Detective Conan now features many female characters such as Haibara and Sera, but when it comes to heroines, it's always Ran-neechan, also known as Mouri Ran! Not just a beautiful heroine, her martial arts skills, honed through karate, are among the strongest among female characters! (Though if we include men, there are monsters like Kyogoku Makoto...) She has contributed to Conan's time and again in getting him out of trouble and arresting criminals. Here are 10 characteristics of this ultimate heroine, Mouri Ran!
Feature 1: The Strongest in the Series
Source: Detective Conan ©Gosho Aoyama/Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Rather than being a frail heroine who always ends up being attacked and taken hostage by criminals, Ran is a heroine who mercilessly knocks criminals down and overwhelms them. She is a beautiful and delicate girl, so she is often targeted as a hostage, but her kicks are enough to break shutters and even break the knives held by the criminals. At times, she even performs superhuman attacks, such as changing positions in mid-air and delivering a spinning kick...
Shattering the window of a moving car with a knee kick
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Ran appears to save Sonoko, who is stranded and asleep in a speeding car. However, because the car is moving, she is unable to apply enough force to land a blow. Ran then grabbed onto the top of the car and did a handstand, floating her body into the air. She then delivered a powerful knee kick to the window, shattering it. She successfully rescued Sonoko.
Characteristic #2: She's incredibly devoted! 24 years of waiting for Shinichi?
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Detective Conan began serialization in 1994, and 24 years have passed since Shinichi disappeared on the day they went to the amusement park together in the first episode. Of course, in the manga, it seems like no time has passed at all...but even though she receives occasional phone calls or shows up, her single-mindedness in continuing to wait for Shinichi after 24 years is truly what you'd expect from a heroine.
Is it Conan's hallucination? Is Ran marrying someone other than Shinichi?
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Detective Conan has an OVA, "Stranger 10 Years Later," which depicts what would happen if Conan and the other characters remained the same for 10 years. In the OVA, everyone is 10 years old, but in that world line, Ran and Mr. Araide, who couldn't wait any longer for Shinichi, end up getting married...but Conan still stops her, saying, "It's okay to wait another 10 years, isn't it?" and she resolves to continue waiting for Shinichi.
Characteristic #3: A mysterious hairstyle. Ran's Sharp Horns
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
The most obvious feature of Ran's appearance is probably her hairstyle! The mysterious horns growing on her head are so striking that she's nicknamed "Nidoran-neechan," a play on the name of the horned Pokémon "Nidoran." Furthermore, it seems that the horns have moved, and some people say that she may be growing as the serialization continues... One theory is that she has her bangs up, like Kudo Shizuka did in the past.
Super rare? Hornless Ran
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Whether it's her childhood or bathtime, Ran has always had sharp horns. Looking back, however, there are several scenes where she's missing her horns. The most famous one is in the very beginning of the manga. It's true that without her horns, she leaves a lesser impression. Additionally, Tokiyori's horns disappear when he wears a hat or costume, so it seems that they were just a styled hairstyle.
Characteristic #4: Sometimes Conan almost realizes Shinichi is him
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama/Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
The "Conan = Shinichi" suspicion has become a regular occurrence at key milestones in the anime and film series. On rare occasions, Ran suspects that Conan might be Shinichi. At those times, instead of immediately questioning him about the truth, she tries to find out by trying to take away his cell phone, hinting at his identity, or by any other means possible.
He always comes so close, but never realizes it
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Ran deliberately leaves Conan alone while she solves a mystery to observe what's going on, and then confronts him after obtaining conclusive evidence. However, each time she gets a call from Shinichi (or the professor pretending to be Shinichi) or is tricked by Kid in disguise, she quickly assumes it was a misunderstanding and solves the problem herself. Ran-neechan is easily fooled despite deducing the normally impossible situation of infantilization...it seems she still has a long way to go as a detective.
Characteristic #5: She absolutely won't tolerate panty shots! An Impenetrable Skirt
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Ran's fighting style, based on karate, relies heavily on kicks, but she wears a skirt when in her uniform. While her flashy leg-raising action might lead men to expect a panty shot, unfortunately, there's no panty shot at all. Her impenetrable skirt always protects Ran's underwear.
Despite that, there are surprisingly many sexy scenes.
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Ran never shows what's under her skirt. However, there are surprisingly many sexy scenes in the anime. She appears in swimsuit scenes many times, and each time, the swimsuits she wears are always very revealing! When a murder occurs in the bathroom, the towel he was wrapped around himself falls off, causing Conan to collapse with a nosebleed.
Characteristic #6: Wanting to Reconcile Her Parents
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Kogoro and Eri are currently living apart, and their insincere personalities cause them to fight almost every time they meet. Ran, however, is determined to reconcile and allow them to live together. Ran is good friends with Eri and regularly visits her and eats with her, but unfortunately, even now, 24 years after the series began, her wish has not been fulfilled.
Characteristic #7: Overly Obvious Reactions
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Ran not only screams when a murder occurs, but also has very strong emotions. He becomes clearly upset when he thinks there is a woman in Shinichi's sight, and when he quickly realizes who the culprit is, he has a confused look on his face, although he doesn't say it out loud. Of these, the most obvious expression is that of anger. When a family member is hurt, his eyes become very sharp and he speaks in a fierce voice.
When something good happens, she brags about it.
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Although Ran runs off crying in London, forcing Shinichi to confess his feelings, she clearly states, "It's impossible to accurately read the mind of a woman you love..." Upon returning to Japan, Ran happily recounts the events to Sonoko and Kazuha. Her expression at the time seems embarrassed, but not entirely unhappy. But it turns out she's at a murder scene...
Characteristic #8: She's been so involved in cases that she's grown accustomed to seeing corpses
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Living with Conan, the grim reaper who attracts crimes, Ran has naturally been embroiled in numerous crimes and witnessed many murders. Perhaps because of this, when she sees a dead body she screams at first, but within a few minutes it's as if nothing happened. As mentioned earlier, her mental strength is so well-trained that she will ignore the murder and start talking about love.
Characteristic #9: Accidentally Destroying Property When Emotional
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
Ran mercilessly punishes criminals with her fists, but if the perpetrator is not an acquaintance or a villain, she often lashes out at them instead. When Kogoro doesn't listen to him, he smashes a desk with his fist, and when a man keeps coming on to him, he punches a streetlight, breaking it, demonstrating strength beyond what one would expect from a human. Of course, he's also an expert at kicking down doors and shutters in emergencies.
When Shinichi is involved, she doesn't care about destroying the client's house.
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
On the day a client claiming to be Shinichi's girlfriend arrives, Ran barges into the client's house and, convinced that Shinichi is in the bathroom, is ready to smash down the door, even if it's the client's house. At that time, she was stopped and barely managed to avoid destruction, but later, when she visited the culprit's house and thought Shinichi was there, she kicked down the front door without question, even though it was chained down.
Characteristic #10: Choroin
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
The last characteristic is, without a doubt, her choroin-like nature! Even when she was furious, she was easily lured in when Shinichi said "I have something important to tell you," and just when she thought she was bawling her eyes out, she was overjoyed when Shinichi told her he loved her. She waited for three hours in the snow hoping Shinichi would come home. In the end, she was unable to meet Shinichi face to face, but she was delighted when she noticed a Christmas present left for her on the stairs.
Strong and Foolish Ran Mouri Summary
Source: Detective Conan © Gosho Aoyama / Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, TMS
At the beginning of the story, Ran is relatively weak, screaming and losing her balance when confronted by an axe-wielding criminal. But before you know it, she's become so strong that she's no longer intimidated by a gun pointed at her... We can't wait to see how she evolves in the future. Another interesting development is her relationship with Shinichi. Since the two of them rarely meet, I'm looking forward to seeing how much Ran will love him when they're alone together.
