(okay okay this is really the last one I promise, I keep asking about detco because I really love the potential of this silly detective anime that didn't explore much)
I feel there's a tragic implication of ova 9 of shinichi not being able to get his body back permanently, it's not just that the truth is completely buried now for good it's the fact that shinichi completely "died" for good
there are so many "dead" and "ghost" symbolism on shinichi's role in the show and I'm included who's into that interpretation because shinichi didn't "died" literally that night it's that the more he stays as conan the more his life taken away from him, and ova 9 basically explores that further
and the tragic part of all of this is that no one even knew what really happened to him, ova 9 for me is basically a ghost of a person watching the world moved on without him that he desperately wanted to come back and the friends he knew don't even know that he died
I know this is dramatic af but I'm not kidding that the idea of shinichi not having a future design makes me sad
The tragedy of Shinichi's nightmare scenario that is OVA 9 is a lot of things. I focused on the truth that he never got to share because the OVA leads up to him finally telling her, only for it to have been so long that she no longer believes it. Yes, his life as Shinichi is over at that point, but that's not the issue he was dealing with. While the news that he was Conan forever was sprung on him because he 'couldn't remember the last 10 years': he is used to being Conan at that point, even within a dream scenario. He's still at the agency, Sonoko still comes over, not much has changed... until he hears that Ran might move on. He could handle being a grown Conan, but he can't handle that Ran might actually move on while he still loves her and doesn't know that he's right there. That he didn't just leave, he's been with her the whole time but couldn't tell her. Part of his nightmare was he finally said the truth and she didn't believe him. She'd keep waiting, but he still wouldn't be able to 'return' to her because he can't be the person she's waiting for anymore.
Viewing Shinichi as dead or a ghost because it's a person that barely exists or, for OVA 9, doesn't exist anymore is an emotional scenario to think about. And I know OVA 9 is the closest we get to that outside of fanfics, but it's still a very flawed representation of that idea. It can spark the deeper thoughts about 'what if this actually happened, and life moved on for Conan and no one cares about Shinichi anymore except Ran', but it handles it in the worst possible way because it's a dream. Because 'Conan doesn't remember the last 10 years' and thus still views himself as Shinichi to get emotional over the things that changed. There is a possibility that Shinichi doesn't have a future, that he does become resistant to the antidote, and that he lives 10 years as Conan. The reason I bring up the truth is that he would never let Ran wait for 10 years without telling her who he is. At least her. He'd talk with her about who else to tell and who to let believe he went missing or just left. His parents are ignored in the OVA, and they'd have to be involved in some way if Shinichi was technically 'dead' and couldn't come back.
Would he still lose his life as Shinichi? Sure, there's only so much you can hold onto when you basically have to commit to the new life thrust upon you. But there would be so much more that would happen in a real 'I've been Conan for 10 years' that the OVA couldn't even mention in passing because it had it's specific scenario in mind. It's only tragic because he wasn't living the life he was thrust into at all, not just as Shinichi, but even with his decisions as Conan. It only works as an emotional gutpunch because it's a nightmare. Shinichi's worried about losing the life he had, being stuck as kid that he's not, about Ran potentially moving on with Araide, and even if she doesn't move on that he's been living his lie so long that she won't even believe him when he tells her the truth. There is no actual scenario where his life would progress to the point that it'd play out like OVA 9. Ever.
prguitarman
origamiaround
