What do a murder and a romance have in common that fantasy and sci-fi do not inherently have? A pre-determined end. In a real mystery novel with a detective and a case, the story ends when the case is solved and the detective explains the trick. In a real romance the story ends when the lovers confess and get together because there is nothing more boring to watch than a happy romance. Meanwhile science-fiction and fantasy have no built-in 'self-contained' ending conditions, and so can keep on going on and on. I used to think this was a strength when I wanted to see endless, sprawling stories with an ever-growing cast with an ever-longer history in an ever-larger world. The problem with this theoretical infinite potential is that in practice my memory is fallible so the longer it goes on the harder it becomes to keep track of all the details both as a writer and as a reader. I have come to appreciate ending things. Maybe I have just grown old, when you are young, it is easy to imagine friendships and love which stretch to eternity and an endless adventure which grows to an unfathomable depth, going from strength to strength in an irreversible progress.

The point is that I have been watching Detective Conan Remastered Version and even though I am only 10 episodes in, it is clear that it is something special, because it is both a romance and detective story, and both a episodic series with fast closure but also a grand story of an ever-growing web of relationships. It's great. Each episode can be enjoyed itself giving you closure but the story keeps on growing and growing as well... Even though I read the manga more than 10 years ago, all the memories regarding the characters who never show up in more than a single case are coming back to me, whereas I find it hard to remember the main characters in a lot of anime I watch.. Why is that? Because their stories end in one two episodes. Fortunately, no one reads my micro blog, as I wouldn't want their to be an English speaking "fandom" for Detective Conan. Already, the few who bother to read/watch it can only see it cynically as a story which is dragged out just because it sells without even understanding why it sells, or in other words what's good about it. Then again it's not like I own Conan so it's a really stupid feeling to feel protective or proud over it.