Why would Gosho have not decided her characteristics until then? Especially when she was the only main female character. It was 3 years after DC was first published. (Is 3 years not enough for him? :/)
Because before DC, there was magic kaito (which didn't work out so well at first). Ran and shinichi were kinda copies from Kaito and Aoko, just that Rans and Shinichi's hair weren't that unruly XD
Shinichi was arrogant + a womanizer. This changed over time, he's still perverted sometimes but not really a womanizer like Kaito. He also got less arrogant over time through character development.
Ran was also more like Aoko the first early chapters. She was smashing stuff out of anger more likely and got into fights with Shinichi XD But Gosho made Ran a lot calmer early on and figured out her character, which wasn't a 99.99% clone from Aoko's anymore.
BUT Ran isn't a totally passive and calm character. If she's in danger or angry she is speaking up or beating up gangsters etc.
Ran's actions/thoughts are sometimes contradicted. At one time, she says that she will always believe in Shinichi and wait for him. And in these cases, Ran suspects Shinichi for dumping(?) her and gets furious. Her reaction is extreme too, because despite the old trend that violence is commonly used, it does not alter the violent impression it conveys. (At least for me, it does not. There are better ways to describe her other than smashing the innocent door.)
Following what I said before, Ran is a character who's calm but also energetic and active. And she's also emotional so her bursting into anger or tears when she feels hurt or betrayed isn't contradictory at all.
And the case you mentioned [399~ something) is where Conan receives the text message instead of "shinichi". If she wouldn't have been fooled all the time to think that Shinichi is not Conan, she would have thought that at first. But since she doesn't believe that anymore, the next plausible explanation for her was, that Shinichi is cheating XD
I guess she also get's pissed because of her mom and dad. She sees Kogoro womanizing a lot and she wants Kogoro and Eri to get back together. So if she imagines that Shinichi might be a womanizer too, and could be like Kogoro, she get's pissed at that XD
So, no, it's not really contradictory with her character. There is nothing wrong with trusting someone, but getting angry at possible "evidence" that someone is unfaithful.
It was showing character development, according to your later post.
Eh? In my post I said Gosho wanted to deliver a message to the (female) teenage readers, that you should stay the way you are and not try to change your character for the one you love. I didn't say it's character development. I even said that Sonoko actually urged her to do it.
There was no reason why Ran had to save his life
Exactly. Because she doesn't need a reason.
"I will not let anybody die in front of me, but I will kick him and hurt him myself, just to avoid him from being dead."
Because being dead is so much better than being knocked out...
Another problem is that she justifies her action by saying, "Because Shinichi would not have allowed anyone to die in front of him." If she acted based on her OWN judgement, she should've said, "Because I will not allow anyone to die in front of me." This line proves that she is deeply influenced by Shinichi, and that this is not really her own decision. Not to mention that this thought disturbs some people.
I already explained that Ran had this judgement on her own and that she's happy that Shinichi thinks the same way.
All that sentence from her shows is, that Ran is really fond of Shinichi and that she thinks about Shinichi a lot (especially since he's currently on the phone too).
Also, Haibara did something similar once too, but no once seems to care about that?
In the Manga File 400 (Torn Freindship) Haibara says: "You can never buy people's hearts with money" and after the DBs say it was cool from her to say that Haibara answers: "It was a ready made opinion" and there are also flashbacks where she remembers what Conan said.
But here Haibara doesn't even say who she got that from. Haibara was influenced by Conan and it's not clear if she thought the same before or started to think like that after Conan said so.
So if it's fine for Haibara to adapt someones opinion then it should be fine for Ran too. And I think there is nothing wrong in having a role model or agreeing with someones way of thinking and adapting it.
It's strange that Ran get's negative response for something that Haibara also does.