The Connections between Sherlock Holmes Stories and Detective Conan
“Only one truth is revealed, the appearance of a child, the brains of an adult, I am the great Detective Conan!”
I believe that many of you are familiar with the above quotation well. It is the quote said by a little boy wearing glasses and a classic blue jacket suit with red bow tie, Conan Edogawa. He is the main character from the famous manga, animation, and movie from Japan. However, I have the other famous quote that is similar to it. Let’s guess who said these following words!
“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.”
I hope you can figure out the owner of the quote. It is said by Sherlock Holmes, the famous fictional private detective from England that almost everyone in the world knows him. If you are a fan of both two fiction, you might see many connections between them.
Why is his name Conan Edogawa?
The real name of Conan is Shinichi Kudo, but he used the name Conan Edogawa for his alias after he was exposed to a prototype poison called APTX 4869. This name came from the names of two well-known detective fiction authors from the occident and orient. One is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the British author who created the world-famous detective called Sherlock Holmes. The other one is Edogawa Ranpo, the Japanese author who created the detective hero named Kogoro Akechi, which is also clearly inspired by Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.
Baker Street vs Beika City (米花町)
The main setting of Detective Conan is Beika City(米花町), and the Kudo Shinichi’s house is located in district 2, block 21. Do you notice anything interesting? “Beika” in Detective Conan is a similar sound to “Baker”. Also, the 2–21 number in Shinichi’s address is a direct reference to Sherlock’s address where is 221B Baker Street.
Gosho Aoyama, a Japanese manga artist creating Detective Conan revealed the reason why he decided to use Japanese kanji “米” (Bei) in “米花町” (Beikacho) which means Beika city. It is because the kanji “米” (Bei) looks similar to the flag of the United Kingdom, where Sherlock Holmes came from.
Moreover, Several fictional names of places in Detective Conan were imitated from places in the United Kingdom. For example, the Temusu River is from the Thames River. Haido Park came from Hyde Park in central London, and Raiha Fall is inspired by the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, where Holmes and Moriarty had fought with each other before fell off.
4th of May
The birthday of Shinichi Kudo is on the 4th of May. It is the same day that Holmes and Moriarty fought with each other at the Reichenbach Falls and fell into their deaths down the gorge. This scene is in The Final Problem, a short story as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. At first, Doyle meant to stop writing about Sherlock Holmes, so he killed his famous detective in this short story. However, later, he decided to revive Holmes again because of the requests of Sherlock’s fans.
Baker Street Irregulars vs The Junior Detective League vs
If you watch Detective Conan, You will be familiar with The Junior Detective League. They are pre-adolescent detectives who help solve the occasional crimes that happened in the story. The league consists of 5 members who are Conan Edogawa, Ai Haibara, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, Ayumi Yoshida, and Genta Kojima. These children might make you think of Baker Street Irregulars who appears in Sherlock Holmes stories. They are street boys who can also help Holmes solve many cases.
Irene Adler vs Ai Haibara
“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman.”
You can see the quotation above at the beginning of A Scandal in Bohemia. It is narrated by Dr. Watson to describe high regard that Holmes held Irene Adler, an opera singer and former lover of King of Bohemia. She is the only woman who can earn Holmes’s admiration. It is not because of her beauty, but it is her intelligence and cunning that can impress Holmes.
Also, if you watch or read Detective Conan, you will know the cold girl with short hair named Ai Haibara. She is a member of The Junior Detective League. However, her real name is Miyano Shiho, but she is in the same situation as Shinichi.
In Da Vinci Magazine (2014), Gosho Aoyama revealed that “Ai” (哀) in Ai Haibara came from “I” in Irene Adler. Also, we can notice that the characteristics of these two characters are similar in many ways. They are good-looking and intelligent. Besides, they have mysterious charms as if they always have something in their minds.
In brief, all the above are some parts of all the connections between Sherlock Holmes stories and Detective Conan that I found and studied from other articles. I believe that Gosho Aoyama might hide other things about Sherlock Holmes in Detective Conan, and it is waiting for you to find. However, I am confident that both stories do not only provide entertainment, but they also provide knowledge for you. If you have a chance to watch or read them, do not let it go.
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