Well, that’s the thing
From my point of view (from someone who have been following the manga since I was in grade school), you eventually start to take this shine towards the main boys. In the Detective Conan manga, it would be Heiji and Shinichi
So let’s break this down as best I can
1. I fully understand why people don’t really take a shine to Hakuba instantly because of that argument on how Heiji does his things. Automatically, you just kind of are on Heiji’s side because you know more about Heiji and is more attached to him. Then comes this stranger “being a dick” to Heiji and you do get mad at him
2. Also, as this is also painfully obvious, Hakuba just wasn’t meant to stand out in the Detective Conan manga. He was a side character and God knows how many side characters we already have in the series by the time Hakuba first appeared. He just immediately get classified into the “oh we’ll probably never see him again so we don’t need to really remember who he is” folder
3. Another bit is that people aren’t well-exposed to the Magic Kaito series, I think. Even though it is older than the Conan series, it didn’t make it big and so most people aren’t aware that Hakuba is supposed to be part of the big 4. So unless you were, you know, a huge fan of the series and everything related to it, then you would understand and get who Hakuba is. It’s a huge if because the Conan manga has so many chapters and isn’t anywhere near close to finishing. I know a lot of my friends dropped it after a while
That’s all I can come up with for the moment, though I might expand on that first point some day. Or maybe I won’t because I’m basing all this on my community back at home and how they treat the series. I’m somewhat biased, I guess
What I’ll conclude from this, then, is that I was exposed to him at exactly the right time (with all of his other appearances in DCMK, minus the MK anime), with the exact right circumstances.
And uh… here I get a bit rambly, so under the cut:
—-
Since I knew him from Sunset Mansion before reading the Koushien, I had a fairly good idea of what he was like as a character, how he conducted himself, and how others perceived him. In Sunset Mansion, for example, everyone seemed to like him a lot. He got along well with the adults, who complimented him, and he complimented them back. He was nice to Conan. He was tied to KID. Handsome, intelligent, very competent character in an interesting case, nice to others, has an animal companion, AND involved in larger plots? Yes please.
Then: Koushien, without having to wait the years between these chapters, so he was fresh on my mind. And I love Heiji, don’t get me wrong, but I love seeing my favorite characters get pushed beyond their normal boundaries. So to see a character that I know is professional, worth his snuff, etc… go up against Heiji who constantly makes mistakes (even though he’s totally kickass) and put him in his place – which makes him show some vulnerability (I mean cmon guys, that Hattori/Conan moment was so precious), and then kick up it up a notch, stand up to the challenge, and come out victorious? AWESOME. I’m a sucker for a good antagonist, ESPECIALLY if that antagonist isn’t a two dimensional villain, which Hakuba definitely is not. He made Heiji a better character. He helped him grow. Frick, who doesn’t love character development?! Gosh, such a good case.
At this point, I’m thinking Hakuba = AWESOME CASES WITH FANTASTIC CHARACTER DEFINING MOMENTS A++ YES
Watched Movie 10. Wondered why Conan and Heiji didn’t recognize him. Didn’t bother looking up the movie release date. Was excited to see him anyway. And then it was KID. HAH. Geez.
Then read Magic Kaito. Oh. Geez. Did I mention that I didn’t like Kaitou Kid for a very long time? Yeah. I thought he was a total Mary Sue. I would still think that if it weren’t for amazing RP partners who gave me different perspectives to consider. But reading MK, which was painful at first, got really interesting when they threw a competent antagonist at him. DUN DUN DUN…. HAKUBA! And now Kaito has a real challenge. And he stops being so annoying.
Gosh and then MK anime with Spider… Hakuba’s not just chasing a thief helplessly (because let’s be real, Hakuba’s supposed to be good at what he does! All of the evidence points to it!), he’s chasing Kaitou KID incidentally to go after a Moriarty of his own which is crazy interesting and neat and then… when he’s THWARTED by KID it PISSES HIM OFF And drives him NUTS and it’s a bit like IRENE ADLER IN HERE and … huff huff~!!!
He’s not supposed to be a Lestrade or a Javert. He’s supposed to be a Sherlock or a Watson. Whom I love and adore. And he’s not a bad guy, either… Once he figures out who Kaito is, he could have had him arrested right away but he doesn’t. And in fact, seems to back off. Calling from Paris to warn him? And then by the end of the Nightmare case… ugh, I get sparkly eyes just thinking about it.
I guess part of my success was I was introduced to DC and consumed it all pretty quickly… so while I love the main cast crazycakes (Shinichi/Conan will always be my #1 favorite), I didn’t have the time/distance thing going that you did, Hannah, with loyalty to your faves? I knew that there were going to be lots of new characters introduced that would become staples that I hadn’t met yet, so I was open and prepared for anything.
Heck, I was introduced to Haibara only… probably a month before Hakuba, real time. If that. I can definitely see how that would change some perspective…
Kind of like how it was really difficult for me to accept Sera at first. I felt so uncomfortable, but after a few chapters I got used to her and grew to really care about her (when she wanted to get that one guy that was keeping them hostage shot, actually, haa). By then, it had been a couple of years since I’d established my worldview of Detective Conan.
So I understand. I do!
Just… wow. Kind of crazy.