New Theory: "Amuro Has British Connections" Discussion Topic

[Jd-]

We have a few Amuro topics/threads currently ongoing, but this is something I suggested in the Scarlet Showdown topic that I don't think has been discussed before. As such, I thought it'd be best to have a dedicated topic for this specific branch of reasoning to see what kinds of hints and evidence (for or against) we can come up with before Gosho (potentially) includes it directly. Of course, this topic will contain unmarked manga spoilers throughout, so if you're not caught up or you're an anime-only fan, this is probably not where you want to be.

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The basic theory is that Amuro may well have some sort of British connection

There are a multitude of possibilities that could come out of this, but I have a feeling that Amuro will have strong connections to Britain itself, British people, or--most unlikely--could even be British or half-British himself. This is definitely a strange and outlandish theory at this stage, but there are some things in the series that make me feel like this is an avenue worthy of discussion.

To clarify some points: We now know that Amuro is in both the Black Organization and the Secret Police. We do not know exactly who he is spying for and who he is spying on between those two entities, but Akai seemingly deduced that Amuro was spying on the Black Organization for the police even when they were both in the Organization together. We can't be sure if Amuro has further allegiances or is a double or triple agent at this point. With that said...

Thus far, it's important to note the following: There are not a lot of direct pieces of evidence to suggest that Amuro indeed has some sort of British connection. What we can see, though, are little nuggets that may well be indicative of his connection to Britain. If true, I would see these as seeds that Gosho is planting so that any later revelation to his lineage or (most likely) his general background make his past appearances even more interesting later (as in, we'll find out he has history in Britain/with British characters and suddenly his character will make a lot of sense).

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The seeds planted thus far that may become relevant in time

So, to reiterate, what I think we have currently are some loose but intriguing examples of seeds that may have been planted by Gosho to be consistent indications of future revelations. These are mostly meta indications of where the series will go, as I don't think this is something (if valid) that Gosho intends to bring to the forefront just yet.

To get things started, here are a few points that may be hints of a move toward involving British characters and the direct seeds that have been planted around Amuro:

Britain is about to play a larger part in the Conan universe. We've seen Elena (Haibara's British mother) in flashbacks recently showcasing her relationship with Child Amuro, all with promises she'll be getting more appearances soon (as flashbacks). The Mystery Girl hanging out with Sera is very likely British. An astute theory was recently posted that everyone should read, in which it suggests Sera has British connections instead of the presumed American ones. How this will all shake out we're not sure yet, but a lot seems to indicate Britain is primed to be a player in the Conan world soon.

Elena may have been an MI6 agent and did know Amuro as a child. During the Scarlet Showdown arc, Bourbon name dropped MI6 specifically (saying that Agasa's work with inventions rivals that of MI6, a British secret intelligence agency in the same vein as the CIA). Gosho has humanized Elena as a good person who cared a lot about children thus far, and I think we're getting a glimpse of her as not just the "best of the worst" in the Organization but actually possibly someone who was sent to spy on them by MI6 before being tragically caught up in the dangers of the job.

Amuro dresses very often in a manner reminiscent of "British gentleman" sort of attire. Amuro's appearance is actually one of his most interesting traits given that almost all of the clothing he chooses to wear is quite unique compared to that of the other characters. Very few other characters have this sort of wardrobe identity, while Amuro also wears it quite consistently. He is often seen in contrasting dress suits with vests and long sleeves, which is decidedly Western clothing but particularly identified as European at the very least (it also bears noting that Conan wears this sort of thing occasionally). One example that really sticks out is his choice of a flat cap at the end of the Mystery Train arc. This is definitely not something we'd expect to see from many of the pure Japanese characters, but more importantly, distinctive hats have been utilized by Gosho for a long time to assert a character's identity. Take for example Akai's knitted hat, Hattori's baseball cap, Sera's classic trilby and the occasion or two she also wore a flat cap (which is decidedly British on both counts), Gin and Vodka's hats, etc. Of course, there are going to be plenty of moments when random characters were wearing certain types of hats that never meant anything more than just wearing a certain piece of headwear. However, this is definitely a characteristic that Gosho comes back to now and again, so maybe keep an eye out going forward.

Amuro is shown "randomly" being adept at tennis, seemingly out of nowhere. While this may appear to be an innocent character trait used for the ensuing case back in File 825, this could be meant to serve as a small hint toward a British connection. As of late in the series (dating back to the London case), tennis has been established as something very dear to Britain and is key to its identity in Conan so far. While we mostly saw this as just a random trait that wasn't indicative of something larger when it originally happened, I am actually thinking this was meant to be a hint toward his Britishness that we missed originally. (Of course, tennis is popular the world over, but there's no denying that it's a very British sport with some of the most famous/popular tennis players hailing from Britain) In the end, I think Gosho has gone out of his way to "westernize" Amuro and his habits in a lot of ways, and it's seeming a lot like it's not just coincidence.

Amuro has a sort of British James Bond suave. This is a lesser point, but not only does he dress nicely, he definitely has the attention of the female characters in the series (almost all of them he's met?). He's remarked as handsome and cool by most of the characters, and is intelligent and proactive. Ultimately, given that we now know he's some sort of spy as of File 897, Amuro may end up being our actual James Bond equivalent. We know he's a little rash and doesn't mind tackling things head-on (as demonstrated by the past few files specifically), so I definitely won't rule out him being purposed to be Conan's version of a "James Bond" just yet.

UPDATE: Amuro is also an avid boxer according to Gosho, a sport invented in and widely associated with Britain. This is one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that Amuro has British connections, as far as I'm concerned. Boxing is a British sport—modern boxing was invented there and is still widely associated with the country despite the prominence of other countries in the sport (specifically the U.S. and some key Asian countries like the Philippines). In fact, boxing is so widely considered British that in countries where other forms of boxing are practiced, it is known colloquially as "British Boxing". I'm feeling more certain now that Gosho is using this trait along with the others to indicate that Amuro has some sort of British connection.

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So, what can everyone come up with? There must be some examples out there that would support this, and I'm sure plenty of things that could be indicative of the opposite (such is the point of discussion!).

[Patrick]

Minerva (Glass)'s dad died in a car accident.
Date died in a car accident.
Akai was driving both.
Amuro = Ares (Minerva Glass's coach) confirmed!!

Just kidding
P.D. would explain the tennis, though

[MoonRaven]

Yes! Finally someone gathered these all into one topic. At first I didn't take this seriously whent he possibility popped up but there's definitely a lot of hints towards one direction or another...

[AICHAN]

this is a very interesting theory JD,and I'm sure all the details you mentionned will have some importance in the future.
Actually the detail that made me think Amuro could have british connection is when he mentionned MI6.
But I'm not sure about Elena being a spy,or Ai would be aware of that with the tapes Elena left.But that's definitly a possibility.

[MeiTanteixX]

"But to be able to complete this project, we have to leave you and your sister". If Shiho's mom was a spy, and was gonna fake her death to leave the organization, Why would she leave her children if she is so good hearted?
On the other hand, if she was really gonna finish the project, what benefits could it give to her Agency? (It's only risking people's lives since no one can be sure what the BO are planning to do with project results[except for Elena])
If She died because she was either found out to be a spy OR vermouth killed her (to stop the experiment) and set it up as an accident, Why didn't the BO kill Akemi directly since she is connected to the spy(and unimportant to them) OR why didn't Vermouth succeed in killing Shiho(for the same reason) in the US(if vermouth even tried)?

Amuro on the other hand is a hard case, the hints can't without doubts point to him having an European influence. The "Sera and mystery girl" discussion is on the same boat like this one. I can by now already Assume that the Akai family might be Half-British.
Amuro does have a gentleman-like behavior and all of your ideas (except for James Bond part) does point to him originating from Britain. Though the hints are weak(and few) and we need to observe more on his behavior/fashion(girls be aware) on the upcoming chapters to make a solid assumption of his background!

[sken]

amuro came from japan police academy. in the episode where takagi was kidnapped, there was a flashback when he was spoken to Date, and mentioned that Date came first in the academy. Date then said, he was always second, and his tall, and thin friend always came first.
at the of the episode, when takagi visited Date's grave, amuro was there.

[aly_angelflight]

That doesn't exclude Amuro from being half-Japanese, though.

[AICHAN]

That doesn't exclude Amuro from being half-Japanese, though.

yeah of course...
Also Gosho said in an interview that Amuro's skin color is important right?I don't remember very well.So Amuro's origines have some importance to the plot.

[Incomplete-tantei]

I've always thought that Bourbon was an elegant dresser xD.
But I didn't know this was British style.

And I also think the fact that Bourbon was a pro tennis player might has some connection to Britain. Especially because tennis is well known in Britain with Wimbledon, tennis pro players (even if pro tennis players are in many different countries. I don't know if many english tennis players distinguish themselves from others though) and such. Also in Death Note...

Spoiler: Death Note spoiler

L said he had won tennis tournaments in England.

Gosho linked London with tennis in the London arc, so it would be interesting if Bourbon has some connections with Britain.

[Shadow]

The British connections are included since the start, because Shinichi is a Sherlockian.
It's not strange that other characters are tied to the British world as well.
Yuusako, in London case, told Conan he was the one who solve the hospital bombing case involving Hades.
Yukiko, in the same case told they got a ticket for each sector in Wimbledon, so the further question is how did they manage to achieve that result just a day before, at most, without having some powerful connections (Scotland Yard has no needs for tickets to go in); previously, in NY case, Yukiko drives her own car, an original Jaguar E-Type, probably imported from UK, while there are many sportscars available in the States; and finally the new mystery of her connection with Ai/Shiho, even if they never met (Ai comment about Conan's mother in Kamen Yaiba movie preview case).
We know also that Ai parents died in a lab accident, but didn't Vermouth fake her own death many times already? And Elena was British, after all...

[char13happy]

Amuro dresses very often in a manner reminiscent of "British gentleman" sort of attire.

I'm really tempted to do a catalog of all of his attire now.

[Stopwatch]

I've always thought that Bourbon was an elegant dresser xD.
But I didn't know this was British style.

It isn't (I have one teacher who dresses pretty similarly to Furuya, but other than that nothing comes to mind. I mean, unless you're sixty or something no one wears flat caps either, but eh. And those frills on the mystery relative, well, we no longer live in the 19th century or whenever they're from either.), but it's what it's stereotyped as and being that Aoyama clearly isn't British it would make sense for him to use broad stereotypes to establish nationality (e.g. Jodie having blonde hair = Western. Not the best example, but I can't think of anything else right now.) in the same way he has such rigid rules for what right-handed and left-handed people use each hand for.

While I think there could be a British connection, I think I don't agree with all the points for why (even adjusting for national stereotypes. I have to say I had had no idea that we apparently had a connection to Tennis other than Wimbledon, for example). I might have another look at a later date, but I remember disputing with some of them the first time I came into this topic.

[Jd-]

Amuro dresses very often in a manner reminiscent of "British gentleman" sort of attire.

I'm really tempted to do a catalog of all of his attire now.

Actually, I saved pages of each file as I was investigating a bit for this post and got grabs of all his costumes to date. Surprisingly, Amuro hasn't appeared as much as you'd think.

Here's a really quick gallery of all the outfits I noticed while skimming through those cases. This includes Amuro's uniforms (as a waiter at Poirot/etc), which still have a Western feel but of course are not really as important as the others.

Click to view full version

[Jd-]

UPDATE:

It was mentioned when I brought up this theory elsewhere that Gosho also indicated in an interview that Amuro practices boxing. I'll update the main post to include this as well.

Amuro is also an avid boxer, a sport invented in and widely associated with Britain. This is one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that Amuro has British connections, as far as I'm concerned. Boxing is a British sport—modern boxing was invented there and is still widely associated with the country despite the prominence of other countries in the sport (specifically the U.S. and some key Asian countries like the Philippines). In fact, boxing is so widely considered British that in countries where other forms of boxing are practiced, it is known colloquially as "British Boxing". I'm feeling more certain now that Gosho is using this trait along with the others to indicate that Amuro has some sort of British connection.

[Shiromi]

He wears a bolo-tie, he's definitely secretly a Texas Ranger!