Detective Conan

I know I have a LONG way to go, but I've read a few chapters of Detective Conan (my manga store didn't have the first 2 volumes, so I've started with volume 3. I know the basic plot details so I'm fine) I'm actually kinda enjoying it. I love a good whudunit as much as the next troper. Is it worth reading all the way through?

One problem: I think I hate Conan the character already. How competent is Kogoro Mouri as a detective anyway? Because in the case I read he seemed relatively intelligent. Don't tell me the entire series is just Conan solving the cases behind Kogoro's back, and knocking him out in order to explain the case at the very end? I think my heart might die if that was true, cuz from the little exposure I've had to this series, Kogoro is by FAR my favourite character.

I'm a big fan of this series. Both the anime and manga. The Viz translation bug the living crap out of me because they changed all the names of the characters. I have no idea how they handled all the Japanese specific explanations that occur, I could never get past the character names.

As far as plot goes, most cases follow the same pattern. There is even a running gag that Kogoro is cursed, seeing as how random people keep getting murdered when he/Conan is around. The overarching Myth arc gets advanced every 50 chapters or so, there are some really good story arcs. Lots more recurring characters get introduced later as well. But I will say that this is not a series you get into for plot development. The real fun is trying to figure the case out before Conan.

Oh if you want to check out the beginning http://www.dctp.ws/ has everything scanlated and fansubbed

edited 5th Sep '11 2:14:17 PM by EvilOtaku

I got into this series really recently and have been having an absolute devil of a time getting my hands on the manga volumes and dvds.

I really like it though, and I'm not usually into murder mysteries.

edited 5th Sep '11 3:13:23 PM by Raikage

Only thing I can think of whenever I hear of this series is "Is the series over yet?"

I heard the mangaka requested they change them.

In any case, I think the same as d Roy on this.

edited 5th Sep '11 3:17:00 PM by burnpsy

Somehow I think that this series is going to be like the Pokemon anime. It'll be over when it stops making money.

Conan should be an adult by now.

Twice over I've heard. Maybe the serum keeps him as a child indefinitely?

Doesn't explain other kids he hang out with.

How much time has actually passed in the series is what I want to know. There have been TWO Valentines Day stories, which means that at least a year or two have passed, but Conan is still in the 1st grade.

edited 5th Sep '11 3:23:02 PM by Raikage

Not to mention 9001 cases he solved so far. I dropped the series after finishing volume 45, at which I just gave up.

From what I heard, they invoked Comic-Book Time, and it's only been a few months at best.

I stopped reading at around 300, the only series I've ever given up on.

edited 5th Sep '11 3:26:07 PM by burnpsy

Okay, that's just a shoddy excuse; like I said, he solved shitloads of cases and as mentioned earlier, there has been two valentine episode and just few months passed? That's just implausible.

Which volume would that be?

edited 5th Sep '11 3:27:21 PM by dRoy

I just mostly bounce around, make sure I read/watch the plot-important cases, and read/watch the others whenever I feel like it. It's not a series I follow for plot, I just read it for fun. I'm waaaay too lazy to read 700+ chapters in a row.

edited 5th Sep '11 3:27:41 PM by Raikage

Is it the longest running manga series ever or something?

No, Kochikame has that honor.

I think Detective Conan is like...the sixth longest or somewhere around there though.

edited 5th Sep '11 3:32:07 PM by Raikage

Nah, Hajime No Ippo is longer and and Hajime no Ippo isn't the longest running series.

As for when It'll end, I say, oh 10 more years give or take.

edited 5th Sep '11 3:32:37 PM by Thenamelesssamurai

Let's not forget good ol' Glass Mask! Ayumi and Maya've been eighteen for something like ten years now.

I'm enjoying the series so far. :3 It's nice to see someone as insane over Holmes as I am over Arsene Lupin. Can't wait for Kaitou Kid to show up.

Detective Conan is 25th right now, at best.

As I said, the current leader is Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo

edited 5th Sep '11 3:53:12 PM by burnpsy

As much as I love this series, I honestly can't blame anyone for dropping it. Anyone waiting for any kind of resolution will be disappointed by the lack of plot development. But as a mystery series, its still surprisingly fresh considering its been ongoing for 15 years now.

As far as the timeline is concerned, I believe the story takes place within 1 year in universe. They seem to be in a perpetual "Now", but it is funny to see the technology change through the series.

Mouri Kogoro can be competent when he wants to be, but those moments are admittedly very, very rare. Sure, there'smany awesome characters in the series aside from Conan, and the rare case that Conan isn't involved in... (Like just Haibara and the detective kids solve it or just Saito and Takaki, etc.)

But for the most part, DC is definitely all about Conan. He's in almost every one of those 780+ chapters, so if that's a downside to you... well, yeah. My favorite thing about DC are the Kaito Kid cases.

I just wish DC would stop padding it with filler cases and go straight to the plot-important stuff.

But nooooo Gosho Aoyama just has to squeeze every last drop he can out of his cash cow. Eh well. I guess he's earned the right.

The nice thing about the Comic-Book Time is that there is textual evidence to interpret this entire work as being the hallucinations of a grief-stricken Ran - or Shinichi's dad - or mom - after their boyfriend/son disappears. The impossible time frame, the science fiction drugs that work according to the needs of the plot, the convenient inventor professor who's still somehow broke even though he has the money and knowledge to create anything Conan wants from scratch, the improbability of Kogorou not noticing that he falls asleep everytime he's supposed to solve a case even though he's built an entire reputation and career on it - all of this points to it being a fantasy of someone who's close to Shinichi and wants to believe that he's alive and well and thriving and is going to come back. But he never comes back. The series just keeps going on and on and on and he's stuck in that perpetual Year 1 detective body, solving cases and making friends and chasing down the "Black Organization" and generally being awesome. And the series has to go on. Forever. Because if it ends, and Shinichi comes back to life, the fantasy is destroyed, because in real life, Shinichi has disappeared and is most probably dead.

IT MAKES COMPLETE SENSE NOW.

Well, to be fair, Shinichi has shown up on more that a few occasions. Your other points are valid though.

If you compress the timeline to only include the plot chapters, it makes more sense.

Yes, well, since the plot chapters mostly involve them accidentally stumbling across members of the FBI, Black Organization, CIA, and who knows what other legal or illegal organizations are involved in this mess, it would come across as rather contrived. There needs to be some padding in between so that it doesn't come across as a string of convenient coincidences. Also Kaitou Kid is probably going to become plot relevant at some point so we'd have to include those cases, as well as at least a few that involve the recurring characters like Heiji, the police officers etc., just for backstory and relationship purposes. It would make most sense to have this story take place over, say, at least a three year period, or perhaps even six. By then Conan would still be in elementary school, 12 years old - that would give the author plenty of time to wrap up the storyline in a plausible way. And he'd still be young enough for people around him to not take him seriously.

Heck! Ran could even go to university or study to become a police officer (she's already a karate champion, I'm sure the police would want somebody like that one the force)! That'd be much more interesting than just seeing her as a perpetual high school student pining after Shinichi.

And seriously, the Sleeping Kogorou thing HAS to come to a head at some point. Kogorou has been shown to be not an utter moron; the only thing preventing him being getting suspicious is his perpetual idiot ball holding for plot convenience. ARGH. And why do people not see his lips not moving when he speaks?! Even if it's in shadow, it should be fairly obvious that his mouth isn't moving when he talks! ARGH!

As well as the fact that they run into a murder case every single time Conan so much as walks out the front door. It would be easy to get over that particular rut. Have every single case be a referral from Kogorou's office or the police or people who've heard of "Kogorou"'s fame. Now THAT would make sense. Seriously. Japan has one of the lowest homicide rates in the world. I'm currently living in the USA, with one of the highest homicide rates (it's far lower than Russia and South America though), and in my three years here I've NEVER happened across a crime scene. Ever. Heck, I've never accidentally stumbled across a crime scene in my entire life! So why has Conan "accidentally" come across hundreds and hundreds of murder cases (many of them convoluted and dramatic and involving extremely creative murder methods) in his, haha, ONE SINGLE YEAR of forced childhood?

This is ridiculous. This is so ridiculous only the fantasy theory makes sense.

Curses. The premise of this story is actually rather fascinating. It could definitely work in a logical way, given the tweaks I suggested. The plot chapters, when they happen, are amazing. But no, of course the author is less invested in making a realistic story, and more invested in making bucketloads of cash. As a starving college student I can sympathize with that, but still. UGH. The logical inconsistencies piss the fuck out of me. Comic-Book Time is a such lazy, irresponsible trope. Ugh.