Unpopular Opinions about the Detective Conan

[Osaka Detective]

I was about to post my approval of how this thread had avoided unnecessary drama for having unpopular opinions.

feel ashamed, all of you.

Didn't start this mah friend.

Well I'm going to make an unpopular opinion for people who pay attentions to opening and watch the anime.

I'm not a big fan of B'z
For some reason...
I think GGC was definitely not the best song ever, and I'm not a big fan of the lyrics. As for Shodo, it was good during the Kir special, but then the animations IMO falls apart after that and the epicness seems toned down. As for Don't Wanna Lie, it's good, their best one in my opinion. I dislike the newest one though, Q&A. Yes, other than the Burbon fail (which has nothing to do with B'z), I think the middle part where Shinichi is just facepalming in black-and-white is kind of boring. And during the song they were just spamming Question ANSWER all the way. I mean I liked Try Again even though the singer spammed Try Again. I think it might just be my double standards working.

Still, nothing beats the infamous FREE MAGIC.

[Conan-chandesune]

I was about to post my approval of how this thread had avoided unnecessary drama for having unpopular opinions.

feel ashamed, all of you.

Didn't start this mah friend.

Still, nothing beats the infamous FREE MAGIC.

The most unpopular opinion of all: I love the song "FREE MAGIC". Honest. I guess it is because i started marathoning it when certain things were going very right in my life. I really think it's a good slow song, though. I do not understand why people hate it. Feel free to explain.

Secondly, the drama is probably my fault. Sorry. But it is nice to see no one argued against my logic till now.

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

I'll up the ante?

I like Ran's super pointy hair. It's very distinctive and works well at individuating her from other female characters in DC and in other mangas. I think it is silly people nag on her for it but give characters like Sango or Gin a pass.

Haibara's recent red/auburn hair look is much better than the yellowish brown version. The animators were wrong to color it blond-brown, and it was bad. The "dyed-brown" (茶髪 【ちゃぱつ】 Chapatsu) hair color in Japan is relatively red by western standards because "chapatsu" is what happens when Asians bleach their hair.



Reddish, like it should be, and it looks better on her too.

I'm not a big fan of B'z

Brave, but that is what this thread is for.

[yukitsukihana]

I'm...not a fan of B'z either. I don't even care much for Free Magic. I just don't like how they sound at all ._.

And because I keep seeing people disagree with me in the chat, I'm unsure if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but...
I enjoy the Kaitou Kid heists. I love everything he appears in. I think he's the perfect rival for Shinichi because of his "no one gets hurt" motto and that Shinichi can still stretch his brains. And Shinichi doesn't always win, and I like that.

Spoiler: manga

And I'm sad that Gosho stated Kid won't appear in anymore BO-related cases. I think not having Kid appear is a wasted opportunity for some great story and interactions.
(I know this opinion is sorta in violation of the first post, but I've seen more people against me than with me on this so...yeah)

[Ringo]

As for the unpopular part, I think Chekhov has made supportable but rather unpopular points about Haibara.

Oh, yes. The awkward Haibara... I thought that there're already a lot of fans who think the same as Chekhov regarding this matter as much as there're a lot of Haibara fans. And that even includes me. XD

[sonoci]

I'm gonna warn everyone now: long post is long. I divided it into sections for easier reading.

Spoiler: Eisuke scene discussion

(Pmofmalasia)

Eh, I didn't really see that at all in that scene. The reason he asks Shinichi is because he doesn't know how Shinichi feels about Ran. I see it as more of a respectful, "Hey, if you guys both really like each other I'll let you be happy together" kind of asking as opposed to bargaining for a possession. Especially since Eiuske knows that Ran will choose Shinichi over Eiuske anyway.

Ah, I suppose my post didn't quite elaborate on quite exactly what I meant, sorry D: (I did write that post at 1 am uwu; ) I'll try to rephrase it here:

I'm very aware of what Eisuke's intentions were and that (of course) he wasn't trying to speak as if he were talking about a possession, though I will admit that my original post might have made it seem that I was making Eisuke out worse than he was, which was not my intention. With the way Eisuke's character is, I'm perfectly willing to believe he was trying to be respectful while at the same time tricking Shinichi, but I guess the best way to put this is

My point was not that Gosho meant to write the scene to have the unfortunate "object/possession" implications (1: of course not, he wouldn't do that and 2: implications is the key word here) but that those implications are there, and that's a problem.

However, it's sad that it's a problem because really there would be an easy fix. 1: have something like Chek's alternate conversation:

(Chekhov MacGuffin)

For reference: http://www.dctp.ws/V60-Reader/V60-2Read/A13.html
Eisuke: "Blah, leaving for America, blah, wanna become CIA, blah. Before I leave, I want to confess my feelings to Ran. I have had a crush on her since first sight. I've never met someone so pretty and nice. I... I want to ask her if she will come back to America with me. But it sounds like she still has some feelings for Shinichi. It makes me sad to see Ran left alone by Shinichi. If it were me, I wouldn't leave her alone. How can she have so much faith in someone who has abandoned her for so long?"
Conan: "Ran believes Shinichi will definitely come back."
Eisuke: "Hmm, and do you think he will?"
Conan: "Shinichi will definitely come back!"
Eisuke: "Hmm, but I really wonder if he even wants to... If Shinichi really cared about Ran, then being by her side would be more important to him than that case he is chasing. From what I have heard, that guy seems to have a personality that will pursue cases to the end no matter how long it takes. Since I have known Ran, Shinichi hasn't appeared even once, even though Ran has been troubled. The way I see it, Shinichi doesn't truly care about coming back to Ran. How do you know that Shinichi really intends to return, Conan? "
Conan: "I know."
Eisuke: "Then. You are..."
Conan: "Yes, I am!"
Conan and Eisuke: "blah blah blah"
Exeunt

Or 2: (which is unfortunately even more unlikely than Conan/Shinichi ever crying) have Shinichi called out on his bullsh*t.

I mean, really.

Spoiler: Have Shinichi called out on his BS

Now, this isn't something I've noticed for a while either, but it really is kind of a problem. In fact, I believe it's actually a problem that a lot of Shounen series have.

Okay, so: right off the bat I'm going to make this clear - I do NOT believe that being an asshole (in fiction) is a bad thing. On the contrary, assholes can be some of the best and most interesting characters. Seeing them called out and developing are some of the greatest moments in media, I think, because it kinda gives you hope with the human race.

But the problem I think exists in a lot of Shounen series is that some accidentally glorify asshole-ish behavior. The way this seems to happen is that the hero of the series starts off just as you'd expect: heroic. The series always start out good - yes, the hero is heroic but they're also flawed, thus there is room for development. And for a while, there is. They grow stronger, they learn valuable lessons, etc, etc. ...However, the problem then comes when the series they're in begins to drag on. Suddenly it gets harder to develop these characters further than they already have, and - inadvertently - attempts to show further "heroism" turn into asshole-ish behaviors.

I believe that this is what is starting to happen with Detective Conan. The further we get into the series, the more Conan/Shinichi's "heroic/intelligent" plans start to slip in the morality scale (as someone mentioned earlier). Now, this itself isn't the problem. Asshole-ish behavior, as I mentioned, can be extremely interesting when dealt with right. ...and that's the problem.

What's beginning to happen - or arguably, what has been slowly happening since the start - is that no one is calling Shinichi out on his asshole-ish behaviors. Not even in this thread did anyone mention Shinichi's part in the Eisuke scene. As much as Eisuke was acting in that scene and as much as we can validate what Eisuke did/said in that scene, Shinichi was being genuine in that scene. And again, I definitely acknowledge that it is an implication and not at all what Gosho meant to have come across, but in response to Eisuke asking about Ran, Shinichi essentially responds with "No! Ran is MINE." Which, as I heard pointed out in a DCW podcast, is kind of a 180 coming from the same guy who said he never wanted to see Ran cry, even if it meant he no longer existed to her.

So basically, we have some backwards development here. ...Which is also not the problem. No, backwards development can also be interesting - think "rediscovering yourself". The problem is that, with the nature of this series, with the fact that Conan/Shinichi is the protagonist - the main character - the hero - no one will call him out on this slip in his character. At the beginning, Ran was the only one to call him out on his sh*t, but now she's also taken a step back in her development, and she can't start to get Shinichi in line until she herself gets back in line. What Shinichi needs is for someone to give him a slap in the face and honestly say "What the hell, hero?" because if that isn't done, Shinichi's behavior will continue to be seen as "heroic" rather than "asshole-ish" - and when the main audience is a younger one, such a distinction is an important one.

Now, part of a counterargument is that people might say "Oh, but x did y which was a good thing! That means x isn't an asshole!" However, that holds little water. Remember, there's something to consider here, a distinction: "being an asshole" vs "you are an asshole". Since "being" is a state, even the nicest person can have a moment of asshole-ishness. Someone who's in that state a lot is an asshole - aka it's no longer a state anymore. It's who they've become. Shinichi's unfortunately been having more and more asshole-ish moments, so it may not be just a state soon :/

The importance of the hero occasionally failing (think Moonlight Sonata, which is partly why that's so great) coupled with this, is a huge obstacle that Shounen series need to get by, in my opinion. I know that these types of series aren't supposed to be realistic or any such thing, but with the problem I've discussed here at its ultimate extreme combined with a hero that never loses could come across with the unfortunate implication of "Assholes always win" which is a sucky thing, to say the least.

Annnnd before I get to the unpopular opinion that will probably be the end of me, I'll lighten this up by responding to kirite:

Spoiler: Response to kirite

(kirite)

DC needs more humor.

Cause for me the moments I remember the best are the silly funny ones. I know this is suppose to be a "serious, cool, intelligent" sorta deal but I feel it can get a bit stale

This. This so much.

In fact, I think that if you really want impact in a series, there needs to be balance. And like...humor is so flexible. There can still be "serious, cool, intelligent" jokes, but I feel DC doesn't use humor as much as it used to, which is a shame. Seriously, if you have humor in a series and then at a serious moment, not only is there the usual serious business going on, but you take away the humor? It will leave much more of an impact in my opinion.

Okay, now for the opinion I've come to over the last few days. I'm still pretty fickle on details and again this is just an opinion and I'm open for discussion and basically what I'm trying to say is pleasedon'tkillmekthx.

Spoiler: Shinichi and Ran's relationship is almost bordering on abusive

Obviously not physically abusive, but possibly emotionally.

I say this because I remember studying the cycle of abuse and that it was basically: 1) Abusive action 2) Apology and 3) Pins and needles. With each repeat of the cycle, stage 2 gets shorter and stages 1 and 3 get longer and the victim gets pulled further into the pit. Remember when there wouldn't be much time between Ran getting on Shinichi's case for being gone so long and he was legitimately sorry for being gone and such? Remember Shinichi later completely ignoring Ran crying right in front of him because there were details on a case he wanted to hear?

The more I look, the more I see that the longer "Shinichi is gone", the less sorry he feels (or at least openly expresses) for tricking Ran.

There's probably a lot messed up in this post, but I'm open for polite discussions...except for the fact that I have AC: New Leaf now soooo

[saorin]

I'm gonna warn everyone now: long post is long. I divided it into sections for easier reading.

Spoiler: Eisuke scene discussion

(Pmofmalasia)

Eh, I didn't really see that at all in that scene. The reason he asks Shinichi is because he doesn't know how Shinichi feels about Ran. I see it as more of a respectful, "Hey, if you guys both really like each other I'll let you be happy together" kind of asking as opposed to bargaining for a possession. Especially since Eiuske knows that Ran will choose Shinichi over Eiuske anyway.

Ah, I suppose my post didn't quite elaborate on quite exactly what I meant, sorry D: (I did write that post at 1 am uwu; ) I'll try to rephrase it here:

I'm very aware of what Eisuke's intentions were and that (of course) he wasn't trying to speak as if he were talking about a possession, though I will admit that my original post might have made it seem that I was making Eisuke out worse than he was, which was not my intention. With the way Eisuke's character is, I'm perfectly willing to believe he was trying to be respectful while at the same time tricking Shinichi, but I guess the best way to put this is

My point was not that Gosho meant to write the scene to have the unfortunate "object/possession" implications (1: of course not, he wouldn't do that and 2: implications is the key word here) but that those implications are there, and that's a problem.

However, it's sad that it's a problem because really there would be an easy fix. 1: have something like Chek's alternate conversation:

(Chekhov MacGuffin)

For reference: http://www.dctp.ws/V60-Reader/V60-2Read/A13.html
Eisuke: "Blah, leaving for America, blah, wanna become CIA, blah. Before I leave, I want to confess my feelings to Ran. I have had a crush on her since first sight. I've never met someone so pretty and nice. I... I want to ask her if she will come back to America with me. But it sounds like she still has some feelings for Shinichi. It makes me sad to see Ran left alone by Shinichi. If it were me, I wouldn't leave her alone. How can she have so much faith in someone who has abandoned her for so long?"
Conan: "Ran believes Shinichi will definitely come back."
Eisuke: "Hmm, and do you think he will?"
Conan: "Shinichi will definitely come back!"
Eisuke: "Hmm, but I really wonder if he even wants to... If Shinichi really cared about Ran, then being by her side would be more important to him than that case he is chasing. From what I have heard, that guy seems to have a personality that will pursue cases to the end no matter how long it takes. Since I have known Ran, Shinichi hasn't appeared even once, even though Ran has been troubled. The way I see it, Shinichi doesn't truly care about coming back to Ran. How do you know that Shinichi really intends to return, Conan? "
Conan: "I know."
Eisuke: "Then. You are..."
Conan: "Yes, I am!"
Conan and Eisuke: "blah blah blah"
Exeunt

Or 2: (which is unfortunately even more unlikely than Conan/Shinichi ever crying) have Shinichi called out on his bullsh*t.

I mean, really.

Spoiler: Have Shinichi called out on his BS

Now, this isn't something I've noticed for a while either, but it really is kind of a problem. In fact, I believe it's actually a problem that a lot of Shounen series have.

Okay, so: right off the bat I'm going to make this clear - I do NOT believe that being an asshole (in fiction) is a bad thing. On the contrary, assholes can be some of the best and most interesting characters. Seeing them called out and developing are some of the greatest moments in media, I think, because it kinda gives you hope with the human race.

But the problem I think exists in a lot of Shounen series is that some accidentally glorify asshole-ish behavior. The way this seems to happen is that the hero of the series starts off just as you'd expect: heroic. The series always start out good - yes, the hero is heroic but they're also flawed, thus there is room for development. And for a while, there is. They grow stronger, they learn valuable lessons, etc, etc. ...However, the problem then comes when the series they're in begins to drag on. Suddenly it gets harder to develop these characters further than they already have, and - inadvertently - attempts to show further "heroism" turn into asshole-ish behaviors.

I believe that this is what is starting to happen with Detective Conan. The further we get into the series, the more Conan/Shinichi's "heroic/intelligent" plans start to slip in the morality scale (as someone mentioned earlier). Now, this itself isn't the problem. Asshole-ish behavior, as I mentioned, can be extremely interesting when dealt with right. ...and that's the problem.

What's beginning to happen - or arguably, what has been slowly happening since the start - is that no one is calling Shinichi out on his asshole-ish behaviors. Not even in this thread did anyone mention Shinichi's part in the Eisuke scene. As much as Eisuke was acting in that scene and as much as we can validate what Eisuke did/said in that scene, Shinichi was being genuine in that scene. And again, I definitely acknowledge that it is an implication and not at all what Gosho meant to have come across, but in response to Eisuke asking about Ran, Shinichi essentially responds with "No! Ran is MINE." Which, as I heard pointed out in a DCW podcast, is kind of a 180 coming from the same guy who said he never wanted to see Ran cry, even if it meant he no longer existed to her.

So basically, we have some backwards development here. ...Which is also not the problem. No, backwards development can also be interesting - think "rediscovering yourself". The problem is that, with the nature of this series, with the fact that Conan/Shinichi is the protagonist - the main character - the hero - no one will call him out on this slip in his character. At the beginning, Ran was the only one to call him out on his sh*t, but now she's also taken a step back in her development, and she can't start to get Shinichi in line until she herself gets back in line. What Shinichi needs is for someone to give him a slap in the face and honestly say "What the hell, hero?" because if that isn't done, Shinichi's behavior will continue to be seen as "heroic" rather than "asshole-ish" - and when the main audience is a younger one, such a distinction is an important one.

Now, part of a counterargument is that people might say "Oh, but x did y which was a good thing! That means x isn't an asshole!" However, that holds little water. Remember, there's something to consider here, a distinction: "being an asshole" vs "you are an asshole". Since "being" is a state, even the nicest person can have a moment of asshole-ishness. Someone who's in that state a lot is an asshole - aka it's no longer a state anymore. It's who they've become. Shinichi's unfortunately been having more and more asshole-ish moments, so it may not be just a state soon :/

The importance of the hero occasionally failing (think Moonlight Sonata, which is partly why that's so great) coupled with this, is a huge obstacle that Shounen series need to get by, in my opinion. I know that these types of series aren't supposed to be realistic or any such thing, but with the problem I've discussed here at its ultimate extreme combined with a hero that never loses could come across with the unfortunate implication of "Assholes always win" which is a sucky thing, to say the least.

Annnnd before I get to the unpopular opinion that will probably be the end of me, I'll lighten this up by responding to kirite:

Spoiler: Response to kirite

(kirite)

DC needs more humor.

Cause for me the moments I remember the best are the silly funny ones. I know this is suppose to be a "serious, cool, intelligent" sorta deal but I feel it can get a bit stale

This. This so much.

In fact, I think that if you really want impact in a series, there needs to be balance. And like...humor is so flexible. There can still be "serious, cool, intelligent" jokes, but I feel DC doesn't use humor as much as it used to, which is a shame. Seriously, if you have humor in a series and then at a serious moment, not only is there the usual serious business going on, but you take away the humor? It will leave much more of an impact in my opinion.

Okay, now for the opinion I've come to over the last few days. I'm still pretty fickle on details and again this is just an opinion and I'm open for discussion and basically what I'm trying to say is pleasedon'tkillmekthx.

Spoiler: Shinichi and Ran's relationship is almost bordering on abusive

Obviously not physically abusive, but possibly emotionally.

I say this because I remember studying the cycle of abuse and that it was basically: 1) Abusive action 2) Apology and 3) Pins and needles. With each repeat of the cycle, stage 2 gets shorter and stages 1 and 3 get longer and the victim gets pulled further into the pit. Remember when there wouldn't be much time between Ran getting on Shinichi's case for being gone so long and he was legitimately sorry for being gone and such? Remember Shinichi later completely ignoring Ran crying right in front of him because there were details on a case he wanted to hear?

The more I look, the more I see that the longer "Shinichi is gone", the less sorry he feels (or at least openly expresses) for tricking Ran.

There's probably a lot messed up in this post, but I'm open for polite discussions...except for the fact that I have AC: New Leaf now soooo

This is actually a pretty noteworthy post, sonoci! Reading it I see a lot of valid points that I vaguely thought about as well (not really as much in-depth as you did ), especially the scenes with Eisuke and ignoring-the-crying you mentioned stood out for me, too.
Not sure whether this just doesn't boil down to Gosho having serious troubles keeping a reasonable view on the supposed-to-be romance angle or whether this is actually setting up some moral ass-kicking for Shinichi in the final. oO

[kkslider5552000]

I don't disagree with the Shinichi controversy, but I honestly can't care too much. If Ran was still even as "interesting" as she was earlier in the series, I might have cared, but I can't. Shinichi's unfortunate implications are at least interesting and continues the trend of it making me think part of it could be intentional, so I can enjoy it for what it is despite any problems with it. Or I can just give up and say "shonen, comes with the territory, I get it I guess". Or something. Gosho's writing of Ran is far worse and overshadows just unfortunate implications tbh.

...I need to really get into that someday.

[sonoci]

I don't disagree with the Shinichi controversy, but I honestly can't care too much. If Ran was still even as "interesting" as she was earlier in the series, I might have cared, but I can't. Shinichi's unfortunate implications are at least interesting and continues the trend of it making me think part of it could be intentional, so I can enjoy it for what it is despite any problems with it. Or I can just give up and say "shonen, comes with the territory, I get it I guess". Or something. Gosho's writing of Ran is far worse and overshadows just unfortunate implications tbh.

...I need to really get into that someday.

I'm starting to fall into the latter part with "it just comes with the territory", but I think it'd be worth it to explore Shinichi's unfortunate implications. What makes me sad is the fact it probably won't happen. :/ If I thought there were a chance at Shinichi being called out eventually, it'd be a really cool thing to get into, but as it stands he's just being an asshat :v

I'd like to see what you'd have to say someday if you ever get around to writing it up. I think it'd be an interesting read x:

[kkslider5552000]

I'd like to see what you'd have to say someday if you ever get around to writing it up. I think it'd be an interesting read x:

I'd be terrified the entire time of not being as smart as I hope I could be trying to do such a thing. But we'll see~!

Spoiler:

I'm so not ready to discuss the depiction of women in fiction.

[Kor]

I truly agree with your points about Shinichi, sonoci. While I'd also say some of this stuff comes with the shonen genre, another part of it comes because (as you've also pointed) is because it's so long, and went beyond what Gosho might have planned for it to be. Character development is something that is usually planned out beforehand (the writer knows how the character begins, and he knows how he'd want the character to be at the end). The problem arises when the writer has no clue when the series ends, thus the writer either gives too much development early on, or he has to spread the development throughout the whole thing (which is difficult if you don't know when it ends). The other problem that limits Shinichi's development as because (as you said) he's already heroic from the get-go, while protagonists like Luke or Bilbo start to act in a heroic way only after they're thrown into the "Special World".

As far as it goes with Japanese entertainment (in my case, anime and tokusatsu), especially nowadays, I don't usually expect a high level of storytelling and character development (though I do see them every now and then).

[kirite]

(茶髪 【ちゃぱつ】 Chapatsu) hair color in Japan is relatively red by western standards because "chapatsu" is what happens when Asians bleach their hair.

To add on that, that colour also seem to be an easy way to say someone is bi-racial (it's the natural colour of my step-sister's hair and she's half french <3).

As well that someone is fashionable (Sonoko also has light brown hair I believe)

1. Eisuke was never a threat to anything, anyone, anywhere. The attempts to do so were ridiculous, failed massively and did nothing to make me want to know what his deal was, especially since there was better stuff in the same vain alluding to his character (and Kir's) in different ways.

I know story telling wise it would cause more tension but I like how he wasn't "evil" per say though. I just like how he's a smart guy that doesn't make it a big deal.

a) Figures out Kogoro and Conan is sketchy and gets close to them
b) Figures out Conan is sleeping Kogoro at the first meeting, then headbutts him
c) Figures out there is an "organisation" that's holding his sister captive in the first place

etc etc. I thought he was pretty interesting. He's also the good guy that actually "snapped" instead of taking the high road. He wasn't going to let Kir go to jail or something nope, he was going to stab the truth out of her, with scissors. But to each their own.

Kudos and Eri are not good parents
No, seriously. What the hell D:
Yuusaku and Yukiko left their son alone in Japan and are almost never at home.
Now, Shinichi even ended up in a bad situation, shrank and whatnot. But they are still almost never around?

And Eri... she's barely around for Ran too. Sure, she's almost an adult now. But even in the flashbacks about Ran's past you saw that she had to cook and that they were pretty poor... and even now they would still be poor if Shinichi wouldn't have made Kogoro famous. But Eri is actually a successful lawyer? That would mean she doesn't pay for Ran? :/

I thought about this as well

Kudou family:

From what I can get Yukiko dotes on Shinichi and she would never want to leave him alone. Yuusaku though seemingly absent seems to understand Shinichi perfectly and share his personality. I'm guessing that they actually drop by a great deal and if they are separated, it didn't hurt Shinichi. Unlike with Ran and Eri, Shinichi never seems to make a big deal with meeting his parents (except with irritation LOL). For example Yukiko kidnapping Conan (and stuffing him down her shirt)when she fights with Yuusaku doesn't surprise him, instead it's kinda like a OH GAWD NOT AGAIN, WHY. So I'm guessing that:

a) They want Shinichi to go with them but he wants to stay with Ran his friends instead. He also wants Yuusaku to butt out of HIS cases.
b) They figured staying in one place with Agasa is better for Shinichi then traveling all over the world with them, Yukiko would drop by unannounced, of course.

Mouri Family:

Well considering how Kogoro doesn't get much (any) work when Shinichi was around doing his thing, I'm guessing that Eri's the one who paid for most things lol. Unlike Ran Kogoro doesn't have "the luck" when it comes to gambling after all. I'm guessing (just guessing) that Ran does have enough money for herself, but she feels she can't spend it all on herself because she also needs to take care of the house (like a overburdened housewife OTL). I would say that Eri probably doesn't spend much time with Ran though. Ran makes a big deal out of every meeting.

[PhantomWriter]

Spoiler: stuff that has not happened yet

(Edit: Yuki touched upon the Bell Tree case earlier. Mea culpa, I'm a derp.)

Speaking of Conan/Shinichi, I'm thinking mostly about the Bell Tree arc from KID's perspective. When you think about it, Conan basically trapped him with the scenario of "either you follow through on what I say or I will reveal you as being KID in disguise." And what is that follow through?

Impersonating a Black Organization traitor when Black Organization operatives are on the train and ready to murder said traitor. Oh, and we're not sure who one of the agents are. KID even says at the end that, if it weren't for him happening to have his hang-glider with and stored in the back of the train, he would have been blown up because of the trap involving Bourbon and how Vermouth packed the car with explosives.

...Though that now reminds me of the end of the Midair Walk case, where Conan makes the fuel tank on the motorcycle KID is using leak. It then sets on fire and blows up, him narrowly escaping. Conan's dialogue when he sees that (what he thinks is) KID escaped fine is "Rats!" in one of the translations. (What, did he want KID seriously burned or killed?)

Seriously, this is why the constant attempts of pushing the "friendly rivals" angle bothers me. Conan downright doesn't give a darn about KID's safety. Yes, KID is an annoyance to the police and a criminal, but he's nonviolent, returns what he steals, and much more of a prankster than anything else. Nearly killing KID and putting him in situations that would likely lead to his untimely demise has a lot of unfortunate implications for Conan's regard for human life.

[saorin]

I don't disagree with the Shinichi controversy, but I honestly can't care too much. If Ran was still even as "interesting" as she was earlier in the series, I might have cared, but I can't. Shinichi's unfortunate implications are at least interesting and continues the trend of it making me think part of it could be intentional, so I can enjoy it for what it is despite any problems with it. Or I can just give up and say "shonen, comes with the territory, I get it I guess". Or something. Gosho's writing of Ran is far worse and overshadows just unfortunate implications tbh.

...I need to really get into that someday.

I do care though. Last but not least because this should somehow make Gosho (FINALLY) realize that he should pull himself together and prepare for a decent ending NOW. I hate how shows (and consequently their characters) begin a downhill ride just because they don't END. You tend to lose interest, tend to get annoyed with the characters' (repetitive) quirks and so on. There's this turning point in every series that is too long.

Edit: And Ran's not being "interesting" is just another bad result from that problem (combined with Gosho's lack of talent for writing decent girl characters. )

[Pmofmalasia]

Okay, now for the opinion I've come to over the last few days. I'm still pretty fickle on details and again this is just an opinion and I'm open for discussion and basically what I'm trying to say is pleasedon'tkillmekthx.

Spoiler: Shinichi and Ran's relationship is almost bordering on abusive

Obviously not physically abusive, but possibly emotionally.

I say this because I remember studying the cycle of abuse and that it was basically: 1) Abusive action 2) Apology and 3) Pins and needles. With each repeat of the cycle, stage 2 gets shorter and stages 1 and 3 get longer and the victim gets pulled further into the pit. Remember when there wouldn't be much time between Ran getting on Shinichi's case for being gone so long and he was legitimately sorry for being gone and such? Remember Shinichi later completely ignoring Ran crying right in front of him because there were details on a case he wanted to hear?

The more I look, the more I see that the longer "Shinichi is gone", the less sorry he feels (or at least openly expresses) for tricking Ran.

There's probably a lot messed up in this post, but I'm open for polite discussions...except for the fact that I have AC: New Leaf now soooo

Eh, to be fair, Gosho might just be spending less time on Shinichi apologizing because he doesn't want to take up time writing the same kind of stuff over and over again... Like, when was the last time Conan's parents were even mentioned? It's not like Ran and Kogoro forgot they existed somehow. Don't remember the Ran crying right in front of him part, though, which case was that?