Difference between revisions of "Akai family's middle brother"

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{{FeaturedArticle|24th September 2013}}
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{{SpoilerWarningArticle|[[Shukichi Haneda|<big>'''Click to continue to the page which reveals the Akai family's Middle Brother's identity'''</big>.]]}}
[[Masumi Sera]] reveals that she has a second brother whom she has been calling regarding case solutions.<ref name=859p6-7>Manga Volume 81, File 9 (859): pgs 6-7: "Jeet Kune Do vs. Karate"</ref>
 
  
== Description and known facts ==
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This soft redirect is meant to reduce the number of people who spoil themselves unintentionally. To find out what pages will be safe for you to read, please consult our [[Glossary#Spoiler|wiki spoiler policy]].
[[File:Akai Middle Brother's hand.png|thumb|right|150px|The middle brother's hand and cellphone]]
 
[[File:Akai Middle Brother's hand manga.png|thumb|right|280px|The middle brother's hand and cellphone]]
 
* He does not look like [[Shuichi Akai]] or [[Masumi Sera]], who presumably resemble their mother. According to Masumi, her second brother looks more like their father.<ref name=859p6-7/>
 
* The middle brother is older than Masumi, but younger than Shuichi.<ref name=859p6-7/> Neither of their ages have been revealed, but Masumi attends class with Ran and Shinichi who are 16-17, and [[Subaru Okiya]] claims to be 27. The brother's former high school classmates are currently 28 and 29 years old, suggesting that the brother is probably similarly aged. Although if that were the case, then Shuichi would be older than 27.
 
* He is apparently in the middle of an important job and won't tell Masumi where he is.<ref name=859p6-7/> However, the fact that she was able to arrange a meeting with him means that she can see him in person.<ref name=876p4>Manga Volume 83, File 4 (876): pg 4: "The Romance Noverlist"</ref>
 
* He is very intelligent; note that Masumi characterizes the already intelligent Shuichi as "strong" in contrast to the middle brother. He advises Masumi on cases via cellphone.<ref name=859p6-7/> He was able to correctly deduce over the phone that Masumi's deduction was unreliable in [[Volume_81#Steamy_Relations|a bathroom murder case]]. While the middle brother is not a detective himself, his intelligence seems to be well-known among the students from his high school, as he apparently had solved some mysteries and puzzles easily in his class during his time studying there.<ref name=872p3>Manga [[Volume 82]], File 11 (872), pg 3: "The Red Woman"</ref> It is unclear how long he has been helping Masumi — the first time Conan knows he was helping was in [[Volume_81#Steamy_Relations|the bathroom murder case]], but [[Volume 76#File 800 - When Objects Collide|Masumi had made a phone call to an unknown person in an earlier case where Conan was kidnapped.]]
 
* In one panel, we see the middle brother responding to Masumi's message using his right hand and a black cellphone. Unless the brother is disguised, this would imply he has light skin. The use of the phone with the right hand is not an absolute indicator of handedness because sometimes characters with known handedness will use phones with their off hands.<ref name=860p16>Manga [[Volume 81]], File 10 (860), pg 16: "The Smell of Kerosine"</ref>
 
* The middle brother recognizes Conan and knows he is a good detective.<ref name=860p16/> After an exchange of information regarding deductions, the brother asked Masumi who she was referring to. Masumi shows the brother Conan's picture thinking he will be surprised. The brother replies back that "if it's him, then there's no problem". Masumi is very surprised and wonders how her brother knows Conan. Her suspicion makes sense because Conan didn't exist prior to Shinichi shrinking.<ref name=861p4>Manga Volume 81, File 11 (861), pg 4: "Just like Magic"</ref> The brother later sends another text to Masumi, which makes Masumi think, "Ah, I see. So ''that's'' how it is."<ref name=861p15-16>Manga Volume 81, File 11 (861), pg 15-16: "Just like Magic"</ref>
 
* According to Masumi, the middle brother's surname had been "Sera", which he got from his mother's side, until he graduated from high school. His current surname in the present timeline is presumably something else.<ref name=872p3/>
 
<!-- * Masumi call him "Kichi-ni".<ref>Gosho Aoyama said in "Animal Crossing: New Leaf".</ref> -->
 
{{clear}}
 
  
== Plot Overview ==
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[[Category:Soft Redirect]]
 
 
=== Masumi's phone call during Detectives' Nocturne (Manga: [[Volume 76|798-800]], Anime: [[Detectives' Nocturne|672-674]])===
 
{{anchor|Sera's phone call during Detective's Nocturne (Manga: 798-800, Anime: 672-674)}}
 
After Masumi took down the kidnapper with her motorcycle she received a call from an unknown person. Given her pattern of contacting her brother regarding cases, she may have called him concerning this one.
 
 
 
=== Bathroom murder case's failed deduction (Manga: [[Volume 81|856-858]], Anime: [[Bathroom Where Ran Collapsed As Well|740-741]])===
 
Masumi had called her brother regarding the "adultery case" she was about to investigate and was overheard by Eri. After the murder was discovered, Masumi relayed her brother the facts of the case and her deduction by phone call. He told Masumi her deduction was unreliable.
 
 
 
=== Bowling Alley drowning murder (Manga: [[Volume 81|859-861]], Anime: [[The Suspect is Makoto Kyogoku|744-745]])===
 
Conan asks Masumi who she called during the Masumi case, and she tells Conan about the existence of her second oldest brother who is very smart. Confronted with another murder case, Masumi texts her brother about the situation and her logic. Masumi also informs her brother that Conan seems to have figured out the case, but she isn't sure of her answer since her confidence has been shaken as of late. Her brother texts Masumi asking who she keeps talking about. Masumi sends him a picture of Conan and the brother replies that "it is no problem" if it is Conan doing the deducing. Masumi meanwhile wonders how her brother knows Conan. Masumi later receives one final text from her brother to which Masumi thinks "so '''that's''' how it is". At the end of the unseen message is a PS asking if she has "already met the wizard." Masumi looks over at Conan and thinks "You could say so..." while sending a reply.
 
 
 
== Possible Suspects ==
 
<!--:''Please consider a picture of the relevant character's most recent cellphone if they are Bourbon arc characters.''-->
 
Assuming the middle brother is between 16 (assumed lower range for Masumi's real age) and 35 (assumed upper range for Shuichi's age based on his appearance and reasonable full-blooding sibling age separation) the following characters could qualify as suspects in reverse order of their introduction date.  This age range can actually be narrowed down even more due to the Red Woman case, as the middle brother's classmates are stated to be 28-29, meaning that if he attended high school with them, he would be around that age.  While it states they are classmates, which would imply they were in the same grade and class, it was not specifically stated, so its possible to increase the age range to between 27-30, though 28-29 is far more likely and would make more sense.  Anyone not inside this age range could and should be excluded.
 
 
 
=== Minor or New Character ===
 
It's possible the middle brother is a minor character who was a suspect or witness in a case, but did not distinguish himself or demonstrate his intelligence. It's also possible for the middle brother to be a character who has not been introduced yet, but will be later in a flashback.
 
 
 
=== Characters introduced in the Bourbon Arc ===
 
 
 
<!--Only as an Anime suspect; he was introduced in File 613 in the Manga, and the beginning of the Bourbon arc in the Manga is File 622-->*[[Kansuke Yamato]]: Nagano police inspector (35)
 
*[[Subaru Okiya]]: Engineering student (27) (Revealed to be [[Shuichi Akai]] in disguise<ref name=898p3>Manga Volume 85, File 5 (898): pg 3: "Scarlet Epilogue" </ref>)
 
*[[Sugihito Enomoto]]: Poirot Café waitress [[Azusa Enomoto]]'s brother (28)
 
*[[Taka'aki Morofushi|Taka'aki Morofushi (Komei)]]: Nagano police inspector (35)
 
*[[Holmes' Revelation|Ashley Ares]]: [[Minerva Glass]]' tennis coach (30)
 
*[[Kogoro-san is a Good Man|Ryohei Onda]]: [[Kogoro Mouri]] imposter/University student (21)
 
*[[Rei Furuya]]: [[Black Organization]] member Bourbon (29)
 
*[[Wataru Date]]: Deceased Tokyo Metropolitan Criminal Investigation First Division police officer (would be ~29 if alive)
 
*[[Shukichi Haneda]]: [[Yumi Miyamoto|Yumi]]'s semi-ex-boyfriend (28)
 
*[[Mary]]: Mysterious child living with Masumi (appears to be of middle school age – 12-15)
 
 
 
==== Shukichi Haneda ====
 
[[File:Shukichi's marriage registration on phone.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Shukichi's marriage registration (File 945)]]
 
[[File:Shukichi's marriage registration.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Shukichi's marriage registration (File 947)]]
 
While Shukichi being famous and recognizable may contradict Masumi not knowing where he is or what he is up to, it should be noted that his semi-ex-girlfriend had no idea that he is a renowned shogi Player<ref name=902p14-15>Manga [[Volume 85]], File 9 (902): pgs 14-15; "A Brilliant Move"</ref>, thus allowing for the possibility that, like Yumi, Masumi has not made the connection; since Masumi said that she doesn't know where her middle brother is, she is either lying about it or really doesn't know where he is living—if the latter is true, then Shukichi could be her brother, as they haven't met during Shukichi's two appearances so far. He has the right age range for the brother. If you remove the "k" in Shukichi you get Shuichi—it's possible that that their parents wanted them to have similar names. If one takes into account the difference in personality between Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, this could apply to Shuichi Akai, who is serious about taking on criminals and does so for a living, which fits Sherlock's personality, and Shukichi Haneda, who appears to be far less serious, in general, living a more leisurely existence, with Yumi describing him as a "a mooching stay-at-home freeloader<ref name=847p4>Manga [[Volume 80]], File 8 (847): pg 4: "Until I Collect All Seven"</ref>," which fits Mycroft's personality, as does his intelligence.
 
 
 
Shukichi is very intelligent, realizing the truth behind the murder during his initial appearance and commenting on it, and he noticed Conan's intelligence—he thinks the situation is in capable hands, enough to risk becoming a suspect by not divulging his whereabouts at the time of the murder.<ref name=902p14-15>Manga [[Volume 85]], File 9 (902): pgs 14-15; "A Brilliant Move"</ref>
 
 
 
He and Conan simultaneously discover the clues to find where Yumi had been taken to on the day of Shukichi's final match. [[Subaru Okiya]]—who is really [[Shuichi Akai]], and not given to displays of genuine happiness—smiled at the news that Shukichi had attained all seven shogi titles, and [[Mary]]—who very well could be the mother of Masumi and Shuichi—fell asleep watching Shukichi's shogi match and was visibly ecstatic when Shukichi won the match<ref name=902p15>Manga [[Volume 85]], File 9 (902): pg 15: "A Brilliant Move"</ref>. The only other explanation of their happiness is if they are merely big fans of Shukichi.
 
 
 
Upon meeting in a ramen restaurant, both Yumi and Masumi describe Shukichi and the middle brother, respectively—going by each description, both men have near identical similarities. Both describe a man who wears round glasses, has a stubble, always wears a 'messy jersey', has an excellent memory, and has a certain favorite saying.<ref name=928p14>Manga [[Volume 88]], File 2 (928): pg 14: "The Strange Customers of the Ramen Restaurant"</ref> Later on, Masumi calls her second brother for help with the case and Yumi calls Shukichi to see if he remembers something about the case, due to the fact that he saw the murderer run past him. Just after answering the call, Shukichi puts Yumi on hold to answer another call. Just a moment after Shukichi puts Yumi on hold, the middle brother answers Masumi call; he tells Masumi that he's on the phone with an important person, and she should call later. Just a moment after the middle brother hangs up on Masumi, Shukichi takes Yumi off of hold and continues talking to her. Shukichi's phone is black, and the model is, at the very least, strongly similar to the middle brother's phone. <ref name=929p13-14>Manga [[Volume 88]], File 3 (929): pgs 13-14: "The Culprit Who Swings the Hose!?"</ref> While Shukichi could have been turning down an interview request while he had Yumi on hold, he also could have been talking to Masumi. These two moments raise the probability of Shukichi being the middle brother even higher.
 
 
 
Yumi finally realizes that Shukichi is a shogi player and tries to find the envelope that he gave her at a previous christmas. She realizes that her apartment manager has managed to take it and she has to solve a puzzle to get it back. The contents of the envelope are revealed to be a marriage registration that shows the name of Shukichi's father to contain the family name "Akai". Meanwhile, Shukichi loses a match that cost him one of his shogi titles. <ref>Manga [[Volume 89]], File 945-947</ref>
 
 
 
Gosho says that Masumi will call someone {{nihongo|"Kichi-nii"<ref>[[:File:AChint8-06-2014_4.JPG]] ([[Masumi Sera|Sera-chan]] calls him Kichi-nii)</ref>|𠮷兄<ref>[[:File:Kichinii.jpg]] (It's "Kichi-nii"!)</ref>}} which could indicate Shukichi as the middle brother as he is the only recent character with "kichi" in his name, however Masumi has yet to actually say those words in the manga so far. <!-- leave this at the bottom and separated until Masumi actually says the phrase "Kichi-nii" at some point --> And, in a postcard, Gosho said that [[Shukichi]] called [[Shuichi]] "niisan".
 
 
 
His age also supports him being the middle brother, as in the Red Woman Case, his classmates are ages 28-29, and his age being 29 makes it capable of them being classmates.  With all these facts, it can be reasonably stated that he is the middle brother as he meets more criteria then anyone else, and enough to dismiss reasonable doubt.  He met Conan and recognized his intelligence, he is the right age, he is highly intelligent, talks to someone else in the middle of talking to Yumi at the exact same time as Sera calls the middle brother, and the middle brother stops right at the same time he starts talking to Yumi again, has a father with the family name Akai, and both Subaru Okiya (Shuichi Akai in disguise) and Mary (who is close to Masumi Sera, Akai's younger sister) show interest in Shukichi by following his Shogi match.
 
 
 
==== Subaru Okiya ====
 
Although Subaru Okiya was revealed to be Shuichi Akai, it is possible that he arranged for his sister to have a way to contact him, and she doesn't know where he is or what he is doing because their only point of contact is via phone. His phone is black, and the model is, at the very least, strongly similar to the middle brother's, and he has been shown to wear a jacket with a similar pattern (see manga volume images at the top of the page) to the same clothing of the arm that the middle brother was wearing.
 
 
 
There are three conditions on which Subaru could be the "middle brother" or "the person contacting Masumi by phone": <BR>
 
1) Masumi made up the existence of a second brother because her oldest brother is supposed to be dead, meaning she couldn't tell people who she was talking to. This means that all of the descriptions of him to various people could either be fabrications, or descriptions of other people she knows. Also, because Masumi does not know that he would know Conan, he may have pretended not to know who was making the good deductions at the scene of the murder at the bowling alley, to see what she knows about him.<BR>
 
:1) Rebuttal : Since we now know that [[Shukichi]] has a father with the name Akai, its unlikely that the first option is possible. Masumi's descriptions clearly seem to fit him, so that only leaves the below two options.<BR>
 
2) Masumi actually has a middle brother, but is in contact with her oldest brother, but tells other people that she is in contact with the middle brother because the oldest brother is supposed to be dead. <BR>
 
3)  Her oldest brother is in possession of a voice changer, in which case Masumi might not actually know that she is in contact with her oldest brother who is supposed to be dead, but think that she is in contact with her real middle brother. After witnessing how Conan uses a voice changer to become Shinichi to contact Ran in Yusaku Kudo's Cold Case, he may have begun using his voice changer to become his own middle brother to contact Masumi via phone. In this scenario he would have to pretend to have only the knowledge the real middle brother would have, such as not knowing who was making the great deductions at the crime scene of the bowling alley case. <BR>
 
4) Masumi is in contact with both of her brothers, but tells outside observers that it is only her second brother.
 
 
 
==== Taka'aki Morofushi ====
 
Taka'aki Morofushi is intelligent and has light skin. He was still working in Nagano as a police officer though, so Masumi should be able to find out where he was and what he was doing. Masumi also lacks a Nagano accent, something that might be expected learning Japanese with a family who lived in Nagano for a period of time. (Komei's lived in Nagano as a child.) Komei's most recently seen phone is a white clamshell phone. It is improbable that the middle brother is Morofushi though, given that he appeared in front of the middle brother's classmates without being recognised - and that the brother was supposedly unable to help them in investigating the Red Woman occurrences, but Morofushi was there to apprehend the killer. Also, Morofushi is 35 years old, much older than the middle brother. Masumi's description of the middle brother to Yumi does not match Morofushi's appearance.<ref name=928p14>Manga [[Volume 88]], File 2 (928): pg 14: "The Strange Customers of the Ramen Restaurant"</ref>
 
 
 
==== Rei Furuya ====
 
{{anchor|Tooru Amuro}}[[File:Amuro674.png|thumb|150px]]
 
Rei's intelligence matches the middle brother's expected level; however, Rei's dark skin contradicts the light-colored hand holding the phone when texting Masumi. Rei has a white iPhone lookalike. However, on page 15 of Chapter 800<!--, as Rei thinks, "Why here...", there are markings around his eyes (albeit very small) that resemble those of Shuichi and Masumi, suggesting he may be related to them. Furthermore-->, his thoughts (i.e., "Why [is Masumi Sera] here..." suggests he knows Masumi. When Masumi sees Rei, she seems to wonder about his identity and thinks he is the one who approached her and Scotch, four years previously—this indicates that Masumi does not think that Rei is a brother of hers. Also, Bourbon, like Vermouth, is often in disguise, and either Rei's dark skin or the light-colored hand holding the cell phone can be makeup or a disguise. However, since Rei actually wanted her "older brother," Shuichi Akai, to be dead, it somehow contradicts the fact that he's the middle brother. Masumi's description of the middle brother to Yumi does not match Rei's appearance.<ref name=928p14>Manga [[Volume 88]], File 2 (928): pg 14: "The Strange Customers of the Ramen Restaurant"</ref>
 
 
 
{{clear}}
 
 
 
==== Mary ====
 
Mary, who looks like a member of the Akai family, might be the brother after being shrunk by [[APTX 4869]]. However, the child's slowness to trust Conan and the middle brother's immediate trust of him seem to indicate that the child is not the middle brother, as well as the child's apparent name and gender.
 
{{clear}}
 
 
 
== See also ==
 
*[[Akai family]]
 
*[[Shuichi Akai]]
 
*[[Masumi Sera]]
 
*[[Mary]]
 
 
 
== References ==
 
<References/>
 
[[Category:Theories]]
 
[[Category:Characters]]<!--
 
 
 
<ref name=847p>Manga [[Volume 80]], File 8 (847): "Until I Collect All Seven"</ref>
 
<ref name=857p>Manga [[Volume 81]], File 7 (857): "My Deduction"</ref>
 
<ref name=858p>Manga [[Volume 81]], File 8 (858): "A Problematic Deduction"</ref>
 
<ref name=898p>Manga [[Volume 85]], File 5 (898): "Scarlet Epilogue"</ref>
 
<ref name=902p>Manga [[Volume 85]], File 9 (902): "A Brilliant Move" </ref>
 
-->
 

Latest revision as of 03:05, 29 September 2016

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