In 2023, the long-running Case Closed(Detective Conan in Japanese) series celebrates its 30th anniversary. Did you know that most of the character names in this manga are inspired by authors or characters from Japanese and global mystery novels? This tradition applies not only to the main characters but also extends to the names of supporting characters.
However, in the American version, these names have been changed to sound more American, and as a result, the original intent behind the naming is sometimes lost. In this article, I’ll take a closer look at these changes.
Edogawa Conan (American Version: CONAN EDOGAWA)
The main character, Conan, is named after two famous novelists. This holds true in both the original Japanese version and the American version. His last name, Edogawa, is taken from the name of Edogawa Rampo, who laid the foundation for modern Japanese detective fiction. His first name, Conan, is derived from Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes.
In the story, there’s a scene in the first volume where Kudo, in an attempt to conceal his true identity, spontaneously adopts the name Conan.
Mouri Ran (American Version: Rachel Moore)
Conan’s girlfriend, Mouri Ran, is named after Maurice Leblanc, the author of Arsène Lupin. When written in kanji, Maurice Leblanc becomes Mouri. However, in English, Mouri is translated to Moore, making it less obvious why this name was chosen.
Dr. Agasa
In both the Japanese and English versions, he remains Dr. Agasa. This name is originally derived from the famous British mystery writer Agatha Christie. As a result, it doesn’t raise eyebrows in Western audiences.
Haibara Ai (American Version: Vi Graythorn)
While she’s Haibara Ai in the Japanese original version, her English name, Vi Graythorn, aligns with the creative process. It’s explained in the story that her name is a combination of the female detectives Cordelia Gray (Gray for ‘Hai’ in Japanese) from P.D. James’ novels and V.I. Warshawski (the ‘I’ pronounced as ‘Ai’) created by Sara Paretsky. This thoughtful adaptation preserves the essence even in the American version.
