Okada:
Shadows and darkness were elements the production team was obsessed with from the very beginning, so those were the specific orders we gave to Yo-san as well. For the movie itself, we've finished it using a filter that is a shade darker than usual. When you're at the theater, I really hope you'll pay close attention to those details.

Gosho Aoyama Special Interview — One-eyed Flashback

Date: April 17, 2025
Published in: Official Detective Conan movie account on X

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Source: Link
Video

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  There is always only one truth!

Translation edited by: Manvel

Gosho Aoyama Interview: Q&A and Message:

Question: What was the main point you paid special attention to in this film?

Aoyama: It was the episode explaining how Kansuke injured his left eye. I had always thought that it was probably something I’d never get around to drawing, but then I decided, “Let’s do it in a movie!” and worked on the idea together with screenwriter Takaharu Sakurai. To be honest, though, Sakurai came up with most of it (laughs).
I basically gave him the setup and said, “With this kind of premise, do you think you can make it work?” When he came back with, “How about something like this?” my reaction was simply, “That’s really good!”—that sort of feeling.

Question: This film is set in Nagano Prefecture. Do you have any memories of Nagano?

Aoyama: I’ve been to Nagano several times, and well… the soba noodles are just fantastic. I grew up in the Kansai region, so I didn’t really eat soba very often and never liked it that much. But Nagano’s soba is truly delicious—I love it. Everyone from the Nagano Prefectural Police was also very kind.

Message From Aoyama: “Please look forward to the theatrical film Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback! There is always only one truth!”

Cinema Guide 2025 Interview

Date: April 18, 2025

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Source: Raw - Print Scan

Raw:

Translation edited by: Manvel

Page: 33
Gosho Aoyama Interview
At first, it was my own extremely unreasonable request, but Sakurai-san went along with it

—— Please tell us how it came about that the Nagano Prefectural Police and Kogoro Mouri would take the lead in The 28th theatrical film, One-eyed Flashback.
Aoyama: Originally, there was a producer at TMS who was from Nagano Prefecture, and from this person I had been told, “Someday, I want you to do the Nagano Prefectural Police.” That person is no longer a producer now, but it was like, “Well then, let’s do it sometime,” and so we did it. The three from Nagano are very popular, so I thought it would be good for them to take the main role at least once. They did appear once before, though. Only Kansuke and Yui did (※1).
And then, since we were doing it anyway, Kogoro also hadn’t had something where he really played an almost main-character-level active role for quite a while (※2), so I thought I’d like to do it together. At stage greetings, Koyama (Rikiya)-san, who plays Kogoro, always says things like, “This year I’ll probably be very active!” (laughs), so I’m looking forward to this year’s stage greetings. He really is the main character this time (laughs).

—— The setting of this film is Nagano Prefecture, but please tell us how it came about that places like the Nobeyama Radio Observatory and the Yatsugatake mountain range were chosen as the stage.

Aoyama: That wasn’t me, but rather Sakurai-san, the scriptwriter, I think. Things like the observatory are Sakurai-san’s choice.
As for the mountains, there is also the flow of the script, but the director is someone who worked on Yama no Susume (※3), and since he’s someone who’s good at depicting mountains and things like that, it probably turned out that way.

——Have you ever gone to Nagano Prefecture?

Aoyama: I’ve been there many times. I went to Saku last year as well. I was invited as a lecturer to something called Buronson-san’s manga school (※4), and I went about two times.
Also, this isn’t related to this theatrical film, but last year I also went to the Nagano Prefectural Police. I was thinking of featuring them in the original work (※5). And then, it was more attentive than I had expected, so I ended up feeling apologetic, or rather (laughs). I wasn’t planning to see that much, but they showed me all sorts of places, and it was an extremely valuable experience.

——As a result of actually going to the Nagano Prefectural Police, which scenes were reflected in the manga?

Aoyama: As for the tour scene with the Detective Boys, I had absolutely no plan to draw it at all. But then, things like the riot police motorcycles, the band, and even the people with the flags (color guard) — I thought, “I should put this in a bit.”
Also, the signboard of the cafeteria that appears in the work. That one is the real thing. I took a photo and thought, “I’ll draw this,” and then I drew it.
The cafeteria where Conan and the others ate is the same. I also ate there, and it was delicious.

——Please tell us your impression when you first read the scenario for “One-eyed Flashback”

Aoyama: At first, it was my extremely unreasonable request, you know. I said, “I want to do an episode about when Kansuke lost his left eye.”
I told them the background that Komei went as far as going to another prefecture to investigate, did something flashy enough to get slightly demoted, and brought Kansuke back — but there were a lot of places where things didn’t quite add up (laughs). Sakurai-san adjusted all of that for me.

——So that’s the area depicted in Yui’s explanatory line (original work volume 65), right (see page 27). And in this film, it becomes even easier to understand.

Aoyama: To be Honest, I wanted Inspector Morofushi to be a local police inspector. “Local Komei,” you see — like Zhuge Liang (※6) — so it was a setup in order to make him a local inspector. Also, Komei goes and says proverbs (※7), right? That is seriously hard every single time.

Page: 34
I was drawing it while thinking, “No one really understands how hard this is,” but then Sakurai-san said, “It was really hard,” and I thought, “Finally, there was someone who understood how I feel” (laughs). You know, there really aren’t that many fitting phrases left anymore. But when it fits well, I end up feeling like I’m erudite and important (laughs). When it clicks, there’s a bit of a rush, you know.

To be honest, Yui-san was originally the culprit, but I changed it in the second episode of the series

——Regarding the Romance-comedy part in this film involving Yamato Kansuke & Uehara Yui?

Aoyama: Rather than Romance-comedy, it’s love. Well, the ending is comedy, though (laughs). I fixed quite a lot of the “love” scenes along the way, but the punchline of the final epilogue is Sakurai-san’s. Usually I also revise the epilogue, but this time I thought, “Oh, this is really good,” and used it as is.

——Sakurai Takeharu-san’s scripts make this his seventh theatrical Conan film. Did you give any specific orders regarding the scenario for this film?

Aoyama: He’s someone who’s completely used to it by now, so it was like, “I’ll leave it to you!” From the very first meeting to the finalized draft, it was unbelievably fast compared to usual years. It got decided so quickly that things just slid along smoothly, to the point that it was almost scary (laughs).

——Regarding the point that the Public Security Bureau is solidly involved in the case?

Aoyama: The Public Security Bureau showed up a lot more than I expected. I was thinking it would just be a quick appearance from Amuro and Kazami, but Kazami shows up a lot, and Amuro also shows up a lot. And it turned out in a good way, which was nice.

——About Aoyama-sensei’s original drawings that fans look forward to every year. In this film, which characters did you draw, and how many cuts?

Aoyama: Just in terms of the number of original drawings, there were roughly about 50 sheets. There were also parts where they move them like animation. I thought, “Maybe it’s just a still image where the hair flutters a bit?” — but then they zoom in and pull back, and it’s like, “The drawing is moving!” you know.
Kansuke and Komei had three cuts each, Yui had two cuts, and Kogoro had two cuts. I think I also drew one cut of Conan. And besides that, I’m also drawing some still-secret characters. Please look forward to it!

——How was the storyboard?

Aoyama: I think I only made some slight corrections to the storyboard. I remember drawing it with diagrams for the part where Conan does an overhead throw.

——About the teaser poster for this film (also used as the cover of this book). Please tell us what you were careful about when drawing it.

Aoyama: For the time being, I thought I’d draw Kogoro big. So the first thing I drew was Kogoro. What I struggled with a bit was Conan’s snowboard. A skateboard is the usual tool, so I look at videos of Horigome (Yuto)-kun (※8) and draw it thinking, “Ah, so it’s like this,” but since it was snowboarding, the feel was slightly different… I searched for photos of Hirano Ayumu (※9), who won the gold medal, and drew it using them as reference, thinking, “So this is how you hold the board.” That was the part I struggled with the most; after that, it was the usual kind of feeling.

——What kind of exchanges did you have with Director Shigehara Katsuya, for whom “One-eyed Flashback” is his first time directing?

Aoyama: It was almost entirely exchanges over LINE.
When I say things like, “It would be better to do this part like this,” a reply comes back immediately. The response speed was astonishingly fast, and that was kind of nice.
Also, he’s particular about all sorts of details. For example, he even thought about Amuro’s smartphone lock-screen image. It’s a scene of Bourbon Street in America, but unless you look closely, you won’t notice that. It’s more like, “I hope fans will notice it.” The scenery is drawn slightly cut off at the edges, so please do try to find it

——About the Nagano Prefectural Police, who take the main role in this film. Once again, please tell us about their appeal and what you are careful about when depicting them. First, Yamato Kansuke.

Aoyama: Yamato Kansuke has a bad mouth (laughs). He usually calls Yui “Uehara,” but when things get kind of more on the love side, he ends up calling her “Yui.” Just slips out, you know. Also, he’s sharp-minded. If you’ve got the three of the Nagano Prefectural Police together, it’s like, “Do you even need Conan?” (laughs).

——What about Uehara Yui?

Aoyama: Yui, you see… Her always correcting herself from calling Inspector Yamato “Kan-cha… no, Inspector Yamato” — that is an absolute rule inside my head (laughs). Uehara is also fairly sharp-minded.

——Even at her first appearance as Yui Torada, she reaches the culprit brilliantly, even though she had quit being a detective.

Aoyama: That story (※10), actually, Yui-san was originally supposed to be the culprit, but I changed it in the second episode of the series. I thought, “This girl is kind of nice.” The editor at the time was really surprised because the culprit role was different (laughs). But I did properly explain it at the meeting for the second episode.

Amuro, too. Originally, I was also thinking of making him a much worse guy, but since he was cool, I changed it partway through to, “Well then, should I make him Public Security?”

Vermouth is the same. She appeared as a famous actress called Chris Vineyard, and then at the end she gets on the back of Gin’s Porsche, and it’s like, “Huh!?” The editor at the time was surprised by that as well. ould get out of control, so I’m not doing things like that anymore, but…
Because it’s been continuing for decades, the editors in charge also change, right? Even if I thought I had conveyed that RUM is a hereditary system, that might have been something I told a previous editor. Sometimes I accidentally forget to tell the current editor, and then they get surprised — that does happen.

——What about Morofushi Takaaki?

Aoyama: Komei is, of course, all about the proverbs. Also, because I really liked Ningyō Geki Sangokushi that was on NHK (※11), I’m drawing him under the influence of that Kongming. The width of the forehead, the beard, even the area around the eyes — they’re very similar, right?
Speaking of resemblance, when I was doing the character design for his younger brother Hiro (Hiromitsu) for Scotch’s debut scene, as I was drawing him I thought, “Huh, he kind of looks like Morofushi Takaaki. Well then, let’s make them brothers,” and so I made them brothers. It’s a relationship that spread out from the face, you could say. And besides, I thought that would be a bit more interesting.

——Hiromitsu being Amuro’s childhood friend, and on top of that also the childhood friend of Gunma Prefectural Police Inspector Yamamura Misao — that really hits you in the feels.

Aoyama: I’ll be drawing something like that at this year’s Conan Café as well. It’s a picture of their childhood days with the idea of, “What if Hiro hadn’t gone to Tokyo…?” Since it’s an illustration that will be displayed at the Conan Café, I think everyone will be able to see it, so please look forward to it.

——About the Kansuke & Yui couple. Compared to other couples, what kind of feeling are you trying to depict them with?

Aoyama: From my point of view, I’m drawing all of them with basically the same feeling (laughs). But, well, if anything, they’re more on the adult side. An adult-feeling kind of love comedy. That said, everyone ends up being tsundere or dense. I just can’t help liking to draw that kind of thing.
Heiji did confess on his own, and he was really doing his best, though.
Among the adult couples, there’s also Yokomizo Jūgo of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police and Hagiwara Chihaya, but over there the power balance is different, I guess. Because Jūgo is the one who likes Chihaya more, after all. They seem similar, but I’m trying to make them different in various ways — I really am trying, huh (laughs).

——Please also tell us about Hyōe Kuroda, who was formerly with the Nagano Prefectural Police.

Aoyama: I made his lines heavy and weighty, and since he was a RUM candidate, I sprinkled in a lot of hints. But he’s no longer RUM, and the past incident is already clear. I really want to see the past arc in the anime (※12) soon.

——About Kogoro Mouri, who is the other main focus of this film. Once again, please tell us about Kogoro’s appeal and what you are careful about when depicting him.

Aoyama: Not boasting about, or showing off, the things he’s good at — that’s probably what’s good about Kogoro. Even the fact that he’s strong at judo, or that he’s good with a handgun, he never says that himself. He does brag about other weird things, though. Like, “I’m a great detective!” and so on (laughs).
Also, right around the week of the film’s theatrical release, I think Weekly Shōnen Sunday will be running the Kogoro and Eri story, around the resolution part of the third episode of the series? Please look forward to that as well.

——What were your impressions of this film’s guest voice actors, Takayuki Yamada and Mizuki Yamashita?

Aoyama: I’ve watched a lot of Takayuki Yamada-san’s works (※13). I’ve seen The Naked Director, of course, and he was also the protagonist in Mitsuru Adachi-sensei’s H2 and Megumi no Daigo. Crows and Ushijima-kun as well. Hashiba Hideyoshi in Nobunaga Concerto, and Hattori Hanzō in NHK’s Taiga drama Dō Suru Ieyasu — I’ve watched quite a lot of them. So I’m really happy to have him take part.

I’ve also been watching Mizuki Yamashita-san’s works (※14). Recently, I saw her as the heroine in Onzoushi ni Koi wa Muzusugiru. Also as one of the protagonists in Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and such. She’s cute, and I’m grateful for her appearance. Onzoushi ni Koi wa Muzusugiru is good reference material for romantic comedy. Basically, I only watch romantic comedies or mysteries (laughs).

——Last year, you were also very active on television, such as appearing on NHK’s “Professional: The Way of Work,” and serving as a judge on the “Kōhaku Uta Gassen.” Please tell us your impressions and any behind-the-scenes stories from those appearances.

Aoyama: As for the documentary program — they set up cameras in my workplace, but partway through I forgot all about that (laughs).

As for Kōhaku, I thought it was honestly a bit too much for me, and about 30 minutes after it started I said, “I’m tired already…” Then, at the exact same time, people on both sides of me chimed in, “No, sensei, it’s only just started!” That was from Erika Yoshida, the scriptwriter of Tora ni Tsubasa, and ballerina Yōko Morishita.

Horigome-kun said to me, “I’ve been a big fan for a long time, please give me an autograph,” so I said, “I’m a huge fan too,” and we exchanged autographs.

I was cheering for Horigome-kun like crazy during the Olympics, and after the final score came out and the gold medal was decided, he kicks the skateboard — bang! — like that, right? That was incredibly cool, to the point where I thought, “Someday I want to use that in Conan.” Also, I was happy that I got to take a photo together with actor Ryūsei Yokohama.

——From this April, on the Yomiuri TV / Nippon TV network, from 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays it will be Shin Samurai-den YAIBA, and from 6:00 p.m. it will be Detective Conan, meaning that for a full hour Aoyama-sensei’s works will be broadcast. How do you feel about the anime adaptation of YAIBA (※15) for the first time in about 30 years?

Aoyama: The scenario was tough. Because it’s packed with Shōwa-era gags, there were things that would absolutely not get across if you did them now, so I trimmed them down or fixed them to match a modern feel. I checked all of the scenarios.
I do wonder whether it’s okay for an entire hour to be my works, but… if it’s Saturday, I’ll probably be watching the Giants game (laughs). I’ll watch this one by recording it.

——From your perspective, Aoyama-sensei, please tell us plainly what the key highlights and points to watch are in “One-eyed Flashback”

Aoyama: The scene where Komei says a proverb. It comes at an outrageous spot at the end, so it feels like, “You say it here?” but including that, it’s a highlight. Aside from that, the love-comedy and love scenes between Kansuke and Yui, and Kogoro’s cool scenes are also points to watch. The theme song (※16) is good as well.

——Lastly, please give a message to the fans who love Detective Conan.

Aoyama: The original work has gone beyond 30 years, and the theatrical films are now at number 28. Thank you very much for continuing to support us for so long. Please enjoy the long-awaited Nagano Prefectural Police, and the long-awaited Kogoro, among many other things. Also, the FBI will be appearing in the original manga very soon. It will be the first time Camel appears after cutting his hair, so please look forward to that as well.

Notes: ※
※1 “Only Kansuke and Yui appeared once”:’’’
The two made their first appearance in the 13th film, Shikkoku no Chaser (The Raven Chaser), released in 2009.

※2 “Kogoro playing a main-character-class active role”:
The 9th film, Suiheisenjō no Strategy (Strategy Above the Depths), released in 2005.

※3 Yama no Susume:
A series adapted into an anime from the manga by the manga artist Shiro, broadcast from 2013 to 2022 across seasons 1 through 4. Director Shigehara participated as storyboard artist, episode director, assistant animation director, key animation artist, assistant key animation director, and in other roles.

※4 Buronson-san’s manga school:
At Saku Manga-sha in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture—the hometown of Buronson, who worked on works such as Fist of the North Star—the “Buronson 100-Hour Manga School” is held free of charge. Aoyama-sensei appeared as a lecturer in 2024 and 2019.

※5 “Went to the Nagano Prefectural Police to feature them in the original work”:
Visited the Nagano Prefectural Police in May 2024. The original work was published in Weekly Shōnen Sunday issues 8–11 in 2025, and later collected in volume 107.

※6 Zhuge Kongming:
A famous military strategist who appears in China’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Also called Zhuge Liang Kongming.

※7 Komei’s proverbs:
Phrases created based on proverbs and historical anecdotes. Includes idioms and sayings from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Chinese historical lore.

※8 Yuto Horigome:
A gold medalist who won consecutive Olympic titles in the street skateboarding event, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

※9 Ayumu Hirano:
A snowboarder in the men’s halfpipe event.
Won silver medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, and then stood at the top as a gold medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

※10 “That story”:
The Fūrin Kazan series (see page 26). Original work volume 59.

※11 Ningyō Geki Sangokushi:
A 45-minute puppet drama program broadcast on NHK from October 1982 to March 1984.
Comedians Shimada Shinsuke and Matsumoto Ryūsuke appeared as hosts and storytellers, and the voice of Kongming was performed by Morimoto Reo. Aoyama-sensei keeps a Kongming figure from Ningyō Geki Sangokushi displayed in his studio.

※12 Past arc in the anime:
Original work volume 104. A series dealing with the incident in which shogi player Haneda Kōji was murdered in America 17 years ago.
Kuroda Hyōe, Wakasa Rumi—both RUM candidates—and RUM (Wakita Kanenori) are involved in the case, and the hereditary system of RUM is revealed.

※13 Works featuring Takayuki Yamada:
The Naked Director — role of Muranishi Tōru (2019, 2021)
H2 Kimi to Ita Hibi — role of Kunimi Hiro (2005)
Fire Boys Megumi no Daigo — role of Asahina Daigo (2004)
Crows ZERO series — role of Serizawa Tamao (2007, 2009)
Yamikin Ushijima-kun series — role of Ushijima Kaoru (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Nobunaga Concerto — roles of Denjirō / Kinoshita Tōkichirō / Hashiba Hideyoshi (2014, 2016)
Dō Suru Ieyasu — role of Hattori Hanzō (2023)

※14 Works by Mizuki Yamashita:
Gosōshi ni Koi wa Muzusugiru — role of Hanakura Madoka (2025).
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! — role of Mizusaki Tsubame (2020).

※15 YAIBA:
A manga originally created by Gosho Aoyama-sensei.
Total of 24 volumes (1988–1993), winner of the Shogakukan Manga Award in the children’s category.
In 1993, it was adapted into an anime titled Ken’yū Densetsu YAIBA on the TV Tokyo network, with a total of 52 episodes.

※16 Theme song:
Handled by the four-member rock band King Gnu.
Members Daiki Tsuneta (guitar/vocals) and Satoru Iguchi (vocals/keyboard) are from Nagano Prefecture.

Gosho Aoyama x Taiga Kyomoto Interview

Date: April 23, 2025
Published in: anan Magazine No.2444 2025

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Source:
Digital Raw

Raw:

Translation edited by: Manvel

Original Work Detective Conan — 30th Anniversary Milestone SPECIAL

Detective Conan, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday and created by Gosho Aoyama, began its run in 1994. To commemorate the series surpassing its 30th anniversary, a truly special project—one that can only be seen here—has been realized with the cooperation of Aoyama-sensei himself and the Sunday editorial department.

In collaboration with Taiga Kyomoto, who also turned 30 last year and is well known as a devoted Detective Conan fan, we present a special off-site edition of the hugely popular feature “Ask Gosho” for anan.

Detective Conan

“There is always only one truth!” Everything began here.

A manga by Gosho Aoyama, which began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1994. The collected volumes have surpassed 100 volumes, and total worldwide circulation has exceeded 270 million copies.

Incidentally, excluding special editions, all regular-edition covers feature Conan, allowing readers to enjoy his many different expressions. Volumes 1–107, ¥594 each (published by Shogakukan).

The official website for the original work: https://www.conan-portal.com

“Ask Gosho” — anan Special Off-Site Edition! 5 Questions for Gosho Aoyama Interviewer: Taiga Kyomoto

A familiar feature for fans, the “Ask Gosho” corner—where author Gosho Aoyama answers readers’ questions—appears in anan.

This time, it’s a special edition in which Aoyama-sensei responds to questions from Taiga Kyomoto of SixTONES, who is well known as a huge fan of Detective Conan!

Q 1:
In Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram, the relationship between Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kuroba was finally revealed. When had this been planned?

“In the previous theatrical film, the relationship between Shinichi and Kaito became clear, but I had always hoped there was a special connection between the two of them. I was so surprised and happy that I ended up crying my eyes out in the theater. Personally, I think Magic Kaito came first, and Detective Conan followed, so I imagined that this wasn’t an original setting from the beginning… I’m curious how this decision was made and how it developed.” (Kyomoto)

A 1:
Actually, this was decided quite a long time ago.
When Kaito Kid first appeared in the original manga, Kappei Yamaguchi, who voices Shinichi, said, “If Kaito and Shinichi look alike, then I should voice him too, right?” And I was like, “…Ah, yes, that’s true” (laughs). So we decided to make them cousins (laughs). That was a long time ago—about twenty years ago, around the time the anime started. There wasn’t any particular reason for revealing it in a theatrical film. I just felt there wasn’t really an opportunity to depict it in the manga, so it was more like, “Well then, let’s do it in a movie.” Huh, Kyomoto-kun—you cried your eyes out watching that? I see—thank you very much (laughs).

Q 2:
Regarding the 30th theatrical film, how far along is the vision at this point?

“I really love the sense of scale, luxury, and special feeling that so-called anniversary works have. I’m already getting excited, thinking that the 30th movie is going to be something unbelievable! How is it looking from your perspective, Sensei?” (Kyomoto)

A 2:
Yes, there is.
There’s something incredible planned—something everyone has been waiting for (laughs).
Well… let’s leave it at that for now (laughs).

Q 3:
From here on, is there any possibility that a main character could lose their life?

“I don’t want something like that to happen, but if it does, I feel like we have to be prepared for it… Honestly, I’d be happy if you could tell me just one thing—whether there is such a possibility, or whether there isn’t.” (Kyomoto)

A 3:
Ahh—well, I don’t really know how far we should go in defining what counts as a main character, but…

There is one person who is in a dangerous situation... (laughs).
If I say just this much, doesn’t that actually make it more thrilling instead?

Gosho Aoyama
Born in 1963, from Tottori Prefecture.
He made his debut as a manga artist in 1986. In addition to this work, his major titles include Magic Kaito and YAIBA, among others.
In March of this year, he received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award in the Media Arts category as part of the Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Encouragement Prize.

Q 4:
Are there any spin-off themes you personally would like to draw in the future, Aoyama-sensei?
“If there’s a character for whom you’d like to create a spin-off, or someone whose background you’d like to explore more deeply, please tell us. By the way, I personally also like relaxed, easygoing stories where no murders happen.” (Kyomoto)

A 4:
There are lots of them.
I’ve been thinking that I’d like to draw stories about the people from the Police Academy, one by one—but honestly, I just don’t have the time for it…

I see, Kyomoto-kun—you like laid-back stories too. You’re kind. You’re not the type to say, “There’s not enough blood!” or anything like that, huh? (laughs). Oh—actually, the story currently being published this month in Weekly Shōnen Sunday (issues dated April 2–16) (File 1141-1143) doesn’t involve any murders, so maybe that’s right up your alley. Give it a read!

Q 5:
Please tell us the origin story behind Hyouga Koumoto!
“When you said that he was modeled after me, I was honestly really happy. But I’d love to know—why was this character created in the first place?” (Kyomoto)

A 5:
Back then, I received a huge number of fan letters saying things like, “Taiga Kyomoto is an incredibly big Detective Conan fan, so please let him appear in the series!”
That was what made me think,
“Oh, really—he’s that big of a fan?”
And that became the trigger (laughs).
That said, I couldn’t just use him as-is, so I played around with his name. As for the clothes, I searched for photos of Kyomoto-kun online and thought, “Oh, so this is the kind of stuff he wears,” and used that as reference.

Loving Comment
from Taiga Kyomoto
“I’m looking forward to seeing the ‘cool Kogoro’ that only a theatrical film can deliver.”

Kyomoto Taiga, who has loved both the Detective Conan manga and anime since he was little, says he used to enjoy the theatrical films at the cinema together with his mother.
“I clearly remember how much not only I, but my mother too, enjoyed them. Looking back now, I think this series must have had a sense of realism that could captivate adults even back then. Also, its flexible worldview—one that can embrace any theme or situation—may be one of the reasons it’s loved by such a wide range of generations and by people all over the world.” Although there are years when work commitments make it impossible, he tries to go see the theatrical film on opening day, and only when he can do so without hearing any spoilers at all. “For that reason, as the release date approaches, I try not to open social media as much as possible (laughs). When I watch it for the first time each year, I want to immerse myself completely in the world of the movie, so I go alone and buy only a drink. Even hearing my own chewing sounds breaks my concentration, so I don’t buy popcorn until the second viewing or later. Every year I make sure to see it at least twice, and if my schedule allows, I want to go as many times as possible. That’s because with Conan, you can watch it focusing on the mystery, or put more emphasis on the romantic comedy, or enjoy the large-scale action and explosions that are unique to the theatrical films. There are endless ways to approach it, and if you change your perspective, the fun becomes limitless—so no matter how many times I watch it, it never feels like enough.”

Flashback When he heard that Kogoro Mouri, known as the “Sleeping (or rather, Not-So-Great) Detective,” would be featured in the currently screening film Detective Conan: The Afterimage of the One-Eyed, his feelings of surprise and joy both exploded at once.

Strategy “I absolutely love the sharp reasoning and capable side Kogoro showed in the 2005 theatrical film Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths, and in the following year’s Detective Conan: The Private Eyes’ Requiem. This time as well, I’m expecting to meet a ‘cool Kogoro’ that can only be seen in a theatrical movie. And then there’s the three members of the Nagano Prefectural Police—their mature, subdued presence I’m already excited, thinking we’ll get to enjoy a solid, full-bodied mystery.”

Although he felt hesitant, saying, “Me asking the sensei questions…” Kyomoto still came up with many questions, overflowing with his love for Conan.

“Of course, I was incredibly happy that you created the character Hyouga Koumoto by incorporating elements of myself. And the fact that he appears in Volume 100 of the collected manga, which I had been eagerly waiting for since I was little—that made me happier than words can express. In that sense as well, Volume 100 is very special to me, and even now it’s displayed in a showcase at home, still wrapped in plastic.”

Taiga Kyomoto
Born in 1994, from Tokyo. Member of SixTONES.
His first CD album PROT.30, released through his own creative project ART-PUT, is currently on sale.

This character is... Hyouga Koumoto from Detective Conan
A member of the Kansai-based idol group "Naniwa Kids," he appears in the "Unlucky Matchmaking" story (Volume 100) and "The Curse of the Puppet Demon" (Volume 106). Upon his first appearance, he became a massive topic of conversation among fans, with people saying, "His face and hairstyle are identical—Kyomoto-kun is definitely the model!!"

Translation of Aoyama-sensei’s drawing to Taiga Kyomoto:
To Taiga Kyomoto!
Taiga-kun, thank you for everything~~~♪
Actually, I’m a huge fan of Hissatsu Shigotonin V that your father appeared in ♡
Kumihimoya no Ryū!!
3.5.2025 Gosho Aoyama

Newtype Magazine 2025 Interview

Date: May 10, 2025
Published in: Newtype Magazine Issue June 2025

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Source: Raw

Raw:

Translation edited by: Manvel
Special Thanks to @ZIRISh7 for the help

Special Roundtable Discussion
Gosho Aoyama — Original Creator
Takahiro Hasui — Director
Yoshimichi Kameda — Character Design & Chief Animation Director

Page: 9
What Is Being Carried Over into the Reiwa-Era YAIBA

——I’ve heard that the project for “True Samurai Legend YAIBA” began after Director Hasui and Mr. Kameda directly approached Aoyama-sensei.

Hasui: If you say “directly approached,” it sounds a bit intense (laughs). But yes, that’s more or less how it happened. The starting point of the project was actually Mr. Kameda.

Kameda: That’s right. Producer Maiko Okada (WIT STUDIO) and I were talking about how we wanted to make YAIBA into an anime. When we discussed potential directors, the very first name that came up was Mr. Hasui. At the time, Mr. Hasui and I were working on the same project (Mob Psycho 100 III), so I thought, “He’s someone I can trust,” and reached out to him. After the three of us shaped the project, we went to visit Aoyama-sensei.

Aoyama: To be honest, I felt like, “I’ve been waiting for this!” (laughs).

Hasui: I was extremely nervous, but when we met him for the first time and he said that right away, I felt so relieved.

Kameda: He also shared a lot of memories from when YAIBA was being serialized. That really put us at ease.

Hasui: Since Legendary Brave Swordsman YAIBA aired back in 1993 and there hadn’t been another anime adaptation since, I had this worry that maybe there was some reason for that. But he readily agreed.

Aoyama: There really weren’t any difficult issues at all. Well, except for the fact that it’s packed with a lot of Showa-era gags. I did wonder what we should do about those. But I figured, “We’ll manage somehow!” (laughs). When I got the proposal, I went back and reread YAIBA for the first time in a long while. And then, near the beginning of volume one, there’s that scene where Yaiba says to Sayaka, “I’ll absolutely protect you!!” — and it actually made me tear up (laughs).

Page: 10
Kameda: So even with your own work, you’re able to read it objectively like that.

Aoyama: Yeah. I’d completely forgotten about it, so I found myself thinking, “This guy’s a really good kid!” (laughs). That’s when I felt, “Yeah, this might actually work.”

——How do you feel about the finished footage?

Aoyama: It was really, really good. I honestly thought, “Yes—this is an anime adaptation of my manga!”

Kameda: Hearing that makes me very happy. By the way, I personally love Detective Conan’s “School Trip Arc.” It was incredibly good.

Aoyama:Right? And also “Episode ONE.”

Kameda: “Episode ONE”! The animation in that was unbelievable.

Aoyama: Watching “True Samurai Legend YAIBA,” it felt like I was watching “Episode ONE” the whole time. It was amazing.

Hasui: Hearing Aoyama-sensei say that is, above all else, the greatest sense of validation for me.

Aoyama: I was also surprised that in the opening, Yaiba already has the Haōken and Onimaru has the Maōken. When I asked about it, you told me, “This is our declaration of resolve.”

Kameda: Exactly—that was our declaration of resolve.

Aoyama: So I thought, “Then I’ll make one too,” and drew the teaser visual. That was my declaration of resolve.

Hasui: All of us are making that declaration together—“We’re going to adapt the original all the way to the end, properly.”

Kameda: Yes. …Though, to be honest, for me personally, I just really wanted to draw the Haō-ken as soon as possible. I couldn’t wait! (laughs)

Aoyama: It does take quite a long time to get there.

Kameda: Exactly. Because it’s so far off, I told Hasui, “I want to draw the Maou-ken and the Haō-ken first!”

Hasui: He shared that idea with me right from the very early stages, even before we decided on the content of episode one.

Kameda: I suggested we start the opening with the Yamata no Orochi arc. Not just because I wanted to draw it (laughs), but because I felt we needed to show the sheer scale of this work right away. If it starts with life in the jungle, viewers who don’t know the original wouldn’t know where the peak is. I wanted them to feel that shock—“Wait, that jungle-raised boy ends up like this?!”

Aoyama: I see. Yeah, I really want to see the Yamata no Orochi arc animated.

——The action is so packed and fulfilling that it really raises expectations, doesn’t it?

Hasui: That’s true. Of course, there are limits to what’s allowed by the schedule and the budget, but within those limits, we’re trying not to put the brakes on the action and just go for it. One of our key commitments is to push the range as far as we can while staying grounded in the core strengths of the original work. That said, no matter how hard you push with the storyboards, everything ultimately depends on the animators who bring it to life. Thankfully, starting with Mr. Kameda, we’ve had a lot of incredibly strong staff members join us. I didn’t really have any worries on that front.

Kameda: We really do have an excellent lineup of action animators.

Aoyama: I’m seriously looking forward to it. This is insane—in a good way.

Kameda: We’re trying to properly preserve the snappy, satisfying feel—the lightness—of the action from the original manga. At the same time, for example, I want the Raijinken to feel like a sword with a bit of weight to it.

Hasui: Right.

Kameda: And with the characters too—like how Onimaru carries himself. I want his movements and presence to feel heavy and imposing. While carefully expressing that sense of weight, we also want to faithfully recreate the charm the manga already has, and at the same time expand the scale of the action in ways that are unique to animation. …That’s where we are right now—deep in the middle of production.

“That brings back memories. I really loved Yoshinori Kanada—I was a huge fan.” Aoyama

——You can really feel that so-called Kanada Action—that intense, Kanada-style animation—coming through.

Kameda: Ah, yeah (laughs).

Aoyama: That brings back memories. I really loved Yoshinori Kanada—I was a huge fan.

Kameda: I could feel that even when reading YAIBA. There are characters that feel very BIRTH-like. (BIRTH 1984 film)

Aoyama: I loved BIRTH. I even went to the movie theater to see it.

Kameda: Even the way highlights are added to Yaiba’s hair seems to come from Kanada’s influence, doesn’t it?

Aoyama: That’s right, that’s right.

Kameda: And the dragon that appears in the Kaguya arc—it feels like it might be inspired by the flaming dragon Kanada-san drew in Genma Taisen.

Aoyama: Yes! Man, I really loved that stuff.

Kameda: I’m a big fan of Kanada too. So while carefully respecting that feeling in the original work, we’ve also gathered other staff who want to draw that kind of thing as well (laughs).

Hasui: What’s interesting is that during animation meetings or on-site discussions, we almost never actually say things like “Kanada-like” or “Kanada-style.” And yet, when you look at the finished footage, that’s exactly how it turns out. I think everyone naturally senses that influence from the original manga and works from there. Even my storyboards are like that—so in the end, the distinctive flavor of Aoyama-sensei’s original work really comes through strongly in the anime.

Kameda: With all those different elements overlapping, it might end up feeling like “a Reiwa-era, all-you-can-eat serving of Kanada Action!”

——The movement is impressive, of course, but the still image at the very end of episode one—of Onimaru and Yaiba, with that harmony-style processing—really left an impression. It had a very strong sense of Aoyama-sensei’s visual “color.” Whose artwork was that?

Kameda: That cut was created by taking the key animation submitted by the animator, then having me revise it. We also shared our opinions during the color-setting process. We put it together with the intention of recreating Aoyama-sensei’s illustrations as closely as possible.

Hasui: This time, we actually have a department that’s very good at processing the coloring.

Kameda: We asked the people in that department to look at Aoyama-sensei’s Detective Conan illustration collections, and we’re challenging ourselves to reproduce it so that it feels as if the Sensei himself had done the coloring.

Page: 11
Hasui: It’s less “harmony processing” in the strict sense, and more like adding special-effects processing. We discussed things like, “Please blur the eyes in this particular way,” for example. But since it’s not a standalone illustration and is instead inserted into the main body of the anime, we’re careful not to push it fully into illustration territory—just adjusting it so it leans slightly toward that look.

Aoyama: I see.

Kameda: While looking at the illustration books, we kind of built a formula. For example: “The Sensei probably wouldn’t use this shade of purple, so let’s shift it a bit more toward red,” or “For blue, it’s probably better to use a blue with a hint of green in it.” We went through a lot of trial and error. The layout too—adding a white frame around the outside, for instance.

Aoyama: You’re really good at it. If I drew Yaiba now, he’d end up looking too much like Conan (laughs).

Kameda: No, no (laughs). We also had the character self-introduction cuts colored in Aoyama-sensei’s style as well.

“Above all, we aim to make it a work that viewers can truly enjoy.” — Hasui

——Shall we bring up the images? (He shows a still of Yaiba and Sayaka on a PC screen.)

Aoyama: …That’s really well done! You can even tell how fluffy the tip of the bamboo sword is.

Hasui: That bamboo sword is incredibly hard to draw.

Kameda: It really is. We’re applying a lot of different kinds of processing to it.

Aoyama: But anyone who’s been in a kendo club would know that.

Kameda: It’s fluffier than you might imagine, and it gets pretty dirty too.

Hasui: The handle where you grip it by hand and the tip get dirty in different ways, so the colors are different as well. We change it depending on whether it’s grime from hand oil, or dirt that rubbed off from the uniform or armor.

Aoyama: Amazing. Speaking of faces—back in the day, characters used to have two little circles inside their eyes.

Kameda: Right. Yaiba has small highlights inside his eyes.

Aoyama: In today’s Detective Conan, that’s an expression we don’t really use on any of the characters anymore.

Kameda: And with the hair treatment—Conan uses a more softly blurred, bleeding effect now, but back in YAIBA’s time it was much crisper and more defined, so we’re matching that older style. When Sensei draws Sayaka, he adds a slight touch of color to her cheeks, and for this anime’s character introduction cuts, we’re recreating that using special-effects processing. By doing all these little things and managing to reproduce that “Aoyama-like” feel, I think we can say this anime adaptation will have been a success.

——Once again, I really felt just how deep the love for the work is on set.

Aoyama: Speaking of Sayaka—when I first saw the setting that said “Sayaka is really into social media,” I was like, “Seriously?” (laughs).

Hasui: That came from Sayaka’s lines in the original manga. She often used words that reflected the trends of the time, like “live shows” or “shopping.” So we thought about what would happen if we translated that idea into Reiwa-era terminology—and that’s how we arrived at that approach.

Aoyama: Right, right. That is the kind of thing I was thinking about when I drew her.

Kameda: She does feel like the kind of girl who would actually use social media pretty properly.

Aoyama: That fits (laughs).

“That was our declaration of resolve.” — Kameda

——We could keep talking forever, but to wrap things up, we’d like to end by asking each of you for a brief message.

Kameda: True Samurai Legend YAIBA is being adapted with a strong commitment to valuing the inspiration drawn from the manga. So whether you’ve read the original or this is your first time encountering YAIBA, we believe it will be an enjoyable work for everyone. Please look forward to what’s coming next.

Hasui: Above all, we’re creating this with the goal of making it a work that viewers can truly enjoy, thinking carefully about many different aspects along the way. While cherishing the original, there are many parts where we’ve allowed the expression to evolve from it in a positive way. Even those who already know what happens next in the manga will find points where they can enjoy seeing how things differ from the original, so we sincerely hope you’ll continue to support us going forward.

Aoyama: I always drew YAIBA thinking it was a work very well suited for animation. That’s not to say Conan isn’t suited for it (laughs). In any case, it’s packed with action and I think it’s something that’s really fun to watch in animated form, so please continue to enjoy it to the fullest from here on out!

Gosho Aoyama Interview
Page: 19

“The Aoyama World Expands Even Further with YAIBA”

——For you now, Sensei, what kind of work is YAIBA?

Aoyama: Well… it’s a work that makes me think, “That was really tough” (laughs). Detective Conan is tough too, of course, but it’s a different kind of challenge. Since YAIBA is an action series, it was visually demanding above all else. Looking back at it now, I find myself thinking, “How did I even manage to draw this?” Not just me—I’m sure it must have been hard on all of my assistants as well.

——By the way, while it was being serialized, did you ever think it would be adapted into an anime?

Aoyama: To be honest, I kept thinking, “It’s taking a long time for this to get an anime adaptation” (laughs). The series was full of settings that practically beg to be turned into anime or games—like “fighting by inserting different orbs into a sword.” When I was drawing it, that was pretty much all I was thinking about. So when it was finally adapted as Legendary Brave Swordsman YAIBA right at the very end of the serialization—and even got a game too—I just felt, “I’m really glad it finally happened.”

——And now it’s being adapted into an anime for a second time as “True Samurai Legend YAIBA.” That must mean it really is the kind of story that makes you want to turn it into an anime. The protagonist, Yaiba Kurogane, is a very compelling character—do you have a story about how he was created?

Aoyama: Yaiba is, for the most part, based on the protagonist Teppei Uesugi from Ore wa Teppei by Tetsuya Chiba. …Though compared to Teppei, Yaiba is definitely dumber (laughs). Teppei is actually quite smart, you know. Yaiba isn’t like that—but instead, I wanted to make him a kind of born fighter, a character who gives off this feeling of “I won’t lose!” That’s what I had in mind when I drew him. Well, in the end, his foundation really is Teppei himself (laughs).

——You yourself also practiced kendo when you were a child, Sensei.

Aoyama: That’s right. Part of it was because I admired Teppei and joined the kendo club. Also, when I was a kid, I used to get really bad chilblains. To cure them, my parents had me take up kendo as a kind of “shock therapy. ” In kendo you walk barefoot on cold wooden floors, after all. And once I actually started practicing, the chilblains really did go away. So that’s how I began kendo—but having that experience is also one of the reasons I decided to do the YAIBA serialization.

——So is the reason Yaiba became a more wild, feral character than Teppei because that reflects your own strengths—or your personality, Sensei?

Aoyama: Yes, that’s right. I really like Sun Wukong—not the one from Dragon Ball, but the one from the Chinese classic Journey to the West (laughs). Well, Teppei is already pretty much a Sun Wukong–type character, but Yaiba is even more like that.

——What about Onimaru, Yaiba’s rival?

Aoyama: He, too, is modeled on a character from Ore wa Teppei—Teppei’s rival, Kikuchi (Bumbu) (laughs). At first, I was thinking of doing a story that was more straightforwardly about kendo. But if it’s only kendo, it feels like there’s a ceiling to how far you can take the story—like it doesn’t quite break through to something bigger. Around that time, the editor in charge sent back the storyboard with horns drawn on Onimaru’s head and said, “Wouldn’t this be good?”

——Huh? That’s awful (laughs).

Aoyama: At first I was irritated too (laughs), but afterward I thought, “Actually… this is pretty good!” And from there it turned into a heroic fantasy—a story where magical swords appear and so on. Once you go into heroic fantasy, it’s like there’s no ceiling anymore—you can do anything.

——In the end, [Name]’s direction was truly magnificent.

Aoyama: If that hadn’t happened, the person I am now might not even exist (laughs). I mentioned it to him again when we met last year, but from his point of view, it seems he really meant it in a very casual way—like, “This would be more interesting, wouldn’t it?”

——Once you steered the series toward heroic fantasy, did the grander worldview come to you naturally?

Aoyama: Yes. I thought, “With this vibe, I can do anything!” And I’ve always liked Makai Tenshō, so I started thinking, “I want to involve legendary swordsmen from the past.” From there, I just kept getting more and more into it myself, and things really started to come together in a good way.

——So the worlds of Chiba-sensei (Tetsuya Chiba)and Futaro Yamada merged, and then your own distinctive style was added on top of that to create YAIBA.

Aoyama: Yes, exactly—that’s how it feels.

——After that, Onimaru even appears in Detective Conan.

Aoyama: That’s right—the version of Onimaru who’s lost his horns.

——Those kinds of crossovers between works are very symbolic. Detective Conan has now reached its 30th anniversary since serialization began, and the anime will also mark its 30th anniversary next year. Over that time, the world of the series has expanded enormously. Given that, I’d like to ask again: what do you think defines “Conan-ness” now?

Aoyama: That hasn’t changed at all since the beginning. The most important rule is: “Conan doesn’t cry.” If the detective starts crying, it kind of kills the mood. If Ran were to die, he’d probably cry—but she’ll never die, so he won’t (laughs). That’s something I absolutely can’t compromise on. Another thing is that I don’t believe in ghosts or psychic powers that can’t be proven through deduction. Those two points, more or less.

——So the fact that the Conan world—where supernatural abilities don’t exist—is connected to the world of YAIBA is…?

Aoyama: Exactly! It is strange (laughs). But you see, when Onimaru appears in Conan, he doesn’t use any magic swords. And when it comes to connections with Magic Kaito, Kaito Kid appears, but Akako doesn’t show up as a main character. She absolutely can’t—because she’s a witch (laughs)! So in that sense, they’re almost the same, but you can think of them as parallel worlds.

——When it comes to how the worlds are linked, one thing fans really enjoy in your anime adaptations is the connection through voice actors. For example, Kappei Yamaguchi voicing both Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kuroba, and Minami Takayama voicing both Yaiba and Conan—these overlaps have led to unexpected story developments and playful touches in promotional videos. Was that something you consciously aimed for to create such effects, or did it come about more naturally for you?

Aoyama: Yes, it came about naturally. When the Detective Conan anime was starting, there were various candidates for the protagonist’s voice, but for me it was like, “It’s got to be Takayama-san, right?” I had decided that from the start. I’d heard her voice in Legendary Brave Swordsman YAIBA, and there was a moment when I thought, “This sounds like a slightly smarter Yaiba.” That made me feel she’d be just right for Conan.

——And then, after Conan, Takayama-san goes back to voicing Yaiba again. It feels like a strange kind of destiny.

Aoyama: But when I went to the new YAIBA recording session, I thought, “Oh—he’s gotten stupider than before!!!” (laughs). Before the recording—maybe it was via LINE or a New Year’s card, I don’t remember exactly—I got a message saying, “I’m going to remove two or three screws and do my best at the recording!” And I thought, “Ah, I see! So that’s what she meant!”

——Experiencing how different they can feel—despite being characters created by you and voiced by the same actress—might make watching the two anime even more enjoyable.

The 80th Anniversary of Hayakawa Publishing – Comment by Gosho Aoyama

Date: August 15, 2025
Published in: On the official website on the occasion of the 80th anniversary

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Source: https://www.hayakawa-online.co.jp/special/80th

オレ的な名探偵の条件は口が悪いコト! 「アンタの事件なんて自分にとっては大した謎ではない」って言 ってるようで、とても頼りになる。それがシャーロック・ ホームズである!

Raw:

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Translation edited by: Manvel

For me, the condition of a great detective is having a sharp tongue! It’s as if they’re saying, "Your case isn’t much of a mystery to me," and that makes them very reliable. That is what Sherlock Holmes is!

Gosho Aoyama Giant Ema Dedication Ceremony (Shin Samurai-den YAIBA)

Date: August 18, 2025
Published in: on the official YouTube channel of Cinema Today (シネマトゥデイ)

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Source: It includes an English dub (Video)

Some Photos

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Key comments by Gosho Aoyama:

1. Greeting and Appreciation

• Aoyama thanked everyone for attending despite the extreme heat and expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to dedicate the ema.

2. Materials Used for the Ema
He explained that:

• He used markers for the main illustration.
• He used charcoal for the darkest black areas.

3. Drawing Process and Physical Difficulty
Aoyama described the practical challenges of drawing directly onto the large wooden ema:

• The decorative border had already been carved by a famous craftsman, so he carefully avoided touching that area.
• He placed the board on a table and leaned over it while drawing, which caused significant back pain.
• His posture was the most physically difficult aspect, and the strain lasted for several days.
• He also had to consider the wood grain, carefully selecting areas so it would not interfere with the artwork.

4. Composition and Character Placement

• He began from the center, starting with Yaiba, and worked outward.
• Drawing Kojiro was particularly demanding physically due to the angle he had to maintain.
• He selected characters with the anime adaptation in mind and specifically mentioned including Nadeshiko Yamato.

5. Reaction to the 200-Year-Old Wood

• When informed that the wood used for the ema was over 200 years old, Aoyama admitted he felt very nervous, aware of the historical weight and responsibility involved in drawing on such material.

6. Reflections on Revisiting YAIBA After 30 Years
He commented that:

• It had been about 30 years since he originally worked on YAIBA.
• His current art style has softened slightly, influenced by years of drawing Detective Conan.
• Although he initially wanted to replicate his earlier style, that was not realistically possible.
• Many design elements—such as armor details—came back naturally, almost as if his hand remembered them.
• He had forgotten some minor details (for example, scars on a character’s head), but corrected them and included them in the ema illustration.

7. Updating for the Reiwa Era
Regarding the modern adaptation, Aoyama explained that:

• He removed many Showa-era jokes that younger audiences today would not understand.
• This improved the pacing of the story.
• He supervised all of the dialogue.
• While the original run included numerous references to things he personally liked at the time, he streamlined the content for contemporary viewers.

8. On Seeing Other Ema at the Temple and Closing Remarks

• After viewing the other ema preserved at the temple—many created by distinguished figures—Aoyama wondered whether his own manga-style illustration would fit among them. However, he expressed hope that future creators might see it and think, “Something like this is okay too.”

• He concluded by asking fans to continue supporting both YAIBA and Detective Conan.

Oricon News Interview Gosho Aoyama

Date: August 22, 2025
Published in: Oricon News

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Source: (Video) (Link)

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Translation edited by: Manvel

Interview with Gosho Aoyama

Oricon News

Opening Message

“To everyone watching Oricon News, I’m Gosho Aoyama, the original author of Yaiba.”

On Asakusa and Personal Memories

Q: Do you have any particular memories of Asakusa?
Aoyama: Not especially. There was a time when I briefly considered moving to Asakusa, but in the end I did not.

Q: Why did you consider moving there?
Aoyama: While I was looking at various properties, I found one close to Asakusa and thought it sounded interesting. However, I ultimately chose a different location.

On Choosing Asakusa as a Setting

Q: Why was Asakusa chosen as a setting in Yaiba?
Aoyama: I believe it may have already appeared in the manga. In the anime, Asakusa is emphasized quite strongly.

Q: We heard that you closely supervised the location selection.
Aoyama: Actually, I did not intervene much there. I think the anime staff themselves are fans of Raijin and Fujin. Kaminarimon, with Raijin and Fujin, fits very well. When you combine swordsmen, detectives, and Conan, it feels like a dream combination.

Swordsmen vs. Detectives

Q: If you had to choose, would you rather be a swordsman or a detective?
Aoyama: Realistically, I could not become either. I practiced kendo, and I have always liked detectives, so I admire both. That said, when it comes to portraying “coolness,” swordsmen tend to be cooler.

He also expressed hope that people who practice kendo, especially beginners, would watch the series.

Research and Accuracy

Q: Kendo practitioners have been talking about the series a lot. How do you feel about that?
Aoyama: That makes me very happy.
Speaking in terms of Detective Conan, characters like Heiji practice kendo, and during production, extensive research was done. Back then, if someone asked me something, I could answer immediately—though now I’ve forgotten much of it.

He emphasized that careful research has always been an important part of his work.

Anime Adaptation Choices

Q: Some ideas, such as inserting certain characters, came from the anime staff.
Aoyama: Yes. I approved those ideas, but I asked to adjust the dialogue so that nothing would feel intrusive or unpleasant. My priority was to ensure everything blended naturally.

Rivals and Retrospective Reflections

Aoyama noted that in the original work there were few true rivals for a long time. Until characters like Moroha or Emerald appeared, there were virtually no major enemies.

He also reflected on a regret:

“When techniques like Yagyū Shinkage-ryū appeared, I should have written them more carefully. At the time, I handled them rather roughly.”

He added that later characters were written with more precision.

On Yaiba and Detective Conan Airing Together

Q: With Yaiba airing and then Detective Conan following, isn’t this a particularly happy period for you as the original author?
Aoyama: Rather than happiness, it feels a bit embarrassing. There were similar times in the past, such as when Magic Kaito aired before Conan. It feels like, “Ah, here we go again.”

However, he clarified that he is genuinely excited:

“It feels fresh. I watch Yaiba, then Conan, and then go eat.”

On His Illustration Technique

During the interview, Aoyama presented an illustration.

Q: What materials did you use to draw this?
Aoyama: Markers were used for most of it, and charcoal for the darker black areas.

Gosho Aoyama x Kawashima and Yamauchi's Manga Swamp

Date: August 25, 2025 (Part 1) and September 1, 2025 (Part 2)
Published in: Yomiuri Television (YTV) website Link

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Source: Video Part 1
Video Part 2
Official in Youtube Channel But Not FULL Video Part 1
Official in Youtube Channel But Not FULL Video Part 2

Raw

24 Questions with Gosho Aoyama

Q & A Part 1:

Q & A Part 2:
15 Serious Questions With Gosho Aoyama:

Translation edited by: Manvel
8 Questions with Gosho Aoyama – Part 1

An opening question answered by the editor, Kyosuke Domoto
Yamauchi: By the way, Aoyama-sensei… about the Black Organization—The Boss is still a mystery, right?
Editor Domoto: yes, yes
Yamauchi: Has he told you, the editor, who the Boss actually is?
Editor: Well, yes, he has. We make sure not to drink too much, though… So we don’t accidentally say something we shouldn’t… So we don’t let anything slip out.

Serious Questionnaire for a Manga Artist
Detective Conan — Five Serious Questions + 1 Bonus Question

Q1 — What made you start serializing Detective Conan, a “detective series”? And why did you decide to make the protagonist not an ordinary young man, but someone who is “a child on the outside, an adult on the inside”?
Aoyama’s Answer: The trigger was that there weren’t any detective manga running in Sunday, so they suggested I try doing one. I also thought, “If the cat in Jirō Akagawa-sensei’s Three-Colored Cat Holmes were a first-grade elementary school kid, that might be pretty funny…” (laughs)

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Q2— Within Detective Conan, please tell us a trick that made you think: “This one turned out especially well!” or “I felt a jolt of inspiration when I came up with it!”— a trick you are particularly fond of.
Aoyama’s Answer: I didn’t really feel a jolt of electricity, but I think the trick that faked Shuichi Akai’s death probably fooled most people… When I came up with the idea of giving the line “I never thought it would go this far…” two different meanings, I might have felt a little jolt then… (laughs)
Volumes 59 and 85.

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Q3 — During more than 30 years of serializing Detective Conan, what was the biggest crisis you remember, Aoyama-sensei?
Aoyama’s Answer: Probably when I got sick and had to be hospitalized… (laughs)

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Q4 — Regarding the Detective Conan theatrical films:
How much are you involved in each movie every year? Also, how do you analyze the reason why three films in a row have become major hits, each surpassing 10 billion yen in box-office revenue?
Aoyama’s Answer: I take part in the scenario meetings, check the script, check the storyboards for the movie, and I probably draw around ten key animation cuts myself… It’s a lot of work, so other manga artists shouldn’t imitate me… (laughs)
The reason for the huge success?
Of course, I have no idea!! (laughs)

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Bonus Question— Which Detective Conan movie is your favorite?
Aoyama’s Answer: Probably the first one, The Time-Bombed Skyscraper… (laughs)
I put everything I had into it, thinking, “This will probably be the first and last Conan movie anyway!”
(Well, I still put everything into them now too… (laughs))

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Q5 — Has the overall structure of the final chapter of Detective Conan already been decided?
And if it has, how far along is the story toward that ending at the present time?
Aoyama’s Answer: It’s decided,
But how far along we are is a secret! (laughs)
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YAIBA – Three Serious Questions

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Q1 — What kind of work is YAIBA to you, Aoyama-sensei?
Aoyama’s Answer: It was my first weekly serialization.
Looking back now… I think I wanted to draw a Son Goku–type character, like Teppei from Chiba Tetsuya-sensei’s Ore wa Teppei… (laughs)

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Q2 — In YAIBA, is there a scene where you felt, “I really want readers to see this!” or “This is the scene I was determined to draw!”— a moment into which you poured your soul?
Aoyama’s Answer: The scene right before Kaguya, who is sealed inside Sayaka’s body, is eaten by Yamata no Orochi. The moment when she murmurs,“The rest is up to you… Don’t lose!!” That scene! Volume 22, page 101! Because it’s a line spoken by Kaguya—who had been the worst enemy up until then… (laughs)

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Q3 — What sparked YAIBA being adapted into anime again after 31 years, and what feelings did you have toward this new adaptation?
Aoyama’s Answer: I always wanted YAIBA to be animated all the way to the end, so I kept telling my editor, “If an offer for a new anime adaptation comes in, accept it immediately!” (laughs)

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From his work philosophy to his private life!
15 Questions with Gosho Aoyama – Part 2

Q1 — Please tell us what your daily schedule is like, Aoyama-sensei.
Aoyama’s Answer:
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM : Lunch (Hanamaru Udon / Royal Host omurice / Tali-ya / Butter chicken + garlic naan)
2:00 PM – 7:00 PM : Work
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM : Dinner (Tonkatsu / Coco Ichi / Kakiya Sushi / Kamatora and so on)
8:00 PM - 1:00 AM : Work
1:00 AM - 2:00 AM : Late-Night Meal / Snack (Convenience-store sandwiches, milk, small sweets)
2:00 AM - 7:00 AM : Work
7:00 AM - 1:00 PM : Sleep
Summary
Three-quarters of his day is devoted to work, totaling 15 hours of working time.
Work: 15 hours
Sleep: 6 Hours
Meals: 3 Breaks (Lunch/ Dinner/ Late-night snack)
He doesn’t take days off.
Sometimes, when he suddenly finds himself free, he calls his editor to ask if there’s any work he can do.

Q2 — Please tell us the “seven tools” you use when drawing manga.
Aoyama’s Answer:
1) Pigma micron pens: 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.8 mm
2) Maru-pen (round nib pen)
3) PILOT drafting ink
4) Makkī extra-fine marker
5) Misnon (correction fluid)
6) Ruler
7) Mechanical pencil
8) Eraser
9) Tissues
10) Logarithmic table
11) Whiteboard marker
12) Lightbox (tracing table)

Q3 — What is something you’re particular about in your workroom, Aoyama-sensei?
Aoyama’s Answer: A pull-out side table! Super convenient! (laughs)

Q4 — Up until now, which manga artist have you thought was “the most amazing”?
Aoyama’s Answer: Chiba Tetsuya-sensei, Monkey Punch-sensei, and Adachi Mitsuru-sensei!

Q5 — Please tell us which manga you think is “the most interesting right now”!
Aoyama’s Answer: Probably Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End! I can’t wait for season 2 of the anime. (laughs)
And speaking of things I can’t wait for— I really want to see the continuation of the Saki anime!!!!

Q6 — In your private life, which manga artists are you especially close with?
Aoyama’s Answer: Adachi Mitsuru-sensei, Takahashi Rumiko-sensei, Hata Kenjirō-sensei, and Wakaki Tamiki-sensei!

Q7 — When was the moment you felt, “I can make it as a manga artist!”?
Aoyama’s Answer: Probably when the first volume of my manga was published… (laughs)

Q8 — When it comes to drawing manga, what is the most important thing to you?
Aoyama’s Answer: When I’m coming up with new cases for Detective Conan, of course I always try to make them stories that readers have never seen before. And whenever I get the chance, I try to slip in a little romantic comedy somewhere. (laughs)

Q9 — Is there a mystery-solving trick from another manga or novel that you’ve envied or been deeply impressed by?
Aoyama’s Answer: Everything in The Devotion of Suspect X! The trick is amazing, but the story development is so incredible that I was fooled about three times within a single chapter! (laughs)
Just read it! And watch the movie too!!!

Q10 — Within your own works, what is something you have decided you will never do?
Aoyama’s Answer: In the case of Detective Conan:
• Conan will absolutely never cry. (I feel like it would be disrespectful to the culprit if the detective were crying while revealing the truth… (laughs))
• The culprit is always a single perpetrator.
(If I made them accomplices, the number of possibilities would double, and the resolution couldn’t fit into one chapter… (laughs))

Q11 — Please tell us the “3 rules for creating a bestselling manga.”
Aoyama’s Answer: I’m the one who wants to know!! (laughs)

Q12 — Please tell us the secret to continuing a weekly serialization for a long time.
Aoyama’s Answer: That’s another thing I want to know!!! (laughs loudly)

Q13 — What is your biggest form of relaxation right now?
Aoyama’s Answer: The game Kantai Collection
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Pokémon Sleep
and probably Poké-Poké… (laughs)

Q14 — Which comedian do you think is “the funniest right now”?
Aoyama’s Answer: I’ll go with Kamaitachi, I guess? (laughs)

Q15 — Please tell us the person you most want to meet right now.
Aoyama’s Answer: It would have been Shigeo Nagashima…

Detective Conan Diary 2026 Interview

Date: September 18, 2025
Published in: Detective Conan Diary 2026

  Show spoilers »

Source:
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Raw:

Translation edited by: Manvel
15 Questions for Gosho Aoyama

Question 1: Do you use a Planner/Diary?
Aoyama: Rather than a Diary, I use a memo pad
A memo pad called (Rollbahn).
The board-like insert where you can stick a pen only came in a large size, so I cut it and attached it to a smaller one to make my own. Actually, I messed up the first time, so I bought it again and rebuilt it (laughs). Pretty impressive, right?”

Question 2: What’s an essential item when drawing manga?
Aoyama: My Starbucks tumbler.

Question 3: What’s your favorite food to eat while working?
Aoyama: Pocky Ultra Slim and Candemina gummies.

Question 4: What’s your favorite drink to have while working?
Aoyama:Cold green tea.
I pour it into the Starbucks tumbler I mentioned earlier and drink from that.

Question 5: What’s your background music while working?
Aoyama: I play cable radio, so I don’t choose the songs myself, but lately, it’s been Mrs. GREEN APPLE playing all the time.

Question 6: Where do your ideas come to you?
Aoyama: On the living room sofa. I lie down and think there.

Question 7: If you had a long vacation, what would you like to do?
Aoyama: Travel around the world by ship. And the Orient Express sounds nice too.

Question 8: The world will end in 24 hours! What would you do with the remaining time?
Aoyama: Nothing in particular (laughs).
Maybe I’d watch one of my favorite movies—like Tsubaki Sanjūrō.

Question 9: If you could bring only three things to a deserted island, what would they be?
Aoyama: Well, since a smartphone wouldn’t get any signal… hmm…
A boat, a radio, and water!
You’d die without water, and I’m totally planning to escape — no intention of staying there (laughs).

Question 10: Which historical figure do you respect the most?
Aoyama: I’d say… Manager Shigeo Nagashima.

Question 11: What’s your hobby?
Aoyama: Games!
Kantai Collection – KanColle (by DMM GAMES) and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (by Nintendo).

Question 12: What’s the thing you want most right now?
Aoyama: The moving Lillie card from “PokePoke.”
(The immersive card.)
Note: “PokePoke” is short for the mobile game Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Question 13: What’s a recent purchase that made you think, “That was a good buy!”?
Aoyama: The new slim stick-type vacuum cleaner from Dyson.

Question 14: What’s something that made you happy recently?
Aoyama: Finding out that skateboarder Yuto Horigome is actually a big fan of Detective Conan.

Question 15: Straight to the point! What is your resolution for 2026?
Aoyama: Hmm, I wonder what that would be~. A resolution… nothing comes to mind at all(laughs wryly). Well… as long as nothing happens, I guess it’d be nice if things stay peaceful just as they are now〜.

2025 Theatrical Film — 28th Movie
One-eyed Flashback
Tell us, Aoyama-sensei! Question

Question 1: The 28th movie, One-eyed Flashback, was a huge hit. What’s your honest impression of the film?
Aoyama:Once the culprit snaps, it gets insanely entertaining!

Question 2: What’s your favorite scene in particular?
Aoyama: I also drew the key animation, but I especially like the part where Komei quotes an old proverb. That scene is so cool! Even back when we were still at the scenario stage, I was already saying, ‘This line is awesome!’ —
(if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.)

Question 3: What was the most difficult part?
Aoyama: Making sure everything lined up with the original manga. Takeharu Sakurai did most of the hard work, but various inconsistencies popped up, and fixing those was quite a challenge.

Question 4: Say a few words about the 2026 movie, the 29th theatrical installment!
Aoyama: That girl who rides a motorcycle will appear too!

Conan says: Please Looking forward to 2026 year
Gosho Aoyama: Born in Tottori Prefecture. Debuted as a manga artist in 1986. His representative work, Detective Conan, celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024, and its total worldwide circulation has surpassed 270 million copies.

Character data
Conan Edogawa
Teitan Elementary School, Class 1-B / Detective
Shinichi Kudo, a high school detective, is Conan’s true identity. After witnessing a black-organization deal, he was forced to take the deadly poison APTX-4869, which shrank his body. To hide his survival from the organization, he now goes by the name Edogawa Conan and lives at the home of his childhood friend and girlfriend, Ran Mouri. While concealing his true identity, he solves numerous cases under the guise of Kogoro Mouri. Among those who know his secret, Professor Agasa and Ai Haibara—who shares the same fate—constantly support him. The professor’s inventions, in particular, have proven extremely useful when Conan combines them with his physical skills and deductive ability.

Shinichi Kudo
Teitan High School, Class 2-B / Detective
Edogawa Conan’s true identity. He is the only son of the famous couple — world-renowned mystery writer Yusaku Kudo and former actress Yukiko Kudo (née Fujimine). Shinichi himself was active as a celebrated high school detective, known by many titles such as The Great Detective of the East, The Savior of the Japanese Police, and The Heisei Holmes. However, after witnessing a black organization’s secret deal, he was forced by Gin to swallow the deadly poison APTX-4869, which shrank his body. To conceal his survival from the organization, he now lives under the alias Edogawa Conan, hiding his true identity. His parents, who had been living overseas, also know that Conan is really Shinichi; they have since returned to Japan to secretly support him while investigating the organization’s movements. His relationship with his childhood friend Ran Mouri developed into romance during their school trip. However, his temporary return to his original form caused the organization to take notice of him once again.

Ran Mori
Teitan High School, Class 2-B / Karate Club
Shinichi Kudo’s kind and strong childhood friend. Because her detective father, Kogoro Mouri, and her lawyer mother, Eri Kisaki, live separately, Ran handles all the housework as their only daughter living with her father. She takes care of Conan, who boards with them, and supports the Mouri household. Her relationship with Shinichi has developed into romance. After Shinichi confessed his feelings to her in London, she expressed her answer during their school trip to Kyoto by giving him a kiss on the cheek in front of Kiyomizu-dera Temple—a scene witnessed by her best friend Sonoko Suzuki. At Teitan High School, she is a member of the karate club and strong enough to have won the Kanto regional tournament. Although she hasn’t realized Conan’s true identity, she has suspected it several times in the past.

Ai Haibara
Teitan Elementary School, Class 1-B / Scientist
A genius scientist who, like Conan, was transformed into a child by a drug. Her real name is Shiho Miyano, and her actual age is 18. Within the Black Organization, she was known by the codename Sherry and was engaged in developing a poison that left no trace in a corpse. She inherited this research from her late parents but defected from the Organization after the death of her sister, Akemi Miyano, who had also been part of it. Prepared to die, she took APTX-4869, but instead of dying, she was transformed into a child. Although Vermouth knows the true identities of Conan and Haibara, she keeps their secret due to shared interests with them. Now going by the name Ai Haibara, she lives with Professor Agasa, who knows her circumstances. She continues to research an antidote to return Conan to his original form and has successfully created a temporary version that allows him to turn back for a short time. While she believes she has no surviving family, it is later revealed that she is actually related to the Akai family.

Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya
Teitan Elementary School, Class 1-B
The intellectual member of the Detective Boys. Polite and well-mannered in his speech. He used to have a crush on Ayumi, but after Haibara transferred in, he began to be interested in both of them. Shows a surprisingly mature side when it comes to matters of love.

Ayumi Yoshida
Teitan Elementary School, Class 1-B
The one who originally invited Conan and Haibara to join the Detective Boys. Cheerful, honest, and full of curiosity. Though innocent and carefree, she also has a surprisingly strong competitive spirit that even astonishes Haibara.

Genta Kojima
Teitan Elementary School, Class 1-B
A self-proclaimed leader of the Detective Boys, known for his strength, big appetite, and cheerful personality. He especially loves unajū (eel rice). Although he often speaks rudely to adults, he never means any harm.

Professor Hiroshi Agasa
Inventor
A 53-year-old genius inventor who lives next door to the Kudo residence. His full name is Hiroshi Agasa, though Conan and the others usually call him Hakase (“Professor”) along with his title. He knows the true identities of Conan and Haibara and serves as both a trusted confidant and a vital ally to them. He also lets Haibara live in his home. Agasa supports Conan with brilliant inventions that compensate for his child-sized body, such as gadgets and tools. He even provides the Detective Boys with detective badges equipped with built-in transceivers and often takes the children out on camping trips or picnics. His first love, Fusae Campbell, is a designer of a ginkgo-patterned fashion brand—one that Haibara herself often wears.

Sonoko Suzuki
Teitan High School, Class 2-B
The second daughter of the wealthy Suzuki family — a carefree, celebrity-obsessed young lady. Trendy and energetic, she often invites everyone to various events and places, either through her family’s connections or her own initiative. She has been a close friend of Ran Mouri and a childhood acquaintance of Shinichi Kudo since kindergarten. Having watched their relationship from up close, she often teased them by calling them a “married couple” long before they officially became lovers. A huge fan of Kaito Kid, whom she reverently calls “Kid-sama,” she frequently accompanies her uncle Jirokichi Suzuki—who is obsessed with capturing Kid—to heist locations. However, when her boyfriend Makoto Kyogoku, the world-renowned karate champion, was set to face Kid, she became deeply worried for his safety. There are even times when Conan uses Sonoko as his stand-in detective, giving rise to the persona of “Sleeping Sonoko.”

Makoto Kyogoku
Haido High School / Karate Club
Captain of Haido High School’s karate club, known as “The Lone Fist Saint” and “The Noble Prince of Kicks.” He once held an undefeated record of 400 consecutive wins in world karate tournaments but willingly gave up a match—ending the streak—for Sonoko Suzuki’s sake. A serious, sincere, and devoted Japanese man, Makoto first developed feelings for Sonoko when he saw her passionately cheering for Ran Mouri during a karate match. Later, when he returned home to his family’s inn in Shizuoka, he reunited with Sonoko and confessed his feelings to her. They became a couple, though their relationship has since been long-distance due to his overseas training journey. He harbors a strong sense of jealousy toward Kaito Kid, whom Sonoko adores as a fan. It’s said that underneath the bandage he always wears, there’s a photo of Sonoko.

Heiji Hattori
Kaihō Academy High School, 2nd Year / Detective
A high school detective from Osaka, renowned as “The Great Detective of the West,” standing alongside Shinichi Kudo, “The Great Detective of the East.” When he once challenged Shinichi to a deduction match, he was deeply impressed by Shinichi’s belief that “there’s no such thing as superior or inferior reasoning.” After discovering that Conan is actually Shinichi, Heiji became one of his most trusted allies and often assists him in solving cases. He is the son of the Osaka Prefectural Police Superintendent, making him well-connected to law enforcement. His skill in kendo and his off-road motorcycle both play useful roles during investigations. He and his childhood friend Kazuha Toyama struggled for a long time with awkward, failed confessions, but they finally became a couple. Inside the matching charms that Kazuha gave him is an iron chain, a memento of one of their shared memories. According to Kazuha, when Heiji gets serious, he turns his cap around to wear it facing forward.

Kazuha Toyama
Kaihō Academy High School, 2nd Year
Heiji Hattori’s childhood friend — a spirited, strong-willed Osaka girl. Like Heiji, she speaks in Kansai dialect, and their lively back-and-forth often sounds like a married couple’s comedy routine. For a long time, their mutual feelings went unspoken, leaving them in a state of one-sided affection. However, after Kazuha accidentally overheard Heiji regretting that he hadn’t confessed to her, their relationship quickly progressed, and they finally became a couple. The matching charm she gave Heiji contains the chain from the handcuffs that once bound their hands together — a cherished memory. Her father is the chief of the Osaka Prefectural Police’s Criminal Investigation Division and a childhood friend of Heiji’s father, meaning both families had approved of their relationship even before they started dating. She has even faced her love rival, the “High School Karuta Queen” Momiji Ooka, in a karuta match. Kazuha also holds a second-degree black belt in Aikido.

Momiji Ooka
Kyoto Senshin High School, 2nd Year
A quick-witted high school karuta queen. She is the refined daughter of the distinguished Ooka family in Kyoto and is always accompanied by her loyal butler, Muga Iori. Since losing to Heiji Hattori in a childhood karuta tournament, she has harbored romantic feelings for him. She affectionately calls her romantic rival, Kazuha Toyama, “Happa-chan” (“little leaf”) while both pursuing Heiji and keeping Kazuha in check.

Muga Iori
Butler of the Ooka Family
The devoted butler who serves Momiji Ooka. He personally investigated Heiji Hattori, the young man his mistress has feelings for, and deemed him an ideal match. Though aware that Heiji and Kazuha Toyama share mutual but unspoken feelings, Iori still believes his lady has a chance and has gone to great lengths to prevent Heiji’s confessions. He was formerly a member of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and is 30 years old.

Kogoro Mouri
Private Detective
The father of Ran Mouri. Once a struggling detective whose off-target deductions left his agency deserted, he suddenly gained fame after Conan began secretly solving cases behind the scenes—earning him the nickname “Sleeping Kogoro.” A cheerful man with a fondness for alcohol and gambling, Kogoro lives separately from his wife. A former officer of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, he possesses impressive skills in both judo and marksmanship. He is 38 years old.

Eri Kisaki
Lawyer
Known as the “Queen of the Courtroom,” she has maintained an undefeated record since her very first trial ten years ago. She married her childhood friend Kogoro Mouri, and together they had a daughter, Ran, though the couple is currently living apart. She and Yukiko Kudo were rivals in a high school beauty contest during their school festival days. She is 38 years old.

Yusaku Kudo
Novelist
The father of Shinichi (Conan) Kudo, possessing an even more extraordinary power of deduction than his son. A world-famous mystery writer whose “Night Baron” series is a bestselling hit beloved even by international fans. He is the one who gave Kaito Kid his name and was a friendly rival of the original Kid, Toichi Kuroba!?

Yukiko Kudo
Former Actress
The mother of Shinichi (Conan) Kudo. She was once an active actress under the stage name Yukiko Fujimine before retiring after her marriage. Her exceptional disguise skills were learned alongside the American actress Sharon Vineyard (Vermouth) under the tutelage of the world-famous magician Toichi Kuroba.

Kaito Kid
Phantom Thief 1412
Nicknamed the “Magician Under the Moonlight,” he is an internationally wanted master thief who specializes in stealing Big Jewels. He searches for a mysterious gem known as Pandora, and when a stolen jewel turns out not to be it, he courteously returns it to its owner. Before each heist, he dutifully sends a notice letter, then steals the target with dazzling skill, vanishing like a phantom—a true trickster. His heists often attract large crowds of fans, with Sonoko Suzuki among his most devoted admirers. His true identity is Kaito Kuroba, a second-year student at Ekoda High School with an IQ of 400. After learning that his late father, Toichi Kuroba, had been the original Kaito Kid, he took up the mantle himself to uncover the mystery behind his father’s death. He excels at mimicry, able to change his voice without using a voice changer or disguise equipment—and can impersonate Shinichi Kudo using only a hairstyle change. Although known as the “Kid Killer’s” rival, Edogawa Conan, the two have occasionally joined forces. Kaito Kid originally appeared as the protagonist of Magic Kaito.

Tōru Amuro: Café Poirot Waiter / Detective
Bourbon: The Black Organization
Rei Furuya: Public Security Bureau Officer NPA
A part-time waiter at Café Poirot who forced his way into becoming Kogoro Mouri’s apprentice after being impressed by (Conan’s) deductions. Handsome, polite, athletic, and highly skilled — he can cook, play the guitar, and handle any physical task with ease — making him extremely popular among female customers. In reality, he is Rei Furuya, an elite agent of the National Police Agency Security Bureau, Security Planning Division (commonly known as Zero). He is currently infiltrating the Black Organization under the codename Bourbon, where he has earned a trusted position as one of their intelligence operatives. In the past, his childhood friend and fellow undercover agent Scotch (Hiromitsu Morofushi), who had infiltrated the organization from the Public Security Bureau, died under tragic circumstances. Because FBI agent Shuichi Akai (Rye) was indirectly involved, Amuro deeply resents him, even while understanding the situation. He holds Conan in high regard for knowing his true identity and occasionally seeks his cooperation in investigations. His beloved car is a white Mazda RX-7, and he is known as the man of three faces — café waiter, private detective, and undercover agent. He is 29 years old.

Shuichi Akai: FBI Agent
Rye: The Black Organization
A left-handed, elite sniper of the FBI, highly skilled in Jeet Kune Do. He possesses exceptional physical ability as well as brilliant deductive skills. He infiltrated the Black Organization about five years ago and remained undercover for roughly three years under the codename Rye, during which he wore his hair long. While gathering intel, he approached Akemi Miyano (Haibara’s older sister), a low-ranking member of the organization, under the alias Dai Moroboshi, becoming romantically involved with her. Before she was killed by the organization, Akemi sent Akai an email confessing her feelings. When Scotch (Hiromitsu Morofushi), a Public Security Bureau agent, was exposed during his own infiltration, Akai tried to help him escape — but upon hearing approaching footsteps, Scotch took his own life with his gun. Ironically, those footsteps belonged to Bourbon (Tōru Amuro). During a joint operation devised by Conan, Akai had Kir (Rena Mizunashi) shoot him to fake his death, successfully deceiving both the organization and even his FBI colleagues. While in hiding, he assumed the identity of Subaru Okiya. His parents were MI6 intelligence agents from the U.K., and he is the eldest son of the Akai family. He is 32 years old.

Subaru Okiya
Graduate Student, Faculty of Engineering, Tohto University
A 27-year-old doctoral student in engineering at Tohto University. After his apartment, Mokuba-sō, was completely destroyed in a fire, Conan, who knew the circumstances, allowed him to stay at the Kudo residence. In truth, Okiya is actually Shuichi Akai, the FBI agent believed to have died in action. He uses a choker-style voice changer invented by Professor Agasa and disguises himself using the techniques he learned from Yukiko Kudo. He is aware of the true identities of both Conan and Haibara, and because of his connection to his late lover Akemi Miyano, he keeps a protective watch over Haibara. Within the Akai family, only Shukichi Haneda knows that Okiya is Akai’s disguise. After Akai’s “return,” the FBI was also informed that Okiya had been his undercover identity.

Masumi Sera
Teitan High School, Class 2-B / Detective
A high school girl detective who transferred to Teitan High from overseas. Her tomboyish personality and use of the masculine pronoun “boku” often cause others to mistake her for a boy. She uses her mother’s maiden name, but she is actually the younger sister of the Akai family’s three siblings. Her older brothers are Shuichi Akai of the FBI and Shukichi Haneda, the professional shogi player. Influenced by her eldest brother, she is highly skilled in Jeet Kune Do and excels in close combat. Believing “Shu-nii” (Shuichi) to be dead, she occasionally seeks deduction advice from “Yoshi-nii” (Shukichi). She currently lives in a hotel with her mother, Mary Sera, who was de-aged by the APTX-4869 drug. When she was in first grade, she met Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri by chance at the beach. Because of that encounter—and her mother’s situation—she has strongly suspected that Conan and Shinichi are the same person.

Mary Sera
MI6 Intelligence Agent
A girl currently living in a hotel with Masumi Sera. In truth, she is the mother of the Akai siblings and a member of Britain’s MI6. She was forcibly made to swallow the poison APTX-4869 through a mouth-to-mouth trick by Vermouth, which caused her body to shrink. Believing Conan to be in the same situation as herself, she devised a plan to have her daughter Masumi steal the antidote that could restore her to her original form. Her maiden name is Sera.

Shukichi Haneda
Professional Shogi Player (Former Seven Titles Holder)
The second son among the three Akai siblings. A professional shogi player famously known as the “Taikō Meijin” (Great General of Shogi), once holding all seven major titles and currently maintaining six. After graduating from high school, he was adopted into the family of the late shogi player Koji Haneda. He is deeply in love with Yumi Miyamoto, and the two have successfully rekindled their relationship. Within the Akai family, he is the only one who knows that his older brother, Shuichi Akai, is still alive, and he keeps in touch with him. He is 28 years old.

Tsutomu Akai
MI6 Intelligence Agent
The missing father of the Akai family. Like his wife Mary, he was an intelligence officer with the British MI6. Seventeen years ago, he traveled to the United States to investigate the murder of professional shogi player Koji Haneda. Realizing that dangerous individuals were involved, he ordered his family to flee to Japan — and has been missing ever since, his fate unknown. At that time, Masumi Sera had not yet been born and was still in her mother’s womb.

Yuya Kazami
Metropolitan Police Department, Public Security Bureau / Assistant Inspector
A subordinate of Rei Furuya (Tōru Amuro). While Furuya belongs to the National Police Agency’s Security Bureau, Kazami serves under the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Bureau. Because Furuya must keep his face and real name highly confidential, Kazami acts as his hands and feet, faithfully carrying out his superior’s orders. Through his connection with Furuya, he has come to regard Conan as an incredibly remarkable boy. During the course of his investigations, he also became a fan of singer Yoko Okino. He is 30 years old.

Wataru Takagi
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 / Sergeant
A kind and gentle detective under Inspector Megure, known for being very caring toward children. He is deeply trusted by Conan and the Detective Boys. He had long harbored feelings for his senior colleague, Detective Miwako Sato, two years his elder. Despite frequent interruptions from their fellow detectives, their bond grew stronger through many cases, and he eventually won her heart. When in disguise, he bears a striking resemblance to the late Detective Matsuda, which once caused emotional turmoil for Sato because of her past connection with Matsuda. He respects his former mentor, Detective Jinpei Date, and still treasures the notebook that Date left behind. At one point, Takagi, puzzled by Conan’s uncanny abilities, once asked the penetrating question: “Who in the world are you…?”

Miwako Sato
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 / Assistant Inspector
The admired “madonna” of Division 1, known for her strong sense of justice. Highly skilled in both marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat, she often displays action-hero–level bravery in the field. Three years ago, she developed quiet feelings for Detective Jinpei Matsuda, who died protecting her from a bomb explosion during a terrorist incident. Though haunted by his death, she eventually moved forward and became romantically involved with Detective Wataru Takagi. However, Inspector Shiratori and several other colleagues once tried to interfere with their relationship. Her late father was also a detective, and his sense of justice lives on in her. Her beloved car — a Mazda RX-7 — is her father’s keepsake. On mountain roads, her extraordinary driving skills earned her the nickname “The Silver Witch.”

Hyoue Kuroda
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 / Superintendent (Administrative Inspector)
He first appeared as the Chief of the First Investigation Division of the Nagano Prefectural Police. Because of his large build and his single eye, he was once suspected of being RUM, a high-ranking member of the Black Organization. In reality, however, he is Rei Furuya’s (Tōru Amuro’s) superior within the Public Security Bureau. He is now serving as the Administrative Inspector of the First Investigation Division at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Juzo Megure
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 / Inspector
A reliable superior officer in the First Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Warm-hearted and deeply trusted by his subordinates, he often relied on the deductive insight of high school detective Shinichi Kudo during investigations. A devoted husband who dotes on his beautiful wife, he hides an old scar beneath his trademark hat.

Ninzaburo Shiratori
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 / Inspector
A fast-track career officer who was promoted to inspector at a young age. He once competed with Detective Takagi for the affection of Detective Sato, but after realizing that his childhood first love was actually Sumiko Kobayashi, the rivalry came to an end. He and Kobayashi-sensei are now in a mutual, loving relationship.

Kazunobu Chiba
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 / Police Sergeant
A chubby detective and tokusatsu enthusiast who’s a huge fan of Kamen Yaiba and Gomera. Naeko Miike from the Traffic Division was his classmate at Teitan Elementary School and his first love. Although he didn’t recognize her at first, it turned out that their feelings were mutual, and the two eventually became a couple.

Yumi Miyamoto
Metropolitan Police Department, Traffic Division / Assistant Inspector
A lively and cheerful officer in the Traffic Division, well acquainted with even the toughest detectives through games like mahjong. She has been close friends with Detective Miwako Sato since their student days. For a long time, she didn’t realize that her ex-boyfriend “Chū-kichi” was actually the famous shogi player Shukichi Haneda, but the two have recently rekindled their relationship.

Naeko Miike
Metropolitan Police Department, Traffic Division / Police Sergeant
Transferred from the Haido Police Station to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Traffic Division. Since her transfer, she has been partnered with Yumi Miyamoto, patrolling together in a mini-patrol car. She had long harbored one-sided feelings for Detective Kazunobu Chiba, but because they were childhood friends, he didn’t recognize her at first. Eventually, he realized who she was, and the two became a couple.

Jinpei Matsuda
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 (Deceased)
A detective who transferred from the bomb disposal unit to Division 1 three years ago. He pursued alone the serial bomber responsible for the death of his close friend Kenji Hagiwara, but ultimately sacrificed his life—choosing to die in an explosion to protect others. Just before his death, he sent Detective Miwako Sato an email containing words that hinted at a confession of love. He was a police academy classmate of Rei Furuya (Tōru Amuro), to whom he passed on his expert knowledge of bomb defusal.

Kenji Hagiwara
Metropolitan Police Department, Security Bureau, Riot Squad – Bomb Disposal Unit (Deceased)
A close friend of Jinpei Matsuda who served with him in the bomb disposal unit. Originally only mentioned by name, his appearance was later shown in the anime and subsequently in the manga as well. He died in the line of duty seven years ago while attempting to defuse a bomb. A highly skilled driver, he was known among his police academy peers as the most popular man — a charming flirt with a sweet face. His older sister is Chihaya Hagiwara of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police.

Wataru Date
Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division 1 (Deceased)
A detective who was transferred to Division 1 from a local precinct a year before his death. He served as Wataru Takagi’s mentor, and because they shared the same first name, they were fondly nicknamed the “Wataru Brothers” by their colleagues. Tragically, after an all-night stakeout, he fell asleep at the wheel and was killed in a traffic accident. Among his police academy classmates, he was known as the squad leader — and notably, the only one who had a girlfriend.

Hiromitsu Morofushi
Metropolitan Police Department, Public Security Bureau (Deceased)
Originally introduced as Scotch, a member of the Black Organization. When his cover as a Public Security Bureau officer was blown, he took his own life by shooting through his heart along with his smartphone to prevent any information leaks. His real name was revealed when it was discovered that Takaaki Morofushi of the Nagano Prefectural Police was his older brother. In the past, he taught cooking to his childhood friend and fellow undercover agent Rei Furuya (Tōru Amuro), and also taught bass guitar to Masumi Sera.

Kansuke Yamato
Nagano Prefectural Police / Inspector
A stern-looking inspector of the Nagano Prefectural Police, known for his rough manner of speaking. About ten months ago, he was caught in an avalanche and went missing for six months, leaving him with injuries that cost him an eye and forced him to use a cane. He has been close friends with Takaaki Morofushi since elementary school, and his junior colleague Yui Uehara is his childhood friend. He is 35 years old.

Yui Uehara
Nagano Prefectural Police / Detective
When she first appeared, she was known by her married name, Torada, as a widow. Believing her childhood friend and senior colleague Kansuke Yamato to have died after going missing, she married into the prestigious Torada family, whom she had once suspected of involvement in a past case. After the case was resolved, she returned to her position as a detective. She harbors romantic feelings for Yamato Kansuke. She is 29 years old.

Takaaki Morofushi
Nagano Prefectural Police / Inspector
Nicknamed “Komei”, he often uses classical Chinese idioms and, like the strategist Zhuge Liang from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, calmly and wisely assesses any situation. Although he graduated at the top of his class from Tohto University’s Faculty of Law, he joined the prefectural police as a non-career-track officer rather than through the elite civil service path. Hiromitsu Morofushi (Scotch) is his younger brother. He is 35 years old.

Misao Yamamura
Gunma Prefectural Police / Inspector
A bumbling inspector from the Gunma Prefectural Police, known for his catchphrase “~shite kurechattari shite” (“maybe you could do that for me or something”). He decided to become a detective after watching “Dangerous Policewoman Stories” starring Yukiko Fujimine. He greatly admires Kogoro Mouri and looks up to him as a role model. In his childhood, he used to play with Hiromitsu Morofushi.

Chihaya Hagiwara
Kanagawa Prefectural Police / Assistant Inspector
The captain of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police’s motorcycle unit. She made a striking entrance when she leapt from her patrol bike to catch Conan as he fell from his skateboard — a scene that left Ran Mouri feeling as if she were watching a goddess of the wind. She is the older sister of Kenji Hagiwara and was Jinpei Matsuda’s first love. She is 31 years old.

Shingo Yokomizo
Kanagawa Prefectural Police / Inspector
An inspector with the Kanagawa Prefectural Police. He is the twin younger brother of Sango Yokomizo from the Shizuoka Prefectural Police — they share the same face and voice, though unlike his mild-mannered brother, Shingo has a rough and hot-headed personality. He and Chihaya Hagiwara, who is four years younger, call each other by their first names, and he harbors romantic feelings for her. He is 35 years old.

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation
Jodie Starling
FBI Agent
Initially introduced under the alias Jodie Saintemillion, she infiltrated Teitan High School as an English teacher, speaking in deliberately broken Japanese. She quickly recognized Conan’s sharp intellect, calling him her “Cool Kid.” After resigning from her teaching post, she revealed her true identity and began speaking fluent Japanese. Twenty years earlier, Vermouth murdered her parents, and Jodie was raised under the FBI’s protection through the Witness Protection Program. She once had a romantic relationship with Shuichi Akai. She is 28 years old.

Andre Camel
FBI Agent
An investigator with exceptional driving skills. Despite his intimidating appearance, he is gentle-natured and somewhat timid. While Shuichi Akai was infiltrating the Black Organization under the codename Rye, a mistake by Camel led to Akai’s identity being exposed — an event that indirectly resulted in Akemi Miyano’s death. Since then, Camel has deeply respected Akai and wishes to make amends for his past failure. He is 27 years old.

James Black
FBI Agent
A calm and courteous senior FBI officer who leads Shuichi Akai’s team. He is responsible for directing investigations and possesses keen deductive insight. He was the only member of the FBI who knew in advance about the plan—conceived by Conan—to fake Akai’s death through a coordinated operation. Because of that, he also recognized from the beginning that Subaru Okiya was Akai in disguise. Born in London, England, he was raised in Chicago, USA.

黒ずくめの組織 Black Organization
ジン Gin
A leading figure within the Black Organization, known for his ruthless and cold-blooded nature — he eliminates anyone who becomes an obstacle without hesitation. The scar on his left cheek was inflicted by a sniper shot from Shuichi Akai. He drives a black Porsche 356A and is left-handed.

ウォッカ Vodka
A large-built man who loyally follows Gin, whom he respectfully calls “Aniki” (“big brother”). He often assists in carrying out the organization’s operations and serves as a sort of mediator among its many strong-willed members.

ベルモット Vermouth
A secretive woman highly skilled in disguise, possessing the mysterious secret of not aging for decades. She once lived as the famous American actress Sharon Vineyard and later reappeared in public as her own “daughter,” Chris Vineyard. Favored by the Boss (That Person) of the Black Organization, she nonetheless seems to harbor her own agenda—possibly even plotting the organization’s downfall. She knows the true identities of Conan and Haibara but keeps their secret from the organization.

キール Kir
Known publicly as TV announcer Rena Mizunashi, her real name is Eisuke Hondō’s older sister, Ethan Hondō’s daughter — Eimi Hondō. In truth, she is a CIA agent currently infiltrating the Black Organization. After her true identity was discovered by the FBI, she began cooperating with Akai and his team. She is 27 years old.

コルン Korn
キャンティChianti
Snipers for the Black Organization. Chianti, who has a butterfly tattoo on her left eye, is always intense and quick-tempered. Korn is quiet and calm. Both of them dislike Vermouth.

ラム Rum
the Black Organization’s No. 2. With an artificial left eye, he is currently operating under the identity of Wakita Kanenori, a sushi chef at Iroha Sushi, and has begun to suspect Shinichi Kudo.

あの方 Anokata (That Person / The Boss) (Karasuma Renya)
His true identity is the billionaire Karasuma Renya. However, it is said that he died mysteriously half a century ago......

Gosho Aoyama’s Recommendation on Momose Akira’s First Love is Falling Apart

Date: September 18, 2025
Published in: Momose Akira’s First Love is Falling Apart volume 4

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Source: https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09854237
https://x.com/momose_hatanchu/status/1968329105189052777?s=61

こんなにピュアで 笑えるラブコメは 見たコトないかも･･･♡

Raw:

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Translation edited by: Manvel

I might never have seen a romantic comedy this pure and funny before ･･･♡

Gosho Aoyama on Encounter with the Road (Chiba)

Date: November 25, 2025
Published in: the official website for Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (CBC) Link

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Source: (Full Video)
Both versions include dubbing (Video Part 1) - (Video Part 2)

Some Photos

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  Chiba Special Gosho Aoyama on a Hidden Tunnel

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  Gosho Aoyama And Shigeo Katori

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  Gosho Aoyama on Encounter with the Road (Chiba)

Gosho Aoyama’s 30th Anniversary Exhibition Message

Date: December 2, 2025
Published in: 30th Anniversary Exhibition Of The DC Anime Broadcast Link

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Source: Video

どーも 青山です！
おかげさまで、テレビアニメも30周年！！
マンガもそうだけど、アニメも最初の頃と
今とでは、キャラの絵がかなり変わってるので、
その辺の移り変わりをみるのも楽しいかも(笑)
どうぞ御堪能あれ〜♪

Raw:

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Translation edited by: Manvel

Hello, Aoyama here!
Thanks to all of you, the TV anime has reached its 30th anniversary!!
Just like with the manga, the character designs in the anime have changed a lot from the early days to now,
so it might be fun to enjoy seeing how things have evolved over time (Laugh).
Please enjoy it to your heart’s content~♪

Video Translation:

Hello, this is Gosho Aoyama. Thank you always for supporting Detective Conan.
Please be sure to visit the ‘TV Anime Detective Conan 30th Anniversary Exhibition’!
There is always only one truth!