The Identity of Ano Kata
Today, I would like to reflect on an idea that came to me when I re-read some of the speculations about the Black Organization, and especially its boss, ano kata. Since I havenât seen this theory floating around yet, I am claiming it as my own.
It is possible that Aoyama has been misleading us intentionally: At the beginning, some people considered Vermouth aka Sharon Vineyard to be ano kata in secret, mainly because she is able to move more freely than her colleagues. However, the fandom discounted her altogether, after somebody sent her a text message that orders her back. Aoyamaâs earlier hint that there is a relationship between the boss and Vermouth that exceeds employer and subordinate has since been forgotten. Few speculations take this into account, although it probably is NOT a red herring. She takes more liberties than the other members, she is not as afraid as them of being killed as punishment. It is likely that there is some form of attachment between her and the boss that is akin to a safety net should her deceit become known. I doubt that her gratefulness to Shinichi would be enough for her to risk her own life multiple times to save his.
Now, there is not much that we can say about Vermouth, because her identity is shrouded in darkness and lies. However, she is committed to one saying that might be the key to understanding her role in the black organization:
âA secret makes a woman woman.â
Keeping in mind that we are dealing with a mystery manga that incorporates fictional characters of Western stories, there is only one woman: Irene Adler whom Sherlock Holmes referred to as âthe woman.â Although her role is very restricted in Doyleâs universe, she has been immortalized through countless adaptations, wriggling her way into the limelight. I can see some parallels between Adler and Vermouth, mainly her appeal, the cleverness, and of course, like Adler and Holmesâ first encounter, her first showdown with Conan was based on compromising pictures.
Now, there is a second oddity around Vermouth that is worth mentioning: She calls Conan and Akai silver bullets. This is a metaphor, of course, and the medium of comparison is their intention to take down the boss/organization. But there is another element to this curious phrase: Silver bullets take down werewolves. What if werewolf is a reference to the boss?
There is a non-canonical theory that Irene Adler had a child with Sherlock Holmes: Nero Wolfe, the detective of the eponymous novels. In Japanese, the pronunciation of were and Nero are very close to one another, because the w is not realized as as a /v/ sound as in violence, but rather as the ou in the French oui. The l and r are basically the same sound, and due to that, werewolf and Nero Wolfe are almost homophones (words that have the exact same pronunciation).
Since Adler is the âmotherâ of Nero Wolfe, this leaves us with two possible readings:
1.      Vermouth was ano kata at one point, but lost the position, making the organization her brain âchildâ, respectively
2.      Ano kata is literally her child.
3.      Possibility 1 and 2 are not mutually exclusive.
Before I go any further down the rabbit hole, I would like to address the relationship between Vermouth and the boss once more. We know that their interests diverge, pointing towards the fact that they are different people: On one hand, Vermouth is attempting to protect Conan, on the other hand the boss encourages Bourbon to get close to Mouri. It is not clear whether there is an open disagreement between Vermouth and ano kata, or whether she is going along with the situation. However, the two of them are distinct people with different goals, no matter how they are related to one another.
In fact, it is quite likely that the original boss who started the research on APTX is not the current ano kata. Unless they are stuck like Vermouth, the person would have to be at least 70, if not 80 years old, because the BO began investigating aging processes more than half a century ago. Few is known about their initial interest, and I am deliberately vague on this term. So far, we have had the shrinking effect, which seems to revert its victims to youth. Then thereâs Vermouth who stopped aging. It is possible that, at some point, the organization researched how to age up peopleâs cells until they die, too. Assuming that Vermouth was at most a victim of the earlier experiments, that would render her about 70 years of age, and a child of hers 50 years at max. However, her hatred of the Miyano family may hint at their involvement in her condition. Since Aiâs parents took over the research project about 30 years before the current timeline, that would make Vermouth at most 50 years of age, and put a child at about 30 years. This is actually a curious timing, because I deduced in Vermouthâs Curse that âshe has looked 28 years of age since at least since 21 years agoâ. This would put her at 49 âlivedâ years. If Nero Wolfe refers to a biological child of hers, then it would be less than 30 years of age.
There is also some evidence of a change in leadership when you consider the muddy history of APTX: The âfirstâ boss seemed to be very interested in the project, so much as to involve a foreign researcher without ties into the organization (Miyano Elena) and her husband. Yet, after the lab burnt down about 17 years ago, the project was scrapped entirely. At first glance, it might seem like all research data was lost in the fire, but Ai claims that when she took over, the organization provided her with the past results. There was no reason not to employ other researchers in the following years. Yet, the project was put on indefinite halt.
It is actually possible to pinpoint a rough date as to when a change in leadership might have occurred: Five years before the current timeline, the organization suddenly reached out to Shiho, and groomed her to continue her parentsâ work. Their interest in the project suddenly pops up again. Also, for the first time, we may safely conclude the purpose of the research, because Pisco comments that Shiho managed to advance the project when he sees her child-like form. APTX is supposed to regain youth, not just stop the aging process like it did with Vermouth. It is not about re-creating that effect.
As such, it is likely that the bossâ identity changed roughly five years ago.
Now, if we assume that Sharon was actually Vermouthâs real identity, because her supposed age matches the age I determined through logical conclusions:
Her husband might have been the real deal, too.
As such, we need to re-evaluate our information concerning Chris Vineyard, the supposedly alter ego of Sharon.
Yes, I am finally at the stage where I may proudly state my theory: Sharonâs supposedly fictional daughter Chris is ano kata. She took over after ceding her identity to her mother who approached the end of her ability to mask her lack of aging.
Of course, there is no proof, but there are certain aspects that point towards the fact that it is POSSIBLE.
1.      The song Nanatsu no Ko that is associated with the boss is about a mother crow feeding her chicks. Crow is a homophone of the Japanese word Kuro, which means black. It is not farfetched to assume that ano kata is female, because the phone number may belong to the âmotherâ of the black organization.
2.      Chris is supposed to be 29 years old. Thus, she fits the profile.
3.      It is difficult for people to completely shield their private life. Sharon had been in the public eye for about 20 years, because she was already famous when she met Yukiko at Toichiâs. Depending on this calculation, Chris would have been nine years old, and Sharon cannot have posed as a child due to the different body structure. Either Chris appeared out of nowhere as an adult, or there must have been a child at some point.
4.      In an interview, Chris once claimed that the relationship with her mother is strained. This might have been a cheap lie to explain that they were never seen together in the same place (being the same person), or maybe there is a grain of truth in this statement: Vermouthâs relationship with ano kata is strained, too, after all.
5. Â Â Â It would explain ano kataâs interest in regaining youth. She now is older than her own mother, being 29 while her mother appears to be around 25 years of age. It would also explain why Vermouth is dead-set against the boss finding out about the shrinking effect. She may not wish her own fate on her daughter, having to watch as everybody else withers and dies.
 I really would like a twist like this to become canon, because the manga is dragging it out, and if the reveal fails to be surprising, it would be quite disappointing. Also, a female boss would fit with Aoyamaâs tendency to represent women in power positions, which is rare in shounen manga.
