Sunday, November 22, 2009

Top 25 Anime Characters: #2 – Jimmy Kudo/Conan Edogawa

#2. Jimmy Kudo/ Conan EdogawaCreated by: Gosho Aoyama
First Appearance: Case Closed Episode 1 – The Big Shrink
Voiced by: Japanese: Kappei Yamaguchi (Jimmy) and Minami Takayama (Conan); English: Jerry Jewell (Jimmy) and Alison Viktorin (Conan)

You want to talk about one of the most popular series around than you do not have to look in farther than Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed. The series has been running for 15 years collecting over 700 chapters that have been collected in 66 volumes and around 550 episodes with 13 movies with no signs of slowing down both in the anime and manga. I think if you show that to anyone that is an impressive resume that no other fictional character can say they have. And what is more impressive is that even after 15 years of writing Detective Conan Gosho Aoyama has still been able to keep the story just as interesting as it was when it first came out. Each mystery we get is fun to watch Jimmy try and figure out.

As a life long comic book fan I highly respect Gosho Aoyama for his ability to write interesting mysteries as not even comic book writers are able to write a series that comes out once a month for a few years without it getting stale or having boring arcs. And I have always felt that Detective Conan was given an unfair shot when it aired here in the States as I think many anime/manga fans would love.

Taking a look at the star of this series, Jimmy Kudo, or as he is also known Conan Edogawa, is the modern age Sherlock Holmes. Though he has yet to catch the men who turned him into a kid again Jimmy is always able to figure out the cases he is given. And even as a kid he is just as sharp as he was as a teen and with some help from devices that are James Bond-esque he always catches the criminal. Though Jimmy doesn't have the fighting prowess of a lot of the characters on my Top Anime Character list he more than makes up for it with his mind as he is able to figure out any case he is given on his own.

Also what makes Jimmy's situation even more interesting is that he has to hang out with his girlfriend acting like her little brother as he does not want to put her in danger if she found out Jimmy was turned into a kid by a dangerous organization. Behind all the mysteries is the great love story were Jimmy really wants to admit to the love of his life that he loves her but is unable to do so because of his current situation.

Tribute Video:

4 Comments:

Unknown said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Andrenn said...

Smart choice Kevin, I love this anime and Jimmy is such a great character.

I shall spare your life for another day....at least until after Thanksgiving.

Kevin said...

2vs8: Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving.

Kevin said...

Andrenn: Thanks. I am with you, I love Detective Conan.

Glad to know I will live at least until Thanksgiving.