TML

If I saw Shinichi more often, then I might go with Conan. However, I'll go with Shinichi because I believe that he has thus far not made enough appearances in his original form.

All I can say is that we shouldn't be too quick to rule anything out just yet, unless certain pairings have been firmly established (e.g. Takagi & Sato, Heiji & Kazuha, Sonoko & Makoto, Shiratori & Kobayashi). We've had some unexpected pairings: Chiba & Dr. Agasa were paired with characters who "popped up out of nowhere" when they were paired; Shiratori & Kobayashi were two well-established characters who didn't know each other's existence for 400+ episodes before they got paired up. I believe that pairing Ai with either Conan or Mitsuhiko will be extremely problematic. Conan already loves a certain someone else, and Ai would probably risk alienating Conan if she attempted to flirt with him. Mitsuhiko is probably too childish for Ai's liking. The only concern about this pairing Ai/Shiho with Hakuba I have is that the producers of DC seemingly do not want Hakuba to make additional appearances in DC in the foreseeable future. Other than that, I would be perfectly fine with it.

As I have said elsewhere, I think Ai is diffident. The loss of her family members (especially her sister) and the fact that she is a "fugitive" from the BO leaves her with insufficient self confidence, especially during times of crisis. I think someone with that kind of mindset in real life would probably be dead by now unless they were confined to mental institutions; however, if Ai had been killed off during any of the previous incidents where she thought of doing so (e.g. The Haido Hotel encounter, the Bus bombing, the battle with Vermouth, etc.), Conan would probably have been trapped in his current form indefinitely, thereby taking the air out of the series (which the producers of DC don't want to do at this point). I have heard rumors on the Internet that she would be "found out" by key members of the BO and killed by the end; although I would dislike such an ending, I also have a difficult time envisioning an alternate ending without her death.

OK, but that doesn't answer another part of my question: Given what he knew about Ai, could he have been able to put two and two together and realize who Conan really was?

The way Ran reacted to Conan's self-disclosure in this OVA reminds me of a saying, "A rumor repeated a thousand times will become truth." In this case, because Ran's suspicious of Conan's true identity were repeatedly denied and "explained away," it had become firmly established in her mind that Shinichi & Conan were two different people. On the other hand, Ran's willingness to wait (indefinitely?) for Shinichi reminds me of a film called The Myth, where the female protagonist was willing to wait millenia for the person she truly loves - this is even exemplified in a song titled "Endless Love" by Jackie Chan & Kim Hee Sun, the two main actors of that movie. I wish I could produce a music video featuring Shinichi & Ran with "Endless Love" playing in the background, because I think Shinichi & Ran's story would probably fit that song very well.

Definitely high. Another aspect of Ai/Shiho's capabilities that seems to have been overlooked is her people skills. I say this after having observed her interactions with the major police characters (especially Takagi, Sato, & Shiratori). She has accurately described some aspects of these people's personalities. In addition, I think Ai has been instrumental in getting Takagi & Sato together and deflecting Shiratori away from Sato in favor of Kobayashi.

Here are several that I've been thinking of: 1. During his final moments, Pisco indicated to Gin that he "had a general idea of [sherry's] whereabouts," but, as we all know, didn't get to share the details while he was still alive. What if Pisco had been allowed to continue that conversation along those lines? Aside from Ai, could he also have known who Conan really was? 2. It seems that although Eisuke knows who Conan really is, he doesn't know the details of how Shinichi became Conan. How would he react if he were to learn of those details?

Since we have articles listing characters who know the true identities of Conan and Kaito Kid, why don't we create an article listing everyone who knows Ai's true identity (or at least her true background)? Off the top of my head, this article will probably consist of the following people: -Dr. Agasa -Conan/Shinichi -The Kudo parents -Heiji Hattori -Vermouth -Pisco There may be one or two more people, but I'm not sure who else.

I wonder if the producers of DC will ever create an episode where the suspect ends up successfully committing suicide upon being "outed" as the criminal. I've watched some other TV crime dramas (e.g. CSI, NCIS, etc.) where this has happened, and I feel like the series is long overdue for a variation of this kind. Would anyone else support this concept being incorporated into a future DC episode?

For those of you who think Ran would somehow pursue Dr. Araide in place of Shinichi, please watch OVA 9. In addition, I seriously doubt the producers of DC will allow Ran to abandon Shinichi. However, I do believe that in real life, 99 out of 100 girlfriends would abandon their boyfriends if he somehow disappeared for long stretches of time without providing a complete explanation of the circumstances of his disappearance.

As I've said elsewhere, with respect to Ai, I think having her stay in her child form will become untenable once her past becomes widely known (which will happen after key members of the BO get put on trial - when they and Shinichi disclose the effects of APTX-4869, it won't take long for authorities to make the connection between Ai and Sherry). Although I have no idea what the producers have in store for her, what I hope will happen is that she will be paired with either an existing single adult character (Saguru Hakuba has been mentioned by some people) or someone not yet introduced to us (as was the case with Dr. Agasa and Officer Chiba's first loves). If she is somehow prosecuted for her past affiliation with the BO, I hope she hires you-know-who as her lawyer. With respect to Shinichi, I think the only thing that might possibly prevent him from regaining his original form for good would be some kind of divine intervention against the producers. The reason we haven't seen it happen yet is because the producers want to "save the best for last" - i.e. doing so prematurely would take the air out of the series.

I wonder how sustainable this pair would be in real life, given what they've gone through during the series. I'd bet that 99 out of 100 people would probably abandon their lovers if they somehow "disappear" for long stretches of time without providing a complete explanation of their disappearance.

For those of you who've read the manga:

Remember: even Vermouth & the FBI agents are voiced by native Japanese voice actors, so it shouldn't be surprising if their English isn't 100% perfect as you would have expected.

I don't know what to say about Ai. Some sources out there say that she would be dead by the end, which in some ways would make sense. However, I do think that having her stay in her small form will be untenable once her true identity & past details become widely known. As such, what I hope to happen is to see her paired with either an existing single character (with no established love partner), or with someone not yet introduced to us (as was the case with Dr. Agasa & Officer Chiba's first loves).

With respect to Heiji, my guess is that he must have known no later than the "Desperate Revival" arc, since it was during that storyline that Ai (under disguise) secretly told Heiji what had transpired with she and Shinichi/Conan. And that knowledge is evident in that Heiji refers to Ai as the "little nee-chan" from Dr. Agasa's house (note the use of nee-chan here - which implies that Heiji knows that Ai is older than she appears).

I haven't formed a like/dislike opinion on Eisuke, but I am curious about one thing: It seems that he doesn't know the details of how Shinichi became Conan. I would love to see his reaction upon learning of those details.

Also, Dr. Agasa's love interest was not mentioned in the series before that specific plot line.

Eisuke had been observing Conan for a long time, and finally confronted him by threatening to take Ran away, so Conan had no choice but to "come out." However, I think Eisuke does not know the details of how Shinichi shrank.

That is, if they both survive the demise of the BO. If you search on the web, you will find a number of sources claiming that Ai would be killed by the BO toward the end. Although I'm not rooting for that to happen, I could somehow envision it actually happening, since I have a hard time envisioning her post-BO future if she survives...

I also think that some name changes deviate too considerably from their original names, while some characters' name changes are "incomplete." For example, Matsumoto & Sato's first names were not Anglicized, while characters like Takagi, Nakamori, Yokomizo, Yamamura, etc. have names that hardly resemble their original Japanese names.

It is because of this that she tends to assume the worst in many situations (e.g. Episodes 177, 231, 346, 435, 484) and/or toward various people (e.g. Episodes 242, 246, 427) - and when she does so, she often does not attempt to fight her assumptions, but instead succumb to them. That is why I would describe her as diffident - in other words, she has insufficient self-confidence, especially during times of crisis.

I think this development (along with the introduction of the ultimate antidote for APTX-4869, the downfall of the Black Organization, the permanent revival of Shinichi, etc.) is one of those which the producers have been deliberately saving for the very end, because they will inevitably take the air out of the series, even though many people have been rooting for them to happen for many years now.

Only in your wildest imaginations will that happen.

Are you really sure about this? For a long time we didn't know who, if anyone, Chiba would be paired up with, and then the answer was revealed out of nowhere in the most recent manga chapters (which I predict will be aired on TV sometime later this year). Chances are the producers have a surprise up their sleeves on this front (i.e. someone not yet introduced to us).