DCUniverseAficionado

The idea of a seven-year-old actually being your shrunken boyfriend is ridiculous—how would it happen? And why would he then decide to move in with you? Ran's suspicions are ridiculous... but the coincidences, the similarities between Conan and Shinichi, and the fact that Ran knows Shinichi well lead to her wondering if they are somehow the same person. All the suspicion arcs start, officially, when Ran sees Conan deducing a case on his own, no Sleeping Kogoro/Deduction Queen involved. It took Shinichi until he was 16 until he solved his first case on his own... for a seven-year-old to do so, and in such a similar manner to Shinichi... he's pretty much outing himself to her if he does so. Especially after the second suspicion arc (Desperate Revival), it seems that Ran is simply in denial—she's subconsciously linked Shinichi and Conan together, but doesn't want to believe that such an insane theory is actually true... for if it was, she'd have to face the reality that Shinichi has lied to her, manipulated her, and doesn't trust her. She doesn't have concrete evidence to back up the theory, and Shinichi's/Conan's tricks create alibis for him that would be unreasonable to doubt, unreasonable to believe that he'd created them to maintain his façade. Even when Ran thinks that he did so during Desperate Revival, during her third suspicion arc, she gets depressed about the notion that he's been so deceitful. She can't disassociate Conan from Shinichi, but doesn't want to believe that they are the same, due to the implications of such a truth—until she gets evidence and confronts him with it, this will be the status quo. The signs of her being still suspicious are present throughout the arc—complimenting Shinichi/Conan on his knowledge and observations, probing him about his progress on piecing together the clues to uncover the truth behind the crime, and even prompting him to explain something that a seven-year-old shouldn't be able to explain... these three things have been present since Volume 48, and one of the things twice occurred during the Kawanakajima Murder Case. Give credit to Ran 5-5 from the DCTP spoiler box, who runs the Detective Conan – The Red Thread Facebook Page for finding all these clues. Well, this is a mystery series, and, unless it is a romance like Tagaki/Sato or Kogoro/Eri, there will be objections as to why they are there if they don't advance the plot or develop characters. I think the London confession by Shinichi has potential for character development—it happened nowhere near the end of the series, which was unexpected... also unexpected is Ran's reaction. Sonoko and Kazuha let her hear it about not responding to Shinichi's confession, and it seems as if Ran, herself, is unwilling to respond... like she thinks she doesn't need to... like she thinks (subconsciously, likely) that Shinichi already knows how she feels about him. Add that with Ran's current suspicions, and we could be well heading towards the final suspicion arc—her uncovering/knowing his identity will be quite a change of pace for DC, and allow for character development. Again, the hope is the Rum arc and the 1-2 arcs after it will finally let loose what has been building up for so long... all that is unresolved. The internet is rough... but there are diamonds in that rough.

Who knows? Point is, hope is all we have, whether you're cynical or not.

Eh... saying its exactly like it, like copy/paste... the broad points are similar enough to warrant that accusation. The specifics, however, are not—but for you, broad similarities have been an immense drag, for sure. Ran's subtle ongoing suspicion arc has its differences from the three previous ones, Masumi is different from Eisuke, Shuichi as Subaru, the Mysterious Child, the Rei/Miyano family connection, Shuichi and Rei's connection and Scotch (presumably), Kaito Kid's brief involvement (whether he'll appear again, in relation to the BO is anyone's guess; Gosho said he may not appear in the final confrontation), the sheer progress of the romances (you may not care, but Shinichi confessing, Shiratori's attempts to interfere with Takagi/Sato ending, Heiji pretty much confessing are milestones in terms of romantic progression), and Ran and Shinichi's connection to Masumi, and the Mysterious Child, and perhaps even the middle brother, have been noteworthy differences from the other arcs. I get that this is simply not enough for you, and things have just taken way too long to happen, but the fact that Gosho is taking such a long time with this (again, I don't believe he's kept the series going for this long only so he and Shogakukan can make more money) means that he wanted to introduce characters, and establish connections in this way—hopefully, the Rum arc will take what the Bourbon arc has given us and deliver answers and resolutions. I don't see any concerted effort to tell Gosho from the DCTP forums users or this forums users that he's been f***ing up and needs to get things moving, so the only reason for all this negativity that I see is for the purpose of letting it out/getting it off the chest, which isn't wrong, at all... criticism is good, but it would be better if people were trying to actually reach Gosho and bringing their criticisms directly to him in order to effect a change... and a change is what you've been dying for, right? And, yes—I will wait for reactions to the Rum arc... it's not like I have another choice... but I believe, with Rum being the boss' right hand, that we are at least 1-2 arcs from the end—the length of this arc and the following ones? Anyone's guess.

Thought that the complaint was the Bourbon arc was a rehashing of the Vermouth arc. You're probably referring to the fact that the titular characters of the past two arcs (Kir and Bourbon) turned out to be disloyal spies infiltrating the BO. The Rum arc certainly doesn't seem like rehashing, to me... unless you've seen something I haven't.

I haven't heard of many questions directed at Gosho during interviews and the digest books that question/criticize his choices, so he may not know... but since I don't believe he's kept the series going for this long only so he and Shogakukan can make more money, he must have a story reason for keeping the series going. If he really picks up the pace, then its conceivable it could end in 5 years... honestly, though, speculation and guesswork is all we have, in terms of what's next for the series... we do know that Amuro's true allegiance was hinted as far back as Volume 77, and the Mysterious Child was hinted in Volume 81 (Masumi takes picture of Shinichi/Conan, then, in Volume 83, he gets a picture of Masumi and the Mysterious Child... I don't think that was coincidence)... but when is he going to begin unleashing revelations? Your guess is as good as mine. With my previous post, I was just trying to set a date range, while speaking on the state of the longest mangas. For your sake, and the sake of those whose love of the series has been diminished by the Bourbon arc, I hope it does end when you hope, in 5 years, or so. I may be able to wait 10 years... but that's me—people with my kind of patience are in the extreme minority.

Now that Gosho's about to get back on track, in terms of the frequency of files released, it should take him 1-2 and 1/2 years to reach File 1000, and 3-4 years to reach Volume 100, given my calculations on how long it takes him to write 100 Files and how long it takes him to write 13 Volumes. Given that the Rum arc may last longer than 3-4 years, I wouldn't say File 1000 or Volume 100 is when Detective Conan will end. My earliest prediction is 2025, and my latest is 2035. If it ends before 2025, I'd be very surprised. Since I believe Detective Conan is going to surpass 100 Volumes, it stands to reason that it would become only the 21st manga series to do so (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manga_series_by_volume_count), if the series ahead of it stay ahead. The oldest manga, Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, has 194 Volumes and 1,873 Files, and began in September, 1976—only the top 14 have reached 100 Volumes, as of right now, and only the top three in the list have more than 150 Volumes. The youngest mangaka is 48, the oldest is 79, and most of the writers of the top 21 series are in their late 50s to late 60s. Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world by county, with women living to 87 (the highest, in terms of women's life expectancy) and men living to 84 (the 5th-highest, in terms of men's life expectancy). Going by this, it could stand to reason that many of the longest-running mangas will end within the next 10-30 years, depending on how many exceed the average male life expectancy. Detective Conan is not going to go on forever—everything has its end, whatever the cause of that end may be.

Thanks!

Hey, no rush. Just wondering if you'd pick some diamonds in the rough that is the Bourbon arc.

I agree with this selection. As expected, there's no episode on this list after the Red Wall Case (Episodes 558–561). As for my own... well, I like quite a few of them. Pretty much any manga case will do, be they for characters, mystery, or the main plot, itself.

Ooh, Conan's a girl, now? Stop the presses! Can't wait for the english version, and glad we get one next week!

Coming from a veteran like you, it's an honor. What do you think will get us on the right track? (Again with the questions, I know, so, before you ask, here's what I think: from my reading of the fandom of this forum and DCTP, answers need to be given and mysteries need to be revealed at a faster pace–which is the crux of fans' issues with DC, right now: the story needs to move at a faster pace–as for "just bad" cases, be they AO or by Gosho, I realize that they are inferior to the ones lauded by the community, but for me, personally, it takes a lot to get me to call something "just bad," but for others, it doesn't take much for them to call something "just bad.")

Thanks for this–I hope I'm not imposing or anything.

So what was needed in the Bourbon arc was a stronger connection to the events of the Kir arc, and the cutting of many cases—524-557, 562, 565-577, 582-609, 614-630, 633-645, 648-666, 669-698, 705-711, 718-766, in particular? (I excluded Detective Boys Vs Robber Group and The Crisis Beckoned by the Red Omen, unless you'd rather have them not there, either–in any case, you want those 211 episodes removed)

No–I've been reading these forums and the ones over at DCTP for a while, but I didn't start posting on them 'til recently.

If I recall correctly, you said at some point that you're going to leave in 3 years, unless DC ends by then–do you mean this website, or the DC fandom, and then come back, years later, to see how it ended?

As I've been reading these forums, as well as the ones on the DCTP, on which I've posted this poll, as well, I've gotten a sense of cynicism/disappointment/frustration when it comes to the past couple years of Detective Conan stories—essentially, I see that the Bourbon arc isn't too well liked. There are probably some who think that Detective Conan has been slipping in quality since the Vermouth arc climax. I am interested in when you think Detective Conan began to slip in quality, if at all—I've enjoyed the whole story, but, when it comes to fiction, I can be quite forgiving—and why, as well as to what degree. I would prefer detailed explanations as to why, but if you feel you'd be repeating yourself and don't want to do so, then either provide a link to a prior detailed explanation, or insist that I look it up, myself. EDIT (1/5/17): I will now be including the Rum arc, since we're nearly 100 Files into it. It and any other arc is fair game. Users may select two options if they so desire, in case a user thinks that there was more than one lapse in quality. Finally, users can change their vote at any time, in case reflection/discussion changes a user's mind. Feel free to ask any questions if you're confused by the poll or the question. EDIT (1/5/17): Please see my 1/5/17 post for an update to the poll.