lego_joker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lego_joker) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
scans_daily2014-12-17 07:32 pm
lego_joker) wrote in scans_daily2014-12-17 07:32 pm
Entry tags:
31 Days of Scans - Favorite Legacy Hero: Kaitou Kid
To call Magic Kaito's Kaitou Kid a "hero" would be somewhat stretching the term, but the guy's heart is in the right place and he's got a no-kill policy, so I suppose that's good enough. More importantly, I'm lukewarm at best and outright hostile to most other legacy heroes in comics, and I've already covered one of the few exceptions in yesterday's post, so...
Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
(Remember: read right to left)
Meet Kaito Kuroba: your average Japanese 16-year-old. Wait, what do you mean most 16-year-old Japanese boys aren't the sons of world-famous stage magicians?
In present day, Kaito's dad Toichi has already bit the dust, like a good comic-book dad should. His legacy, however, lives on.
Alright, some quick exposition since the manga's pilot hands it out piecemeal: Kaitou Kid was an international gentlemen thief whoterrorized visited museums and jewelry exhibits from Paris to Tokyo, eternally outwitting the police and gaining quite a reputation (and fanclubs). He vanished eight years before Magic Kaitou's pilot chapter, which, in an amazing coinkydink, was right around the time that Kaito's dad died in a magic trick gone wrong.
Before he died, of course, Mr. Kuroba set up a neat little closet holding all of Kaitou Kid's costumes and gadgets in perfect working order. Given what little backstory we get later on, this doesn't make much sense, but to be fair, this was one of Gosho "Detective Conan" Aoyama's earliest works.
And anyways, logic isn't the focus here. As the self-proclaimed Arsene Lupin of the 21st century (that other asshole notwithstanding), Kid's entire bag - regardless of generation - is spectacle. Wacky gadgets galore, disguise skills that would put the Chameleon to shame, and a daredevil attitude masterminding everything - all in the name of a bit of good fun for the reader.
Granted, Kid's first batch of "villains" are kinda weak. The obligatory Zenigata-like Inspector Nakamori (with his hordes and hordes of Red-Shirt cops) is barely a threat on his best day, and the impostor Kaitou Kid that Kid actually "fights" turns out to be his dad's faithful butler/sidekick/enabler, who then becomes Kaito's faithful butler/sidekick/enabler.
For the next 20 chapters or so, our hero basically dicks around Tokyo, publicly stealing random stuff (and always later returning it) in hopes thatplot will actually happen he'll be able to find out the truth behind his dad's death. Along the way, he goes up against foes of varying threat level (and well-drawn-ness), from the Star Sapphire-like witch Akako Koizumi:
... to the undisputed king of Japan's teenage detectives and Sherlock Holmes geeks, Saguru Hakuba:
(Those of you who follow Meitantei Conan will note that Hakuba is basically a dry run for Shinichi Kudo; Shinichi himself shows up later on in this series as a guest star, but that's of little concern now.)
Perhaps I should note that both of the above antagonists go to school with Kaito and are, in fact, recurring characters and semi-friends. Even though one of them has actually tried to kill him and the other definitely isn't a stranger to the idea "reckless endangerment". That's the kind of series Magic Kaito is, for the most part - a fun, irreverent series about the shenanigans of a teenage thief where the spectacle of the moment is all the matters.
But eventually, a touch of serious plot manages to clamber in, and that plot-thread up there about the death of Kaito's father - the original Kaitou Kid - comes back into play. It turns out that these assholes did it. No, I don't know why their leader looks like he clambered out of a 70s porno, either.
All told, Kid's encounters with the Mass Shadowy Organization of Doom (not to be confused with that other Mass Shadowy Organization of Doom from Meitantei Conan) aren't bad, but they rather pale in comparison to the shameless, unfettered insanity of the earlier standalone stories. Angst and Kaitou Kid rarely mix together well; best leave the heavy stuff to the heavy-hitters.
Ah, but the Magic Kaito manga is a pretty damn obscure thing, even in its native Asia. Those who know about Kaitou Kid at all probably know him from Conan's series, where he's one of the few recurring... well, "villain" is such an ugly word. "Adversary" instead, then?
It's a decided change of pace - instead of being portrayed as a hapless-yet-clever trickster a la Jack Sparrow, Kid-the-adversary becomes a near-omnipotent master thief when it's Conan in the spotlight. And Kid's godlike disguise skills - typically played for either laughs or plot convenience in his own series - become a source of paranoia. When you're in the detective's shoes, going up against a guy like that, is there anyone you can trust?
That's not to say Kid ever really wins against Conan, of course. Oh, he escapes the little detective's clutches every time (and after a while, it seems like Conan's not even really trying to arrest him anymore), but never does Kid come up with a trick to confound the little twerp, and the "loot" from each heist always goes back to the rightful owner. Remember, kids: crime doesn't pay.
(Incidentally, this is part of why I long for the day that Aoyama writes a Riddler story - the Kaitou Kid heists always have an impeccably complex setup worthy of any style-over-convenience supervillain, and Aoyama actually writes some pretty good riddle-taunts for Kid to send out before each heist.)
One last note - Kid is one of the few Aoyama characters that I would say is improved by the anime adaptation, instead of just "faithfully translated". The movies, especially, love using him. And with the help of color, sound, cinematography, and a breakneck pace to it all, Kid's showmanship just becomes that more enthralling. See for yourself.
And there you have it. Kaitou Kid, second generation of what may prove to be a long, proud line of gentlemen thieves. Smooth and arrogant, with the wits to back it up, but far from invincible...
... especially when it comes to fish, for one reason or another.
Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
(Remember: read right to left)
Meet Kaito Kuroba: your average Japanese 16-year-old. Wait, what do you mean most 16-year-old Japanese boys aren't the sons of world-famous stage magicians?
In present day, Kaito's dad Toichi has already bit the dust, like a good comic-book dad should. His legacy, however, lives on.
Alright, some quick exposition since the manga's pilot hands it out piecemeal: Kaitou Kid was an international gentlemen thief who
Before he died, of course, Mr. Kuroba set up a neat little closet holding all of Kaitou Kid's costumes and gadgets in perfect working order. Given what little backstory we get later on, this doesn't make much sense, but to be fair, this was one of Gosho "Detective Conan" Aoyama's earliest works.
And anyways, logic isn't the focus here. As the self-proclaimed Arsene Lupin of the 21st century (that other asshole notwithstanding), Kid's entire bag - regardless of generation - is spectacle. Wacky gadgets galore, disguise skills that would put the Chameleon to shame, and a daredevil attitude masterminding everything - all in the name of a bit of good fun for the reader.
Granted, Kid's first batch of "villains" are kinda weak. The obligatory Zenigata-like Inspector Nakamori (with his hordes and hordes of Red-Shirt cops) is barely a threat on his best day, and the impostor Kaitou Kid that Kid actually "fights" turns out to be his dad's faithful butler/sidekick/enabler, who then becomes Kaito's faithful butler/sidekick/enabler.
For the next 20 chapters or so, our hero basically dicks around Tokyo, publicly stealing random stuff (and always later returning it) in hopes that
... to the undisputed king of Japan's teenage detectives and Sherlock Holmes geeks, Saguru Hakuba:
(Those of you who follow Meitantei Conan will note that Hakuba is basically a dry run for Shinichi Kudo; Shinichi himself shows up later on in this series as a guest star, but that's of little concern now.)
Perhaps I should note that both of the above antagonists go to school with Kaito and are, in fact, recurring characters and semi-friends. Even though one of them has actually tried to kill him and the other definitely isn't a stranger to the idea "reckless endangerment". That's the kind of series Magic Kaito is, for the most part - a fun, irreverent series about the shenanigans of a teenage thief where the spectacle of the moment is all the matters.
But eventually, a touch of serious plot manages to clamber in, and that plot-thread up there about the death of Kaito's father - the original Kaitou Kid - comes back into play. It turns out that these assholes did it. No, I don't know why their leader looks like he clambered out of a 70s porno, either.
All told, Kid's encounters with the Mass Shadowy Organization of Doom (not to be confused with that other Mass Shadowy Organization of Doom from Meitantei Conan) aren't bad, but they rather pale in comparison to the shameless, unfettered insanity of the earlier standalone stories. Angst and Kaitou Kid rarely mix together well; best leave the heavy stuff to the heavy-hitters.
Ah, but the Magic Kaito manga is a pretty damn obscure thing, even in its native Asia. Those who know about Kaitou Kid at all probably know him from Conan's series, where he's one of the few recurring... well, "villain" is such an ugly word. "Adversary" instead, then?
It's a decided change of pace - instead of being portrayed as a hapless-yet-clever trickster a la Jack Sparrow, Kid-the-adversary becomes a near-omnipotent master thief when it's Conan in the spotlight. And Kid's godlike disguise skills - typically played for either laughs or plot convenience in his own series - become a source of paranoia. When you're in the detective's shoes, going up against a guy like that, is there anyone you can trust?
That's not to say Kid ever really wins against Conan, of course. Oh, he escapes the little detective's clutches every time (and after a while, it seems like Conan's not even really trying to arrest him anymore), but never does Kid come up with a trick to confound the little twerp, and the "loot" from each heist always goes back to the rightful owner. Remember, kids: crime doesn't pay.
(Incidentally, this is part of why I long for the day that Aoyama writes a Riddler story - the Kaitou Kid heists always have an impeccably complex setup worthy of any style-over-convenience supervillain, and Aoyama actually writes some pretty good riddle-taunts for Kid to send out before each heist.)
One last note - Kid is one of the few Aoyama characters that I would say is improved by the anime adaptation, instead of just "faithfully translated". The movies, especially, love using him. And with the help of color, sound, cinematography, and a breakneck pace to it all, Kid's showmanship just becomes that more enthralling. See for yourself.
And there you have it. Kaitou Kid, second generation of what may prove to be a long, proud line of gentlemen thieves. Smooth and arrogant, with the wits to back it up, but far from invincible...
... especially when it comes to fish, for one reason or another.
no subject
I'm indifferent to the whole Robin line most of the time, and the Flash family for the most part leaves me cold.