Akai family's middle brother
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Masumi Sera reveals that she has a second brother whom she has been calling regarding case solutions.[1]
Description and known facts
- He does not look like Shuichi Akai or Masumi Sera, who presumably resemble their mother. The middle brother looks more like their father.[1]
- The middle brother is older than Masumi, but younger than Shuichi.[1] 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 Akai would be older than 27.
- He is apparently in the middle of an important job and won't tell Masumi where he is.[1]
- He is very intelligent; note that Sera characterizes the already intelligent Akai as "strong" in contrast to the middle brother. He advises Masumi on cases via cellphone.[1] He was able to correctly deduce over the phone that Masumi's deduction was unreliable in a bathroom murder case. Masumi says that his high school friends report that he solved puzzles and mysteries very easily.[2]
- 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.[3]
- The middle brother recognizes Conan and knows he is a good detective.[3] 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.[4] The brother later sends another text to Masumi, which makes Masumi react "Ah, I see. So that's how it is."[5]
- 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 has solved some mysteries in his class during his time studying there.[2]
- 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.[2]
Plot Overview
Sera's phone call during Detective's Nocturne (Manga: 798-800, Anime: 672-674)
After Sera took down the kidnapper with her motorcycle she either made or 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: 856-858)
Sera had called her brother regarding the "adultery case" she was about to investigate and was overheard by Eri. After the murder was discovered, Sera relayed her brother the facts of the case and her deduction by phone call. He told Sera her deduction was unreliable.
Bowling Alley drowning murder (Manga: 859-861)
Conan asks Sera who she called during the last case, and she tells Conan about the existence of her second oldest brother who is very smart. Confronted with another murder case, Sera texts her brother about the situation and her logic. Sera also informs her brother than 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 Sera asking who she keeps talking about. Sera sends him a picture of Conan and the brother replies that "it is no problem" if it is Conan doing the deducing. Sera meanwhile wonders how her brother knows Conan. Sera later receives one final text from her brother to which Sera 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." Sera looks over at Conan and thinks "You could say so..." while sending a reply.
Possible Suspects
Assuming the middle brother is between 16 (assumed lower range for Masumi's real age) and 35 (assumed upper range for Akai'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.
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
- Shuukichi Haneda: Yumi's semi-ex-boyfriend (28)
- Wataru Date: Deceased Tokyo Metropolitan Criminal Investigation First Division police officer (would be ~29 if alive)
- Ryouhei Onda: Kogoro imposter (21)
- Tooru Amuro: Bourbon (29)
- Ashley Ares: Minerva's tennis coach (30)
- Taka'aki Morofushi (Koumei): Nagano officer (35)
- Sugihito Enomoto: Poirot waitress Azusa Enomoto's brother (28)
- Subaru Okiya: Engineering student (27)
- Kansuke Yamato: Nagano officer (35)
Unknown child
Some fans think the mysterious child who looks like a member of the Akai family might be the brother after being shrunken by APTX 4869.
Shuukichi Haneda
Shuukichi is very intelligent and noticed Conan was an excellent detective on their first meeting. However, Shuukichi is famous and recognizable which contradicts Sera not knowing where he is or what he is up to. He has the right age range for the 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 Sera should be able to find out where he and what he was doing. Sera also lacks a Nagano accent, something that might be expected learning Japanese with a family who lived in Nagano for a period of time. (Koumei's lived in Nagano as a child.) Koumei's most recently seen phone is a white clamshell phone.
Subaru Okiya
Although Subaru Okiya was revealed to be Shuichi Akai, it is possible Akai disguised as his middle brother for some reason. However, Sera would not have wondered how he knew Conan because she was with Subaru and Conan earlier during a case. Okiya's most recently seen phone is black and similar to the one the older brother holds.
Tooru Amuro
Amuro's intelligence matches the middle brother's expected level; however, Amuro's dark skin contradicts the light-colored hand holding the phone when texting Masumi. Amuro has a white iPhone lookalike. However, on page 15 of Chapter 800, his thoughts (i.e., "Why [is Sera Masumi] here..." suggests he knows Sera. Sera doesn't see Amuro, so it is unclear if she knows him or not. Also, Bourbon, like Vermouth, is often in disguise, and either Amuro's dark skin or the light-colored hand holding the cell phone can be makeup or a disguise. However, since Amuro actually wanted the fact that his "older brother" or Shuichi Akai to be dead, it somehow contradict the fact that he's the middle brother
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Manga Volume 81, File 9 (859): pgs 6-7: "Jeet Kune Do vs. Karate"
- ^ a b c Manga Volume 82, File 11 (872), pg 3: "The Red Woman"
- ^ a b Manga Volume 81, File 10 (860), pg 16: "The smell of kerosine"
- ^ Manga Volume 81, File 11 (861), pg 4: "Just like Magic"
- ^ Manga Volume 81, File 11 (861), pg 15-16: "Just like Magic"
