is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Gosho Aoyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series ''Detective Conan'' (1994–present), also known as ''Case Closed'' in some English-speaking countries. As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print wo ...

. It began in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...

'' in June 1987. The story tells of a

phantom thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...

named

Kaito Kid , the true identity of the gentleman thief , is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Magic Kaito'' manga series created by Gosho Aoyama. His father Toichi Kuroba was the original Kaito Kid before being killed by an unknown organ ...

. Aoyama put the manga on hiatus after the first two ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes were published in 1988, and only occasionally draws new chapters; the third volume was published in 1994, the fourth in 2007, and the fifth in 2017. Kaito Kid and other characters from ''Magic Kaito'' make occasional appearances in ''

Case Closed ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its ch ...

'', another manga series by Aoyama that has also been adapted into an anime. 12 animated television specials based on the series have been produced by

TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as ''Lupin the Third'', ...

and aired between 2010 and 2012. A 24-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series titled ''Magic Kaito 1412'' was produced by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...

and aired from October 2014 to March 2015.

Plot

Kaito Kuroba , the true identity of the gentleman thief , is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Magic Kaito'' manga series created by Gosho Aoyama. His father Toichi Kuroba was the original Kaito Kid before being killed by an unknown organ ...

is a normal teenage student whose father died under mysterious circumstances eight years ago. Eight years later, he is made aware of his father's secret identity; a famous international criminal known as Kaito Kid, and that he was murdered by a mysterious organization because he tried to steal a gem which was also targeted by them. The goal of the organization is to find within a year the Pandora Gem, a mystical stone said to shed tears during the passing of the Volley comet (which happens once every 10,000 years): drinking these tears bestows immortality. He vows to prevent the organization from gaining immortality, and assumes his father's thief identity as he begins his quest for the gem. His only clues as to the gem's location are that it glows red under the full moon and that it is a

doublet Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",