Wataru Date
Wataru Date is a character from Detective Conan and its spin-off, Detective Conan: Police Academy Arc – Wild Police Story. A former detective of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division, he passed away in a traffic accident one year prior to the main story. During his time at the police academy, he served as the squad leader for his close peers Rei Furuya, Jinpei Matsuda, Kenji Hagiwara, and Hiromitsu Morofushi. He acted as a mentor to detective Wataru Takagi, who held him in high esteem.
Overview
Wataru Date is a character from Detective Conan and its spin-off, Detective Conan: Police Academy Arc – Wild Police Story. A former detective of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division, he passed away in a traffic accident one year prior to the main story. During his time at the police academy, he served as the squad leader for his close peers Rei Furuya, Jinpei Matsuda, Kenji Hagiwara, and Hiromitsu Morofushi. He acted as a mentor to detective Wataru Takagi, who held him in high esteem.
Appearance
Wataru Date is a 28-year-old man with short black hair, black eyes, and a light beard. Despite his age, he has a mature face that makes him look older than he is. He is almost always seen with a toothpick in his mouth. His attire typically consists of a collared shirt, jacket, and pants.
Personality
Date is a dependable, warm-hearted, and strongly principled individual. He exhibits strong leadership qualities, often stepping in to settle disputes among his peers during his police academy days. Initially believing that justice required physical strength, he later came to understand the true courage of his father, which helped him mature emotionally. Unlike his more reserved junior Takagi, Date is very proactive and passionate in his romantic life.
Abilities
Date possesses exceptional physical endurance and martial skills, capable of taking down large suspects instantly. At the police academy, he ranked second overall in his class, just behind Rei Furuya, and demonstrated high proficiency in arrest tactics. In dangerous situations, he remains resourceful and practical, such as using a car door as a shield to assist his allies.
Background
As a child, Date lost respect for his police officer father after witnessing him bow down during a robbery, not realizing his father did so to protect everyone until years later. At age 22, he entered the police academy, forming a close squad with Furuya and the others while reconciling his feelings about his father. Later, as a detective in the First Investigation Division, he mentored Takagi. Shortly before traveling to meet his fiancee Natalie's parents, he was tragically struck by a sleep-deprived driver while retrieving his fallen notebook, dying from his injuries.
Relationships
Date formed a close bond with his junior Wataru Takagi, affectionately calling their duo the 'Wataru Brothers' because they shared the same given name; he left his police notebook to Takagi at his death. He shared a tight-knit friendship with his police academy classmates Rei Furuya, Jinpei Matsuda, Kenji Hagiwara, and Hiromitsu Morofushi. He was deeply devoted to his fiancee, English teacher Natalie Kuruma.
Trivia
His habit of holding a toothpick in his mouth was inspired by his father, who wore one to project a tougher image while working as a patrol officer. The black notebook that Takagi constantly uses is Date's original police memo book, containing valuable investigative notes left behind before his passing.