[[foldercontrol]]

!Main Protagonists

[[folder:Hajime Kindaichi]]

!! Japanese: 金田一 一, Kindaichi Hajime
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TaikiMatsuno, Creator/KappeiYamaguchi (first anime film)\\
'''Portrayed by:''' Tsuyoshi Domoto (1995-1997), Jun Matsumoto (2001), Kazyua Kamenashi (2005), Ryosuke Yamada (2013-2014), Shunsuke Michieda (2022)

[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/11498_150291411.png]]

The main character of the series. The grandson of famous detective, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosuke_Kindaichi Kosuke Kindaichi]], Hajime picked up the tricks of his trade from him, using his great detective skills to solve the crimes occurring in the series.
----
* AbsenteeClubMember: Despite being a member of the Mystery Club, he's almost never present in the club meetings because he's just that much of an ApatheticStudent. One case arc starts with Miyuki, his "[[ChildhoodFriendRomance friend since childhood]]" and a fellow club member herself, browbeating him into joining the meeting, just to make sure he won't skip out on it this time.
* AccidentalPervert: While he's a ChivalrousPervert, one of the more frequent sources of hilarity involves him pulling seemingly perverted stunts without meaning to do so, incurring the wrath of [[{{Tsundere}} Miyuki]], who privately considers such stunts between herself and Hajime "sexual harassment comedy routine" in one case arc.
* AchillesInHisTent:
** In the "Seven Mysteries of Fudo High" he briefly considers dropping the case because his carelessness [[spoiler:resulted in Miyuki getting attacked and hospitalized. Appropriately enough, it was Miyuki herself, upon waking up]], who talked him into getting back into action.
** [[spoiler:Saki's murder]] left him [[HeroicBSOD nearly catatonic]] for a whole episode, that he didn't even rebuff the accusation that he's now the primary suspect.
* AffectionateNickname: Called "Hajime-chan" by Miyuki. [[spoiler:This becomes important in "Hong Kong Kowloon Treasure".]]
* AloneWithThePsycho: Kindaichi has tried to corner or confront the case's killer alone numerous times, which sometimes result in him getting beaten since, well, the person he confronts is usually ruthless or cunning enough to kill a person successfully.
* AmateurSleuth: Despite being an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent (and a {{Salaryman}} as an adult), his genius deduction skills allow him to SpotTheThread and solve cases that baffle many a professional crime investigator and/or cop. He also counts as a KidDetective when he's an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent.
* ApatheticStudent: School bores him, so being AsleepInClass is his common way of getting through class sessions, and his grades are bad enough to threaten to keep him HeldBackInSchool.
* AsleepInClass: Expect him to do this or concentrate on other things (eating, playing mobile games) instead of paying attention during the class. Mind you, it's not because of part-time work.
* BigEater: Downplayed. While he doesn't eat an inordinate amount of food in one go, he tends to help himself with food whenever he can or complain of hunger when food shortage happens, and a source of HypocriticalHumor involves him complaining about the loss of his appetite even as he's scarfing food down.
* BigOlEyebrows: Which he inherits through [[InvisibleParents his father]].
* BrainsAndBrawn: His teamwork with Kenmochi has this dynamic. Kindaichi is a genius with prodigious deduction skills that help Kenmochi solve many a murder case while lacking strong physique for melee confrontations, whereas Kenmochi is a black-belt in judo with CharlesAtlasSuperpower and serviceable but not excellent deduction skills that are often needed to solve elaborate plots in murder cases.
* BrilliantButLazy: He is very intelligent (his IQ is 180) to the point that first depiction of him mentions that he can get better grades than Miyuki if he tries but he gets very bad grades because [[ApatheticStudent he doesn't care about school]].
* CanNotSpitItOut: He is coy about his feelings for Miyuki, and [[MomentKiller the one time he does manage to spit it out, his confession is muffled by the marching band]].
* CatchPhrase:
** "I swear it in the name of my grandfather!"
** "All the mysteries are solved."
** "The killer is among us!" (not when he confronts the killer directly or lays trap on them)
* ChickMagnet: Miyuki obviously falls for him, Reika is shown to be Miyuki's main rival, and other one-time only girls have shown to be interested in him. He doesn't mind.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Miyuki.
* ChivalrousPervert: He is something of a skirt chaser, but he is still more or less a gentleman.
* ClearMyName: Several times. The most notable case including "Kindaichi the Killer" and "Life Gamble of Kindaichi" (case series).
* ComplimentBackfire: A frequent target of this, due to the combination of himself being a BrilliantButLazy CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass with an unassuming appearance and those who do know his HiddenDepths having a tendency to mention his idiotic traits while trying to prop him up.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Except for a few close friends, everyone at school thinks Kindaichi is an idiot. The reason behind this was because he doesn't want his genius brain to separate him from others.
* DoomMagnet: He seems unable to go anywhere without some murderous plot, or at least some legal trouble, taking place where he is, [[BusmansHoliday even when he tries to take a vacation]]. This gets Kindaichi pegged as the suspect on more than one occasion, and a Superintendent gets involved specifically because he believes Kindaichi can't be ''that'' unlucky, so [[MistakenForMurderer Kindaichi is obviously the one perpetrating these crimes]].
* EarAche: PlayedForLaughs. He's on the receiving end of it, with Miyuki pulling him by the ear to cajole him into doing something or to keep him in line.
* EnemyMine: Joins forces with Takato in the Rosenkreuz Mansion case, on the condition that Takato would turn himself in after it's over. This includes, ironically enough, proving [[NotMeThisTime Takato's innocence]] when the mansion's other guests figure out his identity and pin the blame on Takato for the murders.
* EurekaMoment: Whenever he feels stuck trying to deduce a murder plot, something seemingly unrelated soon jolts him into the realization that will help him to solve the case at hand.
* FakingTheDead: Near the end of the Kindaichi the Killer case Akechi shoots Kindaichi during a hostage situation. Akechi reveals the ruse once he's alone with the "corpse" and Kindaichi's friends, and Kindaichi explains it's the only way he can get the [[SternChase police heat]] off his back and investigate the initial crime scene more thoroughly.
* FiveFingerDiscount: He's able to pickpocket stuffs in earlier appearances, sometimes [[PercussivePickpocket uses bumping as one of the tricks]]; Detective Tawarada's police notebook, One of his teachers' matches and hotel coupon, even his seniors' [[spoiler:panties]]. This probably results from years of learning magic with his grandpa. This habit lessens as more series come out.
* {{Foil}}: To Akechi.
** Kindaichi is a BrilliantButLazy ApatheticStudent, whereas Akechi was a straight-A student in his younger days.
** Kindaichi's talent is mostly focused on his deduction skills as an AmateurSleuth, whereas Akechi is TheAce with many trained accomplishments to the point that he might also be a RenaissanceMan.
** Kindaichi is as emotive as any average person, while Akechi is TheStoic.
** As an adult, Kindaichi is a {{Salaryman}} whose job has ''nothing'' to do with detective work (in fact, he states that such is the one job he ''doesn't'' want to do -- the only reason he gets involved in detective work at all is because he's a MysteryMagnet), while Akechi has been in police detective work for decades.
* GoodIsNotSoft: When he is throwing ShutUpHannibal talks to many unrepentant culprits.
* GreatDetective: He solves crimes via deductive investigations.
* GuileHero: Likes to lull prospective suspects into thinking he's just a kid and/or an idiot, just in time to spring a mental trap on them.
* HeldBackInSchool: While he doesn't actually get held back, some case arcs start with him struggling to keep out of this status due to his bad grades.
* HistoryRepeats: To his chagrin, Kindaichi finds himself trying to solve serial murders in locations that are all-too-familiar to him: The Opera Hotel and Hotel Europa.
* HypocriticalHumor: His action of stuffing himself with food while claiming to have lost his appetite can only be this trope, especially since he's a BigEater.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: As an adult he desperately tried to be a normal salary man but kept getting roped into mysteries.
* IntergenerationalFriendship:
** He is a friend of Kenmochi, an middle-aged adult inspector. The friendship still remains 20 years later.
** As an adult {{Salaryman}}, he is a friend and business partner with Marin Hayama, who's 14 years his junior.
* LetsGetDangerous: When it comes time to solve a case he drops the goofball act and turns deadly serious.
* LuredIntoATrap: When Kindaichi manages to deduce the culprit(s) but does not have enough material evidences, he will not hesitate to lure the culprit(s) into a trap he had set, so the cops would be able to "catch them red-handed" instead of wasting time at the crime scene.
* MysteryMagnet: He seems to be unable to go anywhere without some mystery that needs his smarts to solve taking place.
* NumericalThemeNaming: He and Fumi have this dynamic between them, as their names are "one"("一") and "two three" ("二三"), respectively.
* PatchworkKids: Except for the ponytail hairstyle and his BigOlEyebrows, the former being his own style and the latter being inherited from his father, he looks almost identical to his mother.
* ProtagonistTitle: His last name instead of his first name.
* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: He tries to be this as much as possible in his workplace.
* RunningGag: People, especially Detective Tawarada, sometimes read his name as "Kindani" ("Dani" in Japanese means "mite").
* SalaryMan: His job at Otowa PR Company.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Having witnessed so many deaths in his teenage years most probably took a toll in Kindaichi that, 20 years later, he doesn't want to play detective anymore. Unfortunately, he's a DoomMagnet and a MysteryMagnet, so he winds up having to solve cases again, if very reluctantly.
* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: He does his best to talk many a SympatheticMurderer who's become a DeathSeeker out of suicide. While his success rate may vary, there's no doubt that he's genuine in his attempts.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miyuki Nanase]]

!! Japanese: 七瀬 美雪, Nanase Miyuki
->'''Voiced by:''' Akiko Nakagawa\\
'''Portrayed by:''' Rie Tomosaka (1995-1997), Anne Suzuki (2001), Juri Ueno (2005), Haruna Kawaguchi (2013-2014), Moka Kamishiraishi (2022)

[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miyuki.jpg]]

The childhood friend and next door neighbor of Hajime Kindaichi, or "Hajime-chan". Miyuki is an honors student at her and Hajime's high school. Many of her classmates and teachers wonder why she hangs around a guy like Kindaichi, but Miyuki knows that Kindaichi is a lot more than he lets on.
----
* ACupAngst: Live-action version only. Kindaichi is the one who comments on it often.
* BorrowedCatchPhrase: Live-action version only in tweaked "Ijinkan Hotel Murder Case". Hilariously, she says "I'll solve this case in the name of Hajime-chan's Grampa!". The rest is still the same though.
* BuxomBeautyStandard: Let's just say she gets a LOT of commentary on her bosom.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Hajime.
* DamselInDistress: Sometimes. Subverted in The Magical Express where [[spoiler: the puppeteer of hell apparently kidnapped her but it turned out to be just a puppet.]]
* DudeMagnet: Has a few guys chasing after her besides Kindaichi.
* EarAche: PlayedForLaughs. She's the one doling it out to Kindaichi, whether to cajole him into doing something or to keep him in line.
* FrameUp: Happened once in "Vampire Legend Murder Case".
* GirlNextDoor: She and Hajime have been living near each other, which helps to develop ChildhoodFriendRomance between them.
* {{Hammerspace}}: Her purse. Played for laughs only once, however, [[http://img.bato.to/comics/2016/04/20/k/read5717c3389e92f/img000014.jpg here]].
* IdenticalStranger: She bears an uncanny resemblance to a random girl that is the reason behind the culprit's RoaringRampageOfRevenge. It ensures that the culprit wouldn't attack her and allows her to prevent a SadisticChoice from taking place in that case arc.
* InformedAttractiveness: She is Kindaichi's LoveInterest, is the most desired girl in her high school and in most of the cases at least one guy is interested in her. She has exactly the same body type as other girls in the series and her face is very normal too. Later stories place some emphasis on her somewhat generous bust size.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With the middle-aged Kenmochi.
* NotSoDire: Kidnapped in Kowloon Murder Case so the killer [[spoiler:can impersonate her.]] Once Kindaichi catches the killer, he mounts a rescue...and learns that Miyuki wasn't in any danger at all. Her "kidnapper" only told her a lie about a national emergency, keeps Miyuki well-provided for in a hideaway and treated her like an important guest.
* PutOnABus: 20 years later, Miyuki is now a flight stewardess, and thus cannot join Kindaichi in his new adventures.
* SatelliteLoveInterest: To Kindaichi. Even her other relationships (Wakaba in the mummy case) or hobbies (her drama club's membership in the Phantom of Opera case) are only plot devices to drag Kindaichi to the next mystery (and she is very OutOfFocus in those cases).
* {{Seers}}: Kindaichi nicknames her this in their adult age in which she's ALWAYS correct about his activities via Liso messages.
* SecondLove: Believe it or not, she's not Kindaichi's first love. His first love is [[spoiler:one of his and Miyuki's friends in elementary school who became a top model, Takamori Masumi.]]
* StudentCouncilPresident: Translation seems to be juggling between her being this or ClassRepresentative.
* {{Tsundere}}: Type B. Miyuki is usually a sweet and even-tempered young lady, but she gets ''pissed'' whenever Kindaichi does a perverted act.
* TheWatson: Part of her primary role in any mystery case is to ask questions that are relevant to the case at hand for the detective (usually Hajime) to answer so the readers/viewers can understand the stories better.
* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Some of her and Kindaichi's fellow classmates can't understand why she remains close to Kindaichi due to not knowing about his HiddenDepths.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Isamu Kenmochi]]

!! Japanese: 剣持 勇, Kenmochi Isamu
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JurotaKosugi, Isao Natsuyagi (anime film)\\
'''Portrayed by:''' Masato Furuoya (1995-1996), Takashi Naitou (2001), Masaya Kato (2005), Tomomitsu Yamaguchi (2013-2014), Ikki Sawamura (2022)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kindaichi_shounen_no_jikenbo_r_5.jpg]]

A Tokyo homicide police inspector skilled in Judo. After meeting Kindaichi in the first case of the series, Kenmochi has always supported Hajime and his deduction prowess.
----
* BadassInDistress: He gets ambushed, knocked out, and locked away early in the "Opera House: The Third Murder" case arc; thankfully, Kindaichi manages to find him later in the selfsame case, disheveled and hungry but no worse for wear otherwise.
* BaritoneOfStrength: Has a deep voice and can and WILL hand out an ass beating if need be.
* TheBigGuy: Occasionally serves as this due to his police training and experience.
* BorrowedCatchPhrase: Happens once in "The Headless Samurai" when he borrows Kindaichi's.
* BrainsAndBrawn: His teamwork with Kindaichi has this dynamic. Kindaichi is a genius with prodigious deduction skills that help Kenmochi solve many a murder case while lacking strong physique for melee confrontations, whereas Kenmochi is a black-belt in judo with CharlesAtlasSuperpower and serviceable but not excellent deduction skills that are often needed to solve elaborate plots in murder cases.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: The suspect of the week compared his grip to a gorilla.
* CoolOldGuy: More "middle-aged" than "old", but he is generally cordial with Hajime and Miyuki, with both of whom he forms an IntergenerationalFriendship. The trope is played straighter after the 20-year TimeSkip, in which he's retired from the police force due to his more advanced age while retaining his cordial relationship with Hajime.
* DemotedToExtra: He's now under retirement in the 20 Year series, having only appeared sporadically so far. He can't accompany Kindaichi in his new cases anymore, although he can still pull a few strings to help if need be.
* {{Frameup}}: He was framed in "Inspector Kenmochi Murder Case".
* FriendOnTheForce: All Hajime needs is a call from Kenmochi (and/or Akechi) to instantly verify his credibility as a sleuth.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With high school-aged Hajime and Miyuki.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A mild case. He was depicted as a jerkass in his manga debut (Opera House Murder Case). After Kindaichi and everyone else found the first dead body, Kenmochi who were in a holiday in the island said to a crying Miyuki "I'm the one who should be crying, this case ruined my holiday!". Later appearance lessens his "jerk" part and increases his "gold".
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Kenmochi is perfectly competent as a detective and policeman, it's just that the points of comparison are Kindaichi and Akechi who are insanely gifted.
* PermaStubble: He has a scruffy, short beard, and an author's note in one case arc even mentions he shaved recently despite his bearded appearance at the moment.
* ThatOneCase: The Marina Togami suicide, which is the driving point of the Kenmochi the Killer mystery. Togami, a student of Kenmochi in kendo, was kidnapped and tortured (perhaps [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil even more]]), and in an attempt to escape from her kidnappers, she killed herself. Oddly, the reason that Kenmochi treats it as if he failed wasn't because it was unsolved, but rather because the perpetrators couldn't be convicted (with one pulling a KarmaHoudini through ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney) because they were minors at the time of the crime. The plot of Kenmochi the Killer involves the suspects, now at legal age, being targeted and seemingly killed one by one, and Kenmochi suddenly pulls a vanishing act at the time of the murders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kengo Akechi]]

!! Japanese: 明智 健悟, Akechi Kengo
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa\\
'''Portrayed by:''' Mansaku Ikeuchi (1995-1996)

[[quoteright:141:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d97204b3ef414ca9feb2bfe4edf272a3_akechi_kengo.png]]

A police chief superintendent and Kenmochi's supervisor. Akechi is a rival of sorts for Kindaichi, but they both share a mutual respect for each other.
----
* TheAce: Let's see, he is a former straight-A student, Todai graduate, amateur chess player (who ranks somewhere among the world's best amateur players), trained violinist (who can play for a professional quartet of a piece he played ''for the first time''), capable fencer (who once beat the national champion) and can pilot planes too. If that's not enough, he's also a qualified wine expert capable of taking sommelier's duty and also speaks French fluently.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Zigzagged. In terms of sleuthing skills, he is either equal to Kindaichi or slightly below him (especially in the older series, where his arrogance frequently causes him to miss out on clues that Kindaichi notice). However, he is superior to Kindaichi in pretty much everything else.
* BishieSparkle: Later depictions of him has this as background tone in several occasions. Kindaichi even lampshaded it in spin-off gag manga.
* BorrowedCatchPhrase: In a small case featuring Kindaichi as prime suspect and Akechi as the detective, he deliberately says "The mysteries have been solved", even he lampshaded it.
* BrokenAce: A mild variant. In his first appearance, his overconfidence in his deduction ability led to him being completely sidetracked by the real murderer's false hints. Later stories reveal he's still haunted by several ghosts in his past, like the murder of a friend in his high school circle [[spoiler:(by another friend in the same group, one very close to him at that)]] and the failure of his father Akechi Sr. in solving the famous bank heist 20 years ago featured in ''House of Wax'', which led to his father's early retirement and his obsession with finding out the answer for the case.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In his first appearance, Akechi is nothing but a smug stick-in-the-mud who is more concerned about showing off his intelligence than actually pursuing justice. As time goes on, the series really hammer in on his elegance and being TheAce.
* ChickMagnet: The ladies do love him.
* {{Foil}}: To Kindaichi.
** Akechi was a straight-A student in his younger days, whereas Kindaichi is a BrilliantButLazy ApatheticStudent.
** Akechi is TheAce with many trained accomplishments to the point that he might also be a RenaissanceMan, whereas Kindaichi's talent is mostly focused on his deduction skills as an AmateurSleuth.
** Akechi is TheStoic, while Kindaichi is as emotive as the next person.
** Akechi has been in police detective work for decades, while Kindaichi, as an adult, is a {{Salaryman}} whose job has ''nothing'' to do with detective work (in fact, he states that such is the one job he ''doesn't'' want to do -- the only reason he gets involved in detective work at all is because he's a MysteryMagnet).
* FriendOnTheForce: He has helped Hajime over the phone to instantly verify his credibility as a sleuth.
* GratuitousFrench: He's shown to be a fluent one in a conversation with a native French speaker.
* GreatDetective: He proves to have excellent deductive capabilities both [[ADayInTheLimelight when he's the one to solve crimes]] and when he provides investigative support to Kindaichi.
* HairColors: He has grey hair.
* OlderThanTheyLook: In Case File of 37 Years Old Kindaichi, he is already 48 years old, but looks no different from his 28-year-old self. This is lampshaded by Itsuki when the two meet.
* NotSoAboveItAll:
** Unabashedly goes to humiliate Kindaichi by exposing the latter's PornStash while Kindaichi was supposed to be given an award from the police director. He can then be seen struggling (and almost failing) to keep his composure when his scheme worked.
** When his subordinate suspects Kindaichi to be a SerialKiller due to his presence in various crimes (even 20 years later), Akechi has a barely-controlled laughing fit.
* PrettyBoy: He's suave, elegant, and is considered very handsome by most females he comes across.
* TheRival: To Hajime Kindaichi. Their investigative prowess are evenly matched.
* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: Smug as he may be, he's got the smarts to back it up.
* TheStoic: Calm, cool, and collected, he's not known to show strong emotions or raise his voice.
* TeaIsClassy: He's known for his elegance and class, and, especially in his SpinOff series, is fond of drinking tea.
* ThatOneCase: Akechi's father tried to solve the bank heist that would eventually become part of the backstory for the "House of Wax Murder Case" arc, but he was unable to do so before the statute of the heist case expired and he was himself forced to retire due to old age, spending the rest of his life brooding over his failure to solve it. It's for this reason Akechi went out of his way to get Kindaichi involved in the murder mystery event that would serve as the prelude for the present-day case arc, as he felt said event could be tied to the bank heist case (and he turned out to be right), [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness going so far as to get Miyuki and Saki to coax Kindaichi into agreeing to the involvement, which struck both Miyuki and Saki as unusual]].
* TurnInYourBadge: In Snow Demon murder case, seeing Kenmochi's faith in Kindaichi's skills, Akechi challenges the two of them on who gets to solve the mystery first. Should Kindaichi (and thus Kenmochi) lose, the latter's job will be compromised.
* YoungAndInCharge: He's technically Kenmochi's superior despite being 20 years his junior.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Marin Hayama]]

!! Japanese: 葉山 海, Hayama Marin

A 23-year-old employee of Otowa PR Company, the same one Kindaichi himself works in as a 37-year-old, Marin is Kindaichi's subordinate and his partner of choice at work.
----
* HyperCompetentSidekick: Marin can speak fluent Mandarin and French, [[InformedAbility even though the readers have yet to witness her linguistic abilities in action]], is capable of script-writing, and is more up to date about a given work-related project at hand than Kindaichi at times.
-->'''Kindaichi''': Glad I have a competent subordinate for times like these!
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Kindaichi, who's 14 years older than herself.
* SatelliteCharacter: She's known primarily for her ''work-related'' relationship with Kindaichi, as an employee in the same company Kindaichi works for and as Kindaichi's go-to work partner of choice; not much else.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To Miyuki, in terms of her role as TheWatson in a given detective case, due to Miyuki being PutOnABus.
* TheWatson: Being a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to Miyuki, who's PutOnABus due to her own work, her primary role in any mystery case is to ask questions that are relevant to the case at hand for the detective (most likely Hajime) to answer so the readers/viewers can understand the stories better.
* WideEyedIdealist: She's much more upbeat and optimistic than Kindaichi. Her younger age (by 14 years compared to Kindaichi) and her lack of exposure to murder cases (and with them, the darker sides of human nature and reality) may play a role in her more idealistic beliefs and attitude compared to Kindaichi's.
[[/folder]]

!Recurring Characters

[[folder:Reika Hayami]]

!! Japanese: 速水 玲香, Hayami Reika
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MayumiIizuka\\
'''Portrayed by:''' Wakana Sakai (2001)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kindaichi_case_files_returns_episode_5.jpg]]

A pop singer that Kindaichi and Miyuki befriend during a case, Reika is a very popular idol and aspiring actress. After their first case together, Reika has been smitten with Kindaichi and takes every chance she can get to be alone with him.
----
* DaddysGirl: Very fond of her father. [[spoiler: It later turned out that he kidnapped her as a child after murdering her real father. However, she believes despite how she was adopted that he genuinely loved her.]]
* DamselInDistress: She's abducted early in the "Reika Hayami Kidnapping Murder Case" arc.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hoo-boy, where to START? [[spoiler: Firstly, her father was murdered in a botched kidnapping with the kidnapper eventually adopting and raising her, and then HE was murdered after murdering someone else in order to keep his past a secret. Her [[LongLostRelative long-lost brother]] was the one who murdered her adoptive father and then died in an avalanche just as Reika finds out who he was. Not exactly the friendliest of backgrounds.]]
* FrameUp: She was framed in "Alchemy Murder Case".
* GenkiGirl: Very perky and friendly.
* InterruptedDeclarationOfLove: she tried to confess her feelings to Kindaichi at the end of her introductory arc.
* InnocentFlowerGirl: Well... more like Innocent Flower Woman actually, since in Case File of 37 Years Kindaichi, she was known to open her own flower shop after she quits from show business.
* LoveTriangle: In one with Kindaichi and Miyuki, though she's a lot more forthcoming about her feelings than Miyuki is.
* MissingMom: [[spoiler: Heavily implied to be Keiko Kitamura, a veteran dramatic actress who was willing to pay the ransom when Reika was kidnapped.]]
* NiceGirl: Though she teases Miyuki on occasion when it comes to Kindaichi.
* TeenIdol: A popular teenage performing entertainer (in both singing and acting) at/around the same age as Kindaichi and Miyuki.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Mentaiko.
* TraumaButton: She doesn't like stuffs around her neck, clearly seen when she freaked out right after Kindaichi gave her his scarf around her neck. [[spoiler:It's because she saw how her real father was killed by strangulation. This also applies to her brother.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yoichi Takato]]

!! Japanese: 高遠 遙一, Takatō Yōichi
->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/KenichiOno

[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/260773.jpg]]

Originally the culprit in the Magical Train murder, Takato has become one of the few recurring antagonists in the series. A cold-blooded sociopath and criminal mastermind, Takato is the Moriarty to Kindaichi's Sherlock Holmes and is one of the few people who can match wits with him, and has in fact even outwitted Kindaichi.
----
* AmateurSleuth: In his spin-off series that takes place in his high school years, Takato has to solve a complex serial murder involving heavy use of magic tricks to prove his innocence when the police suspect him... not unjustifiably so, because even as a kid Takato was ''off''. But this is Takato, [[spoiler:so the case also ends up being his first murder - he disposed of the killer instead of turning him in.]]
* AngelFaceDemonFace: Once Kindaichi starts putting dents on his entire façade, meek, unassuming Takato turns to the side, takes off his glasses, and reveals himself for the cold, calculating bastard that he is.
* TheBadGuyWins: Don't expect him to get caught if he shows up. Heck, in his first appearance he gets away with his goals and escapes prison shortly thereafter.
* BadHabits: Takato has disguised himself as a Catholic priest or minister more than once, and knows enough about Christianity to pull it off.
* BigBad: The closest thing the original series has to one, being a recurring villain behind the crimes of others.
* BigBrotherInstinct: In ''Mansion of Rosenkreuz'', he received a letter from the mysterious Rosenkreuz who claims to hold his little sister hostage and threatens to kill her if he doesn't show up at the titular mansion. Despite said sister being a product of his biological father (whom he has never met) and another woman and he has never so much as heard of her existence, Takato still recruits Kindaichi to come with him to protect her and promises to turn himself in afterwards as a reward. [[spoiler:Even when it turns out she ''is'' the murderer and her sole purpose for contacting him is to set him up as her scapegoat, Takato still chooses not to hurt her and stops her suicide attempt instead.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: In his debut appearance, he posed as a nice but timid manager of a magic troupe. Of course, this is all a facade, and by the end of the arc he reveals his true colours as a sociopathic criminal mastermind.
* BrilliantButLazy: In high school, Takato easily aced all of his classes and was apparently good at anything he tried, but he's doing it all on automatic and finds everything ''so'' easy that he's utterly bored. He averts this post-''The Magical Express Murder'', having discovered his true passion in life: [[spoiler:Orchestrating elaborate homicides.]]
* BrokenAce: He's a straight-A student, TeenGenius magician and skilled pianist, but behind all this brilliance is a complete sociopath who wouldn't blink at murder.
* CallingCard: Roses, as a homage to his mother, and puppets, hence his moniker the Puppeteer of Hell; if one or both of these are present in any significant way in a case, there's a good chance Takato's involved.
* TheChessmaster: He's a brilliant criminal mastermind who is a magician with schemes. Usually they don't fail because of a flaw in his own design, but due to the human error of the people he manipulates.
* TheCorruptor: A majority of the culprits he's made plans for are people he actively sought out and turned into murderers.
* CrazyPrepared: Having a background as a magician, he is ALWAYS ready with a backup plan to escape the authorities.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: In high school, Takato isn't exactly desperate or looking, but that's mostly because he's apathetic to everything even as he wonders if there's a meaning to his life he hasn't yet found. Unfortunately for everyone else, he ''does'' eventually find his purpose. [[spoiler:Once again, it's elaborate, murderous crimes.]]
* DissonantSerenity: He is composed to the point of it being CREEPY.
* TheDreaded: Everyone gets unnerved when he's involved in a case.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: His new look in ''The Case File of 37 Years Kindaichi'' has a bit of this, mostly because his hair's grown out considerably since the timeskip.
* EraSpecificPersonality: When written by Yozaburo Kanari, Takato was a pretty strong AntiVillain: He [[IGaveMyWord always kept his promises]], he had friends he'd willingly team up with Kindaichi to avenge, and he had a policy of making the crimes he planned look completely impossible so [[NeverHurtAnInnocent there'd be no risk of innocents being falsely accused.]][[note]]Framing Kindaichi in ''Young Kindaichi's Trip of Death Preparedness'' aside, although even in that case he told Kindaichi he'd let him go if he'd just admit defeat.[[/note]] When Seimaru Amagi got a hold of him in ''New'', he thought that portraying a pleasure killer as such a stand up guy was sending a bad message, so Takato lost all his positive traits and became much more ruthless, organizing crimes specifically to [[ItsPersonal emotionally hurt Kindaichi]] such as lying to his puppet of the week so they'd frame Inspector Kenmochi or [[spoiler: [[TheCorruptor aggressively recruiting]] Kindaichi's childhood friend as a culprit]], [[YouHaveFailedMe making a policy of killing any culprit who got caught]], and [[EvilIsPetty refusing to admit defeat for incredibly minor reasons]]. Eventually, Amagi got bored of writing such a two-dimensional villain, so ''20th Anniversary'' and ''Returns'' Takato softened up considerably, sparing the lives of multiple culprits and being much less cruel in his rivalry with Kindaichi, though he still ignored most of his old code. This also marked when he suddenly became obsessed with his family, revealing a half-sister he was [[BigBrotherInstinct extremely protective of]] and that he'd always suspected that his "father" wasn't his biological father, leading him to orginizing cases specifically to take advantage of buildings designed by his birth father.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: The case that introduced him as a murderer was motivated by his desire to avenge his late mother, who was killed by her disciples so they could steal her magic tricks. The Takato Case Files spin-off also shows him swearing on his mother's name in the same way Kindaichi swears on his grandfather's.
* EvilCounterpart: To Akechi. Both graduated as top-students of Shuoh High School and are considered geniuses due to their incredible talent in music, foreign language, and many other things. They also have suave, confident personalities that brings elegance in everything they do. Both are also students of the great magician Reiko Chikamiya, whom both idolize. But while Akechi becomes a police officer who fights for justice, Takato is a criminal mastermind who delights in murder.
** The Takato Case Files also makes him a former one to Kindaichi himself, both having been BrilliantButLazy high school students who only showed their true abilities when faced with horrific murder cases, even having Takato swear to solve the case in the name of his FamousAncestor just like Hajime. However, Kindaichi had a rich social life, slacked off in school so he could focus on his freespirited ways, and solved crimes out of a powerful sense of justice, while Takato was a [[LonersAreFreaks loner]] with perfect grades who solved the Reaper Magician case out of grotesque, sadistic curiosity. By the events of the main series, CharacterDevelopment has turned them into outright [[{{Foil}} foils]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: Takato is generally pleasant and personable, especially when approaching people he plans on manipulating, but he has no problems orchestrating horrific murders and cheerfully cuts his pawns loose once their role in his plans is done or they've otherwise lost his interest.
* {{Foil}}: To Kindaichi. Kindaichi is a BrilliantButLazy young man who only shows his true abilities when he needs them to help others, while Takato is a [[TheAce flawless polymath]] who kills people in showoffy ways for fun. Takato himself characterizes their relationship as "A pair of parallel lines that will never intersect".
* ForTheEvulz: Why he assists murderers and criminals. His first crime was for revenge, but he has no personal stake in any others. Unlike most culprits, Takato has no sympathetic motives and is clearly just doing it for the hell of it.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was just a manager of a magic troupe, his only pedigree being that his mother was a brilliant magician, and even then, nobody knew he was her son. Afterwards, the man becomes a criminal mastermind who can outwit Kindaichi and the national authorities.
* GeneHunting: The closest thing the Returns series has to a serialized story-line is Takato's search for his true father, a mysterious architect whose creations are both the setting and main puzzle of some of Kindaichi's most difficult mysteries, including the Rosenkreuz Mansion and the false ruins on Gunkan Island, among others.
* GenerationXerox:
** [[spoiler:Takato commits murder to avenge his mother, who was killed by her students to claim ownership of her brilliant magic tricks. In ''Mansion of Rosenkreuz'', his half-sister Tsukuyomi Giselle's motivation for murder is also revealed to be revenge for her mother, an accomplished rose breeder who was killed by people who wanted to steal the blue rose she cultivated.]]
** Both of his parents were pretty nasty pieces of work: his mother left a trap in a false notebook so that if anyone ever stole it from her they would horribly burn alive, while his father was a cold, short-tempered alcoholic [[spoiler: and his ''biological'' father designed buildings full of tricks and traps that seems desinged to be used for getting away with murder]]. Is it any wonder he grew up to be a genius mass murderer?
* GreaterScopeVillain: For the 20 Years Later series. In spite of facing death row, he has trained at least a dozen new killers (including [[spoiler:a BlackWidow type SerialKiller that was the first killer exposed in the 20 Years Later series]], [[spoiler: the top male idol of the time]], and even [[spoiler:[[LoveInterestTraitor Fumi's boyfriend]]]]) that he set loose for Kindaichi and company to catch.
* InTheBlood: His mother was a world-famous magician, and he inherited her aptitude. [[spoiler:It is implied that his talent for crime is passed down from his biological father... though it should be noted that his mother, suspecting she'd be murdered for her magic tricks, specifically included a trick that would kill any imposter who tried it.]]
* JokerImmunity: Even if he does get caught he always finds a way back to the criminal underworld. Fittingly, he even seems to prefer purple suits much like the Joker.
* LonelyRichKid: He comes from a rich family, but his father is very strict, and apparently didn't allow him to have much fun.
* LoonyFan: Not Takato himself, but he apparently gained them during his imprisonment, as two prison guards comment that he always gets gifts in the mail, mostly books, and that he's "pretty popular" and even has an online fan club.
* LoopholeAbuse: He once promised Kindaichi that he would turn himself in provided Kindaichi could protect Takato's half-sister in "Rosenkreuz Mansion Murder Case". He did surrender to the police, but he didn't say that he would turn himself in ''and'' stay in prison for his crimes. [[spoiler:Another reason he decided to break free was because he found "piece of puzzle" to discover his lineage.]]
* MadArtist: He describes his schemes as art, comparing them to dazzling magic shows or plays that just so happen to have a body count.
* ManipulativeBastard: Takato easily manipulates gullible people to be his pawns for his so-called artistic crimes.
* MirrorCharacter: Believes this about Kindaichi and himself, even saying as much during the climax of his first appearance; they have similar intellects and Kindaichi is often seen performing magic tricks, especially in the early manga, and can be surprisingly adept at manipulating people. According to Takato, the only difference is that Takato uses his skills to trap and mislead others while Kindaichi uses his skills to find the truth.
* {{Narcissist}}: He engineers criminal plans just to show off how good they are, often intentionally making them more convoluted than necessary because he considers himself an "artist" rather than a mere criminal.
* NeverMyFault: His FatalFlaw. He insists his plans don't fail because of a design flaw but because of the people he manipulated screwing up, often because Takato assumes that his pawns will act as logically and precisely as he would.
* NonActionBigBad: Typically doesn't get involved directly in a case, aside from formulating the plan, as they have nothing to do with him, except [[YouHaveFailedMe when his clients messed up badly enough to offend his artistic sensabilities]].
* RedBaron: The Puppeteer of Hell, due to his expertise in manipulating others while not getting directly involved.
* TheSociopath: Holds no value for human life and commits crimes just for the thrill. Akechi says it best in that Takato is a born criminal. A few perceptive people already observed sociopathic behavior in him even as a student, such as his [[spoiler:adopted]] father, the police inspector in the first murder he was involved in, and [[spoiler:the culprit of that case]].
* SomethingAboutARose: Most of Takato's appearance will involve red, roses, or both. His first appearance as Puppeteer of Hell involves him handing out roses to people and "Rosenkreuz Mansion Murder Case" happens in a cross-shaped mansion ''surrounded'' by roses as the name implies. Yes, you can include him in {{Bishonen}} category.
* StartOfDarkness: According to his ADayInTheLimelight SpinOff, ''Takato Case Files'', Yoichi didn't develop a fascination for murder until someone from his school's Magic Club starts murdering their fellow members [[spoiler:for the express purpose of eliminating his possible MoralityPet and corrupting him]]. Tellingly, upon seeing [[spoiler:the severed head of his club-mate and possible [[ShipTease love interest]]]], he describes it as "a piece of art that was created by snuffing a life."
* StreetPerformer: When he's not in the prison, he mostly tells stories for children which mimics what Kindaichi will face in that very case (because he's involved in it), or performs street magic shows; the latter is usually also for an audience of children, though he also did this during high school for a more general audience. In all of his post-high school performances, he wears a clown mask to hide his appearance.
* TheTragicRose: When his mother was murdered, a white rose became stained red with her blood. This is the reason why he uses red roses in his first appearance: To remind his target of his mother's death.
* {{Troll}}: Of the highest order, considering that he does a lot of things just to piss off Kindaichi; after all, Kindaichi is likely to show up if it's a really big case.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Implied in the flashback to his childhood, in which he seemed like a lonely but otherwise normal child; while he was much more closed-off in high school, it's implied that he would have liked to be more open around others, and he even enjoyed his time with the Magic Club. [[spoiler:Before they started to die.]]
* VillainRespect: He has a lot of respect for Kindaichi for uncovering his schemes and exposes his involvement in it. To the point that, whenever Takato disguises himself as a street performer, a "renowned detective" is always the main character in a puppet show (basically predicting the events of the mystery Kindaichi will tackle) he narrates for a young audience.
* VillainsActHeroesReact: Whenever Takato is involved in a case, he is almost always the one pulling the strings, and deliberately roping Kindaichi (and sometimes Akechi) into his schemes to make things more interesting. Also, despite Takato being a fugitive, we almost never see the police force actively putting any effort to find and capture him without Takato's own prompting.
* WellDoneSonGuy: He claimed that a "Heartwarming meeting between long-lost mother and son" was too cliche and cute and decided to go down this path toward her mother so that he could show that he could beat her in magic. It helps since her mother was also his inspiration and taught him a few magic tricks.
* WeWillMeetAgain: He always says a variation of this to Kindachi as he makes his VillainExitStageLeft.
* WorthyOpponent: To Kindaichi, being one of the few people capable of matching Kindaichi's intellect.
* YouHaveFailedMe: Woe betide anyone who commits murders with his "help" and then fails to live up to his expectations about how a criminal behaves. Even being in prison is no safeguard against his drive to make the offender in question pay for such failures if the offender messes up badly enough, as evidenced when he orchestrates the murder of one of his "disciples" after learning that said "disciple" had blabbed about Takato having "disciples" who would commit murders, with said offender confessing to be one of them, to Kindaichi and the police (keep in mind that both Takato himself and the offender are in prison, albeit in different ones, at the time).
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Does this frequently when the people he's manipulating have gotten caught or when he has lost interest in helping the people he's manipulating, whether they're caught yet or not.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Itsuki Yousuke]]

!! Japanese: 洋介 五木, Yousuke Itsuki
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HiroakiHirata\\
'''Portrayed by:''' Go Riju (1995-1996), Dai Watanabe (2022)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/youitsu_7.png]]

A freelance writer Kindaichi and Miyuki met for the first time in "The Legend of Lake Hiren". Somewhat of a jerk, but becomes one of Kindaichi's allies as time goes on. His real name is Kimura Shinsuke.
----
* CallBack: In "Antlion's Moat Murder Case", Itsuki was given dark-blue cloth and dark-blue room during a psychology experiment. He understood the meaning behind the color and told Kindaichi and Miyuki that it was related to his hydrophobia, the fact first revealed in "Legend of Lake Hiren". It's important since he's been absent for so long in New series except one minor appearance in one case's final chapter.
* CharacterDevelopment: He's often seen [[SmokingIsCool smoking]] for much of the earlier series, but this trait gets toned down in later ones such as the ''R Series'', before it disappears entirely in his debut after the 20-year TimeSkip where his cigarettes are replaced with [[OralFixation a mouth chewtoy that looks like a cigarette]]. His adoptive daughter urging and pushing him to quit smoking is mentioned as the driving force behind such a change.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: One of Kindaichi's closest friends and allies, it is quite hard to believe that he was such a {{Jerkass}} and a borderline-HateSink for most of his debut arc.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He'll accept any good news (and good money along with it), but he still has his journalistic code of ethics. One example is that he asked his publisher of Goryu's manuscript to remove the name of the killer in "Kindaichi the Killer" when the name appeared since [[spoiler:the killer was forced and tricked to help a doctor committing organ trafficking for the sake of his child.]] He was also about to exploit the Lake Hiren tragedy but backed off when he discovered something that disturbed him.
* FaceOfAThug: He has a rather rough-looking face, which makes his initial appearance even colder than his later appearances would suggest, as Kindaichi and Miyuki remark on when he resolves to adopt Mizuho.
-->'''Miyuki''': He's got a nice side to him, huh?\\
'''Kindaichi''': It really doesn't go well with that brutal face of his.
* IntrepidReporter: Technically a freelance writer, but he functions for this role nonetheless, since he frequently looks into relevant information in a given case to aid in Kindaichi's mystery-solving tasks.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: His first appearance was somewhat of a cold jerk, questioning one victim's wife how she felt after seeing her dead husband's body. Later appearances show more of his soft side.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler:If you read chapters where he appeared before his debut arc, you'll know he's not the culprit in that one.]]
* MistakenForPedophile: Kindaichi thought he was one when he decided to adopt Mizuho, his friend's only child since said friend [[spoiler:passed away]].
* MostWritersAreWriters: He's a freelance writer who used to write for a weekly paper a decade ago.
* OralFixation: By the time Kindaichi meets him 20 years later, his "cigarrette" has become little more than a mouth chewtoy as the result of his adoptive daughter pushing him into quitting smoking.
* PenName: His business colleagues call him Itsuki, and it's his pen name. Also, despite knowing his real name, Kindaichi and Miyuki settle with this nickname. This become vital in solving one particular case.
* SmokingIsCool: Well, he's often seen smoking and he's passable in term of coolness...
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He[[spoiler:, along with almost all of other suspects in Lake Hiren Murder Case,]] is afraid of water. This becomes an obstacle in his debut appearance since he couldn't find help to tackle Jason[[spoiler:, something the real killer had calculated]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gentleman Thief]]
->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/AsakoDodo

First appear in "Gentleman Thief Murder Case". A cunning thief able to fool police so far. Being MasterOfDisguise, nobody knows yet the face underneath the disguise but so far it's revealed that Gentleman Thief is a woman.
----
* CatchPhrase: When her disguise is revealed (and the disguise is someone new), she'll say this: "X is really a Y, I'm just borrowing his/her name and face."
* FrameUp: [[spoiler:Somebody else is using her name to commit murder in her debut appearance. Anime original episode in Kindaichi R2 anime also has this plot element.]]
* GentlemanThief: In-name only since she's a girl in nature. She has some equivalent too though.
* MasterOfDisguise: Somewhat downplayed since the face mask was made by her colleague named Kurogawa. Despite that, she can impersonate male voice perfectly.
* PhantomThief: Warning his/her target and leaving CallingCard after stealing.
* RedBaron: God knows what her real name is.
* RedHerring: Her ''very [[RedBaron name]]'' is this in her debut.
* TheRival: To Kindaichi. After losing to him in "Gentleman Thief Murder Case", she becomes this in every appearance.
* SamusIsAGirl: Due to her name and her call card symbol (a top hat and a moustache), most people assume that the "Gentleman Thief" is a man. Discovering that she's actually a woman is what clued in Kindaichi about the identity of the fake Gentleman Thief.
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: When unmasking herself after her debut, she'll sometime use [[spoiler:Daigo Maki]]'s face underneath the disguise.
* {{Troll}}: She's a big one. Her first appearance when stealing one motif (a tree) from a painting she stole beforehand was by ''cutting it to resemble her logo''. Her way for payback after getting tricked by Kindaichi? Tie him up with a basket full of heavy rocks in the middle of busy street!
* VoiceChangeling: With currently unknown mechanism. She did a good job impersonating [[spoiler:Inspector Kenmochi]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Saki Brothers]]

!! Japanese: 佐木 竜太, Saki Ryūta; 佐木 竜二, Saki Ryūji
->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/KeiichiNanba (Ryuuta)
->'''Played by:''' Tomohiro Hara (1995-1997, Ryuuta), Taisho Iwasaki (2022, Ryuuta)

A pair of brothers consisting of Ryuuta and Ryuuji Saki. Ryuuta Saki is a member of the Mystery Club in Fudou High School. Kindaichi and Miyuki first met him in "Smoke and Mirrors"/"Seven School Mystery Murder Case", and proved to be useful in solving the case due to his seemingly always-present video camera. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:he was killed in "Ijinkan Hotel Murder Case" because he recorded a vital information in revealing one murder trick (he survived in anime though, thus Ryuuji never exist) so that]] he couldn't help anymore. In manga, his role was replaced by his younger brother, Ryuuji Saki, when Kindaichi and Miyuki met him in "Kindaichi the Killer". Since then Saki becomes one valuable ally in solving several cases through providing vital information through his camera.
----
* AdaptedOut: Ryuuji Saki never appears in anime.
* CameraFiend: They will record ''everything'' they see, often (if not always) becomes vital in solving case.
* CompositeCharacter: In the anime adaptation, to make up for the fact that Ryuji doesn't exist (as they [[spoiler:spare Ryuta from being murdered in Hotel Europa]]), the anime more or less gives Ryuta all of Ryuji's character traits.
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: It's not as grand as most examples, but in his final case, not only does Saki's camera allowed to help tell Kindaichi one of the killer's tricks, [[spoiler:but he also posthumously helped unravel the hotel's DarkSecret: a massive narcotics stash, a hidden chamber that can only be accessed by the placements of the hotel's Medusa and Perseus statues.]]
* GenerationXerox: The fact that [[ItRunsInTheFamily everyone in the Saki family has a habit of recording with a video camera]] and their father does it for a living makes it easy for the next generation to do the same, since Saki is noted to work as head secretary of a filmmaking company in his introductory scene after the 20-year TimeSkip.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Why the first Saki was killed. [[spoiler:His camera recorded the theater actors' script, before and after there were alterations made to it. The alterations in question were what the killer exploited to trick their victim.]]
* InsistentTerminology: Kindaichi often refers to Ryuji as "the second Saki" or "Saki no. 2" despite being with Kindaichi for longer than his brother had at this point.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: Their habit of recording with video camera. Even their father uses the hobby as his job.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Ryuuta really died. It was subverted in anime.]]
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Ryuuji fell in love with a girl he accidentally recorded on his video camera.
* {{Otaku}}: Of video camera. At least Kindaichi calls Saki this.
* PickyEater: Saki turns out to be this, as the following dialogue taking place when the cook working in the inn where Kindaichi, Miyuki, and Saki stay in The Bloodthirsty Cherry Blossom Murder Case arc shows.
-->'''Cook''': Is there any food that you don't like in today's dinner?
-->'''[[BigEater Kindaichi]]''': No, I could eat anything!
-->'''Miyuki''': Me, too. There's no food I dislike!
-->'''Saki''': For me, it's pork, animal fat, pepper, tomato, and...
-->'''Kindaichi''': [[LampshadeHanging What a picky eater...]]
* RunningGag: Everytime Kindaichi has an experience related to [[spoiler:Ryuuta's ghost]], he'll be in a case. Funnily, 2 most notable appearances are cases where Kindaichi is framed as a murder.
* SchrodingersCast: In the manga, Ryuuta is killed off and Ryuuji takes his place. In the anime, Ryuuta survives and Ryuuji never appears.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Happens only in manga. [[spoiler:After the older brother dies,]] the younger brother takes his position. Both supply information through their camera and act as Kindaichi's and Miyuki's junior. Ryuuji, the younger one, is notably more cheerful that his older brother though.
* TerribleArtist: Ryuuji tried to draw a potrait of his crush, [[http://a.mhcdn.net/store/manga/8327/01-006.0/compressed/ikindaichi_short1_ch6_21.jpg?v=1282569548 this]] is the result.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Fumi Kindaichi]]

!! Japanese: 金田一 二三, Kindaichi Fumi
->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/HarunaIkezawa

Hajime's cousin, who sometimes solves cases of her own.
----
* AdorablyPrecociousChild: She acts mature for her age and verbally spars with characters much older than her.
* EasilyForgiven: Once forgave the man who kidnapped (and threatened to kill) her after she learned his sympathetic backstory.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Kenmochi calls her "Chibikin" ("Little Kindaichi"), which she detests.
* GirlishPigtails: Her default hairstyle as a child has her tying two pigtails, with one on each side, which serves to contrast Hajime's lone, centered ponytail.
* KidDetective: She seems to have inherited her grandfather's keen investigative mind.
* MostWritersAreWriters: Her adult occupation is in writing mystery novels.
* NumericalThemeNaming: Hajime shares this dynamic with her, as their names are "one"("一") and "two three" ("二三"), respectively.
* ParentalAbandonment: Her debut includes her telling Hajime that her father up and left for Tibet in search of some treasure, leaving her to live with Hajime and his family.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Her introduction in the main series made it sound like she was involved Hajime's previous cases. Her first appearance was actually in a short story that was published in the magazine prior to her first main case, but wasn't published in tankobon format until after that case was compiled first, so it ends up appearing this way for readers today.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: She's quite clever for her age, and displays very calm and measured behavior when under pressure.
* WriteWhatYouKnow: InUniverse. The ideas behind the materials she uses for writing her mystery novels as an adult are from cases Kindaichi himself solved during his high school years, though Fumi herself tries to hide his real identity and involvement by modifying things.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. and Mrs. Kindaichi]]
Hajime's parents.
----
* BigOlEyebrows: The one trait Mr. Kindaichi passes down to his son.
* {{Housewife}}: Mrs. Kindaichi's default role, as there's no indication she has any job outside of looking after Hajime (and Fumi when she's added to the household) and keeping the house running.
* InvisibleParents: Being irrelevant to the general premise of murder case plot ensures their occasional appearances are of mundane nature. It's more so for Mr. Kindaichi, as his wife appears more often than he does.
* SatelliteFamilyMember: Because they're not relevant to the murder mystery premise that features in the franchise, they're characterized almost solely through their mundane, familial connection to Hajime.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Except for the ponytail hairstyle (Hajime's own work) and BigOlEyebrows (which Hajime inherits from his father), Hajime gets his looks from his mother.
* UnnamedParent: Overlaps with NoFullNameGiven, since neither of them has their name revealed beyond their surname.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Makoto Makabe]]

!! Japanese: 真壁 誠, Makabe Makoto
--> '''Portrayed by:''' Mizuki Sano (1995-1997)

A student who's in the same school as Kindaichi and Miyuki, who encounter him during the "Smoke and Mirrors" murder case, he's a Mystery Club member who acts haughty to Kindaichi and flirty to Miyuki.
----
* AlliterativeName: '''Ma'''koto '''Ma'''kabe.
* CasanovaWannabe: He's not exactly ugly, but most of the girls he fancies find his flirty attitudes a turnoff. The "Smoke and Mirrors" murder case, where he debuts, shows him trying to flirt with the then-president of the Mystery Club, who flatout tells him she's not impressed with him. Later case arcs show him being fixated with Miyuki, who doesn't reciprocate his flirty behaviors, either.
* FireForgedFriends: With Kindaichi after the 20-year TimeSkip due to him being a police detective who needs Kindaichi's deduction prowess to help solve crimes, though it takes a murder case for them to become actual friends.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Further tragedies could have been prevented if he wasn't such a jerk. [[spoiler:Inoue and Miyuki on separate occassions wanted to take down his poster after having an unpleasant encounter with him, forcing the killer to act before the secret behind the poster is blown.]] The murderer in question bitterly criticizes him in ''the Culprit Case Files''.
-->'''Culprit''': If only he was more likable...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kotaro Tawarada]]

!! Japanese: 俵田 光太郎, Tawarada Kotaro

A detective in the Aomori prefectural police department. After meeting Kindaichi in the second case of the series, Tawarada becomes impressed with Kindaichi's deduction prowess and supports him when needed.
----
* AccidentalMisnaming: Tawarada tends to call Kindaichi "Kindani".
* FriendOnTheForce: He does get to vouch for Kindaichi, though not as often as Kenmochi does.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Souta Murakami]]

!! Japanese: 村上 聡太, Murakami Souta

A classmate of Hajime and Miyuki as well as a newer member of the Mystery Club.
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* FlatCharacter: Being an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent without plot relevance and [[SatelliteCharacter little to no known characteristics beyond his relations with main characters like Hajime and Miyuki]] renders him quite generic overall.
* FollowInMyFootsteps: [[DefiedTrope Defied]]. Sota tells Miyuki at the start of the "Jail Gate Cram School Murder Case" that his parents want him to become a lawyer like they are (which justifies his enrollment in the CramSchool where the case arc takes place), but his introduction scene after the 20-year TimeSkip notes he works as head secretary in a credit company instead.
* RecurringExtra: While he appears every now and then, he has no plot relevance in any case arc.
* SatelliteCharacter: Besides his relations with Kindaichi and Miyuki (both as classmates and fellow Mystery Club member), there's little we know about him.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: He serves as TheWatson (the role Miyuki normally fulfills) in "Jail Gate Cram School Murder Case" due to Miyuki being in the different study group with the respectively different schedule from the one he and Kindaichi are in and, therefore, unable to correspond with Kindaichi easily. Given his normally nominal plot relevance (at most), this is quite a step-up for him, if only for one case arc.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tokyo Police Department Work Force]]

Fellow law enforcement agents in the Tokyo Police Department, they're Kenmochi's colleagues.
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* SatelliteCharacter: Other than their work-related relationship with Kenmochi, very little about them gets revealed unless the plot-line requires it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Otowa PR Company Work Force]]

Fellow employees at Otowa PR Company, they're coworkers of Kindaichi.
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* FlatCharacter: Because their assciations with Kindaichi are of mundane, work-related nature, they have little in terms of characterization and (almost) no CharacterDevelopment to speak of, either.
* GossipyHens: Yuka, Chiharu, and Meku are almost always seen gathering together and gossiping about Kindaichi, much to his annoyance.
-->'''Kindaichi''': *thinking privately* You all talk too loud!
* {{Salaryman}}: All of them.
* SatelliteCharacter: Except for their names and their work-related relations with Kindaichi, little is known about them.
[[/folder]]