Vivian Kudo also known as Japan, is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
of the
animeis animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga , has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world...
and
mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
Case ClosedCase Closed, also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama and is serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday since 1994. The name "Case Closed" for the English language release results from "unspecified legal considerations" of the name Detective Conan...
, known in Japan as
Detective Conan (名探偵コナン
Meitantei Conan).
Vivian Kudo is married to
Booker KudoBooker Kudo, also known as in Japan, is a fictional character of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan . Booker Kudo is a famous mystery novelist married to Vivian Kudo. The two have one son, Jimmy Kudo...
, and is the mother of
Jimmy KudoJimmy Kudo, also known as in Japan, is the protagonist of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as . He later takes on the alias after Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Rampo....
. She had become a famous actress and idol at a very young age, but abandoned her promising career in order to marry her husband. This caused an uproar within her family at the time, since she had been only 20 years old.
Vivian Kudo also known as Japan, is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
of the
animeis animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga , has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world...
and
mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
Case ClosedCase Closed, also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama and is serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday since 1994. The name "Case Closed" for the English language release results from "unspecified legal considerations" of the name Detective Conan...
, known in Japan as
Detective Conan (名探偵コナン
Meitantei Conan).
Character biography
Vivian Kudo is married to
Booker KudoBooker Kudo, also known as in Japan, is a fictional character of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan . Booker Kudo is a famous mystery novelist married to Vivian Kudo. The two have one son, Jimmy Kudo...
, and is the mother of
Jimmy KudoJimmy Kudo, also known as in Japan, is the protagonist of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as . He later takes on the alias after Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Rampo....
. She had become a famous actress and idol at a very young age, but abandoned her promising career in order to marry her husband. This caused an uproar within her family at the time, since she had been only 20 years old. After having Jimmy, she and her husband traveled to America to pursue their own careers after he had grown old enough to care for himself.
Vivian is also an old friend of
Rachel MooreRachel Moore, known as in Japan, is the 2nd protagonist of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan . Her Japanese name derives from both Edogawa Ranpo and Maurice Leblanc .-Character Information:Rachel is a childhood friend of Jimmy Kudo...
's mother
Eva KadanEva Kadan known in Japan as is a fictional character of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan . Eva is very intelligent and quick on the uptake; as an experienced lawyer, she has been known to be able to solve criminal cases, occasionally with the help of Conan...
from high school, and both had competed in a pageant which had taken place in their school. Despite still being friends, they keep up a friendly competition in those regards, since the contest had ended in a tie because Kogoro had failed to turn in his vote.
Vivian had also studied for an acting role with her friend, Sharon Vineyard (who unbeknown to her, was
VermouthSharon Vineyard is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Case Closed.-Character Information:Sharon was once a famous actress, just like Vivian Kudo , and the two had even once been friends...
) under the world-famous stage magician, Toichi Kuroba. One of the things he taught them was the art of
disguiseDisguises change appearance with costume or other means of deception so that true identity is hidden. Camouflage is one type of disguise for people, animals and objects. Hats, glasses, change in hair style or wigs, plastic surgery, and make-up are also used.Disguises are used by criminals such as...
, and they both become masters of the art and use their disguising skills throughout the series. They did not know that Toichi Kuroba was secretly the original
Kaitou Kid, the true identity under his alias is a fictional character created by Gosho Aoyama. His father was the original Phantom Thief Kid and was killed when he refused to steal the Pandora Jewel for an unknown organization...
, who was later murdered by the Black Organization, and whose identity was later discovered and taken up by his own son, Kuroba Kaito in order to find his father's murderers. Vivian had met Kaito before, when he was ten years old.
She also drive a Jaguar E-Type as shown in 'The Golden Apple' case serial set in New York. Her reckless driving had landed it in the body shop and it had recently gotten out.
Personality
Yukiko's personality is more that of a wild, over-confident teenager than of a mature woman; she is impulsive, a reckless driver (caught back in New York because of it), and likes to stand in the limelight (literally) whenever she has the chance. Because of her marriage to a famous mystery author and her knack for becoming involved in criminal cases from time to time, she has been publicly dubbed the "Night Baroness", after one of her husband's more notorious characters, the Night Baron.
A running gag in the series is that whenever Yukiko meets her son and they have to pretend not to know each other, in the original
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
versions Jimmy calls her "oba-san". This term, which means "old lady" or "grandmother", is often used by small children for women in their thirties and forties, sometimes even younger ones - a rather discomforting thought for those Japanese women who consider themselves in the prime of their lives. Yukiko also reacts rather unfavorably to it, as she is "only" 37 years old, so Conan has to correct himself by calling her "onēe-san" ("older sister").
Appearances
In episode 43, Vivian makes her first appearance in the series. In the episode, the couple had returned from America to discover that their son had gone missing. Dr. Hiroshi Agasa feels inclined to tell them about what had happened to Jimmy, and the danger that he is in. They are extremely worried about him and want him to go live with them in America. They do this by staging a mock "kidnapping" of one Conan Edogawa and create a case for him to solve, while scaring him half to death at the same time.
Vivian disguises herself as Conan's supposed mother, "Fanny Edogawa" and shows up at the Moore Detective Agency to pick him up. Conan immediately knows something is wrong since Conan was an alias that he made up, and fears her to be part of the Black Organization. In the end, she and her husband reveal themselves to him, and plead with him to stay with them in America. Conan rejects the idea, because he feels that he needs to bring down the Black Organization and keep the Professor, Rachel, and her family safe at the same time. Thus, Vivian takes him back to
Rachel MooreRachel Moore, known as in Japan, is the 2nd protagonist of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan . Her Japanese name derives from both Edogawa Ranpo and Maurice Leblanc .-Character Information:Rachel is a childhood friend of Jimmy Kudo...
's (Ran Mori) place while disguised as Fanny. She and her husband then return to America, but check in on him from time to time.
Later, in episode 96, Vivian returns to Japan to find that Rachel is highly suspicious of Conan being Jimmy. Vivian pretends that she didn't know that Conan is Jimmy to lure Rachel away, and convinces her that Conan is a very distant relative of both herself and the professor. Later in the episode, Vivian takes Conan to her friend's house, where yet another mystery has to be solved.
Vivian also makes another appearance in episodes 144 and 145, North Star #3 Express Leaving Ueno.
In the film Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street, Vivian is mentioned as having been at a family reunion during the course of the film. However, she appears later on, as the VR game's version of
Irene AdlerIrene Adler is a fictional character featured in the Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, published in July 1891. She is one of the most notable female characters in the Sherlock Holmes series, despite appearing in only one story.-Name:Her surname is the German...
. Conan realises this is his father's work, comparing her to Irene Adler because Booker is comparing himself to Sherlock Holmes.