He lives with his childhood friend Ran Mouri and her father as he awaits the day he can take down the organization that poisoned him and reclaim his original identity.

[4] Gosho Aoyama's idea was the cat would indicate the crucial evidence needed to solve the case; a performance the child-turned Shinichi does to help those around with the investigation.

[6][7] Aoyama said that Conan's hair was similar to the character in his previous manga work Yaiba, and that the cowlick was inspired by Kabu from Sally the Witch.

[10] He is also secretly in love with his childhood best friend Ran Mouri (Rachel Moore), but refuses to admit his feelings due to both stubbornness and shyness.

[11][12] Gin ends up attacking Shinichi and forces him to drink an experimental poison APTX (Apotoxin) 4869 (四八六九, Yon Hachi Roku Kyū) which is supposed to kill him, and then leaves him for dead.

[13] However, instead of killing Shinichi, a rare side-effect occurs, causing his age to regress, and he shrinks into the form of a young child.

Shinichi pretends to be a distant relative of Dr. Agasa's and is placed in the care of Ran and her father, Kogoro Mouri (Richard Moore), who owns a detective agency.

[15] As for Shinichi's disappearance, Conan has to constantly find creative ways to fool Ran into believing he is off solving a very difficult case and will return once the investigation is concluded.

[17] Conan is forced to adapt to his new daily life and becomes accustomed to attending elementary school while secretly helping Richard solve crimes with the use of his gadgets invented by Dr. Agasa.

[23] Conan eventually meets Heiji Hattori (Harley Hartwell), a detective from Osaka who is seeking to challenge Shinichi in a deductive battle.

[26] As the series progresses, Conan befriends biochemist Shiho Miyano, a former member of the Black Organization and inventor of the APTX-4869 drug.

[32] His collaboration with FBI agents Jodie Starling and Shuichi Akai allows them to capture organization member Kir.

[33] Shinichi Kudo has appeared in all of the feature films of the series, both the original video animation series (Shōnen Sunday Original animations and the Magic Files), the two-hour cross-over television special Lupin the 3rd vs Detective Conan, and is the protagonist in all Case Closed-related video games.

[40][41] Conan and his friends were also featured in the sixth installment of the Anime, Heroes and Heroines commemorative stamp series issued by Japan Post in 2006.

[43] In Newtype magazine Shinichi ranked fourth and ninth in the 2001 and 2010 polls for most popular male anime character, respectively.