Kaito Kuroba

Kaito Kuroba is a seventeen-year-old high school student who is an adept magician due to the influence of his father, Toichi Kuroba.[5] Eight years prior to the series, Toichi had mysteriously died and was also the last time the Kaito Kid was spotted. In the present time, Kaito discovers a secret room in his home that was set up by his father to reveal itself on that very day. Finding the Kaito Kid's gadgets and costume in the room, Kaito dons the disguise and decides to confront Kid who has recently resurfaced after his eight years of absence. Kaito discovers Kid to be Konosuke Jii, his father's butler, who ascertains Toichi was the first Kaito Kid. Jii reveals his took on the role as Kid to lure out Toichi's murderer. Upon learning that his father was murdered, Kaito continues the role of the Kaito Kid as he searches for his father's killer.[5]

As the Kaito Kid, Kaito uses his skills of perfect disguise and the gadgets his father left him to complete his heists. The most prominent of those gadgets are his cape which transforms into a hang-glider, a gun that shoots sharp metallic playing cards, and smoke bombs.[7] To lure out the murderers, Kaito adopts a tradition of sending a note of his intending theft to the location beforehand.[8] After a successful heist, Kaito returns the stolen treasures.[9] As the Kaito Kid, Kaito eventually meets the organization who killed his father. He discovers they are searching for the gemstone called Pandora (パンドラ) which grants immortality if the water it emits during Volley's Comet is drunk. Pandora is hidden in a larger gemstone and can only be seen if shone under the moonlight. Kaito decides to search for Pandora with the intention of destroying it and begins focusing his heists on large gemstones.[9] As such, he begins the tradition of checking gemstones from his heists under the moonlight before returning them to their rightful owners.[10]

Kaito Kuroba, as the Kaito Kid, appears in Aoyama's manga series Case Closed as an rival and occasional ally to his rival, Conan. He is introduced as Kaito 1412, but is referred to as Kid later on.[11] He is confronted by the protagonist of the series, Shinichi Kudo; teen detective turned child under the alias Conan Edogawa, who often foils his plans but Kid still eludes capture. Kaito also garners the attention of Jirokichi Suzuki who wants to capture Kid for fame.[12] In the series, it is revealed that Shinichi's father Yusaku Kudo was the one who came up with the Kaito 1412 and Kaito Kid moniker. In the Case Closed film series, Kaito reveals he knows Conan is actually Shinichi.[2] Due to Kaito's strong resemblance to Shinichi, he is able to disguise himself as Shinichi Kudo without a mask.[13]

Kaito has made six appearances in the films. In Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century, he steals a fabergé egg to return to its rightful owner while helping Shinichi on his investigation for an assassin.[2] In Case Closed: Magician of the Silver Sky, he continues his search for Pandora as Shinichi attempts to impede his heist.[13] Kaito makes his third appearance in Case Closed: The Private Eyes' Requiem, where he indirectly helps Shinichi solve an old murder.[14] His fourth appearance takes place in Case Closed: The Lost Ship in the Sky where Jirokichi baits him with a large gemstone on an airship as he attempts to capture him.[15] He is also featured in Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie and Case Closed: Sunflowers of Inferno. In the latter, it's revealed that despite being a thief, Kid is a man of honor.