I love "what if" scenarios; they always give free rein to the imagination.
If Shinichi hadn't shrunk to become Conan, I firmly believe he would have continued to hide his feelings for Ran for a long time.
Let's face it: everything worked out between them throughout the story mainly because Ran wanted to confess to "that boy" how she truly felt about Shinichi. Only then, listening to her without filters, did he realize that he was as special to her as she was to him.
Of course, Shinichi wants to go back to being himself at all costs! He finally discovers that the girl he's loved for 12 or 13 years reciprocates his feelings, and when does he find out?
Just when he can't physically be with her. The APTX4869, ironically, paved the way for him by forcing him to face reality.
If it hadn't happened that way, I imagine it would have taken him much longer.
Having watched several Korean series, I often notice the typical dynamic between two childhood friends who drag on for long periods, focusing on their feelings even as adults.
I can't help but fantasize about a future scenario where Shinichi and Ran, now adults, meet after work for a beer in a typical Tokyo tavern, washed down with a steaming bowl of ramen.
They'd chat about their days: I imagine Shinichi becoming a world-famous private investigator or a police consultant (just like his idol Sherlock Holmes), intent on wearing her down by constantly talking about solved cases or quoting Arthur Conan Doyle, while she would listen to him, feigning annoyance but with eyes full of love. Ran, for her part, would tell him about the filming and photo shoots she's been in. I find it truly thrilling to imagine her as a successful actress: after all, Gosho Aoyama has made it clear several times throughout the series—just think of the disastrous school play and much more—that this will be her future profession.
Of course, knowing these two lovers, even in this adult timeline, a dramatic turning point would have been necessary to shake them out of their emotional torpor. I imagine a situation similar to that of OVA 9 (Ten Years Later), in which Shinichi, faced with the concrete threat of losing Ran—perhaps learning of a marriage proposal from a third party like Dr. Araide—begins a desperate search throughout Tokyo, finally finding the courage to confess.
I firmly believe that, without the shrinking, things would have turned out exactly like this, leading them to spend their adult lives together.
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