Magic Kaito

Magic Kaito
まじっく快斗 (Majikku Kaito)
Genre	Comedy-drama
Manga
Written by	Gosho Aoyama
Published by	Shogakukan
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Sunday
Original run	1987 – ongoing
Volumes	4
Original video animation
Directed by	Toshiki Hirano
Studio	TMS Entertainment
Released	April 17, 2010
Runtime	24 minutes
Anime and Manga Portal

Magic Kaito (まじっく快斗, Majikku Kaito^?) is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, about a thief named Phantom Thief Kid (怪盗キッド, Kaitō Kiddo^?). Aoyama stopped work on the manga after three volumes because he started Detective Conan (Case Closed), which was an instant hit, and where a version of Kaitou Kid and some related characters makes occasional appearances. Chapters of the Magic Kaito manga have been published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since then, and have only recently been collected into a fourth bound volume in February 2007. An original video animation (OVA) based on the manga was aired Animax in Japan on April 17, 2010.^[1]

Plot

Kaito Kuroba, a normal teenage student whose father died under mysterious circumstances eight years ago. Eight years later, he is made aware of his father's secret identity; a famous international criminal known as International Criminal 1412: the Phantom Thief, and that he was murdered by a mysterious organization for refusing to aid them in retrieving the "Pandora Gem"; a mystical stone said to shed a "tear" during the passing of a particular comet, the consumption of which bestows immortality. He vows to prevent the organization from gaining immortality, and assumes his father's identity as he begins his quest for the gem. His only clues as to the gem's location 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. He thus researches and steals famous priceless gems with odd histories from incredibly well-defended areas, and always returns them after the very next full moon.

Characters

Kaito Kuroba

Main article: Kaito Kuroba

The protagonist, Kaito Kuroba (黒羽 快斗, Kuroba Kaito^?) is a smart, quirky and almost arrogant 17 year old boy who is an excelled illusionist. He is childhood friends with Aoko Nakamori, is good at all sports except for ice skating, and is absolutely deathly afraid of fish. Kaito is also the phantom thief known as Phantom Thief Kid (怪盗キッド, Kaitō Kiddo^?). He gives the police riddles describing when, where, and what he is going to steal in a heist, and often ends up returning the item that he stole because it wasn't the Pandora gem. Kaito constantly teases Aoko, but he actually is in love with her. His seiyū is Kappei Yamaguchi and his English voice actor is Jerry Jewell.

Aoko Nakamori

Aoko Nakamori (中森 青子, Nakamori Aoko^?) is Kaito's childhood friend. She is an obstinate, impulsive and lighthearted girl. A kind girl who worries about others. Kaito often teases her and flips her skirt, driving her to chase him wielding her weapon of choice though she is secretly in love with him. She is the daughter of Inspector Nakamori, so she hates Kaitou Kid. Her seiyū is Minami Takayama for her appearances in the Case Closed series and Ayumi Fujimura in the Magic Kaito anime.

Saguru Hakuba

Saguru Hakuba (白馬探, Hakuba Saguru^?) is a famous high school detective based outside Japan.^[2] He is the son of a high police official and had many attempts to capture Kaitō Kid. He is also Kaito's love rival.^[2][3] He believes that Kaito Kuroba is Kaitō Kid but lacks the evidence.^[4] His seiyū is Akira Ishida.^[5]

Akako Koizumi

Akako Koizumi (小泉 紅子 , Koizumi Akako^?) is actually a witch with real magic, which causes her to be very critical of Kaito's "sleight-of-hand" magic. She knows that he is Kid, but has not told anyone. Akako is very much a seductress, and is "trying to make every man her slave". She is at first angry at Kaito because she cannot "control" him, but later on she grows to love him. Her seiyū is Megumi Hayashibara for her appearances in the Case Closed series and Miyuki Sawashiro in the Magic Kaito anime.

Ginzo Nakamori

Ginzo Nakamori (中森 銀三, Nakamori Ginzō^?), dubbed by Funimation Entertainment as Mace Fuller, is the inspector in charge of capturing Phantom Thief Kid.^[6] His seiyū is Unshou Ishizuka and his English voice actor is Jay Jones.^[7][8]

Toichi Kuroba

Toichi Kuroba (黒羽 盗一, Kuroba Tōichi^?) was the original Phantom Thief Kid, and is Kaito Kuroba's father. He taught Kaito how to be a magician. When he was Phantom Thief 1412 he and Yusaku Kudo used to be rivals. He physically resembles Yusaku Kudo in Detective Conan (Case Closed). As a magician, he taught two people in the art of disguise, Yukiko Kudo and Sharon Vineyard for their careers as actresses. During his life as Phantom Thief Kid, he met an organization who ordered him to find the Pandora Gem. This gem was born inside another gem, and cried tears of immortality when the comet comes close to the Earth. After finding out what he is up against, Toichi turned down the offer, and started finding the Pandora himself. Feeling betrayed, Snake killed Toichi during one of his magic tricks. His seiyū is Shuuichi Ikeda.

OVA

The Original Video Animation was directed by Toshiki Hirano and produced by TMS Entertainment. It was premiered on Animax on April 17, 2010, and then was aired during a Case Closed time slot on April 24, 2010 and was titled Detective Conan Special: The Secret of the Birth of Kaitō Kid.^[9][10]

References

1. ^ "Magic Kaito" (in Japanese). Animax. http://www.animax.co.jp/feature/index.php?code=NN10000960. Retrieved April 18, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Aoyama, Gasho (September 17, 1994). "名探偵登場!! [The Detective's Arrival!!]" (in Japanese). まじっく快斗 [Magic Kaito]. Volume 3. Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-122083-5. 
3. ^ Aoyama, Gasho (June 16, 2006). "File 10. 探偵甲子園 [File 10. The Detective Koshien]" (in Japanese). 名探偵 コナン [Detective Conan]. Case Closed. Volume 54. Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-120377-9. 
4. ^ Aoyama, Gasho (September 17, 1994). "紅子の宅配便 [Akako's Gift]" (in Japanese). まじっく快斗 [Magic Kaito]. Volume 3. Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-122083-5. 
5. ^ "集められた名探偵!工藤新一VS怪盗キッド". Detective Conan. January 8, 2001.
6. ^ Aoyama, Gasho (August 9, 1997). "File 8. 気配 [File 8. Presence]" (in Japanese). 名探偵 コナン [Detective Conan]. Case Closed. Volume 16. Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-125046-7. 
7. ^ "コナンVS怪盗キッド". Detective Conan. September 22, 1997.
8. ^ Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century (DVD). Funimation Entertainment. December 15, 2009. UPC 704400078040. 
9. ^ ""Detective Conan" warning letter from Kid! 4/24 "Detective Conan special information" (in Japanese). conan-movie.jp. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5olYVFuFg. Retrieved April 5, 2010. 
10. ^ "Detective Conan Special: Secret of the Birth of Kaitō Kid" (in Japanese). Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation. http://www.ytv.co.jp/conan/archive/k1169350.html. Retrieved April 17, 2010.