I briefly mentioned Okiya and “Bourbon” in my previous post about the Clash of Red and Black arc. This time around, let’s have a closer look on these mysterious characters. Episodes 509-511 covered manga files 622-624 from Vol. 60, and files 638-640 from Vol. 61, which are somewhat part of the Black Organization arc. I say “somewhat” because I’m not sure about who this new BO member is exactly (codename: Bourbon). Naturally, theories about the identities of Okiya and Bourbon are all over the DC fanbase. For the purpose of simplicity in this post, I shall refer to it as “the Okiya arc” and subcategorize it as part of the BO arc. ** WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**
**SPOILERS START**
A QUICK SUMMARY OF “THE OKIYA ARC” — Episodes 509-511 deals with two cases. Case #1 (episode 509 and the first half of 510) introduces us to two new significant characters in the BO arc. Rena warns Jodie-sensei about a new BO member who has been deployed, an agent who is highly skilled in intelligence gathering as well as observation and discernment., whose codename is “Bourbon.” Jodie and Conan believe that Bourbon’s target is Haibara/Sherry. Jodie notes that they can’t risk an FBI agent protect to Haibara because that might make it obvious to the BO that she’s Sherry, so Jodie asks Conan to keep an eye on Haibara for them. Anyway, case #1 is an arson case regarding an apartment owned by a classmate of the Detective Boys, which happens to be near the Professor’s house. We are introduced to a guy named Okiya Subaru, a graduate student of Engineering living in the apartment. We also learn that Okiya is a fan of Sherlock Holmes. Remember that Haibara gets a chilly feeling whenever a BO member is nearby? For some reason, it seems that she gets this vibe whenever she gets close to Okiya. As usual, Conan solves the case. Okiya learns about Professor Agasa and asks if the kids could introduce the two of them. Okiya asks the Professor if he can stay at the house for a while since the apartment burned down, he offered to help out with the Prof’s research. Haibara is against this, so Conan offers to let Okiya live at Kudo’s house next door. Haibara asks if that’s really okay, to which Conan replies that it is since he thinks a Holmes fan can’t be a bad person.
Case #2 (second half of episode 510 and the entire episode 511) gives us a better insight on Okiya Subaru. It’s 1 month after the first case. Ran and Sonoko drop by Kudo’s house to do some cleaning. Surprise! They find a guy living there. Thinking that he’s a burglar, Ran gives him a hard karate kick (ouch). They later learn that he’s Okiya and got permission from Conan (and Shinichi-niichan) to live there for a while and sort of be the “caretaker” of the house. Conan informs Ran that “Shinichi-niichan” doesn’t want Ran to talk much about him when she’s around Okiya. The second case involves a kidnapping and paper airplanes as clues. Shinichi/Conan and Okiya have a deduction showdown (NOT face-to-face, of course). Apparently, Okiya has excellent deduction skills as well. He and Conan arrived at the same conclusions at about the same time, every time. They both solve the case and save the day. At the end of the episode, Sonoko mentions that Okiya was probably drinking to celebrate his correct deduction. Ran explains to the confused Conan that they noticed some alcohol at Kudo’s house that wasn’t there before. With a smile on his face, we see Okiya drinking a glass of… guess what?… Bourbon.
MY IMPRESSION — I’ve been holding out on talking about this guy until the manga file got animated. So, who exactly is Okiya? Who could Bourbon be? Are they the same person or not? Could Okiya be Akai in disguise? Let’s try and address some of these questions, shall we?
Conan offered Okiya to stay at Kudo’s house next door to Prof Agasa’s, telling Haibara that a Holmes fan can’t be a bad person. ^_^; Heh, either Conan is becoming stupid naive or he suspects something, I don’t know. It’s most likely the latter, though it could also be that he knows something that we obviously don’t. Enter the suspicions from other DC fans that Okiya might actually be Akai in disguise. It’s a possibility too. I mean, I personally (and stubbornly) refuse to believe that Akai is dead! With this flicker of hope in mind, Akai posing as Okiya is a very welcome possibility for me. Akai is a sharp and clever guy, so him as Okiya is not far-fetched either. Did he know much about Holmes? I don’t know. But that could also be some sort of sign or a hint between Akai and Conan, so Conan would know who Akai is when he takes on his disguise, which in this assumption is Okiya. The engineering student bit of info might also be a way of staying close to protect Conan and especially Haibara, who Akai has some history with (Haibara’s older sister was his girlfriend). Ah, but this part leads me to another question… If Okiya is Akai in disguise, why does Haibara feel frightened whenever she’s near Okiya? Hmm, maybe because Akai was also part of the BO for a time as a spy, so Haibara gets the chills. Other than the time when Conan pretended to be Haibara and she gets saved by Ran (ep 345) and the bus hijack incident (ep 230), has Haibara even been near Akai before he died? I ‘m not so sure, but I don’t think so. Hence, I’m also not sure if she feels frightened when near Akai.
At this point in time, I’m still absolutely uncertain, but I’m leaning towards the “Okiya might be Bourbon” theory. Some of the possible clues that makes me lean towards this are: (1) As mentioned earlier, Haibara always gets this strange and cold feeling of fear whenever any BO member is nearby. The chilly vibes which she appears to feel whenever she gets close to Okiya suggests to us viewers that he might be “Bourbon.” (2) Rena says this “Bourbon” person has great skills at gathering intelligence and observation. Sounds to me like he’s a very smart guy. Okiya easily fits this description after exhibiting those deduction skills that rival Shinichi’s. Although, I must note that Rena did not give any indication if Bourbon was in fact a man or a woman. (3) Episode 511’s ending, with Okiya drinking a glass of bourbon with a suspicious smile on his face? It’s either a dead giveaway that he is Bourbon or it’s merely something that’s aimed to mislead us on purpose.
I’m honestly not sure about the real identity of either Okiya or Bourbon. Of course, it’s also very much possible that Okiya is an individual separate from either Bourbon or Akai, that he is who he says he is: Just a grad student who’s a Sherlock Holmes fan. Perhaps, another ally for Conan. So far, Bourbon’s gender has never been mentioned so it’s also likely that “he” could be a “she” instead. In this regard, this may be a bit off, but isn’t it probable that Vermouth may be disguising as Okiya too? She did it before with Dr. Araide (ep 345). I haven’t seen her in a while either, plus disguises are her specialty after all. Although, if this is the case, Okiya would probably have been drinking vermouth instead of bourbon. Hmm. Hey, just a thought.
** END OF SPOILERS **
Note that these are just merely my own personal thoughts about the whole Okiya and Bourbon business. I’m sure we’d eventually get a better idea on this little identity crisis in future manga files, since I think further clues will be scattered about in future chapters which will involve the BO arc, Okiya or Bourbon.
Okay, I’m just glad that I’ve relieved myself of these hypotheses about the mysterious identity stuff. My mind can feel at ease now. ~LOL. I’ll be looking forward to the follow-up on this arc in the manga, and to the day when the Okiya/Bourbon/Akai mystery is solved. ^^
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You might also want to check out my other posts:
My feeling at this point in the anime is that Okiya is a BO member.
However, since I don’t follow the manga, I feel at a bit of a disadvantage. One question I have of you – are you being “cagey” about this because you have some concrete info from the manga?
(Spoilers welcome from any source.)
Thanks –
Dave
my opinion is that Okiya isn’t Bourbon, remember the DC series did the whole ‘yeek-he/she-is-suspicious’ with Jodie, Rena, Eiske and Akai before and with the way theyre setting things up its more than likely he’ll end up being a good guy.
the presence Ai felt was probably someone else because it disappeared after a while and she didn’t feel it afterwards even when they got him away from the other adults around them.
Btw i totally agree with the idea that they were careful not to mention that Bourbon was male or female… looks like we’ll have to wait to find out who he/she is.
Very big possibility that Okiya will find out who Conan is though if he’s as sharp as it looks like he is…
@ Dave Baranyi: ~LOL. Nope, I’m not being “cagey” at all, I’m in the dark about it too. So far, ep 511 is the last Okiya part in the manga as well.
@ Rei: I suspect that too, and I hope he isn’t evil so Conan would have another good guy on his side. With regard to Ai, I noticed the presence she felt disappeared too, so if it’s not Okiya, I wonder who it might be.
Haha, I know! They’re totally making us speculate by not disclosing Bourbon’s gender. I do agree that there’s a big chance that Okiya will figure out Conan’s identity. If Eisuke did, I think Okiya surely will with his skills. ^^
The opening portrays Okiya and Haibara together at the sofa, so I really don’t think he is a bad guy. I also think he is not a member of the BO. Instead, I hope he is actually Akai.
@ foomafoo: I really hope Okiya’s a good guy too.
me too. i also hope that okiya subaru is a good guy. Maybe he can become another great detective beside conan and hattori? But, at the same time, i hope he is not Akai Shuici in disguise. I like Akai more then him (^_^) although i really don’t know why (maybe Akai is more handsome than Okiya??). Hurm…
@ akaido_kendo: I hope Okiya is a totally new character who is a good guy too. I’m still hoping that Akai is alive and would make his appearance sometime soon. I like Akai better too, he’s one of my favorite characters. Okiya has awesome deduction skills, while I think Akai is more of a nice and tough guy character with awesome sniping skills. ^^
You missed a clue!
In chapter 640, page 7, Okiya says to Sonoko:
“No, it`s probably better that you call them(police), since you have police acquaitances.” *(acquaitance means that you know the person.)
But how did he know that Sonoko has a police acquaitance? He met Sonoko for the first time, he should know nothing about Sonoko!
Akai appears in later cahpters again, so there is a possibility that he is still alive but I wouldn`t say that okiya is Akai. Hi personality is completly different!
My theory is that Okiya migth be Shinichi`s dad Ysaku Kudo, who might be actually the new agent Bourbon.
I was thinking since long ago that Yusaku is involved with the black organisation, or also he might be in fact the boss.
Okiya and Yusaku are both smart geniuses, able to be equal or even better than Shinichi.
However one thing is clear: Okiya knew already Conan and his friends, even Sonoko, before he met them.
What you said about Yusaku is indeed interesting. When was Yusaku linked to the Black Organization? I must’ve missed it.
Akai Shuichi also strikes me more of a investigator more than a bodyguard. And after reading all the comments here, I’m beginning to doubt my original suspicion of Okiya is really Akai in disguise. He’s not really the type of guy that’ll sit around watching over Conan and Haibara.
that theory is now canceled out because yusaku was in london the whole time while in ova 11 subaru was in beika the whole time
@ Sai: Thanks for pointing that out about Sonoko and the police! With regard to Yusaku, I think that’s an interesting thought. However, I don’t think he’s Okiya. But I do agree that Okiya knew Conan and company before he even met them.
Haibara also had the feeling around Akai in that bus jacking case (i forgot the episode), so it isn’t strange if she had that feeling around Okiya if he really is Akai.
that was araide/vermouth
@ Tony: I believe it’s episode 230-231. ^^ But I think Haibara was feeling scared because of Vermouth’s presence (who was pretending to be Dr. Araide at that time) and not really because of Akai in that incident… So I’m still leaning on the theory that Okiya might be Bourbon (although I’m still hoping that isn’t so, and that Okiya is one of the good guys)
Not sure if you caught the latest 2 episodes (542 and 543), but there’s another deduction battle between Conan and Okiya, and more chills for Haibara.
The ending sequence for episode 543 also revealed a bit more.
I’ve also inclined to think Okiya is Akai Shuichi (and have been thinking so since he was introduced in the arson case), as I can’t accept the fact that Conan would allow someone from the Black Organization to be so close to him (and Haibara).
@ Krunk: Yep, I saw those episodes too. What interests me most is the latest manga chapters which is a BO arc. It involves both Okiya and Akai. The mystery after Akai’s incident with Rena started unfolding again at ch 677-679 (which I also have a post about), then picks up with ch 699 (this arc is ongoing with 701 as the latest chapter at the time of this reply). 🙂
I also don’t know who he might be. But there’s also the possibility that he is a nameless CIA agent. Rena is a spy for the CIA and so they know that there is a new BO member named Bourbon as well and so he might be drinking it on purpose. Who knows? We all will know who he is when his indentions are revealed. So lets be a bit more patient (even if it is quite difficult) and wait, wait, wait.
And I don’t want to believe that Shinichis own father could be the BO’s boss. He’s his father and I don’t think that in an anime for “children” something like this could happen since the BO tried more than once to kill Shinichi.
@ Mabis: I don’t think Yusaku is involved with the BO either. With the most recent chapters from the manga, starting from file 700, I think we’d get some answers with regard to Akai, Okiya, and Bourbon. I’m hoping Okiya is not Bourbon and is in actually a new ally for Conan! ^^
i feel that okiya is actually akai, and i believe that akai isnt dead
As u can c in the anime, akai use his right hand to touch conan’s mobile phone but in the end the police says that they discover the fingerprint of akai’s left hand on the mobile phone after his death
@ rongshiu: That’s an interesting observation! So I re-watched episode 504 again and re-read file 609… But the police just said they found Akai’s fingerprints on the cellphone too and I think his left hand got burned in the explosion while his right hand managed to not be burned… Either way, like you, I also believe that Akai isn’t dead.
Hey, I think that Okiya is Akai too,
1. When Conan gets his cellphone back from Jodie, he DOES know that it was switch, and when Eisuke tells Conan that someone might had die in the FBI, Conan smiles (actually I forget, did he smile when Eisuke told him that or when he got his cellphone back? :S)
2. Haibara was scared of Akai, too, so it isn’t weird that she feels scared near Okiya (if he is Akai)
3….WHAT KIND OF IDIOT lets some RANDOM person live in his/her house?????
Conan doesn’t seem to be stupid, but I might be wrong :D, I don’t think he (or anyone) would be stupid and let some random person live in their house..:S
SO!, this reenfoces the idea that Conan knows who Okiya is (Akai), because Conan smiles like everything is according to plan when he heard someone died in the FBI and when he realizes the switch cellphone (WHICH CONTAINS AKAI fingerprint!!!)
4….They don’t tell us if Bourbon is a male or female…u really think they will just make it simple for us? Show Okiya drinking bourbon when they won’t even tell what gender bourbon is?? it seems obvious to me that it is intenial trying to midlead us 😀
To sum it up
1. Conan knows something no one else does, not even the FBI/CIA (“Proof”: smiles when he hears a “friend” of his dies, knowns his cellphone which contains Akai fingerprint has been switch, let’s Okiya live in his house
2. the CIA agent forgot her name :P, and Akai obviously knew it was a trap (even I knew it was -.-)..and it would involve her (CIA) killing Akai or something..even I guess that much 😛
In addition, even I would guess that Gin and Vooka would want the CIA to shoot Akai in the HEAD, common sense…a bullet in the head most likely = death lol.
therefore, the bullet CIA shot could have been a blank or paint ball or something.
3. Just to point out…fake evidence isn’t hard to fake….Akai and the CIA agent, being the FBI AND CIA could probably FAKE THE EVIDENCE…it wouldn’t be suprising that they faked it, because if Akai didn’t appear to be dead, the CIA cover would be blown…
I think (IMO) it is obvious that Okiya is Akai….as for the fact that he drinks Bouron…maybe because HE LIKES DRINKING IT??? 😛
I was wondering about why Conan seemed so suprised about Okiyas reply to Ran in the end of chapter 704 when she asked about how Conan had caused the customers to criticize something. If Okiya really was someone Conan trusted and knew, he wouldn’t react like he did in the very end either, when Okiya said that the Akai everyone saw wasn’t the real Akai… it seems that Okiya knows a lot more than Conan in some way…??
maybe Bourbon is the BO’s boss. maybe Okiya/Bourbon is the Bo’s boss. mayb Akai is the boss or maybe Akai/Okiya/Bourbon is the actual boss. or maybe someone completely random like Mouri K. is actually the boss (that would be kinda weird and funny thou)
* the / means disguised as
@ Tom: I tend to keep changing sides because the “evidence” regarding Akai/Okiya/Borbon confuses the heck out of me. xD Either way, I’m looking forward to the next BO arc in the manga. 🙂
@ Ting: Yeah, that part confuses me too! I made a [separate post about that chapter] too, in case you’re interested in reading it. ^^
@ asdastw: Interesting thoughts! It’d really suck if Akai turns out to be the BO boss, though I think it’s quite unlikely. I can’t imagine Mouri to be the boss too. Haha.
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA, MOURI as the BOSS???
😀
that would be funny 😛
He does like wine….
and he is smart sometimes…
hmmm
nah, 😛
Akai as boss…hmmm. don’t think so..I mean he was shoot by BO, and if he was undercover for BO, he should have stay in FBI
but yes, I usually only follow the anime, but I was bored and saw some part of manga (ahead of anime right?), now I’m confused :S, 😛
@ Tom: Yep, the manga is ahead. Lately, I’ve been following the manga more than the anime. So now I usually just watch the anime when I want to see a certain case in its animated glory. xD
If Mouri was a BO member, I wonder what his name would be as he just drinks whatever’s cheap or free lol. Maybe just “Beer”, he’d be paired up with Vermouth like Vodka is with Gin.
I think the reader is getting tricked again tho like with Jodie’s quoting of Vermouth and having pics of the group in her hotel room.
Okiya has been shown drinking bourbon twice (from what I’ve seen in the anime), it’s just too easy of a connection. Also Conan did smile when getting his cell back, like Akai and Conan had planned it. Toss in the diminutive detective willingly letting Okiya living in his house despite Ai freaking out about him, and saying Okiya’s ok because he’s a Holmes fan…It’s obvious Conan knows something.
Whether that something is Akai = Okiya, or Conan knowing Okiya is Bourbon and is keeping his enemy close with a plan in mind, I’m not sure yet.
@ Fading: Yeah, I agree. Just like in Jodie’s initial appearance, it just seems too easy that I’m suspicious of it. Aoyama-sensei seems to like throwing us red herrings with stuff like that. I’m still not sure about the whole Akai/Okiya thing too. It’s keeps confusing me.
do anybody knw a website wer yall watch anime??
Okiya (Bourbon) = Akai 100%.
The clues are simple. The audience finds out that a burnt corpse is in the black Chevy with a hole blow in his head. They don’t tell any description that it was from the front or the side, they just say in the head. The Black Organization spy, Kusada Rikumichi, committed suicide by blowing his brains out with his own gun. Kusada was also the last patient to touch his cell phone. When Jodie finds out that the fingerprints of the body in the explosion matched the phone, it made sense from the explanation above. Akai used Kusada’s body to fill his place when the car was to be blown up so that no one would know what the victim’s face looks like. Other clues in later episodes suggest that Akai was very fond of the drink Bourbon. Conan smiles when Eisuke tells him that someone in the FBI died is a huge clue. And Takagi says there are alot of inexplicable things about the body.
^
Good point. But it’s not 100% proof that Okiya = Akai. If Okiya is Akai then who is the guy that looks like Akai? The difference is that he has a burn mark on his face. Other than that, he’s a good shooter. Remember the bank robbery case? Shooting the fat guy [who held Conan hostage] on the shoulder and not on any critical part of the body? Also remember the case about the 13 Red Shirts. Okiya saying that the guy with the burn mark on his face is not Akai. He also said that he knows Akai for a long time and he can’t be mistaken about that.
So if it’s not Akai, then who is it? Hmm..
I wonder who always wear a CAP on Conan’s friends? Kansai-Ben anyone? :p
As for me, I don’t want to think about the issue about Akai atm. But my opinion for now [after reading the latest chapters in the manga] is that Akai’s dead.
In my general opinion… I’m not quite sure either. xD BUT I do know one thing:
Whatever it is, we’re all probably either going to be dead wrong, or dead right.
Though, I think Okiya COULD be Bourbon. It might be reverse reverse psychology or something; they make us think he isn’t Bourbon by making it so OBVIOUS that he could be, therefore, hiding the fact that he really MIGHT be Bourbon. 😉
I’m not sure if Akai is dead or alive, (I think I missed that string of episodes) but it seems like, out of all the possibilites I’ve seen, IF Akai is indeed alive, that he’s Okiya/Bourbon.
But onto the thing about the whole BO leader convo….. Again, Okiya seems like a good candidate; it would be FUNNY if Mouri-san was; Vermouth… she would be a good candidate too; The leader could very well be one of the main cops/detectives, though… it would bake sense.
But I think the BIGGEST kick in Kudo-san’s ass would be if Ran or Agasa turned out to but the BO leader… just sayin. XD Can anyone else see it?
The look on Kudo’s face would be PRICELESS if like, one of the final episodes he was in a big face-off with 2+ BO members, after they get a text from the boss saying “Wait to kill him. I want to talk to this kid first”. They would be like “…let’s do it and make it look like an accident. >)” and RAN would step around the corner, holding a phone/laptop and some sort of kickass gun and say:
“I SAID wait for me, morons.”
And then she shot them, or they freaked out and stated running….
Admit it. It would be the best moment ever. 🙂 Anyway, those are my thoughts, for now. ^_^
i have a different theory about bourbon identity and akai’s
identity, first of all i believe that akai is okiya ans that it
was all a plan from the FBI to guard haibara and conan
may be thats what conan knows and which makes him
smile when he gets back his sell phone, for the other akai
that appeared with a burn mark and saved conan during
the bank robbery well i think that he is fake and he might
be BOURBON in disguise and that the BO threw him as a
bait for the FBI,Conan and haibara
Wasn’t conan shocked when he saw Akai in the mall that one time in the red shirts case? If so then he didn’t know Akai was alive and thought he was dead this whole time…
Bagero! I did NOT think that Akai was dead. I was surprised because I knew he was a fake, I figured he was probably one of those guys and that’s why I chased him.
Also, guys, for the people who are saying that Okiya isn’t Akai because he said that the scarred Akai wasn’t really Akai, because he has known him for a long time: Why would he NOT say that? After all, why wouldn’t Akai not know himself for a long time?
Takku… Just remember, One Truth will Always Prevail!
well i’m already almost 3 years late for this but me just comment to this…
i think okiya is akai in disguise..you mentioned that okiya drunk bourbon right? right?
i remember, one of akai’s colleagues mentioned that akai loves to drink bourbon so he really might be okiya…
the scarred akai is actually bourbon (this is only my intuition)…
I don’t think he is Bourbon because if he is with the Black Organization he shouldn’t have help in the cases
Well the truth is out now people the author has revealed all in the manga if your interested
i foun my golden retwever, pla help me.
and the okiya is thwew akai
Akai was an FBI spy in the BO. He bears the scent of the BO members due to which Haibara gets the chill feeling.
When Ran first sees Okiya, she says that she had met him before. She had met Akai in New York.
Both Akai and Okiya are left-handed.
Okiya had planted bugs is Pf. Agasa’s house when he had first been there. He is therefore not merely watching the activities in that house. Conan allowed Okiya to stay in his house probably because he knows Okiya’s true identity. He was later drinking bourbon which is the favourite drink of Akai.
In the Nocturne Detective arc Okiya is seen to be an aggressive driver, just like Akai.
In the Raven Mystery Train arc Amuro is revealed to be Bourbon.
When Sera (sister of Akai) is unconscious, she says “Shuu-ni” and Okiya smiles.
Yukiko tells Vermouth about a special guest against the BO, who is probably Okiya.
These facts make it even more likely that Okiya is Akai in disguise.