You make some very nice points, and almost kind of make me wish that Akai had indeed died for real.sonoci wrote:Killing off a character could be both a good choice or a bad choice. It really depends on the situation and who it is that's being killed off.
For instance, Akai actually dying probably would have been a really good move. It really would have left a substantial blow - and an effective one at that. We were given enough time with Akai to grow to like him and his smarts were definitely displayed well. When Akai "died" I remember that I actually teared up. It was a pretty powerful moment, especially with the reactions (geeeeez, Jodie's!). Him being killed also would have served to not only up the ante of the threat of the Organization, but to add suspense.
Akai was the other Silver Bullet. He was killed. What does that mean for Conan, another Silver Bullet who's younger and less experienced?
I like the mystery around Akai's "death" - though of course it's been a little long at this point, ahaha - but it also feels a bit like a cop-out. I mean, off the top of my head, the only character that the BO killed that we, as the audience, was able to connect with was Akemi (I'm probably wrong on this point, but this is straight from my noggin - there could also be the point made that Akemi's is the only front-up death that made enough of an impact on me that I still remember it without reference). The BO can kill any number of minor characters, but without at least a couple of main character kills they don't give quite as much of a threatening presence.
I'm not saying they have to kill a bunch of people in the main cast, but Akai would have been a wonderful victim not only for the reasons listed above, but also because it would have been one more main character death since Akemi's. His backstory also gave information on Akemi, so having him die as well could have been a sort of "together in death" thing.
Anyway, Akai dying for 100% sure would have been a nice shock after waiting so long after Akemi's (there have been other shocks, obviously, but this one would have been a huge one). Honestly, if Akai really did die, it probably would have been enough to not have anyone else die and still have fairly good tension until the ending.
As is, though, yeah - I think that someone should possibly kick the can. Don't ask me who, though, I haven't a clue
Almost.
I have a different outlook on the whole thing, and after thinking it over I really think that Gosho actually made the best move in having Akai fake his death. He obviously intended for Akai to "die" as far back as the cellphone arc, when Conan first acquired his two identical phones (assuming that the most popular form of the fake death plan is true), so it's not like Gosho killed off Akai and then changed his mind and brought him back, he never intended for him to die in the first place.
But I digress. I like the whole "Akai faking his death and coming back as Okiya" plot because its extremely fitting for Akai's character arc. Think about it- Gosho had established Akai's character as follows:
-He's an introverted loner who has issues connecting with other people
-He worked as an undercover spy in the Organization for a few years, and came to hate it.
-He was assigned a mission to get close to Akemi and eventually ended up falling in love with her for real.
-She was brutally killed by the Organization he hated.
-Akai feels guilt over Akemi's death and can't face Haibara because his mission as a spy is what indirectly led Haibara's death.
-Akemi left a P.S. for Akai with an unknown message.
If Akai were to meet his end at Kir's hands and just die like that with failing to avenge Akemi or face Hiabara, his character arc would be incomplete and lack closure, as well as end up being anticlimactic. He'll have basically been the cool agent who lost his love to the Organization and then got killed himself without achieving anything or taking on the responsibility of facing Haiabara.
The reason him coming back as Okiya and living next to Haiabara is so clever, story-wise, is because it creates the perfect set-up through which Gosho can tie up the whole Akemi-Haibara subplot in one go. It acts as a parallel to Akai's earlier situation with Akemi- a 'mission' in which he is involved with one of the Miyano sisters. Akai's first mission led to Akemi getting killed, and its his greatest regret in life. Now he's been given a second mission, and a second chance: to protect Haibara from danger. This mission is his way of redeeming himself after what happened with Akemi.
Aside from all that, it creates a great dynamic between Haibara and Okiya, which has taken a very interesting turn with Haibara beginning to suspect Okiya of being Moroboshi Dai, which is indeed who he is. On top of all that, there's little doubt that all this (Akai being Haibara's guardian) is tied to whatever Akemi told Akai in her last text to him. I'm not sure how Gosho is going to resolve this part of the plot, but so far he's been doing a great job of putting everything together, and took a route most writers probably wouldn't take.
