Kaito Kuroba
| Phantom Thief Kid | |
|---|---|
| Case Closed character | |
| File:Kaito.jpg Phantom Thief Kid by Gosho Aoyama | |
| First appearance | Detective Conan Episode 76 Case Closed Episode 78 |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Phantom Thief Kid 1412 Kaitou Kid International Criminal 1412 |
| Gender | Male |
Phantom Thief Kid, known in Japan as Kaitou Kid (怪盗キッド Kaitō Kiddo) is a fictional character created by Gosho Aoyama. The character appears in the Case Closed (Detective Conan) anime/manga and the Magic Kaitou manga series.
Character information
The Phantom Thief Kid (born on June 21- same as his creator) is a world-renowned thief who steals treasure and gems. He is sometimes known as the Kaitou Kid or International Criminal 1412. He was named Kid when a journalist hastily scrawled "1412" and Booker (Yusaku) Kudo read it as "KID" (14 = KI, 12 = D)[1]. The Japanese word "Kaitou" means "mysterious phantom thief."
Now an internationally wanted criminal, the real Kaitou was originally the world famous magician Toichi Kuroba (黒羽 盗一, Kuroba Tōichi). Eight years before the story begins, Toichi was hired by a[2] criminal organization[3] (AKA: The Black Organization) to find and steal a specific and supposedly magical jewel. This jewel, known as the "Pandora Gem" was said to ooze liquid "tears" during the passing of a particular comet, that when consumed, would grant immortality. After realizing just who Toichi was dealing with, he decided to back out of the deal. The organization later murdered him during a magic show, and his death was framed as an accident.
The current Kaitou Kid is Toichi's son Kaito Kuroba (黒羽快斗, Kuroba Kaito), a 17-year-old student and rather gifted magician who learned magic and the art of disguise from his father as a child. Besides Kaito, Kuroba Toichi also trained Vivian Kudo, (Shinichi's mother) in the art of disguise for her acting job[4]. Chris Vineyard (Vermouth) was also one of his students, who at the time went by the name of Sharon[5].
Inspector Nakamori has always pursued the Kid, but oddly enough he approves of his daughter Aoko's childhood friend, one Kuroba Kaito. Aoko Nakamori is Kaito's love interest in the manga Magic Kaito. Saguru Hakuba, the son of a high police official, is Kaito's rival for Aoko and also attempts to catch the Phantom Thief Kid. Saguru believes that Kaito might be the Kaitou Kid, but can never prove it. In addition, the witch, Akako Koizumi, has also expressed interests in him, and tries to cast spells on him to win his love, which strangely for her, don't work.
Kaitou Kid uses a number of gadgets to help with his thievery. Most notable are the sharp, thin metal playing cards shot by a card gun, a cape that can unfold into a hang glider, pink smoke bombs, and blow-up mannequins that act as decoys to distract the inspector. Kaitou Kid is also known for his acrobatic and daredevil-like antics (jumping off buildings, climbing through narrow places like air vents and sewers, etc) and he has an assistant who had previously worked for his father-- an older man named Jii.
Not many people know about Kaito's true identity, not even Conan Edogawa. After learning about his father's alter ego, Kaito picks up where his father left off and assumes his identity in order to investigate his mysterious death. He finds out that his father was in fact murdered by a mysterious crime syndicate for refusing to assist them in their search for the Pandora gem. He then vows to find it before they do and destroy it- to deny immortality to his father's murderers. In addition, he tries to lure them out with his incredibly publicized and flamboyant heists. He even goes to such lengths as to announce the time and place of his heists in the form of riddles that he sends to Nakamori beforehand, which drive the inspector crazy.
Finally, he also vows to do his best to never let anyone get hurt, and although Inspector Nakamori always tries to catch him, he has a respect for the man. Oddly enough, the inspector and Toichi were good friends before his death, and the inspector still seems unaware that the present Kaitou Kid is not the original.
The only clues that Kaito has about the gem are that it glows red under the full moon and that it is a doublet: a gem hidden within a larger gem. Thus, it would have to be a relatively large one with a bizarre history, and always stored in a place that never receives moonlight. This is why he researches and steals famous priceless gems with odd histories from incredibly well-defended areas, and always returns them after the very next full moon if they are not what he is looking for.
As a person, Kaito is very intelligent, and a class clown at his school. He loves pulling harmless pranks on people, often involving magic, to get a laugh. Whenever he plays a trick on Aoko, she chases him around with whatever she can find- namely mops, brooms, etc. but she secretly likes him too, and thinks he is a nice guy at heart. She is unaware that Kaito is the "Kaitou Kid" and hates the "Kid" because not only does he steal things which she believes is wrong (even though he returns most of his loot later), but her father is always off chasing him and not spending any time with her.
Jimmy Kudo can be compared to Sherlock Holmes and Kaitou Kid to Arsène Lupin. Throughout the anime and manga, Kaitou Kid and Conan have crossed paths, but Kaitou has always managed to elude Conan's clutches by using his special skills. Kaito also finds out that Conan is really Shinichi (Jimmy) after the events of the 3rd Detective Conan movie, although this doesn't appear to be the case in the manga. He also seems to like to challenge Conan/Jimmy in addition to teasing him. The two are unaware that they are both likely after the same bad guys.
The Kid's allies and detractors
Known 1412 fans include Serena Sebastian, Akako Koizumi, Kaito Kuroba, Jii (who often fills in when Young Master cannot), a vast majority of the female population at Ekoda High School, Satou Miwako, most of the people he has stolen from, and most of the public.
Active 1412 enemies are Aoko Nakamori (in 1412 form; she loves the Kuroba side of his personality), Ginzo Nakamori, Saguru Hakuba, Snake and the Organization, the 1412 Taskforce, Jimmy Kudo, Richard Moore, Takagi Wataru and the Police Force, Yaiba.
Trivia
- Just as with their sons, Shinichi's and Kaito's fathers seem to have clashed[6].
- Kaito has a fear of fish.
- He has never received a compliment from a person before.
- Kaito is good at skiing, but he can't ice-skate
