The Detective Boys squad, and why people seem to hate them

[kholoudsafir]

I think this has been asked countless times and I'll stand by what I said last time -- I don't really hate them but they can be annoying in the sense that they usually add insult to injury in the cases, especially the earlier ones. For example, they are being chased by the murderer and they have to keep quiet and one of them usually bumps over a vase or something. Or usually they run off and they get lost and that's how the case starts. But without these careless things, there wouldn't be a case or it wouldn't have that suspense factor, I guess.

And I think in the recent cases, they learned to be more careful and are more cooperative and less whiny.

But I also think these kids would/should be psychologically disturbed by now, with the amount of murder they've encountered.

The bold part is where I think they are acting like seven years old, if you see/know how usually seven years act then it is normal to be annoying and make big mistakes in sensitive situations. So, for me I do not mind them as long as they are acting within their age.
However, although it meant to be for comedy, I think they interfere too much in the Detectives' love stories  it is normal for kids to ask questions in this age out of curiosity, but to try to put people together, well I am not so sure about that 

I also, hate them when they take big screen appearance in the movies, like movie 15.

[Kor]

I don't mind them. They have a purpose and they are doing it well enough.

Aside from being extremely intelligent for their age (even Genta) and aside from not having a severe trauma from all the dead bodies they see, they are far more realistic than most kids you see in anime.

[Borealis]

I like them as characters but I think I wouldn't be able to stand them a whole hour straight in RL. ^_^

[irishock]

DB cases act as Gosho's fill-ins to separate big cases from others; sort of like how in wrestling they put "washroom break" fillers between big main events.

[El Huesudo II]

Well Shinichi went to crime scenes with his dad when he was their age, and he turned out fine!
(...Yeah. Sure. Fine.)

Blame it on his Murder-encountering Necklace.

Just between us since it's non-canon, but Genta does pretty well in the DS games. He's usually the culprit-chaser when Conan is not around, like when Ai is kidnapped.

The DB are also pretty competent in the movies. But that could be because the movies are all in Hollywood-mode (action-packed, explosions everywhere, everything/everyone is awesome).

Aside from being extremely intelligent for their age (even Genta) and aside from not having a severe trauma from all the dead bodies they see, they are far more realistic than most kids you see in anime.

This just hit me: Maybe they're already traumatized.

Okay, they do get a little freaked out when they see the dead body for the first time, but afterwards they regain composure... This could very well be a sign of desensitization - something that notoriously affects Conan. (I can still remember the suit of armor killer case in the museum. Almost every cop, even Megure and Kogoro, flinched and turned away while looking at the security footage, but Conan was all serious and focused.)

[mangaluva]

I don't hate them, I'm just mildly disturbed that they don't seem to need a billion hours of therapy to deal with the frequency with which they come across horribly dead bodies :/ I am starting to get annoyed with some of the cases that Conan brings them along to, though; I kept wishing that Conan had found a way to get them out of coming on the train with him in a recent manga case, as their involvement in that case was an excessive risk for them and for Conan.

[ShinRan4ver]

I would enjoy the DBz more and rage on Genta less if they appear like this:

[El Huesudo II]

I don't hate them, I'm just mildly disturbed that they don't seem to need a billion hours of therapy to deal with the frequency with which they come across horribly dead bodies :/ I am starting to get annoyed with some of the cases that Conan brings them along to, though; I kept wishing that Conan had found a way to get them out of coming on the train with him in a recent manga case, as their involvement in that case was an excessive risk for them and for Conan.

As I said, they might be desensitized and that is a form of trauma. And if someone needs therapy in that show, that'd be Conan. I'm surprised he's still functional. (I say "functional" because I can't really call him "sane". Seriously, I can't.)

As for the "Conan brings them along too many cases" thing: Actually, it's the other way around. Conan often tries to shake them off, and almost always fails spectacularly. He pretty much had to yell at them to keep them at a safe place on the train. As for why he keeps them around, they're part of his and Haibara's cover. Little kids with no friends stand out much more than little kids with healthy friendships with people in their age range. The DBs kinda allow them both to blend in.

I would enjoy the DBz more and rage on Genta less if they appear like this:

A wild TAKAGI appeared!
Go! DETECTIVE BOYS!
DETECTIVE BOYS used AWKWARD LOVE LIFE QUESTIONS!
It's super effective!
TAKAGI's defense sharply fell!

[queenmisanagi]

I think this has been asked countless times and I'll stand by what I said last time -- I don't really hate them but they can be annoying in the sense that they usually add insult to injury in the cases, especially the earlier ones. For example, they are being chased by the murderer and they have to keep quiet and one of them usually bumps over a vase or something. Or usually they run off and they get lost and that's how the case starts. But without these careless things, there wouldn't be a case or it wouldn't have that suspense factor, I guess.

And I think in the recent cases, they learned to be more careful and are more cooperative and less whiny.

But I also think these kids would/should be psychologically disturbed by now, with the amount of murder they've encountered.

The bold part is where I think they are acting like seven years old, if you see/know how usually seven years act then it is normal to be annoying and make big mistakes in sensitive situations. So, for me I do not mind them as long as they are acting within their age.
However, although it meant to be for comedy, I think they interfere too much in the Detectives' love stories  it is normal for kids to ask questions in this age out of curiosity, but to try to put people together, well I am not so sure about that 

I also, hate them when they take big screen appearance in the movies, like movie 15.

I didn't say it was unrealistic of them to be acting like that. I understand that it's part of their characterization as kids... But it still is annoying and the fact that they keep insisting that Conan brings them along when he's investigating, only to cause trouble as such in the end.

[D.]

... But it still is annoying and the fact that they keep insisting that Conan brings them along when he's investigating, only to cause trouble as such in the end.

they insist because they dont think that they are different in any way than Conan himself.

[darkshadow]

... But it still is annoying and the fact that they keep insisting that Conan brings them along when he's investigating, only to cause trouble as such in the end.

they insist because they dont think that they are different in any way than Conan himself.

...which also explains why they haven't been scarred for life after seeing a plethora of corpses. When they see Conan not reacting as strongly as the average first grader, the detective boys feel the need to act likewise. They essentially see Conan as a brave and talented boy who is way too smart for his age, so in a way, Conan is their role model. Instead of acting like traumatized kids in need of psychological therapy, the DB would rather live up to the standards of Conan by disregarding some of their fears and by putting a brave face on (even if they are a little frightened on the inside). Not only that, if they see the same thing on a regular basis, wouldn't it make sense that they learned to coped with the deaths more efficiently throughout the series? It's kinda like watching the same horror movies over and over again: you're not as scared as you used to be! Seeing corpses is common nature (for them). That's why I don't buy the whole "the DB should be scarred for lives after witnessing all those dead bodies!"

[Yukiko Kudo]

I guess I have a soft spot for them because of the books I read when I was young. There's a famous Austrian author, Thomas Brezina. He writes a lot of detective stories for children. My favourite series was "Die Knickerbocker Bande" (The Knickerbockers Gang). It was about four children between the ages of 10 and 13 who solved crimes. I don't quite remember if there were actual murders (but there definitely were some attempted ones); I think the crimes were mostly thefts, robberies, smugglings and kidnappings, but the stakes could get quite high, and it was really interesting. The transition from this to Conan was quite natural.

Anyway, even though the characters in the books were older, the DB just remind me of that "kids solve crimes" trope I liked so much.

These days, however, I'm a bit ambivalent. On the one hand, DBs usually means that Ai will be there too, and she's my favourite character, so of course I'm not opposed to her being around.

On the other hand, their cases are often filler, and I'm a bit tired of filler. So, it's less that I dislike them and more that I dislike for what they stand.

As for the DBs individually, I like Mitsuhiko, I'm kind of indifferent about Ayumi and I dislike Genta.

Yeah, they remind me of the jigsaw jones book series I read during second grade. i like them i think  they
are funny. i FYI like alot of characters with bubbly and/or weird characteristitcs like yukiko sonoko agasa yumi
but i hate yamurara

[El Huesudo II]

I really don't see the purpose of Inspector Yamamura. Really, I don't.

Had Aoyama-sensei placed his grandmother as the Gunma inspector instead of him, it would have been better. We'd have a Miss Marple / Murder She Wrote kinda character around to further complete the classic detective tributes set, and it'd be hilarious when she gave people a ride and drove around Sato-style crazy.

[mangaluva]

I really don't see the purpose of Inspector Yamamura. Really, I don't.

Had Aoyama-sensei placed his grandmother as the Gunma inspector instead of him, it would have been better. We'd have a Miss Marple / Murder She Wrote kinda character around to further complete the classic detective tributes set, and it'd be hilarious when she gave people a ride and drove around Sato-style crazy.

...this genuinely sounds like it would have been brilliant.

[Borealis]

I really don't see the purpose of Inspector Yamamura. Really, I don't.

Had Aoyama-sensei placed his grandmother as the Gunma inspector instead of him, it would have been better. We'd have a Miss Marple / Murder She Wrote kinda character around to further complete the classic detective tributes set, and it'd be hilarious when she gave people a ride and drove around Sato-style crazy.

...this genuinely sounds like it would have been brilliant.

^seconded