Rum

Rum (ラム, Ramu^?), the Second-In-Command of the Black Organization disguised as a Beika Iroha Sushi Chef who is also known by his alias Kanenori Wakita (脇田 兼則, Wakita Kanenori^?), is an antagonist in the manga and anime franchise Detective Conan.

Background

Rum

As the Boss’ Close Aide, Rum is a drifter who aids the Boss in directing the activities and advancing the interests of the Black Organization. Whenever he communicates with his subordinates, he changes his voice as a precaution to protect his identity.

17 years ago prior to the current timeline, Rum was involved in a murder case which Gin implies as something that Rum had screwed up. The murder case, which took place in America, resulted the deaths of Kohji Haneda, a famous Shogi Player; and Amanda Hughes, an old wealthy woman who had contacts to the FBI and CIA. The incident also caused the disappearance of Asaka, Amanda’s Bodyguard and Tsutomu Akai, an MI6 Agent who was tasked to investigate Kohji’s death.

Two years ago prior to the current timeline, FBI Agent Shuichi Akai who was infiltrating the Black Organization as “Rye” was called to work under the Executive Agent Gin. The FBI, in an attempt to capture Gin, laid a trap at a warehouse where the meeting between them was supposed to take place. However, FBI Agent Andre Camel mistakenly revealed himself in front of an old man who was actually Rum scouting the area in disguise, causing the Black Organization to discover Akai’s true allegiance and inform Gin about the occurrence. Following the revelation, Rum sends a picture of Akai and Camel to Korn, ordering him to assassinate the FBI Agents once in sight.

Apparently, Rum seems to have taken an interest on Shinichi Kudo and has ordered Bourbon to gather information about the High School Detective. Rum also considers Yusaku Kudo a threat to the Black Organization, ordering Vermouth to investigate the individual.

Kanenori Wakita

At some point later, Rum disguised himself as a Beika Iroha Sushi Chef and went with the alias “Kanenori Wakita”, an anagram of his catch phrase Time is Money (時は金なり, Toki wa Kanenari^?). Beika Iroha Sushi, which is located just below Mouri Detective Agency, implies that Rum has taken an interest on Kogoro Mouri and purposely chose a strategic location to investigate and monitor the detective in close proximity. This must be due to Kogoro’s recent involvement in cases surrounding the Black Organization, especially the Kohji Haneda related Soul Detective Murder Case, which also piqued the interest of Gin. Wakita furthers his agenda by approaching Kogoro and becoming his apprentice to extract more information.

Appearance

Rum appears to be a fairly tall, bald man with a strong build, fair skin tone and black eyes. For some reason, his left eye is damaged and replaced it with an artificial one.

There are conflicting accounts of his overall appearance and build among the Black Organization members, but Rum fabricated them to keep his identity a secret. Various members of the Black Organization had described Rum as either a strongly-built man, an effeminate man or a seemingly old man.

As Kanenori Wakita, he disguises himself with a short black hair, a toothbrush mustache, prominent buck teeth, and soft medical dressing over his left eye.

Personality

When Conan Edogawa asks Bourbon about Rum, he describes the individual as someone who is exceedingly impatient. Rum also appears to be an intuitive person, taking an interest and investigating anyone that he deems suspicious or a threat to the Black Organization or even to himself.

As Kanenori Wakita, he is a true Edokko (江戸っ子, Child of Tokyo^?) and has the stereotypical personality: forward, confrontational, and fond of justice and sushi. He also claims to like mystery since he was a child.

Abilities

Intellectual Abilities

Rum has a keen sense of observation and relatively good deduction skills, as noted by Subaru Okiya to be far more threatening than Gin. He can quickly figure out tactical traps that are being used against him, allowing Rum to execute a strategic counterattack and utilize the situation to his advantage.

Physical Abilities

Rum, as the Beika Iroha Sushi Chef Kanenori Wakita, appears to have skills in culinary arts.

Plot Overview

Bourbon Arc

Scarlet Showdown

After the FBI and NPA Security Bureau’s confrontation at Raiha Pass, Kir alerts Okiya that the Black Organization’s Second-In-Command is on the move. Akai then informs the FBI about this discovery, which is overheard by Conan through an audio bug.

Rum Arc

Interchanged Betting Ticket Case

Wakita, in an attempt to lure Kogoro Mouri and investigate him closer, correctly guesses which horse the detective must have bet on to make him visit Beika Iroha Sushi and celebrate with their highest quality servings. Conan, who encounters Wakita with an eye patch, reminds him about Rum and asks Wakita about his left eye. A pickpocketing case then coincidentally falls into their laps. Wakita challenges Kogoro to a deduction contest: a race to figure out which customer stole the lady’s million yen winning ticket first. He cleverly and decisively comes up with excuses to keep all the suspects from leaving the sushi bar when they try to leave to avoid being accused. Although disappointed he won’t get to see Kogoro in action, he is also first to propose a solution, which is very nearly close to correct, although he might have made his error in order to test Sleeping Kogoro in action. However, since he was mistaken, Conan darts Kogoro to put the case to rest decisively. He is impressed with Sleeping Kogoro and asks to be the detective’s disciple in exchange for discounts on sushi, which Kogoro accepts.

Crimson School Trip Case

After the case that occurred back at Kyoto attracts global attention, a blog owner who is actually a fan of the Kudo Family claims that the allegedly deceased Shinichi Kudo helped to solve the case. Kanenori Wakita took notice of this finding and tried to visit the Kudo Residence. He is then seen talking to Hiroshi Agasa, claiming that he came to deliver a sushi in his neighborhood, but couldn’t due to a mass of paparazzi surrounding Shinichi’s house. The Kudo Couple then manages to solve the situation by bargaining with their fan to withdraw her claim seeing Shinichi back at Kyoto. As Wakita sees the retraction, he sends an email to Bourbon, demanding that he gather information about Shinichi Kudo.

Nagano Snowy Mountains Case

Wakita joins Conan, Kogoro, and Bourbon to Nagano Mountains after receiving a request about investigating a suicide case in an old church. He mentioned that he hated betrayal, like trader selling some old fish in a high price while they were on the train, possibly referring to Bourbon faking his report about Shinichi. Upon reaching the church, they are joined by some people and it was soon revealed that someone has assembled all of them together, keeping their identity secret. After a while, they find themselves trapped inside the church and two of the people that joined them were killed. The group then decided to team up in pairs to investigate the case. Wakita pairs up with Kogoro and notices that Conan and Amuro paired up as well and are working fine to solve the case. It was also at this point where Conan asks Amuro about Rum where he describes the person as someone who is exceedingly impatient. As soon as rescue came, he introduces himself as Kogoro’s apprentice along with Amuro to Nagano Police Inspector, Taka’aki Morofushi.

Kogoro in a Dilemma

When Kogoro finds himself stuck on the toilet due to the lack of toilet paper inside the bathroom, Wakita shows up in the detective agency to deliver Kogoro’s sushi. It appears that he grew impatient waiting for Kogoro to pick up his order that was made for Yoko Okino’s visit. The group then encounters a murder case with a strange and mysterious coding where Wakita shows his relatively good deductive ability. After the case, Wakita asks Conan whether he is concerned of something which is missing like a shogi piece, which Conan denied.

Yusaku Kudo’s TV Show Case

At some point later, Rum orders Vermouth to investigate Yusaku Kudo, considering him a threat to the Black Organization.

FBI Serial Murder Case

When several FBI Agents were killed after the Black Organization decoded their communication to rendezvous, the FBI planted a fake code in an attempt to lure them out. However, Rum was able to detect such fake code, making his subordinates counter trap and attack the FBI Agents instead. Andre Camel, who manages to escape the Black Organization’s pursuit, retreats and finds shelter in Umizarujima Island. While Vodka and Chianti search for Camel, Vodka reveals that Rum had changed his appearance and is currently using a silly name, which was overheard by the FBI Agent. Although the collaborative efforts of Subaru Okiya and Conan managed to keep Camel hidden for a while, Rum figured out their strategy and instructed Gin to burn the island, successfully luring out Camel into the open. The Black Organization, however, was fooled into thinking that they have successfully eliminated the FBI Agent.

After the events of the FBI Serial Murder Case, Rum was scolded by the Boss, stating that their actions at Umizarujima Island were conspicuous enough to threaten the secrecy of the organization. Despite receiving an earful, Rum also stated that the Boss is pleased with the recent turn of events, commending him and his subordinates for successfully “killing” the man that the FBI desperately protected. Rum then puts on his disguise and drops off at Beika Iroha Sushi, who is revealed to be Kanenori Wakita.

Akemi Miyano’s Time Capsule

Rum, as Kanenori Wakita, delivers sushi to Teitan Elementary School for Class 6-A’s Reunion. He appears to be aware that Akemi Miyano was part of the 19th Graduating Class, but muses to himself that a dead person would be unable to attend their reunion.

Wakita’s indirect presence heavily triggered Haibara’s anxiety, causing Conan to rush outside the classroom. When he asked an upperclassman if any suspicious person passed by, he was informed that only pizza and sushi deliveries came near the area. Conan then dismisses his suspicion and concludes that Haibara must have been overreacting only, unaware of the fact that Wakita is an undercover member of the Black Organization. Rumi Wakasa then watches Wakita leaving as he delivered the sushi.

Trivia

• Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses or honeys, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation.
• Gosho Aoyama was inspired by the Fictional Character Colonel Sebastian Moran, the second main antagonist in the Sherlock Holmes Series, to create the Black Organization’s Second-In-Command.
• Kanenori Wakita’s Appearance is a homage to the Fictional Character Danpei Tange from the manga series Ashita no Joe.
• Lum, the protagonist of the manga and anime franchise Urusei Yatsura, was introduced by Gosho Aoyama as the Black Organization Member “Rum” in a Crossover Joke.
• Rum is right-handed.

References

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