Interviews in 2020

This page lists interviews in 2020.

Detective Conan: Behind the Scenes Production Stories

Date: April 17, 2020 - May 15, 2020
Published in: Sunday Webry App

  Show spoilers »

Source: sbsub - Raw

Raw:

Translated by: Manvel

Detective Conan: Behind-the-Scenes Production Stories
Released for 5 consecutive weeks
Blue Penholder
A handwritten message by Gosho Aoyama published on Sunday Webry: Detective Conan: Behind the Scenes Production Stories — “Blue Penholder” (青いペン軸), April 17, 2020.
Note: The “青” in the title can mean blue, though it is written as “青い aoi” to echo the “青 Ao” in Aoyama Gosho’s surname.

Volume 1

Heisei Holmes
Ah, this sure takes me back! Ran’s hair still wasn’t all pointy yet, APTX4869 was still a white capsule… and the Kudo residence was basically Akako’s mansion.
As for Café Poirot beneath the detective agency, it was a total rip-off of “Minami Kaze” from Touch!! (laugh)
I mean, I thought the series was going to end right away… (laugh)

• See The Heisei Holmes
• See The Kudo residence

The Unwelcome Great Detective
Oh, right, the juggling! I was thinking of making it his habit whenever he was thinking, but normally soccer balls aren’t just lying around everywhere, so I dropped the idea. (laugh) And then there’s Ran’s karate scene at the end! Since I’d been drawing the action manga YAIBA up until then, I was able to blow off some steam there… (laugh) Come to think of it, back then I was also planning to have Conan travel around by riding on all kinds of dogs, but dogs aren’t exactly wandering around everywhere either… so I gave up on that too! (laugh)

• See The Unwelcome Great Detective

From Third-Rate to Great Detective
The part at the beginning where Conan can’t reach the doorknob was a bit over the top. He could reach it, right? (laugh)
The final scene uses a phone booth, something you almost never see anymore. It’s a kind of staging that really belongs to that era…
By the way, starting with “Yoko Okino,” most of the guest characters who appear in this volume were named after people I know… I mean, I thought the series was going to end right away… (laugh)
Well then, next up is “Volume 2”~♪ (…Though, how long is this thing going to keep going…?)

• See From Third-Rate to Great Detective

Volume 2

Published: April 24, 2020
An Advantageous Shadow
This story is, above all else, about the “Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes”!
They make for flashy scenes, so personally, I love them♪ They also mean fewer panels and fewer characters to draw, which makes the artwork easier too. (laugh)
By the way, the culprit’s name comes from my manga mentor, Abe Yutaka-sensei, and the person who gets killed is “Negishi-kun,” an assistant who always sits right in front of me at the workplace. (laugh)

• See An Advantageous Shadow

The Missing Man
Oh, so the “Criminal Tracking Glasses” first appeared in this story! These days, the data reflected on the lenses could be added easily on a computer, but back then we had to print it in reverse onto copy tone and paste it on by hand every single time…
There are also all kinds of early-series mistakes: the victim drinks potassium cyanide and coughs up blood, and instead of smelling it from the victim’s mouth, Conan detects the distinctive “almond smell” of potassium cyanide from the can… (laugh)
And then, on page 117, panel 6, there’s the silhouette of “Ai Haibara”!! Her character concept had already been decided by this point. (laugh)

• See The Missing Man
• See A Devil-like Woman

The Mansion of Horror
There they are! The Detective Boys!! Actually, the names of the three Detective Boys, as well as Akemi Miyano from the previous story, were chosen through an open call for submissions! So “Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya” wasn’t actually named after that detective, “Mitsuhiko Asami.” (laugh)
The “Elasticity Suspenders” also make their first appearance! Since the Voice-Changing Bowtie had already appeared at the end of Volume 1, the only major gadget left was that famous pashu-pashu-funya thing thing. (laugh)
Well then, next up is “Volume 3”~♪ (…So this is still going, huh? (laugh))
Note: “That famous pashu-pashu-funya thing” refers to the Stun-Gun Wristwatch. Aoyama describes it with playful sound effects: (pashu パシュ) for the dart being fired, and (funya ふにゃ) for the target going limp after being stunned.

• See The Mansion of Horror
• See Stun-Gun Wristwatch

Volume 3


Published: May 1, 2020
The Hatamoto Family
This was the first long case in Conan history to span six chapters, and on top of that, it was a series of murders set in the enclosed space of a luxury liner!! For mystery fans, it’s the kind of setup that really gets your mouth watering… but drawing it was hellishly hard, meow~ (laugh)
I had to distinguish ten characters by their faces, personalities, and ways of speaking, give all ten of them meaningful-looking introductions… and then, whenever one incident happened, I had to think about not only the culprit, but also where every other character was and what they were doing…
I can’t tell you how many times I thought, “There’s no way I can do this in a weekly series!!”

Though I did get the hang of it and got used to it with this story. (laugh)
And then, finally, the Stun-Gun Wristwatch appeared♪ In other words, this was where the basic pattern of “Sleeping Kogoro’s deduction show” was completed! (laugh)

• See The Hatamoto Family

The Curious Presents
This also marks the memorable first installment of what would become the classic “Is Ran going to find out?!” type of case in Conan history. ♥

In fact, I introduced the Voice-Changing Bowtie because I wanted to do this story, so it ended up fitting perfectly, and I was very satisfied with it. (laugh)
Come to think of it, this is the story where Ran’s hair first started getting pointy, but the outer corners of her eyes still hadn’t become slightly double-lidded yet. It really makes me realize how much my art has changed… (laugh)
Well then, next up is Volume 4~♪ (…So this is still going to continue for quite a while, huh? (laugh))

• See The Curious Presents
• See Voice-Changing Bowtie

Volume 4

Published: May 8, 2020
The Knight in Armor
Whoa! Ran is supposed to hate ghosts, yet here she is willingly going to an art museum with suspicious rumors surrounding it!! Are you okay, Ran!? (Or rather, am I okay…?)
Well, when a series runs this long, all kinds of things happen… (laugh)
Still, that museum director… putting on a suit of armor and skewering the owner to the wall with a sword… He’s probably seriously ripped under all that armor. (laugh)

• See The Armored Knight

Running Into The Two
The now-legendary double-decker dining car on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train)!!
If I remember right, they got rid of those around 2000… What a shame.
This is an important episode where we learn Gin and Vodka’s code names, but in the anime, the two of them were turned into different people. (laugh)
By the way, the highlight of this story isn’t Gin and Vodka, or even the scene where Conan nearly reveals his identity to Ran—it’s the (Eheh♥ - エへ♥) on page 61. (laugh)

• See Running Into The Two

Code Sheet Obtained
At last, Conan’s first coded treasure hunt finally appears~♪

It was fun coming up with a story that kept twisting and turning, with the Italian Mafia mixed into it and all… ♬
Drawing it was tough, though… There were so many night scenes, you know…
Of course, the treasure hunt is one of the highlights of this story, but so is the scene at the beginning showing Ran and Shinichi’s memories together. ♥

I wanted to draw it properly, so I actually went to Tokyo Tower to take reference photos. (laugh)
Well then, next up is Volume 5~♪ (So this is still going to keep going, huh…? (laugh))

• See Code Sheet Obtained!!

Volume 5

Published: May 15, 2020
The Mysterious... Bandaged Man
Following the luxury liner case in Volume 3, this was my second take on a classic mystery staple: the closed-circle case! And on top of that, it was a bizarre murder!!
The names of all the characters came from my juniors back in my university manga club days. (laugh) Of course, Ran’s best friend “Sonoko Suzuki” was one of them too, she actually went on to become the editor in chief of Monthly Manga Life MOMO at Takeshobo. (laugh)
Since Sonoko was the heroine of The Fist of Blue Sapphire, apparently she took full advantage of the occasion and bought up all kinds of Sonoko merchandise… (laugh)

• See The Mysterious... Bandaged Man

The Karaoke Killer!
The characters in this one were named after my seniors and classmates from the manga club! So “Tatsuya Kimura” wasn’t named after “Kimutaku.” (laugh)
Once again, the victim coughs up blood from potassium cyanide. Back then, in mysteries, people usually died from potassium cyanide while coughing up blood. (laugh) But after my younger brother, who’s a doctor, read this story and told me, “You don’t cough up blood from potassium cyanide, you know?” characters stopped coughing up blood after that… (laugh)
Well, the biggest reason I wanted to draw this story was because I wanted to do that Christmas episode with Ran at the end. ♥

• See The Karaoke Killer!

An Unfamiliar Visitor
Yes… this was another story I’d been dying to do ever since the series first began: “The Great Case of Mom and Dad’s Mischief!! (Big Prank Incident!)” Since it was a trick I could only use once, I really went all out with it… (laugh)
A culprit wearing a mask really does have that Ranpo feel to it. Very nice♪
Well then, next up is Volume 6~♪ (Though who knows when I’ll actually write it… (laugh))

• See An Unfamiliar Visitor

Note: Volume 5 was the final installment; no additional comments have been released afterward.

Da Vinci Magazine 2020 Interview

Date: May 7, 2020
Published in: Da Vinci magazine, June 2020 issue

  Show spoilers »

Raw:

Wild Police Story Volume 1 Interview

Date: November 18, 2020
Published in: Wild Police Story Volume 1

  Show spoilers »

Raw:

56 Questions for Gosho Aoyama

Translated by: Manaphy

About Matsuda Jinpei
Q1: At the very beginning of the story, what was the trigger that started his fight with Furuya?
A: Something probably got on Matsuda’s nerves (laughs)

Q2: Around how long ago did he get a false tooth? Did his tooth come off during a fight?
A: I guess it snapped during a fight in his high school years...

Q3: At around what age did he first meet Hagiwara?
A: Elementary school.

Q4: He appears to be a different type of person than Hagiwara-san, so how did they get along?
A: Since Hagiwara’s house was a car repair shop, I guess he thought he had to get along with him.

Q5: When he doesn’t say “Hagi”, but “Hagiwara”, is there a difference in his state of mind?
A: When he’s slightly serious (laughs)

Q6: He was eating curry a lot at the cafeteria, was that your influence, Aoyama-sensei?
A: That’s right.

Q7: What is the first thing he dismantled?
A: An electric fan.

Q8: What is the thing Matsuda tore apart and got the most scolded for doing that ?
A: Hagiwara's big sister's cell phone (laughs)

Q9: Does he usually walk around while carrying tools?
A: That’s right.

Q10: Is he ambidextrous?
A: He’s right-handed.

Q11: If he has nimble fingers, does that mean sewing is his specialty?
A: If I were to tell you, I think he’s extremely skilled at that.

Q12: He was lying down on a risky spot on the roof, does he like tall places?
A: He likes them.

Q13: Is his hair naturally curly? Or does he have a perm?
A: It’s naturally curly.

Q14: He’s yawning often, does he lack sleep?
A: It’s because Matsuda Yuusaku, who appeared in “Taiyou ni hoero!”, was yawning a lot. (TN: “Taiyou ni Hoero” is one of the most iconic detective series that aired on Japanese television. It helped launch several actors’ careers, including Matsuda Yuusaku and Hagiwara Kenichi, probably inspirations for the two homonym characters.)

Q15 : When did he first fall in love?
A : Around Elementary school, Hagiwara’s sister, love at first sight (laughs)

Q16 : Did the police officer who made a false arrest on Matsuda’s father and the one who proved his innocence appear in the main manga?
A : I don’t think they did.

Q17 : Did he actually punch hard the Superintendent General ?
A : "Read the last chapter (laughs)"

About Date Wataru
Q18 : Please tell me about his meeting with Natalie and the start of their love ♡
A : He caught the guy who snatched Natalie’s bag when he was a college student.

Q19: Date-san always has good leadership, but how was it in front of Natalie-san?
A: I think Date was blushing like mad, and Natalie took the lead, perhaps.

Q20: On his first date with Natalie-san, where did they go?
A: Well, of course, Tropical Land (laughs)

Q21: Please explain to what part of Natalie-san was he drawn to♡
A: I guess, the fact that he feels relieved when he talks to her, perhaps (laughs)

Q22: Does he make a phone call to his girlfriend everyday?
A: Not everyday, but something close to that (laughs)

Q23 : Did heget to introduce his girlfriend to the other 4?
A : I think he showed them a photo of her.

Q24: He’s always chewing on a toothpick, but does he have other habits?
A: He hangs his MPD admission card around his neck, without putting it in his breast pocket.

Q25: It looks like he hasn’t met with his dad for a long time, did he start living alone early on?
A: He started living alone after becoming a college student.

Q26: I think he has a slightly old-looking face, does he get told that a lot?
A: I guess he does.

Q27: Did Date ever get mad and fight with someone in the squad?
A: I don’t think so.

Q28 : Does Date’s height exceed 2 meters?
A : It might (laughs)

Q29: Before joining the Police Academy, was he practicing some kind of martial art?
A: He looks strong in both Kendo and Judo.

Q30: How many kilograms is his grip strength? Among the five of them, is it the strongest?
A: It’s the strongest.

Q31: Matsuda-san said he would win if it was just a fist fight, but what if it really happened?
A: I think he would be a good match.

Q32: Did Date’s last name come from the official Date Masamune?
A: I wanted to give him a strong-looking name, so it might come from the official Date Masamune. (T/N: Date Masamune was a daimyo that ruled the Tohoku region in Japan, contemporary of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.)

Q33: Does Date-san love Datemaki?
A: Huh? (T/N: Datemaki is a rolled omelet mixed with fish, but does also have a vulgar connotation, hence the blank.)

Q34: Did he volunteer himself for the position of “squad leader”?
A: It was an order from the instructor.

Q35 : Date is called “ Squad leader “ “ Date squad leader “ by everyone, but do they still call him that even after they graduated? A : In fact, that’s right. (Lol)

About Furuya Rei
Q36: What impetus led him to start boxing?
A: I don’t really know much, but it was in order to protect Elena.

Q37: When did Zero and Hiro meet? Again, I would like you to draw a warm episode about their childhood...!
A: Read the Hiro arc.

Q38: When were born Rei-kun and Hiromitsu-kun’s strong bonds, which draw near to unshakeable trust in each other?
A: I’m serious, read it!

Q39: Did he often get his injuries treated by Hiromitsu-kun?
A: Seems he did.

Q40 : Did he fight with Hiro-san too?
A : Well, we say "they are good friends enough to quarrel", right (laughs)

Q41: Did he solve troubles with other students with his fists? Or with words?
A: Fists were Matsuda only (laughs)

Q42: He said his reason for becoming a police officer was to search for Elena-san, but did his patriotism strong enough to call Japan his girlfriend sprout after that?
A: Exactly.

Q43: If Furuya-san didn’t have to search for Elena-sensei’s whereabouts, what kind of profession do you think he would’ve assumed?
A: He looks like he could’ve become a detective. (laughs)

Q44: He gave a harsh rating of 2 points to Matsuda-kun’s pun, but he actually liked it, right? (laughs)
A: Right (laughs)

Q45: Were his shooting skills excellent because he learned that from someone else since the beginning? Or is it because he seems like a genius?
A: Because he seems like a genius.

Q46: During the arrest techniques lesson, he lost to Date-san after being concerned by his injury, but did he win every match after?
A: He did.

Q47: The fact that he can manage correctly in English is because of his familial environment? Or is that the result of him studying seriously?
A : Because of his familial environment.

About everyone
Q48 : When did the idea of making these five a police academy squad get decided?
A: In “The Darkest Nightmare”, when I decided to make Furuya Matsuda’s classmate.

Q49 : Why are the titles yojijukugo (Four characters compound) ?
A: Because it's cool.

Q50: I want you to tell me their blood-type! I beg you!
A: Please put which one you’d like for each of them.

Q51: I wanna know those five’s deduction skill ranking.
A : It’s hard to tell who is better than whom.

Q52: They seem to start early in the morning, do they all wake up well? Did someone oversleep once?
A: Some way or another, everyone looks like they are punctual.

Q53 : Date-san has a girlfriend, Hagiwara-kun seems to have experience in love as well seeing how he’s good with ladies, but do the other 3 have experience in love?
A : I’ll leave that to your imagination (laughs).

Q54: When Hagiwara, Matsuda, and Morofushi enter the convenience store while saying “Wassuup”, are each of their clothes their personal belongings? Or did they borrow them from someone else?
A: They borrowed all of them from Hagiwara.

Q55: Did they usually hang out all together on their holidays? Like going to Tropical Land for instance... (laughs)
A: Those 5? On their holidays? (laughs)

Q56: Did the five of them meet after graduating?
A: You will know that at some point, maybe... (laughs)

"This mystery is amazing!" Interview

Date: December 4, 2020
Published in: "This mystery is amazing" magazine, 2021 edition

  Show spoilers »

Raw:

Wild Police Story Volume 2 Interview

Date: December 18, 2020
Published in: Wild Police Story Volume 2

  Show spoilers »

Raw:

55 Questions for Gosho Aoyama

Translated by: Manaphy

About Hagiwara Kenji
Q1: I want to know the origin of his name!
A: Matsuda’s name came from the character “G pan” from “Taiyou ni hoero!”, so I took it from Macaroni’s actor, Hagiwara Kenichi, who died on duty before Matsuda. (T/N: “G Pan” was played by Yuusaku Matsuda.)

Q2: Does he have a model character?
A: It’s Hagiwara Kenichi.

Q3: What led him to start calling Matsuda “Jinpei-chan”?
A: Well, he’s been doing it since his childhood, so... (laughs)

Q4: Did he really not know Matsuda’s reason for wanting to become a police officer?
A: Yeah, since he didn’t tell anyone else.

Q5: Is Hagiwara & Matsuda’s hometown close to Date’s?
A: Aaah, I see. They might be.

Q6: In the car action scene, he understood just with Matsuda saying “Think you can do that?”, but was he regularly driving this naughtily?
A: He was.

Q7: Did he learn his driving technique from his father?
A: I’d say he taught himself.

Q8: Did he ever go to Gunma’s pass?
A: I think he did?

Q9: Was Hagiwara-san also the one to hammer his driving technique into Furuya-san?
A: Furuya was inspired by Hagiwara-san’s driving and became good on his own.

Q10: Is his cheerful personality something natural?
A: Of course it’s natural!

Q11: In exchange for all the time he’s been easygoing, it looks so much like he still has some heavy backstory that hasn’t been revealed, to the point it scares me... He doesn’t, right? (cry)
A: You want him to have one?

Q12: He sticks a lot of “-chan”s to people’s name, why is that?
A: Because he’s gaudy.

Q13: Did he have a girlfriend?
A: Wahahaha, should I really tell you that? (laughs)

Q14: He apparently even monopolized the karaoke session, but was his forte a love song as expected?
A: I think anything is likely.

Q15: Did Hagiwara-san also get yelled at for dismantling and remodelling stuff as he pleased?
A: I don’t think so. The one who got yelled at was always Matsuda.

Q16: Among all the professions that never go bankrupt, what’s his reason for choosing the police?
A: Since Matsuda said he wanted to go, I guess that’s another reason.

Q17: Was he doing something like a part-time job to cover for his tuition?
A: He probably did, didn’t he?

Q18: I want to know more about Hagiwara-san whom I love deeply! Could you please tell me one story that hasn’t been drawn in the manga?
A: He has a beautiful older sister.

Q19: Is there a reason why he lets the hair on the nape of his neck grow? Nobody tells him to cut them?
A: His sister told him to cut them.

Q20: From Hagiwara’s own point of view, does he think that his front hair tickles, or is bothersome?
A: I think he deals with it.

About Morofushi Hiromitsu
Q21: What is the origin of Hiromitsu’s name? I have the feeling that reading the “kage” kanji as “hiro” is unusual.
A: During the “Zero the Enforcer” cast party, Furuya Tooru-san asked me to put “Hiiro Yui” and Midorikawa Hikaru-san’s* name somewhere in Scotch’s real name, so I put them. Since the name “Morofushi” was already decided (laughs) (T/N: Furuya Tooru and Midorikawa Hikaru are respectively Amuro and Scotch’s voice actors. “Hiiro Yui” is a Gundam character.)

Q22: Why did he choose the Metropolitan Police, and not the Nagano prefectural police?
A: Because the house of the relative who took care of him was in Tokyo

Q23: I have the feeling his language is courteous, does this mean he was well-bred?
A: He was.

Q24: If the culprit gets caught, will he slightly recover from his trauma? It’s painful to look at him being hateful and afraid...!
A: Please go ahead and enjoy the Hiro arc♪

Q25: Was Hiro the one to choose the nickname “Zero” ?
A: Hiro and Zero sound good, don’t they?

Q26: When Date-san and Furuya-san were locked in the convenience store, it looked like he noticed that Furuya-san was the one who sent the Morse code signals. I wonder if they did something in the past using Morse code.
A: They might have, yeah.

Q27: Apart from music (and cooking ?), is there any other special skill he taught Zero?
A: Eh? It’s still not enough?

Q28: Since when did you think of establishing him as Inspector Morofushi’s brother?
A: When I first designed his face, I thought “Hey, he looks like Taka’aki. Let’s make them brothers♪”.

Q29: Did he regularly exchange letters with Taka’aki-san?
A: I feel like he sends them once in a while.

Q30: Apart from Zero, did he introduce any of his friends to Taka’aki-san?
A: He might’ve at least talked about them.

Q31: What triggered him to start cooking?
A: When he was a child, his mother taught him.

Q32: What dish is his specialty? Did he ever treat the 4 others to something?
A: Stew. Maybe.

Q33: During the joint party, he took a fighting pose and made everyone laugh, but I wonder what kind of talk they were having?
A: They were talking in a fun and weird way about when Matsuda and Furuya fought with each other.

Q34: Following Furuya-san, did he have good shooting grades?
A: Furuya was the very best, and I think the others are more or less the same.

Q35: Is there a reason why Hiromitsu’s first person is the only one to be “ore” with katakana and not with kanji?
A: Well, because I somehow just felt like doing that.

Q36: I like Hiromitsu-kun a lot. Please tell me one super valuable information about him, Aoyama-sensei!
A: I drew it in the Hiro arc.

Q37: Do you have any plans to draw what led him to grow a beard?
A: Y-You really bring up a good point... (laughs) (The Q&A survey was held before the final chapter got published.)

About Furuya Rei
Q38: Did Furuya-san become talented at cooking because Hiro taught him?
A: That’s right.

Q39: Was he just not cooking? Or was he not cooking because he was too bad?
A: He wasn’t interested.

Q40: At the time he wasn’t cooking, what was he doing about his meals?
A: Wasn’t he just buying and eating stuff?

Q41: He was focused on cooking during the joint party, but doesn’t he have any other interests than Elena-sensei?
A: For now, that is...

Q42: Did Rei-kun also get scouted or something?
A: He did.

Q43: The present Furuya-san’s strong points and special skills are greatly influenced by the 4 others, but conversely, is there something Furuya-san taught them?
A: I think there is, I don’t know though (laughs)

Q44: Furuya-san had the best results, but did he ever help the other 4 with their studies?
A: They’re all smart, so he didn’t.

Q45: Is Amuro’s sociability inspired from someone among the other 4?
A: Hagiwara and Hiro, I guess.

Q46: I want to know the actions taken by Furuya-san after seeing the other 4 sleeping in the middle of cleaning the bath in the teaser visual!
A: Didn’t he wake them up? (laughs)

Q47: Is there someone he became friends with apart from the other 4 at the police academy?
A: I think he befriended various people, without any issues.

Q48: I want to know about his upbringing. Will you draw it in the near future?
A: If I feel like it...

About everyone
Q49: I wonder what happened to everyone after the RX-7 got worn-out and the instructor found out...?
A: They got told off a lot.

Q50: Which of them gets drunk the easiest and who’s the heaviest drinker? Also, if you know their alcohol tastes, I’d like to know them!
A: Don’t they all say that beer is tasty?

Q51: They went to a karaoke, but which person is the best at singing? Is someone tone-deaf?
A: Hagiwara is the best. Matsuda does look tone-deaf, huh...

Q52: Did they take pictures with the 5 of them? (Looks like so...)
A: Well, of course they did.

Q53: Was Morofushi-kun the one who took the picture on the Sunday cover from Issue #29 2020?
A: That’s right. That was my idea.

Q54: Are there any scenes you wanted to put in Wild Police Story, but ended up not being able to?
A: Hagiwara’s sister.

Q55: My dream for the future is becoming a police officer. How can I become a cool police officer like those five?
A: Hey, you mustn’t imitate them, right? (laughs)