Ran finding out about Conan. (The Cons & Pros of said development)(Possible Spoilers)

[Antiyonder 10]

Overall, there are discussions on Ran on why she isn't liked or if there's been a decline in her character.

A big part of that often is agreed to be the result of keeping the status quo intact and keeping ignorant of Conan's secret. Such a topic has been discussed before as well, though mainly question why Shinichi doesn't man up and tell Ran he's Conan.

So, I figured it might be nice to start a thread with the arguments against or for it, to really determine whether the criticism towards this particular status quo is baseless and just some of us being impatient or whether it's a development long overdue. And for those who might frequent the DCTP forums, you might have seen this post already.

Now of course I've looked at arguments that are based on the creative reasons or in universe reasons to ensure I've covered all bases.

That said, the Cons, as well as the rebuttal against them go first and then the Pros on why this development would be good all around. Spoiler tags are to decompress the content.

Cons

 

1. It will limit the potential for new stories and thus resulting in having to end the story: This I believe is the big reason why this particular change has yet to occur.

Now if there are some really substantial stories in the future that can't work with Ran in the know, then ok. But if it's something like the 5th, 6th, 7th and so on rehash of "Ran has stumbled onto Conan's secret, now he has to pull off a jerkish move to throw her off" or to have yet another moment where Shinichi and Ran end up in such an intimate situation, we've been down both roads before. So yeah lets try some growth.

Or looking at the standard cases that Conan solves as Kogoro, compared to the earliest episodes with this structure, Ran barely gets in the way of Conan nowadays that her being aware, wouldn't really hurt the formula that much or at all.

And really, the Pros section will hopefully demonstrate that the change will open up many new stories to compensate for any possible losses. Cause even with this change in the status quo, the show still won't end until the organization is found, and a permanent cure is found.

2. It would mess up the status quo for the movie going audiences in the films: It wouldn't be the first anime series with movies to do so, and it's not that complicating of a change. Especially with the opening which gives exposition for said audience.

3. Ran and Kogoro will be in danger: Basically the biggest reason in story, with the mindset that if the organization finds out who Shinichi is, they'll sort out who else knows said secret and kill them.

But, the manga/anime demonstrates that Gin or any other member would be more likely to kill someone connected to the target without taking the time to see if they are aware of the organization or not. More on this in Pros 5, though there's another thing to consider in this regard.

If anything, living with them is more likely to make them a potential target than whether they know his secret or not. And considering he has other means of getting a lead, such as the connections that his own father has, it means he doesn't have a valid reason for staying with Ran & Kogoro other than ego and status quo.

4. Ran would become a hindrance (i.e. trying to help out, only to get in the way) or that Conan will let his guard down around her and compromise his cover: Yes and no. One reason for no, I'll cover in the pros list, but another rebuttal to this is that it works both ways.

Lets look at Episode 522 for example. Shinichi has to make a getaway from Ran, Kogoro & Kazuha before he reverts back to Conan and barely avoids getting caught, while having to have another antidote. Then the next episode has him in the same situation, only on the highway with more people who would witness the transformation.

So, basically if Ran was in on the secret by Episode 522, she and Heiji would have stood a better chance at helping Shinichi to perserve his secret and maybe even negating the need to have that antidote.

Heck, look way back in Episode 10. For a quick recap, a girl came to the detective agency and was hoping to find Shinichi as she apparently is his girlfriend. (which was really her trying get his attention for help in finding a missing person).

So Ran and Conan goes with her, back to her home. Conan shortly after, hides in the bathroom to call this client as Shinichi. Needless to say, Ran thinks that Shinichi has been seeing this girl, and upon finding that he is actually in the house tries to enter the bathroom to corner him.

As such, Conan has to spend quite a bit of time dodging her, and soon after, running out to conceal his secret. So yeah, keeping her in dark is necessary to prevent her from becoming a hindrance indeed.

Pros

 

1. Possible sexist vibes aside, in truth, a character like Ran isn't in of itself problematic, especially had the story been merely 100 episodes/20 volumes long. But in a series which spans over 600 episodes/70 volumes, a character like Ran who really doesn't do much in the long run, yet appears frequently could benefit from some big change.

Better in that working to uncover Conan's secret and having to cope with it would provide her with something to do other than being the "not" girlfriend who sits and waits for Shinichi (which the earliest of stories really didn't overdo to be fair and why her current depiction is problematic).

2. Now frankly it is harsh to insist she is dumb for not figuring it out. Mainly because unlike the fictional worlds in Marvel and DC Comics where such Sci-Fi aspects are more commonplace, a person getting smaller is a rarity in Conan's world.

Though it doesn't help that those who weren't as close to Shinichi figured it out. Not to mention that even when the suspicion returns/rises, she doesn't try much to cover her tracks and doesn't rework her plan of getting a confession out of him (i.e. getting the best possible evidence and backing him into a corner so much, that he won't have a way to throw her off).

Thus going all out until she gets the truth gives her back some much needed edge, not to mention taking Conan down a peg and helping to remove the Gary Stu vibes that he has.

3. Overall, the secrecy and the heartbreak/drama it causes towards Ran (especially in 193, 523 and 617) really hampers the healthy feeling that the relationship should have. So to have the story end without Shinichi telling her the truth would be too cold, even for him.

And to just end with him revealing the truth, only for her to brush it off as a minor annoyance would be cheap (don't much like how those particular fanfics pull that stunt).

Having the secret come out would allow for them to actually start mending their friendship and eventually resulting in a more healthy relationship when the series ends.

4. In line with the 4th Con, yeah I'm sure Ran would get in the way trying to help him, but that's what character development is for. Basically as the story goes on, Ran learns that Conan/Shinichi has to act alone or at least not with her all the time.

But on the other end of the spectrum, it gives Conan a chance for character growth in that sometimes he will need to swallow his pride and accept help from Ran (even asking her). Not to mention we get to see some additional struggle with Conan having to still keep up the act so that his secret isn't further compromised while allowing for moments where he slips.

5. As touched upon in the rebuttal to the 1st con, it's actually arguable whether keeping Ran (and even Kogoro) out of the loop keeps them safe. Episode 425 has Kogoro ending up nearly being killed by the BO because they believed he was onto them. And upon noticing that Conan is associated with him, Gin is prepared to kill him.

Let me clarify. Gin believes Conan to be an average 6 year old boy, but is willing to kill him due to guilt by association. So basically, if the organization believes someone to be a threat to them, anyone closely associated by the target (i.e. Ran and Kogoro) will be killed out of caution rather than being checked for knowledge or therefore lack of on the organization.

Ergo, telling them would actually give them a chance to better protect themselves.

Not to mention that, since then, we've seen many people finding out since then, only for nothing to come of it. And the more that others find out about it, keeping Ran out of this circle becomes more ridiculous.

Heck, he revealed himself to Eisuke for reasons of ego rather than out of practicality.

6. For a nice little bit of ironic tension, Ran would eventually find herself having to help maintain the secret that not too long ago she did her best to uncover.

7. If you still need more drama, well look no more. After all is said and done, even when Ran and Conan's friendship/relationship began to recover (with the secrets between them dealt with), they still can't exactly be together in the romantic sense. I mean, even with the fact that Conan is really 16/17, there's still a strong, physical age difference between them.

Even knowing that it's Shinichi, I can't imagine Ran being comfortable at getting physical with someone who looks like a 6/7 year old boy. Ergo, there's some legit tension in the form of Ran and Shinichi wanting to act on their feeling, but not being able to until a cure is found.

Bottomline, the in universe reasons for keeping Ran in the dark have lessened in their validity, and the only losses we have for story potential just seem to be retreads of stories already told.

Now of course, I welcome disagreements on my points, especially if there's something I haven't considered.

I just ask that any disputing my points read through them and specify the nature of the disagreement.

Edit: Modifying Pros #5

[ALAKTORN 170]

Episode 425 has Kogoro ending up nearly being killed despite the secrecy, and as we saw, Gin isn't going to go the honor route and spare anyone who is deemed harmless.

I got curious and started re-watching this episode, but I don’t think I really agree with that…

Gin has a serious reason for wanting Kogorō dead in that instance, it doesn’t really have anything to do with keeping (or not) secrecy about the BO.

Also, I noticed something funny while re-watching ep.425, Korn normally speaks really weirdly, like, instead of saying “I can see the target” he would say “Can… See… Target…”, but when Akai shoots the transmitter from Gin’s hand, he looks back and quickly says “Behind us, 8 o’clock direction!” like a normal person.

[Antiyonder 10]

Ok, but the point is, Gin wants to kill Conan, who for all he knows is a 6 year old boy who is no threat to him, but only because he's associated with Kogoro.

Bottomline, members like Gin aren't honorable assassins who will evaluate whether someone connected to their target is ignorant before snuffing them. They will go for the kill to play it safe.

Thus Ran and Kogoro would still be in danger even if they remained ignorant to things.

Edit: That said, my 5th Pros was modified to clear up the point.

[ccrogers15 5]

As much as I love this show (To death), I want it to end. As of late many of the newest episodes are nothing story progressing and I personally believe it has gone on for far too long and should of ended many seasons ago. I really hope next season will wrap up unanswered BO questions and conan will finally find them and it all ends.

I love DC, but I want to see real progress... they don't have to entirely end the series. 

They can finish the entire BO arc and return conan to shinichi, and simply continue the show as Shinichi. 

OR, end them all entirely, and produce a spinoff with new characters. Perhaps a BO spinoff showing the DC series from their point of view?

DC can't go on forever. Eventually people will get sick of it. There are just too many episodes.

[animehome 0]

no, Ran did suspect a few times already, but every time Conan/Shinichi manage to persuade Ran that Conan and SHinichi are different,

the closest one is in anime episode 398-400, when she's suspecting Conan is using SHinichi's cellphone,

so they're the same person.

 

what you say my friends.......?????????