Magic Kaito Anime Wikia

     Magic Kaito (まじっく快斗 Majikku Kaito) is a Japanese phantom thief manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, that began in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1987. The story tells of a thief named Kaito Kid (怪盗キッド Kaitō Kiddo). Aoyama stopped work on the manga after the first two tankōbon volumes were published in 1988, and only occasionally updates it: the third volume was published in 1994 and the fourth volume in 2007; two more chapters were released in 2011, and another three chapters will be released between October 1 and October 15, 2014. Kaito Kid and other characters from Magic Kaito make occasional appearances in Detective Conan, another manga series by Aoyama that has also been adapted into an anime.

     Several animated television specials based on the series have been produced, with twelve having aired between 2010 and 2012 to date. A 24 episodes anime series titled Magic Kaito 1412 (まじっく快斗1412) was created by A-1 Pictures and will begin airing on October 4, 2014.

Plot

     Kaito Kuroba is 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 Kaito Kid, and that he was murdered by a mysterious organization because he tried to steal a gem which was also targeted by them. The goal of the organization is to find within a year the Pandora Gem, a mystical stone said to shed tears during the passing of the Volley comet (which happens once every 10,000 years): drinking these tears bestows immortality.

     He vows to prevent the organization from gaining immortality, and assumes his father's thief 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, but returns them after the very next full moon as they are not the Pandora.

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, who he is in love with. Kaito is also the thief known as Kaito Kid (怪盗キッド Kaitō Kiddo). He gives the police notices 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 what he was looking for, the Pandora gem. His Japanese voice actor 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 and love interest. She is an obstinate, impulsive and lighthearted girl. As the daughter of Inspector Nakamori, she despises the Kaito Kid. Her Japanese voice actresses are Ayumi Fujimura in the specials and Mao Ichimichi in Magic Kaito 1412, Yukiko Iwai in episode 76 of Detective Conan, Minami Takayama in episode 219 and OVA 4 of Detective Conan.

Saguru Hakuba

Saguru Hakuba (白馬探 Hakuba Saguru) is a famous high school detective based out of Japan and Kaito's love rival. As the son of a high police official, he had many chances to capture the Kaito Kid. He believes that Kaito is the Kaito Kid but lacks the evidence. His Japanese voice actors are Akira Ishida in the Magic Kaito specials and in Detective Conan, and Mamoru Miyano in Magic Kaito 1412.

Akako Koizumi

Akako Koizumi (小泉 紅子 Koizumi Akako?) is a witch with real magic, which causes her to be very critical of Kaito's "sleight-of-hand" magic. She knows that he is Kaito Kid. 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 Japanese voice actresses are Miyuki Sawashiro in the Magic Kaito specials, Eri Kitamura in Magic Kaito 1412, and Megumi Hayashibara in Detective Conan.

Ginzo Nakamori

Ginzo Nakamori (中森 銀三 Nakamori Ginzō), renamed "Mace Fuller" in Funimation Entertainment's Detective Conan dub, is the inspector in charge of capturing the Kaito Kid. His Japanese voice actor is Unshou Ishizuka and his English voice actor is Jay Jones.

Toichi Kuroba

Toichi Kuroba (黒羽 盗一 Kuroba Tōichi) was the original Kaito Kid and Kaito Kuroba's father. He taught Kaito how to be a magician. When he was Phantom Thief 1412 he was once stopped by Yusaku Kudo, but managed to escape. Yusaku is the one who came up with the name "KID" by rearranging the lines in the number 1412, and it is implied that Yusaku found out his secret identity. As a magician Toichi taught Yukiko Kudo and Sharon Vineyard the art of disguise for their acting careers. During his life as a thief, he tried to steal a gem which was also targeted by a mysterious organization, and was thus killed during a magic trick involving an escape, all done in a way that seemed like an accident. His Japanese voice actor is Shuuichi Ikeda.

Manga

     Written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, Magic Kaito has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday since 1987. It was halted in 1988 after two tankōbon volumes, but new chapters have been occasionally released since then, with the third volume published in 1994 and the fourth one in 2007; two chapters not yet collected in a volume were released in 2011. Also, in 2011 all four volumes were republished in "Treasured Editions" from August 15 to December 16. Two versions of each volume were released, one containing a DVD of one of the TV specials.

     While there has not been an official English-language release of the manga, it has been translated and released in Italy, Spain, Germany and Taiwan, by Star Comics, Planeta DeAgostini Comics, Egmont Manga & Anime and Chingwin Publishing Group respectively.