The story needs to move forward a year or two.

[irishock]

IMO the series has gone stale for a while now, and it could be a lot more interesting if Gosho would pull the trigger on going forward a year or two. Let's see what'll happen when we pass the 1 year mark since the shrunken detective arc.

- The Mouris start to grow in concern for Conan and when his parents will pick him up.
- Ran graduates from High School, and her concern for Shinichi accumulates. Thus, Conan/Shinichi will finally feel pressured from solving the BO,  since it seems like he's just too laid back these days with little ambition to end the whole thing.
- Conan grows and looks more and more like Shinichi; this is the perfect background for an inevitable Ran suspicion angle that's been hinted for a while
- Probably dump the Chiba love angle because it's been a failure since day 1.
- Ai would finally make some progress in her APTX project. Hell, if you think she's already finished it and is purposely hiding it from Conan, you can have Conan accumulate a lack of trust in her, and thus their relationship will have more dynamic than just the occasional love tease
- Genta hits puberty


Is there a single con to moving the story forwards?

[Jecka]

To answer your question, Yes. What are they umm, well.. I'll get back to you later

Also

- Genta hits puberty

I thought you wanted a year or two

[Kor]

The status quo would be changed completely, and Gosho doesn't seem interested in doing that. The current status quo is fine and has held the series decently for the entire series.
I also don't think making a timeskip would make the series less stale for you. 50 chapters after the timeskip, it can become stale as well. What would help the series is advancing the story forward a bit and moving to a new arc, because the current arc isn't all that good.
A timeskip will also cause problems in terms of the B.O. Are we supposed to assume they just kept quiet for 2 years? Moreover, Conan is the sort of the protagonist that REACTS. With the B.O., he doesn't even have much choice. He can't search for the B.O. on his own. He needs the B.O. to act so he can gain a clue about them.

Lastly, Gosho started the story with a specific beginning. As a writer, it's safe to assume he also has an ending in mind. While that ending might not be fully polished yet (as the series doesn't have a definite ending date), the gist of it should be clear. If Gosho requires in the ending that Ran and Shinichi are still in their second year of high school, then Gosho needs to stay in that timeframe, even if it's one of the most hilarious things about DC.

[Jefufuh]

In my past manga experiences the stories started to suck after the time skip.
Like Naruto, for example.
But that's just my opinion.

[mangaluva]

I would love, if not a time skip, at least some time progression, because I don't like stories that stay in stasis. It limits character development too much. Showing them moving up a grade or someone having a birthday at least would keep my satisfied for the next few years.

Also, Fullmetal Alchemist's timeskip didn't suck. Death Note's didn't either, as such, it's just that Near and Mello were slightly lackluster replacements for L.

[beaver8]

I would love, if not a time skip, at least some time progression, because I don't like stories that stay in stasis. It limits character development too much. Showing them moving up a grade or someone having a birthday at least would keep my satisfied for the next few years.

Also, Fullmetal Alchemist's timeskip didn't suck. Death Note's didn't either, as such, it's just that Near and Mello were slightly lackluster replacements for L.

OMG I totally agree. At the very least, there really needs to be some plot progression and character development. I feel as if Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta and even Haibara have sort of been sidelined, in the story's attempt to develop the BO side.

If there is a time-skip, I wish it'd have Ran in uni, Conan growing up to be more like Shinichi, and the Detective boys older so that they can assist more.

[dilbertschalter]

Having a time skip after Two Mysteries, or even as late as Clash of Red and Black, would have been reasonable, but the potential gain is so small at this point, given that the series has been going for 19 years and only has 2-4 more to go.

[Borealis]

I would be for plot progression but no timeskip.

[Jecka]

Now that I think about it, there probably won't be a time progression until Ran turns 17

[Kor]

I would love, if not a time skip, at least some time progression, because I don't like stories that stay in stasis. It limits character development too much. Showing them moving up a grade or someone having a birthday at least would keep my satisfied for the next few years.

I'm inclined to believe there's a reason why Gosho doesn't want the characters to move up a grade. I've noticed in many manga/anime the protagonists are either in eighth grade (second year middle school) or eleventh grade (second year high school). Perhaps this is just a comfortable time period (eighth grade I can understand).

Regardless, most of the characters are in the age that even if they grow in one year, I don't think they'd act all that different.

With such a long-lasting series (readers/watchers come and go), staying in the same year kinda makes sense because new readers/watchers can get the gist of it fairly quickly.

OMG I totally agree. At the very least, there really needs to be some plot progression and character development. I feel as if Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta and even Haibara have sort of been sidelined, in the story's attempt to develop the BO side.

I don't think any of the DB will ever change. They're supposed to be the kids' appeal, and also Conan sidekicks during the DB cases and movies. They're easy to handle for any anime/movie writer. The only possible character progression for them is growing up, but for the sake of growing up time needs to pass, and well...that doesn't happen.

As for Haibara, like any character (for the most part), she was created with a specific role and storyline in mind. I'm pretty sure she was meant for the Vermouth arc (ever since then her importance diminished, besides some rare occasions). Developing a character that fulfilled its purpose is difficult, and creating a storyline for such character in a convincing way is even more difficult. Take the current arc for example - we've been told at the beginning that Bourbon might be looking for Haibara, but besides the Train case and Okiya moments (which actually resolved several things remaining from the Vermouth arc). I don't doubt Gosho will use Haibara for more BO plots, but I don't think she'd face more prominent progression.

[red.orchid]

I believe Gosho answered once that ''Conan won't grow up'' or something to that effect when a fan suggested pretty much the same idea of moving the plot forward for several years.

[Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko]

I don't think Gosho will move the story forward a year or so either. Maybe he'll consider this at the end, when the BO is defeated to show what the characters became.

[irishock]

I meant time progression, not time skip.. just didn't know the term for it lol