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I certainly wouldn't mind him being one of the first characters (if not the first character) to be a suspect for the titular character of one arc, then to be a suspect for the titular character of another arc (subsequent arc or otherwise). While I think it'd be inevitable that pesky thing about him knowing true allegiances and secret identities would put him lower on the totem pole, in terms of who's the most likely suspect(s), I think his presence in the Bourbon Arc could really only help, not harm/hinder—it would provide more connections between the arcs, and better tie them together. Actually, he could still be Rum—all it would require is that accident that put him in a coma to have made him forgot what young Shiho looked like. What Shiho/Ai said in that scene from File 925/Episode 822 carries the implication that Rum would know what she looked like—that a certain accident only removed Rum's eye, not Rum's memory, as well. Believe me, I don't think he's going to turn out to be Rum—right now, he's not so high on my totem pole, in terms of who's the most likely suspect—but should he turn out to be, I could safely say that scene from File 925/Episode 822 didn't eliminate him from my list of Rum suspects, as I'm sure it did for others' lists. I think it's unwise to take that scene as definitive as you seem to be taking it—I find it unlikely that Gosho, before the resolution of an arc and the reveal of the identity of its titular character, would introduce a suspect and then rule him out within 15 Files/15 Episodes if their introduction. If anything, this is another issue created by Gosho's penchant for dangling plot threads—apart from that reference to him in File 925/Episode 822, we had to wait around 60 Files, after File 920, to see him, again. Yeah... that's hindsight bias, on my part—20/20 vision makes it a whole lot easier to look back. Hence why she should've been introduced in the 620s–630s/510s, not introduced in the 760s–770s/640s—same goes for Rei/Toru. Eh, I don't think Masumi's completely unaware of the BO—she must've known who Mary meant when she said, in File 952, "they get information about Koji Haneda, and arrive, as well." It's not like we're assuming she had an impassive reaction to her mother suddenly being 12–15. It's not as if we're assuming she was completely clueless as to why her family was moving about, or clueless as to why she and her mother keep switching hotels. If Mary knows anything about the BO—more than Masumi—it's because she'll turn out to be Elena's sister, and is keeping info from Masumi, like Shinichi/Conan keeps info from Shiho/Ai. At the very least, Masumi probably knows that secretive criminals were behind the apparent death of her father, and her mother being shrunk. Again, unless, Elena told Mary about some of the BO's structures, she knows nothing about that, unless she heard something when she was attacked and shrunk. You mean aside from, "Oh, this is a case that's been at least alluded to for 200 Files—and with Shuichi's family coming into plot prominence since Masumi's debut, it must be plot developing." She should've been more involved in Mystery Train, and actually involved in Scarlet Showdown. In the former case, it would've opened more options for Shinichi/Conan to deal with that situation, instead of relying on Kaito/Kid II, who just happened to be there—I think it would've made far more sense if she helped to fake Shiho's/Sherry's death than Kaito/Kid II doing so. And she shouldn't have been the only one who should've been involved in Scarlet Showdown—Shukichi and Mary should've been involved, as well. After all, the post-Mystery Train part of the Bourbon arc focused on them. And your example of this done right in DC? When immediate investment and the urge to continue met? And that's another sign of "sloppy plot setup," right? If so, how could Gosho have avoided this? He appeared immediately after Scarlet Showdown (said appearance landed him on the keyhole of Volume 85), then showed up, again, around 50 Files later. Unfortunately, those two appearances just don't provide enough data. Even Kanenori has more data for analysis than he does. Cause we already know, right? We want to move onto what this threat is going to do, right? So it's gotten too mysterious for too long—we've been kept out of it for too long—and, at this point, we're like Graham Chapman, yelling, "Get on with it!... GET ON WITH IT!!!" The end of 974 seemed to indicate that she didn't call him that because he made "ice cold b*tch" Shuichi laugh, but I don't know—maybe Shinichi/Conan is being slow, again, like he's been with this whole Akai family thing. But, if not, then I guess we still have a chance to figure out why... but even if we eventually do, we didn't get to see it in the flashback case when it was actually happening, in September, 2016. Yeah, robbers accidentally driving their car into the sea isn't too magical. Though, at least in theory, one has the potential to turn that not so magical premise into so much more, right? Don't forget Yusaku, and him going, "Even I can't solve this case with just pictu— ...... " We know all about Yusaku and Shuichi and how smart they are. What about Mary, Shukichi and Masumi? Not nearly as much action and character as they should've gotten, right?

Yeah, it isn't Gosho's style to straight up lie to our faces—he, rather, tries to utilize techniques like misdirection. Totally agree.

The Akai family part certainly wasn't in the cards back in '07—had it been, we probably wouldn't have had that year and a half plot break (September '09–February '11), and the Post-Mystery Train part (825–898/705–783) wouldn't have taken 2 years (July '12–June '14). It should've been Kir arc length (~120 Files) at the shortest, and probably shorter than Vermouth arc length (150–170 Files) at the longest. Shuichi's reintroduction/Subaru's introduction – 622–624/509–511 Rei's/Toru's non Scar-Akai introduction – 793–795/667–668 Gap – ~170 Files/~160 Episodes Yeah... this was pretty off. Bourbon Arc Act I – 622–704/509–581 Act II – 705–767/582–645 Act III – 768–824/646–704 Act IV – 825–898/705–783 Act III is by far the fastest paced of all the acts (if that's your word choice when you go beyond divvying up the overall story into arcs, and divvy up the arcs, themselves), and, even then, the Bourbon arc is so long, that the acts are, at least, around 60 Files. Rei/Toru and Masumi should've been introduced in Act I, when Shuichi/Subaru was (re)introduced... they were instead introduced in Act III. Masumi, thanks to her age, appearance and hints that she'd met Shinichi and Ran before—and thus knew who Shinichi/Conan was—was a dead ringer for another younger sibling of an intelligence agent, and so soon after the Kir arc. Thus, it was Shuichi/Subaru Vs. Rei/Toru, in terms of who was Bourbon... and with all those things about Shuichi/Subaru, well... a 203 File/196 Episode wait and a 277 File/275 Episode wait wasn't, to some (or even many), worth the answers to these mysteries. He could've certainly been introduced in the Red Wall case (682–686/558–561), though this may have lessened him as a suspect, as I presume (due to you comparing him to James) he would've been revealed to be Rei's/Toru's superior at the NPA, thus making him aware of not only Rei's/Toru's true allegiance, but Shuichi's survival, as well—and leaving him with the conclusion that Hidemi/Rena/Kir is, if not a NOC, a traitor to the BO—I find it very unlikely Rum would not take immediate action on both these pieces of knowledge, especially the latter. I personally think she was potentially involved as early as the Adultery case (856–858/740–741), since I see no reason for Masumi to take a picture of Shinichi/Conan, there, unless it was to show to Mary—unless it was a prelude to her showing him a picture of Mary (872–875/754–756). Thus, we have the non-Mary part of the Akai family subplot only really lasting from Mystery Train to the Adultery case (822–846/703–728)—you can include 768–821/646–702 (the period in which she was a Bourbon suspect), if you really care to—it's not a very long period, in terms of Masumi, if you ask me. Include Shukichi's intro, and it's only 3 Files/2 Episodes more, as the appearance of mid bro's hand comes the case after Mary's earliest potential involvement. Considering Chikara Katsumasa is one of my top Rum suspects, I expect that to be how Shukichi will be tied into the plot—beyond being the brother of someone who faked his death due to the BO, and the son of someone who ended up like Shinichi/Conan and Shiho/Ai due to the BO—maybe even put in danger, should Chikara Katsumasa turn out to be Rum. But in terms of tension in the Bourbon arc, relating to Shukichi? You're correct in that—and the "mystery?" Forget it. Maybe it should've been him who was kidnapped, instead of Yumi. Eh, in that one case, you can argue. She is to Shuichi and Shukichi (and Mary, even) what Shinichi is to Yusaku, in terms of why she and Shinichi ended up as smart as they now are. I'm still waiting for the origins of the "Guess I'm a bad girl, after all" thought (812–814/690–691). Wasn't expecting that case to be so short, either. Well, 2016 was a pretty good year for DC (being the year that brought about the latter two points), and we have File 1000 fast approaching (with 998 marking 100 Files since the Rum arc started, bringing us even closer to Kir arc length).

Keep in mind, I'll probably update that post with new ideas. Right—let's see... Maybe Shinichi/Conan and Shiho/Ai have an agreement—maybe she's agreed to tell him a certain thing or two about the BO (and he insisted she not tell him the obvious that he could've deduced—rather, he's looking for specific points of information he can actually act upon, if not in a manner befitting Reunion with the Black Organization (238–242/176–178) or Contact with the Black Organization (380–383/309–311), then in close range. In return, Shiho/Ai will either want in on his action (like in Reunion), perhaps because because she'll tell him about info relating to APTX, or she'll want him to have a cool down period of not going after the BO, after the action is over, and will punish him by lengthening his wait for info should he get too zealous, for her taste. Alternatively, Shinichi/Conan and Shiho/Ai could have a bi-weekly or monthly competition—it can be about anything (including masquerading as a school project, even), and the winner will get what they want, in terms of getting and using information to take action against the BO. So, naturally, Shinichi/Conan will want to do just that, should he win. Should Shiho/Ai win, however, he has to back off, and tell her about all the things he did behind her back (especially given his lack of communication with her, post-Kir arc, and especially post-Mystery Train (post-818–824/701–704)). Of course, either Shiho/Ai will not know who the Boss/Anokata is... or how about this? Maybe she has some idea—some stories to tell—that Shinichi/Conan can then deduce the Boss'/Anokata's identity from... and like with what she told him about Rum, it may not be enough info to figure out who they are, on its own... but it would be more for him (and us) to go on than ever before.

Another way would be to tackle all the things from each arc simultaneously—for example, have characters introduced in the Rum arc introduced in the Intro/Conan arc, and have multiple major mysteries running parallel to each other (and these are suggestions I can think of, at the moment): Do what Episode One did, in terms of introducing certain characters (i.e., Hidemi/Rena/Kir, Chianti and Korn)—and I say certain characters because you have to be careful with spoilers. To speak on spoilers for a moment—if characters from, say, the Kir arc and the Bourbon arc are introduced as early as the first 175 Files/128 Episodes, then you can't do what Episode One did (i.e., show Bourbon's face, or clearly reveal that Vermouth is not Jodie, and that Jodie and Shuichi are both FBI, like in that scene at the end). Introduce the other Tokyo MPD characters earlier Introduce the Nagano PD characters earlier Introduce Heiji earlier, and have Kazuha appear with him Introduce Tomoaki earlier Introduce Eisuke earlier Introduce Shukichi, Masumi and Mary earlier Have the who is Vermouth (Jodie or Tomoaki) plot going on while Eisuke is present Have the Boss' phone number plot going on alongside the Koji Haneda plot One could also take plot/character development elements from one case and combine them with another case (again, these are suggestions I can think of, at the moment): Have Hidemi/Rena/Kir be directly involved the TV Station Murder Case (102–104/31), and have that be a setup for Black Impact and reveal some of the information that will come during the Kir arc portion of events. Having the events of 341–343/277–278, with Jodie, Heiji and Shinichi/Conan lead right into the events of 361–365/291–293. Having Shinichi's/Conan's observations about Mary and Shiho/Ai from both 939–941/843–844 and 942–944/847–848 be in either 928–930/827–828 or 951–953. Like the Whereabouts of the Dark Photograph case in the Kir arc (582–584/484–485), right? I'm sure she knows a heck of a lot about the BO, but is holding back because she thinks Shinichi/Conan will take it and get himself killed—she doesn't think her knowledge, alone, would be enough to bring him down.

Yeah, compared to that, the wait for Shinichi and Ran – First Contact to be adapted is nothing. To be fair, though, it's up there, in terms of how long we've had to wait for manga cases to be adapted into the anime.

So if the Bourbon arc had ended before the "second half," would the series have avoided what you saw as its biggest decline, up to where we are, now? Well, DC's doing pretty well for itself for a 23 year old series. Some are even saddened (look at the crowd reaction to such a question during his Singapore Q&A) by the prospect of DC ending. So, certainly, a contingent of the fandom is going to leave, as the years go by, if they are of the opinion that not only is DC dragging, but its execution of such protraction is dragging. Underwhelming, basically? So there's not even a slight chance that, when Gosho finally does the climax, you'd actually get the feeling you'd get during the good old days of DC (94 or 97 to 03 to 07), again? To put it another way, do you think there's no way for him to live up to the expectation people will have for the finale, even if he brings his A+ game? Nah, it's fine—if anything, I'm the odd one out, in terms of how I type my posts.

And here's some links to said case: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Volume_57#The_Fugitive http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Fugitive:_Kogoro_Mouri

So, basically, it started to be a drag in the late 780s, nearly 170 Files into the Bourbon arc... and then there was 100 more Files of you waiting for it to end. Props to you for hanging in there that long. In your case, you have to deal with AOs, too—that's worse than someone who just reads the manga and/or just watches the adaptions of the manga cases. Even more props to you for hanging in there from Episode 509–Episode 655 (just under 150 episodes). You mean flaws/problems that are characteristic of/unique to Gosho? So the resolution of this "setting and setting" and "more mysteries" has just taken too long—it's likely the reveals won't be worth your waiting time, right?

It's in the name for this case: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Volume_48#Butsumetsu_Murder_Case http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/The_Evil_Spirit_Appears_on_An_Unlucky_Day

Oh, I did that. The reason I didn't rebut because I agree with your general position that Ran should know who Shinichi/Conan is and that it wouldn't just work, but would actually be better than what we have, now. I'm not the person who you should be looking for to provide reasons for why it wouldn't work—if anything, I'd be the one looking to rebut reasons it wouldn't work. Ah, so it's just, "yikes/ugh, I need a break from this..." Thanks for clarifying. And that's what Antiyonder and I were discussing—how long can Gosho keep going like this until he starts losing people (though at least some would probably just take a break and come back, later)? This is a prime case of, "the stagnation did a lot of damage." So at what point in the Bourbon arc did you go, "God, this has stretched way too thin... when will this end?" Was there a specific point when this feeling started and then just built up from there, or did a certain Bourbon arc case bring such a thought about?

As a whole? As in, including the Highway Murder Case (652–654/522–523)? Going up against The Desperate Revival? Of course. The Highway Murder Case turned out to be just a matter of guessing how Shinichi will escape the situation and Ran will still know nothing—and, indeed, Shiho/Ai and Hiroshi turned out to be how he got out of that situation and preserved the status quo. Yeah, it's just a matter of execution. The thing is, I'm not going to make a certain assumption because Gosho's retreading, as of late, has been criticized—I'm not going to assume that he's no longer capable of "good" retreading, just because of how unnecessarily protracted DC is, to some, at the moment. I'd like for people not to assume, because of how the Bourbon arc went, that every arc after it will be of the same quality until the series ends. Perhaps when he decides that the time has come to stop extending DC (when he decides the board is set), things will be back to Clash of Red and Black levels of quality and excitement—perhaps some consider current DC just not as good as old DC because he's doing all he can to keep things going, as they are, and when he stops doing that, perhaps it'll get back to a higher level of quality. If you consider long stagnation to be a decline, then I get your point. That would imply that Gosho is aware of and/or cares what certain fans think of how long DC has gone on, and in the way he's decided to take things, post Vermouth arc and post Kir arc. Damage control is when you're aware that something's up that a certain displeased contingent/group don't care for, and are trying to appease said displeased contingent/group. Thus, having Ran find out that Shinichi is Conan, say, post File 1000, isn't damage control. It's snail's pace development, paired with long stagnation, but development nonetheless. That a problem for you? Again, point taken. "Outright bad?" Ah, so stagnation is a decline for you—at least in this case—then. I can definitely understand—in this case. But I still think "outright bad" is a bit much/harsh—"very disappointing," on the other hand? I would not consider that to be a bit much/harsh. (But there are probably those who'd use harsher words and say DC is already "outright bad," at the least)

The thing with the Muderer, Shinichi Kudo case (646–651/522–523) is this—it gives material for Ran's next suspicion arc (Shinichi's/Conan's fingerprints on Heiji's charm), but we just haven't gotten to the point where Gosho thinks it's time for the next Ran suspicion arc, where she could actually put that material to use. Until Gosho actually considers the board set—actually thinks that all the pieces that should be there are not only present, but in place—all the things he hooked fans with will not get the long awaited development and resolution. This is why there's so much retreading, repetition and dangling character/plot threads. For whatever reason you wish to argue, Gosho doesn't think it's time for say, Ran to suspect Conan of being Shinichi again... ...but here's another thing. Ran has been given so much in the Bourbon arc (https://www.facebook.com/pg/DCTheRedThread/photos/?tab=album&album_id=651395024912454). It's as if Gosho's laying groundwork for Ran's next suspicion arc—while setting up Bourbon, Rum and the Akais to tie in with Vermouth and the Miyanos—given the delay between her most recent one (479–483/398–400) and now, and the fact that there were three suspicion arcs in the first 500 Files/400 Episodes but none in the past 500 Files/400 Episodes gives reason to think the next one may very well be the last one.

Apologies to everyone, but 20 questions in a poll is the maximum, and I would've overstepped that mark without simplification and reduction in the number of questions. Now, users must specify the degree to which an arc has caused a decline in quality for DC, themselves (minor, medium or major). Further apologies—except for those who voted "Not at All," all users who already cast their vote must now vote again. Again—especially in light of this change—feel free to ask any questions if you're confused by the poll or the question, or simply this change, in general, if you fell I've not explained it well enough.

And in Kazuha's case, she reacted first by pointing out how Ran could've done it better, then thanked her—which makes Kazuha, perhaps, more than "chill." Remember—Ran once took off her shirt in front of Kazuha (File 211/Episode 141), at a time when Kazuha still thought Ran and Heiji were a thing, and, thus, Ran was her rival. From that scene on, though, they've been nothing but the best of friends. So I'd say the scene from File 983 was about as unorthodox as the scene from File 211—the scene that resulted in them becoming very good friends. And then there's Ran's intent by it—it comes from a desire to try and make her feel better—Kazuha would know why Ran would do that. Ultimately, her reaction says it all—she blushes and smiles. So Ran succeeded, with her in-character desire to try to make people feel better (just like in 211 when she changed her shirt to show Kazuha that they weren't rivals over Heiji), though, this time, by doing something she normally wouldn't do (just like in 211)—well before 983, it was established that Ran had the capacity to do something like this, and Kazuha was the character she was with when she did it, so with these characters (Ran and Kazuha) in this world (the world of DC), this scene was far more believable than, say, Gin and Shuichi suddenly being able to curve bullets, like the characters from Wanted. And then there's everything in Meitantei's post, which I do very much agree with. Yeah, this is definitely YMMV.

Sorry, but I'm not getting it. Ran was trying to cheer her up, and Kazuha seemed happy with her doing that. So I'd say it was more of a sweet little moment than "melodrama" and "funny..." sorry, I'm still not getting how you got those two things out of that scene.

Ah, I see. Thanks for clarifying.

One person did it in practically one day, and neither English nor Japanese is their native language. And, at times, its no worse than: One is more likely to have grammatical issues like that when English isn't one's native language—that's just the way of things, especially in a solely text-based format.

My apologies for not more carefully crafting that post before I clicked "submit." It has led to misinterpretation, something I wish to avoid. I did not mean to offend/insult you—if you feel offended/insulted, then I accept responsibility and apologize.

No manga case has ever gone unadapted. Even The Fugitive (File 594)—which was never made into an anime episode—was made into a TV Special (http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Fugitive:_Kogoro_Mouri). Most likely, they're waiting for Movie 21 (focused mainly on Heiji and Kazuha, but there'll likely be some Shinichi and Ran in there) to air this episode.

It's already underway. It's still underway. It's the Rum arc. Of course Rum is the main focus. But yes, Masumi and Mary are certainly parts of all that.

On the 983 spoilers:

That's why this mistake needed to be fixed, more than anything else. It even gives off a potential impression that it was done on purpose as a last effort to throw people off. While I don't think that was the case (hence my use of the word "potential"), it could come off to some like it was. Gosho, after all, as you've often pointed out, is not a cheater, in terms of mystery writing.

Just for comparison, what is a manga case where they were annoying?