Blogpost 1: Getting Started with Detective Conan

I am Rosemae M. Gatilogo. A typical college girl who is taking up Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. Way-back in my childhood days, my greatest ambition was to be a policewoman. It is really weird that a young girl like me wanted a profession which is usually for boys. I do not know specifically the reason why I wanted a profession like that which involves solving criminal cases, protecting citizens of the country, enforcing everyone to follow the rules established by the government, and using a firearm or a gun against someone who abides the law. All I know is that I love thinking and finding means about certain things here on Earth. I am so curious on why such things happen or exist.

When I was a kid, my daily habit was to got up late from bed. But when GMA7 started to air Detective Conan Anime Series, my daily habit changed to waking up early so that I could watch each and every episode of it. That was the start of my fascination to Detective Conan.

According to Totoremei, who wrote an article about Detective Conan in the website <3yen Japanese Anime, Detective Conan Anime is based on a hit manga by Gosho Aoyama and now considered as the one of the longest-running animes on Japanese television.  The story revolves around Shinichi Kudo, a 17-year-old high school detective, who helps the police solve complicated cases. When he was investigating, he got attacked by two Black Organization syndicate members and forced him to drink a poison which is APTX 4869 to kill him. But the chemical has a rare side effect that turns him to a 7-year-old boy. To hide his identity, to investigate about the Black Organization and to find the antidote to transform him to his original body, he adopted the name Conan Edogawa. He lives with his friend Ran and her detective father, not knowing that he is Shinichi. Later, Shiho Miyano, creator of APTX 4869, escapes from Black Organization by ingesting the chemical poison. She stays with Dr. Hiroshi Agasa, the one who helps and gives Conan gadgets. She also enrolls to the school where Conan is currently studying.

There was a time when I asked myself about why I am so hooked on watching an anime particularly Detective Conan if I am not an anime lover at all. I am so curious about it so I decided to make some research. I saw this article entitled "why-do-we-watch-anime-were-all-coward" by Mystlord . I found this at thatanimeblog website and I really got an answer for my question. According to this article, humanity has always wanted to escape.  The author believes that everyone who watches anime either wants to get away from or to childhood. There are some who wanted to get away from childhood because of their terrible experiences. On the other hand, those who want to escape to childhood are those who had happy memories. By watching anime, it allows a person to escape from our real life responsibilities and to relieve ourselves.

"It plays on the human psyche and constructs ideals that we can relate to." - Mystlord

In my case,  I am so fond of watching Detective Conan because as I said earlier that my greatest ambition was to be a policewoman that is related to the story in which involves solving criminal cases. Moreover, the main character in that Japanese series named Shinichi Kudo who was transformed to a 7-year-old kid with a pseudonym of Conan Edogawa portrays my distinctive personal character. I can relate and empathize myself to Conan's decisions and actions depending on the situations he was put in. An example is that he always gives his best in everything he does in order to get evidences against Black Organization and to find the antidote to transform him to his original body. I, as a person, always do my best in everything and every aspect of my life so that I can achieve my goals and live life to the fullest.

I have also read this article "Psychology Behind Anime and Stereotypes Towards Anime Fans" by Mycella at mycellary. According to this article, most anime contains morals, behavior, language and stories inconsistent for what is really happening in reality. The writer said that people who are watching anime tend to create his own stereotype according to his individual behavior. This is due to their own dreams and fantasies which is somehow impossible to happen in real life that they found themselves making mental movies of perfect scenarios in life.

"... this is meant escape from reality to into a world of fantasies where you put yourself into the position of one of the characters in order to sacrifice your own ego."

For me, watching an anime is an easiest way to escape from complexity of our real world. It is an access for me to get away from responsibilities that are heaped upon me. As an example, I am so tired of many obligations and school works that are given on me and I am too pressured about my scholarship in college that I have to maintain. And when I watch Detective Conan, I feel so relieved and I forget all of my burdens for a moment. So watching Detective Conan serves my armor and detach myself from real life duties for a while.

Therefore, as a simple way of reflecting from the messages of the two articles that I have read, I have learned that an anime such as Detective Conan allows us to step away from complicated reality but we should be the one responsible for the effects of it to us. Also, be aware not to substitute our escape for our own reality. Just remember that  all things here on Earth have their own respective limitations, we should limit ourselves according to such extent.