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Conan O'Brien Calls Out Detective Conan for 'Ripping Him Off' for 25 Years

posted on by Lynzee Loveridge

Late night talk show host Conan O'Brien discovered that his title as the world's most famous Conan is in jeopardy thanks in no small part because of Gosho Aoyama's Detective Conan manga and anime series. O'Brien aired his grievance on last night's Conan episode where he offered to make the whole issue 'disappear' for a whopping 3 trillion yen (US$27 billion).

In the segment, O'Brien jokingly suggests that he's the inspiration for the character that debuted in 1994, approximately one year after O'Brien made his television debut. He also compares the character's physical traits to his own, especially how both of them are "men trapped in a body of a child."

O'Brien also touches lightly on the character's widespread popularity throughout Japan, including Hokuei in Tottori Prefecture, the birthplace of Aoyama and colloquially known as "Conan Town." Hokuei is home to Conan Street, Conan Bridge, the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory museum, and 12 bronze statues of characters from the series.

Detective Conan is also the inspiration for season manga cafes, one which just opened in Bangkok this summer.

No matter how many similarities O'Brien claims to have with the detective, it's doubtful he'll be able to overcome the character's huge following in Asia. The franchise's latest film topped the Japanese box office for the first half of the year, having earned over 8 billion yen (US$72.9 million).

Conan O'Brien has come face to face with anime and Japanese video games before. He tried Super Saiyan hair on for size in June while playing the Dragon Ball Legends video game.


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