#Toichi is such a great teacher and I want to see it more
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Magic Kaito vs. Magic Kaito 1412
I’m not sure if I ever finished all twelve episodes, but I first watched at least a handful of the original Magic Kaito specials about a decade ago, and I remember really enjoying them. Superhero stories are among my favorites, and while both Magic Kaito and its sister series Detective Conan overlap with the genre in various ways—after all, Conan’s glasses were literally inspired by Clark Kent—Kaito’s flashy costume alone pushes his adventures more in that direction. So, maybe it’s no wonder that, back in the day, I kind of considered Magic Kaito my preferred series of the two.
Recently, I’ve got a reignited interest in the DCMK world (evidently). And it’s not a bad time to have a reignited interest, because English-language accessibility for this universe is much better now than it was ten years ago. Conan’s getting new movie dubs, and Kaito’s newer, expanded TV series, Magic Kaito 1412, is freely available on Crunchyroll. Obviously, I had to give it a shot.
I wasn’t impressed. Far from it. I chalked up my old fondness to nostalgia goggles. Kid the Phantom Thief is simply more enjoyable in Detective Conan than in his own thing, I figured.
But a few weeks ago, those old specials went up on Crunchyroll Germany. And it took me a while, but I finally decided to figure out the truth, once and for all. Have my tastes totally changed, or has Magic Kaito anime not always been Like That?
I was impressed. I watched all of one episode, and I enjoyed it so much more than 1412.
Which surprised me! Just examining the first episodes of both series, they’re honestly practically identical. They cover the same story beats almost exactly. Kaito’s introduction is even consistently him being disgusting to Aoko—behavior that, nauseatingly, convinced me that Mineta of the My Hero Academia series would actually be adored if he were conventionally attractive.
But as it turns out, that’s relevant to why the original Magic Kaito strikes me as far more palatable. Kaito’s actions towards Aoko are still indefensible in the old special, but he doesn’t repeat them on his teacher, and there are repercussions. Unlike in 1412, Kaito doesn’t get away with his harassment because his teacher finds him charming; in fact, Aoko even later notes that he “should be thankful [he] [wasn’t] expelled,” implying that he was indeed punished harshly for what he did. While Aoko assures Kaito’s mother that he didn’t get in trouble in 1412, in the original special, it’s clear that being cute isn’t enough to give him a free pass for disrupting class and being gross.
Further, in a more general sense, the tone of both series is of course goofy overall, but the characters in the old Magic Kaito feel much more like human beings than the cartoonish caricatures portrayed in 1412. A scene especially missing from the new show is a quiet one where Kaito and Aoko walk together after school. With the sun hanging low in the sky and a sparkling river flowing beside them, Kaito expresses his disappointment in how his magic trick didn’t exactly end as planned. “I guess I need to work on my finale,” he bemoans, but Aoko is more concerned with why he feels the need to pull these ridiculous stunts in the first place.
She quickly gets her answer. One of the exuberant little kids who had run by them earlier falls over and cries, and Kaito doesn’t hesitate to cheer him up with magic. And Aoko watches. She sees the way the little boy’s face lights up. She sees how he runs off again with renewed energy. And she smiles. She doesn’t say it, but the audience gets the message.
Oh. That’s why Kaito’s a magician. That’s why Aoko walks by his side.
I won’t claim to fully comprehend Kaito’s character. I haven’t read the manga, it’s been years since I’ve seen more than the first episode of these old specials, I’ve only watched about 20% of 1412, and for as much as I’ve been posting about Detective Conan lately, I’m (maybe humorously) about the farthest thing from current and would only be able to tell you about Kid’s first appearance in that show. But when Kaito returns to his empty home in the original series, and when he announces that he’s there to nobody at all, and when he welcomes himself back, all with a smile and a cheerfulness to his tone, I deeply feel his loneliness. I feel the weight of his lost father. I feel that, even if some of his tricks are inappropriate and inexcusable, he does them because he wants to make people laugh. He doesn’t want anyone to feel as sad and alone as he’s felt.
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t get any of that from Magic Kaito 1412.
And they’re small things, they really are. But they make a world of difference. Even Jii, who really only becomes more than just a mysterious figure in the episode’s closing minutes, feels more like a tangible person in the special. He loudly gasps for breath after performing the magical, fantastical feats of his old friend, and it’s such a tiny, minuscule detail, but when watching, I feel it so strongly. I literally understand the strain of Toichi’s loss on Jii, too.
Beyond narrative decisions—and there are others that I much prefer in the old series, such as how Kaito links his failed magic trick to his father’s “poker face” philosophy, and how Kaito uses a successful variation of his earlier trick to escape the police as Kid the Phantom Thief—I also just simply prefer the original art style. Magic Kaito 1412 is slick and shiny and modern, but in being so, it strikes me as much more generic than the older-styled 2010 special. Shot compositions also feel more powerful in the first anime; just consider how differently the two series handle what is arguably the emotional height of the entire episode:
[Image descriptions: A series of four comparison images examining how the 2010 Magic Kaito series and the 2014 Magic Kaito 1412 portray the same sequence of events. In both, Kaito asks Jii, “Dad was murdered?! Was my dad... a thief? Was he Kid the Phantom Thief?” Kaito then says, “I see...” End image descriptions.]
While the dialogue is essentially unchanged, the old show’s use of close-ups expresses the tension of the scene spectacularly. You can see the terror in Kaito’s eyes. You can see how the thought of his father being a thief is so distressing that merely asking the question is painful and heartwrenching. You can see the sweat on Kaito’s face. You can see in great detail how much he struggles to grapple with this new truth.
Magic Kaito 1412 is significantly more distanced. And there’s power in that decision, too. The revelation is overwhelming. It’s hard to take. Kaito may want to get away from it, but he can’t.
However, I resonate more with how the original series handles the moment. Seeing how everything affects Kaito way up close speaks much more to me—and there are still some fantastic long shots, too:
[Image descriptions: Two screenshots from the original Magic Kaito series. Both are distanced long shots. In the first image, Kaito and Jii kneel on the ground. Kaito’s hands are on Jii’s shoulders. In the second image, Kaito stands, facing away from Jii, while Jii remains on the ground in shame. They wear identical outfits in both images, and their capes blow in the wind. End image descriptions.]
Gotta love those capes.
Overall, my feelings on Magic Kaito as a whole could probably be best described as somewhat mixed. And I’m kind of new here, and I don’t even know when it’s appropriate to use the #dcmk tag, so I of course don’t have the slightest clue about how popular or unpopular my opinion that the 2010 Magic Kaito series ranks above 2014′s Magic Kaito 1412 is.
But skipping down memory lane and revisiting the old show was pleasantly surprising. Maybe my affection for Magic Kaito will never reach the highs it once had all those years ago, but it was almost comforting to find that my tastes haven’t changed all that much—rather, it’s Magic Kaito itself that’s changed.
#magic kaito#magic kaito 1412#kaito kuroba#aoko nakamori#jii konosuke#dcmk#? lol like i said i don't know when it's appropriate to use that tag but i do talk about dc a bit here so?#mk critical#is that a tag?#honestly i was gonna try to avoid putting this in the tags because it's kind of critical but#it became like a legit essay and i'd like to hear other thoughts! and i hope it's not *that* negative?#anyway what is with me writing things i don't really plan on writing and not the things i do plan on writing ^^;#ramblings
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Let’s Talk with Aoyama Gosho-sensei DAY 2017
Kind of remade. Added some stuff, there’s a new question about Yukiko and Ran, but mostly the information is the same.
Q: Did Ai-chan drank the same medicine that Conan did?
A: The medicine Ai-chan drunk is the same? The same. The same, right? :)
TN: That was omitted and that is a really STRONG nuance that should remain.
Q: Before official Conan April Movie, er-r... Momiji-chan. Momiji-chan in Sunday manga... Will she appear before the movie?
A: A~ Before the official release of the movie? I have a feeling she'll appear at the same time when the movie will be presented to public... Sorry if I lied.
Q: Who do you want to become from your characters?
A: My characters? E~ Hmm... Some time ago Conan-kun…. I wanted to be Conan-kun to enter the bath with Ran-chan. What about now, huh... Well, the same. I want to bathe with Ran-chan.
Q: Ran said in the first movie that ‘Shinichi and I were born in May, so we are both Taurus’. Is this true in manga?
A: Aaa? Eh? Taurus? Was it like this? Hahaha. Eh... Ran-chan? Ran-chan’s birthday is not decided… Yet. Aa. Do you want me to make her Taurus? I’ll try to make my best of it.
Q: Driving a conversation a little from Conan, Aoyama-sensei loves Giants' Sakamoto-senshu(Sakamoto Hayato), and previously you stated that he will appear in Conan if he will make 30 home runs, he didn’t, but still has a great playing record, will he appear in Conan?
A: Haaa~ Yes-yes-yes. Well... I want him to appear. But that’s sad… It will depend on Sakamoto-senshu himself.
Q: Err... Did the girl in the movie (Curacao) really died?
A: Eh? (Audience: Curacao!) Curacao..? Aa... Curacao... Yes-yes. She died. Perished.
Audience: I love her, maybe she did survive?
A: She didn't.
Q: What is your favorite car?
A: Porsche! Sorry… Same with Gin!!
Q: Err... Kudo Shinichi-kun, in manga wears a lot of shirts, is this your taste for choosing Shinichi’ish clothes?
A: My taste. Hahaha. Sorry. Shirts suits him well ♪
Q: Err... In Animal Forest you said ‘Rum had already appeared’, at that point of time, did they show their name of face?
A: Name.. Eh… U… Eh… Hm… In some kind, their name was not shown.
Audience: The face?
A: Hmm... I wonder :)
The face… Hm… Maybe appeared… Maybe not…
Q: In Meitantei Conan universe there was FBI, Secret Police, Japan Police… Which organization would you like to join, if you lived in Conan world?
A: Eh… I don’t want both of them :)
Audience: If you were to have some activity with them - either investigation or just eating, then who?
A: Eh... If I was with Akai, I think I won’t be able to talk with him. Aa. Amuro-kun is kind of nice. I want to eat sandwiches with Amuro. Haha. Amuro then.
Q: I don't know if you'll answer that, but how many years passed since Wakasa Rumi-sensei started teaching? She is a homeroom teacher, which means she has to have teaching experience for some years.
A: Aa… Wakasa Rumi-sensei? A... Yes-yes. Aa, Eh? Hm… I can’t answer that… Sorry. Maybe that can be an answer of some kind.
Q: I love Nagano poilice so much, err... do you plan to draw a chapter about when Morofushi-keiji abandoned his post?
A: A... Yes-yes. Eh... Hm… I have some plans, but… What to do… I want to see it? Aa… I want to see it. Then I’ll do it. Sorry if I won’t be able to draw it.
NEW:
Q: I love Ran really much, and I really liked Ran and Shinichi's sakura meeting story, but Yukiko, when looked at Ran's face, told 'could it be’, and 'Eri-chan's girl', could it be that Shinichi and Ran met before?
A: A... Yes-yes. Shinichi and Ran didn't meet before. That was their first meeting. Well, Yukiko could've seen her, but she didn't meet her.
Audience: Maybe you'll draw Yukiko and Ran's meeting?
A: Aa... You want to see it? I see... I'll try :) Although I have no plans of drawing it for now :)
Q: In the chapter where Amuro first appeared, DNA and blood were mentioned, does it have something to do with Amuro?
A: Blood, huh? Err... What, something like a chimera? No-no-no :)
Audience: Then blood relationship? Family?
A: A! No, I can’t tell that! :)
Q: There were two movies with Kogoro being cool, will there be a chapter where Kogoro will be cool in manga?
A: I’m drawing it right now! Er, in next Sunday series. He's soo cool!
Q: I'm very interested in Gin, he's smart, quick-witted and I think he's one of the best 5 of te Organization, so can you at least tell us his number position in the Organization?
A: E... Quite high.
Audience: Top ten? Top 5?
A: A... Among the best 10.
Q: I love Takagi-keiji the best, but his past is not really clear, what was the reason for him to join the police? Will you tell it?
A: I’ll think of it! Hahaha.
Q: How movie titles are decided?
A: Aa... This year it was decided by staff. Previous one was decided by me. Somebody decided on ‘darkest’, I chose ‘nightmare’. So that's like that. Suwa(Michihiko Suwa)-san thinks about it, I think about it, staff thinks about it.
Q: In Visual Book there’s written that Shinichi-kun is America resident, was he born in America? Or Japan?
A: Eh? America? Is it written there? That’s probably a mistake. He was _probably_ born in Japan.
Q: Among all girl characters in Meitantei Conan, I feel like there are a lot of strong-willed women, err... does Aoyama-sensei love this type? Or is this unintentional?
A: I love ‘tsundere’ type! My favourite. Of course I like cute ones too.
Q: Kudo Shinichi, Akai Shuichi, Kuroba Toichi, all important characters has ‘ichi’ in their names. And Chiba-san's first name was not his seiyu's, the 'one' is changed to 'wa'.
A: Aa, you noticed! Sorry. And if you want more details, I wanted Toichi to be voiced by Ikeda Shuichi, so he was named Toichi, who gave him the voice. Akai Shuichi goes without saying. Shinichi is a little different. He was named after Hoshi Shinichi-san.
Audience: What about Furuya-san's Rei and Heiji's 'Ji'? Has it meanings of numbers?
A: It have nothing to do with numbers.
Q: I love Miyano Shiho the best, at Episode ONE’s start scene in laboratory, when Sherry was talking with somebody on the phone while looking at the computer screen, is her opponent someone important?
A: What? A~ No. Sorry. I think it could be anyone. They won’t appear probably. Sorry.
Q: About Miyano Shiho-chan, will she have a love development?
A: Eh! That's a difficult question. Well... She loves a certain soccer player. Well.. Hm. Don't you know that? Well, that's all about it. Hahaha.
Q: That's not a question about Conan, but when there was an earthquake in Tottori, how did you knew about it and what did you feel?
A: A... Well, I was sleeping. Honestly, I was going to sleep 3 hours, and when I woke up after half an hour of sleeping, I thought 'it's shaking! and switched on TV. When I saw Hokuei written there, I was suprised. Yep. Like that. A was a little surprised.
Q: Will Okita-kun appear in the movie?
A: He won’t appear in movie. But probably will appear in manga. He’s in the same high school. He won’t appear (in movie)!
Want to see him?
Audience: Yes!
A: Ok. I'll do it!
Q: Karakurenai Love Letter has Huakunin Isshu theme, which is your favorite poem?
A: That’s ‘Chihayaburu’! You don’t know? Please study more.
Q: When will Takagi-san and Satou-keiji marry?
A: A... What a straight question. Hmmm... I don't know when, but I want them to marry. Hm. It's still undecided.
Q: In ep. ONE which scenes were made by you?
A: Aa... Of course Korn! Yeah… And everything apart from Shinichi and Ran visiting Sonoko’s home at the beginning was made by me.
Last scenes with Akai, Vermouth was of course mine. Yukiko and Yusaku also. I directed all of those scenes. And Vodka’s 'We want to build a lab' was mine.
Q: All girls in Conan, for example Ran-chan, look really cute, tell us please, what references and brands do you use for them?
A: Eh~ Aa... Well, right now all women clothes are chosen by women. So it depends on her taste.
Before, when I chose it myself, it was JJ, anan, Non-no and CanCam. That's all. Sorry.
Q: Err... I really love Akai-san and was suprised that he dated Jodie=sensei. Please tell us about how Jodie and Akai’s romance started! When they started dating? Who confessed first? Tell us!
A: Ehh? I can’t tell that :) Please wait, it could appear in manga!
Audience: Please!
A: I’ll do my best.
Q: I lived in Tottori for a long time but I became fan only with 'The Darkest Nightmare', sorry. That's not a question, more like a wish. Please add Kazami Yuuya to the manga. Please.
A: Eh? Who? Kazami? You like Kazami?
Audience: That's not about liking, that's about Amuro having no friends...
A: Aa... That's good :)
Audience: Hey, he's lonely.
A: Well... Kazami, huh. You want him to appear. Yes-yes-yes. Maybe you'll see Kazami again.
Q: Kaito Kid err... Does he know that Conan=Shinichi?
A: A! That, when did it happen? I want to ask myself… Well, if I’ll have a chance, I’ll think of it.
Q: What car you ride to come here today?
A: Aaa, Same as Sato-keiji, RX7. In manga it's black. Police cars are not that flashy. Anime... well... Lied. A, Amuro also has the same. His car is white.
TN: Could be a joke or a mistranslation, because original sentence is kinda vague. Sorry in advance! Fyi: A car was described as red in manga though...
Q: Looks like there’s a fuss about where Heiji will confess to Kazuha-chan in recent Sunday issue. Where do you think he will do it?
A: You ask about that? You can't:) Hm… Kinda… Well, wait for it :)
Q: What is the most impressive scene in ‘Karakurenai no Love Letter’?
A: That’s hm… A scene with Kazuha. I can tell only that. I drew a teaser while having an apparent scene in mind. Hm? You got what it is? You don’t get it? It’s fine! :) Damn, me. I told too much.
Q: Happy New Year. Err... Quite a time ago you told that you want to reach 100 volumes, now you're closing to it, what are you going to do?
A: I think it will exceed 100 volumes. Please act like I didn’t say anything about 100 volumes :)
Audience: How much do you want to reach?
A: I don't have a goal. Mm... I didn't even think about it.
Q: Happy New Year, Aoyama-sensei. Err... I became a fan from the Darkest Nighmare, so I like Akai-san and Amuro-san. Err... If it's possible, please tell us birthdays of Akai-san and Amuro=sam... Err... Akai-san and Furuya Rei-san.
A: Aa… I don’t know.
Audience: Then at least tell us Akai’s age
A: I didn't tell?
Audience: He first appeared as a passenger and he didn't had age shown.
Aoyama: Aa... Age, huh. How old is Amuro?
Audience: Amuro is 29, but we don't know about Furuya Rei-san.
A: Well, Amuro is 29, Iori is 30, right? Then it’s like that. 31-32.
Q: To what extent Rye and Bourbon had really that bad relationship?
A: Eeh? They had bad relationship, right?
Audience: Like could they not stand each other faces or even eat at the same table?
A: Well, yeah, it was like that. They really disliked each other. I guess you understand there was a reason for that, right?
Q: Err, I think about manga and movies as different things, but they have content created by you, right? Err... According to movies, Ran-chan knows Conan-kun's birthday, but she doesn't (in manga), so how movies influence manga?
Is your setting the same as movie one?
A: Ah, is it influencing? Aa... Hmm... Right, I want to say it’s the same, but it has some subtle differences. Well. I suppose it has differences. Like, birthdays. Well. I can’t answer right away, sorry. Well. Movies are movies. Manga is manga.
Q: About Haneda Koji… In manga's APTX list he is Haneda, but in anime is is ‘Hada’.
A: A… That is a mistake. I didn’t say that to anime staff. Koji is taken from Tanigawa Koji.
Q: Episode ONE's scene with Ran-chan cooking for Shinichi was impressive. How good are male characters at cooking?
A: Amuro is good at it. Akai was taught by Yukiko-san and got better. But he can only make stews… I think Amuro is better.
Q: Yusaku’s ‘Night Baron’ is a a reference to Red Baron, that was a reference for Akai-san and Char (Aznable)?
A: Eh? Red Baron?
(TN: Manfred von Richthofen)
Audience: He’s famous in America…
A: No. Wrong. Golden Mask. Edogawa Ranpo’s.
Q: I got interested in Conan from the previous year's movie. There are a lot of people who really like Akai-san and Amuro-san, so people talk about it a lot. Akai was dating Miyano Akemi, who was at the same organization. What about Amuro?
A: I made a hint before. Eh? You didn't hear that? Amuro dated somebody.
Audience: Was it a love inside the Organization? If he has a woman now, please tell is.
A: A. Right now he doesn't have a woman he loves.
Audience: Now?
A: Yep. Hahaha. You're all great. He doesn't! For now.
Audience: Will you draw a chapter about it?
A: Hm, maybe. His first love. You all know that person.
(Smol Amuro loved Elena OMG)
Q: Happy New Year. I'm a fan of Haibara Ai-chan, but there was too little Ai-chan in Episode ONE. Do you want to make episode TWO about how Haibara-san became smaller?
A: Aa. You want to see a getting smaller story again, huh. Right now - no. But it had great reviews, so maybe we’ll make something like that.
Q: Happy New Year. Err, in Amuro-san as Furuya Rei's past there was a glimpse of Elena-sensei, do you want to draw something about it?
A: A… Right. I have to! Hm… That’s kind of difficult setting.
Audience: Wil you draw it in a RUM arc?
Aoyama: No comment! :) I told too much. Sorry, I can't answer that.
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