I'll stick by my word and limit discussion on the pacing or behind the scenes stuff to the appropriate thread, but I still feel even with all of that it's hard to be happy about the kiss or even Ran's desire to be Shinichi's girlfriends.
1. Continues to lie to her.
2. Won't let anyone else date her, even if the guy in question is a decent friendly person.
3. His confession is preceded with Ran having the audacity to want to be treated like a mature, intelligent person, yet he makes himself out to be the victim.
Part of the reason I could enjoy the story inspite of the pace and the status quo is that Shinichi's predicament felt like it was suppose to be a life lesson about the dangers of hubris and thinking that you're unbeatable.
The story would have him making mistakes and even conceding that he had a lot of intellectual growing to do.
But now? The narrative seeks to downplay intentional flaws, while having accidental ones that he never receives comeuppance for.
Basically he's growing away from being a flawed person with the potential to grow out of said flaws and more becoming a karma houdini:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KarmaHoudini
I mean if you have a kid for example who acts up, you don't need to shout in their ears and disown them, but you sure as hell don't respond by giving them cake, ice cream and permission to stay up on a school night to watch the late late show.
The Mystery of Conan Edogawa.
Arguably one of the best attempts at tackling the story of "Ran discovering the secret behind Conan". It's strong point is taking a common plot for Detective Conan fan fics and presenting it in a fresh manner such as:
- Touching on things that aren't dealt with in the show or discussed much.
- While there is some understanding towards Conan's predicament, the fic doesn't ignore the problematic approach he takes towards keeping quiet.
So, do yourself a favor and read this. I only wish I could so something half as decent.
