What's the identity of Rum?

[sanchai95]

Are you trying to suggest that he might be related to RUM? Yet, based on his visuals, he doesn't match any of RUM's descriptions (old, muscular, femenine) nor matches the figure of the enigmatic bodyguard "Asaka" who might be a woman if that "soul detective" Hatto wasn't given fake info yet Mary's behavior seems to confirm that info as true.

In my opinion, Gosho is trying too obviously to set up RUM red herrings and I think RUM himself is yet to appear but I could be wrong.

Time will tell, though.

Possibly yes. I'm not sure in what way or if he is Rum (which is unlikely at this point) but it's just too much of a coincidence for Gosho to be unraveling the Akai dad plot as well as the RUM arc at the same time without it intertwining. I have a feeling that Mary might actually be ASAKA or Akais dad as they would be both skilled in martial arts and have since been missing. Dad being presumed dead with no body and Mary's identity a secret (even before she was shrunk). And either of them could be Rum (probably not Mary)

I really do not know how I feel about the descriptions as it's very ambiguous and the fact that Gosho even introduced the Agasa case with the vinegar and the whole cheating thing, I don't know if I can even trust the 'hints' he gave us. They could be 'technically' true, but are not really.
I mean if Gosho can make Akai be dead but not really dead WITH a body, I'm sure he could slip in Akai's dad being alive WITHOUT a body (and this is without bringing in the whole Kuroda theory of potentially being Rum/Akais dad/another spy).
Just TOO much of a coincidence for me and no such thing as a coincidence in DC World

It's really a complicated arc as there are a number of 'hints' to keep in mind:

- physical descriptions (masculine man, feminine man, old man + artificial eye)
- 2nd in command
- uses body doubles
- no one knows what he REALLY looks like, but they know exact physical descriptions as the above (so are these of the body doubles or himself)
- he is on the move (but against what?)

Possible suspects and things to consider:
- Pretty much the entire cast of the Nagano police department (Yamato/Morofushi- but doesn't really fit, but if Gosho is cheating with the physical features either of this would be out)
- Kuroda (artificial eye, check. masculine, check. black in name, check. making a move- is now in Tokyo MPD, check.)

Spoiler:

- Iroha chef (eye is injured probably not artificial, seems to have SOME detective skills, but doesn't seem too overly suspicious of Kogorou and Conan, as no evil cast or suspicious cast at the end of the chapter) - probably a Red Herring though. but still ANOTHER disciple?

I don't know as you can see my thoughts on this is very jumbled purely because any of the main 'hints' can be false if Gosho chooses so. Which makes it very hard to determine which person is a candidate or not. But I guess it keeps it intriguing after all these years. I'm trying to tie in the Akai plot as well as it seems that Mary and Sera was VERY VERY intrigued to say the least about the Haneda Kohji case, meaning it probably has to do with something personal, which is why i can't help feel that it's all related.

Anyways hope you could understand my jumbled thought

[Spimer]

Yes, I can see where you're getting at. The trick Agasa did with the tea cups at the end of the Scarlet showdown could be a hint that the info we're given isn't totally trustable.

That reminds me how before Amuro was introduced we were led to believe Bourbon's goal was to search for Haibara when it actually was trying to determine if Akai was really dead or not.

About Mary being Asaka: it's true that Conan was considering the possibility but I'm inclined to think that Asaka and RUM are the same character given what Gin talks with Vodka. ("A murder that RUM screwed up 17 years ago")

Nevertheless there is a lack of strong evidence at this point so my reasoning could be proven wrong.

Time will tell.

[sanchai95]

@Spimer: After reading Detective Conan Wiki on Tsutomu Akai, I am almost 100% sure that he is ASACA. Maybe Rum did indeed intend to kill all three of them Asaka included. That would explain what Gin meant by screwing up the murder, as he didn't finish the job? The body was never found and ASAKA is on the run which is why Mary is too. Also would explain what Akai meant about his father being involved in the Haneda Kohji case although not being an agent.
If his father was the missing/allegedly dead ASAKA it would be what would motivate him to join the FBI and seek out revenge to those that caused this incident (and or look for answers in regards to who is responsible)
Thoughts?

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Tsutomu_Akai

[MeiTanteixX]

@Spimer: After reading Detective Conan Wiki on Tsutomu Akai, I am almost 100% sure that he is ASACA. Maybe Rum did indeed intend to kill all three of them Asaka included. That would explain what Gin meant by screwing up the murder, as he didn't finish the job? The body was never found and ASAKA is on the run which is why Mary is too. Also would explain what Akai meant about his father being involved in the Haneda Kohji case although not being an agent.
If his father was the missing/allegedly dead ASAKA it would be what would motivate him to join the FBI and seek out revenge to those that caused this incident (and or look for answers in regards to who is responsible)
Thoughts?

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Tsutomu_Akai

"FBI agent"*....to be exact !
He can still be a CIA agent

[sanchai95]

@Spimer: After reading Detective Conan Wiki on Tsutomu Akai, I am almost 100% sure that he is ASACA. Maybe Rum did indeed intend to kill all three of them Asaka included. That would explain what Gin meant by screwing up the murder, as he didn't finish the job? The body was never found and ASAKA is on the run which is why Mary is too. Also would explain what Akai meant about his father being involved in the Haneda Kohji case although not being an agent.
If his father was the missing/allegedly dead ASAKA it would be what would motivate him to join the FBI and seek out revenge to those that caused this incident (and or look for answers in regards to who is responsible)
Thoughts?

http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Tsutomu_Akai

"FBI agent"*....to be exact !
He can still be a CIA agent

I know you're only using CIA as an example but if he was a CIA agent, wouldn't that mean he would have relations with Ethan Hondou (who infiltrated 20 years ago) and when Jodie was looking into Eisuke because he was suspicious wouldn't Akai be able to tell that he had the same name and is potentially the son of so and so? And plus he would know about Ethan and Kir being CIA too?

[MeiTanteixX]

I know you're only using CIA as an example but if he was a CIA agent, wouldn't that mean he would have relations with Ethan Hondou (who infiltrated 20 years ago) and when Jodie was looking into Eisuke because he was suspicious wouldn't Akai be able to tell that he had the same name and is potentially the son of so and so? And plus he would know about Ethan and Kir being CIA too?

well actually, it's my ongoing theory at the moment...

Not necessarily, but knowing Gosho, that would most likely be the case. Also, since I already think that Ethan met his wife through Tsutomu, who is her brother, I think their connection is strong.

There's no chance that Ethan and Tsutomu are directly blood related, since they obviously don't share a same family name. When jodie and Akai looked him up, it's already confirmed that they found out that Ethan was CIA. Akai was even "mysteriously" able to get concrete confirmation that Ethan was CIA(after they found that out), which support my theory on his father's affiliation to the CIA.

[ginandjuice]

But didn't Gosho say in 2014 that Rum has already appeared? So it couldn't be one of these new people.... Or could it?

[Valentin]

But didn't Gosho say in 2014 that Rum has already appeared? So it couldn't be one of these new people.... Or could it?

We don’t know if that comment is supposed to be taken seriously. Aoyama might as well have made a joke by referring to Lum from Urusei Yatsura, who technically appeared in the Scriptwriter Murder Case.

[DetectiveRb]

just you can not find the school principal looks at the thick eyebrows and the shape of the chin (except the beard) to author the file novelist (line 876)
Rum could be this old man who was once a great writer.
especially that it has already made a brief appearance in the beginning of the manga with shinichi I believe
sorry my English is not good

[Serinox]

just you can not find the school principal looks at the thick eyebrows and the shape of the chin (except the beard) to author the file novelist (line 876)
Rum could be this old man who was once a great writer.
especially that it has already made a brief appearance in the beginning of the manga with shinichi I believe
sorry my English is not good

Okay, but how would this work? He was the principal, then was the writer and then resumed his role as the principal again? Plus, the writer was arrested because of murder, so again, how would this work?

[DetectiveRb]

not the author of which we speak briefly it appears only on page 9

if on reads the page focusing on the author nameless one learns about her it was a strange writer known when he was young and popular with his female fanbase

[Spimer]

@DetectiveRb: I think you're mixing facts up.

The victim of this case was the writer's assistant who had admired his works when he was younger and came up with the story of the "the sea, the telephone and I" when she was a student.

And he wasn't a "strange" writer, the editors just comment that he used to be more handsome in the past before he turned into a skinhead plus that the assistant has helped him regain some popularity.

I don't know where you got the "nameless writer" part from, could you tell us more details?

[Valentin]

While rereading Rumi Wakasa’s introduction case, I noticed something which might be insignificant on its own, but I think is worth mentioning in hindsight.



In Kanenori Wakita’s introduction case, the Kamen Yaiba episode that one of the suspects wants to see features “a close associate of the opponent’s boss”, which might or might not be interpreted as a reference to Rum and eventually to Kanenori Wakita being Rum. As MeiTanteixX pointed out, though, there is another implication that allows a different reading and makes the constellation somewhat confusing.

What to my knowledge has not been highlighted in that context is that Rumi Wakasa’s introduction case includes a reference to a Kamen Yaiba episode as well. To lure out the three robbers who Rumi Wakasa would defeat later, she and the Detective Boys pretend to abandon the old warehouse and go home, which is when Genta and Mitsuhiko start talking about the Kamen Yaiba episode that Genta says would be broadcast on that day; Mitsuhiko then responds that “a mysterious female Yaiba” would make an appearance.



Unlike the allusions in Kanenori Wakita’s introduction case, this one seems obvious—the “mysterious female Yaiba” would be Rumi Wakasa, who made her first appearance in these chapters—, so that alone would not be more than a (possibly humorous) line which is only uttered by a kid who might chat about anything that comes to his mind while play-acting.

But if we assume that this obviousness is supposed to set the tone for all ensuing Kamen Yaiba references, perhaps the one in Kanenori Wakita’s introduction case is just as plain, meaning that Kanenori Wakita is indeed Rum? His remark about Pirate’s Spirit being weak might then simply be his way to deliver a first glimpse at his deduction abilities, but unrelated to the plot.

Of course, this is only speculation. That the first hint is transparent does not entail that the next one is as well, and those annotations—the ones regarding Kamen Yaiba in particular—might equally be red herrings having no importance at all. But I think that such a recurring pattern might more often than not be systematic.

Thoughts?

[Spimer]

I knew about the "close associate" mentioned in the Wakita case but I didn't know about the reference in the Rumi introduction case.

It could be Gosho toying with us or it could have some meaning.

Either way it's too early to draw conclusions yet it's an interesting connection nevertheless

[MeiTanteixX]

While rereading Rumi Wakasa’s introduction case, I noticed something which might be insignificant on its own, but I think is worth mentioning in hindsight.



In Kanenori Wakita’s introduction case, the Kamen Yaiba episode that one of the suspects wants to see features “a close associate of the opponent’s boss”, which might or might not be interpreted as a reference to Rum and eventually to Kanenori Wakita being Rum. As MeiTanteixX pointed out, though, there is another implication that allows a different reading and makes the constellation somewhat confusing.

What to my knowledge has not been highlighted in that context is that Rumi Wakasa’s introduction case includes a reference to a Kamen Yaiba episode as well. To lure out the three robbers who Rumi Wakasa would defeat later, she and the Detective Boys pretend to abandon the old warehouse and go home, which is when Genta and Mitsuhiko start talking about the Kamen Yaiba episode that Genta says would be broadcast on that day; Mitsuhiko then responds that “a mysterious female Yaiba” would make an appearance.



Unlike the allusions in Kanenori Wakita’s introduction case, this one seems obvious—the “mysterious female Yaiba” would be Rumi Wakasa, who made her first appearance in these chapters—, so that alone would not be more than a (possibly humorous) line which is only uttered by a kid who might chat about anything that comes to his mind while play-acting.

But if we assume that this obviousness is supposed to set the tone for all ensuing Kamen Yaiba references, perhaps the one in Kanenori Wakita’s introduction case is just as plain, meaning that Kanenori Wakita is indeed Rum? His remark about Pirate’s Spirit being weak might then simply be his way to deliver a first glimpse at his deduction abilities, but unrelated to the plot.

Of course, this is only speculation. That the first hint is transparent does not entail that the next one is as well, and those annotations—the ones regarding Kamen Yaiba in particular—might equally be red herrings having no importance at all. But I think that such a recurring pattern might more often than not be systematic.

Thoughts?

Wow, I forgot about that Yaiba reference in Rumi's case. Considering that she was referred to as a mysterious female "Yaiba"/hero (heroine), like most of us expected, it would mean that she will become an ally. But if we were to take those remarks as serious indications to the fans (from Gosho), then like you said, maybe it's as simple as that...that Wakita is Rum, and that he's either not as good of a detective as we expected or he's simply underestimating himself.

It's an interesting pattern and arguably hard to look past. I think the silver-lining side of this is that the Yaiba reference in Wakita's case, in particular, could be a redherring, while the horse reference is the actual clue, but that's just my wishful thinking. Or if "close associate" is the more accurate translation, then maybe Wakita is No. 3 of the BO, and is close to the boss as well. That will be my final call.