TML

When I recently mentioned DC to a friend, that person said that he thinks this show is targeted toward people younger than me. Given that I will turn 22 later this year and have already graduated from college, do you think I'm too old to watch DC?

I was born in China, but I have lived in the US since 1994. I currently live in the suburbs of NYC, but I long to move out of the NYC area due to its high cost of living.

Let me point out that it is not at all unusual to find Asian people wearing glasses, since the prevalence of myopia (nearsightedness) is very high in Asian countries, including Japan. I have also noticed that while the calendar seems to move as expected, the characters' ages (and professions) are seemingly stuck forever. I think DC is long overdue for changes in this category.

What? Are you saying that we don't have the right to think and express ourselves differently from you?

We know that Gin considered Sherry to be "too valuable" to the BO (episode 128), yet now the BO is trying to hunt Sherry down for defection/betrayal. I think there is a possibility that Gin secretly wants Sherry back so that she could continue contributing to the BO's mission (due to her work with APTX-4869), although I doubt Gin would admit this, even if it were indeed true.

Here's my list: 1. Gin - not only is he personally responsible for shrinking Shinichi and killing Akemi and other people, he also seemingly refuses to be reasonable upon request from others (Hint: This was the "last straw" that caused Ai to ultimately flee from the organization). 2. Kogoro - I don't know if my description of his personality is accurate, but the word "bigoted" comes to my mind. He dislikes when Conan, Heiji, and others try to "interfere" with his work, especially when the people in question are younger than he is. Furthermore, I predict that his Detective Agency will go bankrupt shortly after Conan reverts to Shinichi for good. 3. Jugo Yokomizo - Unlike his brother Sango, his attitude alienates people. He also does not like other detectives or the Detective Boys. 4. Reiko Kujo - It seems that she is probably more interested in winning against Eri instead of getting things right. Without Conan's interventions, at least three unjust convictions would probably have occurred. 5. Shiratori - Until recently, he always stalked Takagi & Sato, hoping to somehow tear them apart. I always felt that Takagi & Sato were my favorite couple in the series, so I consider Shiratori a nuisance to T&S. However, now that Shiratori has come to love someone else, I'll see how he develops in light of this. If I think of any other people, I'll add them later.

With respect to Ai, at this time it's difficult for me to imagine who would be a good fit for her (as I mentioned before, although people suggest that she loves Conan, I doubt that pairing is feasible, because Conan loves a certain someone else). Although Mitsuhiko and/or Genta may be possibilities, I don't know if Ai would like their childish demeanor. Furthermore, both Genta and Mitsuhiko love Ayumi, but Ayumi loves Conan. If I were in charge, I might pair Genta with Ayumi and Mitsuhiko with Ai or vice versa, but that would only be feasible if all sides set aside their preexisting feelings for others, and I don't know how likely that will happen.

I like the episodes where Eri Kisaki goes against Reiko Kujo (264, 265, 297, 298, and 489). It's certainly interesting to watch the "Sleeping Kogoro" in a courtroom. More to come later...

I have noticed that Takagi's name in Japanese is not always depicted in a consistent manner. For example, in episode 401, when Takagi shows his badge, we see his name given as "高木 渉" (with his given name in Kanji), but in other episodes (for example, episodes 146 & 535), we see it given as "高木 ワタル" (with his given name in Katakana). Can anyone explain this discrepancy to me?

Although some people are rooting for Ai or Ayumi to be with Conan, I seriously doubt that either of these pairings are actually feasible. That's because it has pretty much been established since episode 1 who Shinichi/Conan actually loves, and I don't think that is likely to change in the foreseeable future.

I seriously doubt that either pairing will actually be feasible, since it has already been established that Conan loves a certain someone else, and that situation is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Let me add one more thing: from 1998 until 2000, there was a dubbed version of DC which ran in Latin America, and that version also did not last long - only about 120-130 episodes or so. In that version, some characters' dubbed names were not always consistent, for example Heiji has about three different dubbed names. I also find it funny that they would give Shinichi the English-sounding name of "Bobby Jackson" .

My username represents the initials of my real name.

Whenever you go from one language to another, there are inevitably some expressions which cannot be translated directly/literally. As such, only the Japanese original preserves the original expressions/meanings 100%. Although the Chinese dub preserves the original characters' names, some of the original Japanese expressions are lost. I would have loved the English dub, except for the fact that not all characters have been "renamed" - either rename them all, or leave them all untouched.

I won't disclose the exact name of this song, but it is the most popular song recorded by a particular Scandinavian band back in the late 1990s. (From this point, you can speculate as much as you want, but I will not comment on the accuracy of your speculations.)

I have recently found multiple sources suggesting that Dr. Agasa is somehow affiliated with the Black Organization, and it has even been suggested that he is actually the head of the BO. I haven't had time to process this information yet, but it certainly does not fit with what I know about him. As such, I'd like to hear your opinions about this. Do you think that the theory of Dr. Agasa being affiliated with the Black Organization is plausible?

My favorite episode is probably 49, since that's when we find out that the effects of APTX-4869 are in fact reversible.

On one particular Chinese website, I found an entry where, according to an official source, Ai would be killed by gunfire from the Black Organization toward the end, and that she would give the ultimate antidote for APTX-4869 to Conan as she is dying. It also states that Dr. Agasa is actually affiliated with the Black Organization (which I'm still not sure whether or not to believe). If you can read Chinese, please read for yourself: http://group.mtime.com/conan/discussion/429668/

I think Takagi & Sato will go the way of Carol Hathaway & Doug Ross on ER, Harmon Rabb & Sarah MacKenzie on JAG, Gil Grissom & Sara Sidle on CSI, etc. Of all the couples in DC, I've enjoyed following them more than any other pair. In fact, I believe that the Detective Boys (Conan and co.) had been rooting for them to be together ever since Sato's first formal appearance in episode 146. This is especially evident in the following two events: (1) In episodes 253-4, Conan "went the distance" and did just about everything to block Shiratori from kissing Sato, and (2) In episode 535, when Sato was in Takagi's hospital room, Conan and co. first made up an excuse (that Takagi was sleeping) to prevent Megure and co. from entering his room, and when Conan and co. saw Sato kissing Takagi, they rejoiced. Although some people are rooting for Conan & Ai to be together, I do not think this would work for two reasons: (1) Conan already loves a certain someone else [if you don't know who I'm referring to, please rewatch episode 1], and (2) neither Conan nor Ai wants to attract unwanted attention unto themselves in their present (small) forms. I also wonder if the producers of DC will pursue Agasa's relationship with Fusae (first mentioned in episodes 421-2) further...

I first watched DC back in 2002, when the son of a family friend of my parents introduced it to me. At that time, my friend had DVD episodes of the first 100 or so episodes dubbed in Chinese, so those were the only ones I watched then. Shortly thereafter, however, my interests drifted elsewhere, and remained so for a long time. However, shortly before I graduated from college this past May, I decided to rekindle this interest while I studied for my final exams and finished up some projects before graduation. It didn’t take long for me to become hooked in DC once again; in fact, it was because of my former interest in DC that I took up other crime dramas such as CSI, NCIS, etc. during my college years. After taking some high school English classes, I came to realize that the concept of dramatic irony applies heavily in DC – the most prominent example being that we the audience know Conan = Shinichi, but not all characters in the story know that fact, and those who do know have so far not been actively spreading this info to other characters (for obvious reasons). The same goes for Ai and her true identity. Now, I find it very interesting that the ages of the main characters seem to be “fixed” throughout the series, despite the fact the series has run for over a decade now. This makes me occasionally wonder what would happen if any of the characters actually aged and/or moved on from their present occupations. From watching this and other TV series, I have come to realize that there are some things that people constantly root for in these series which, if they actually happened, would likely “take the air out of” the series – so the producers decided to hold off on writing these events into the series until such time the series ends or one or more of the characters involved exits the series. In the case of DC, this would include things like Conan permanently reverting to Shinichi (or, if that’s not possible, him telling everyone his real identity), the Black Organization getting taken down, various main characters getting married, etc. Based on other TV couples such as Carol Hathaway/Doug Ross on ER, Harmon Rabb/Sarah MacKenzie on JAG, Gil Grisson/Sara Sidle on CSI, etc, I think the relationship between Takagi/Sato has already passed the point of no return, but I think the producers will deliberately refrain from joining them together for the long term until the end. Due to the nature of the first episode, I also believe that Shinichi and Ran will be together by the time DC wraps up. Other couple pairs I’ve identified include Heiji/Kazuha, Shiratori/Kobayashi, Kaito/Aoko, and possibly Agasa/Fusae, although I haven’t been following these people as much as the other two that I mentioned before. Some people are rooting for Conan/Ai, but I don't think that pair is feasible because (1) Conan already loves a certain someone else (and Ai is aware of this as well), and (2) neither of them want to draw unwanted attention unto themselves at this time.