Studies On Science Communication In Detective Conan

It is well known that the Detective Conan is one of the most influential and world-famous Japanese anime. Since the Detective Conan was imported in China in the last century, it became an instant success. Specifically, the popularity of it is of magnitude, which has brought about significant influences.The birth of the Detective Conan could be related to the development of the detective fiction and the criminal animation. In terms of its theme, it is the typical representative of the criminal animation and it includes all kinds of scientific contents which has attracted the author’s attention. In fact, Gosho Aoyama, who is the creator of the Detective Conan, aims to entertain the public rather than spreading science. However, the communication effects are not limited to entertainment. Therefore, the emphasis of this research is to discuss whether the success of the Detective Conan promotes the spread of scientific contents in an unconscious way.The research examines the first 300 sets of the Television version of the Detective Conan as this part has been most broadcasted in mainland China. The research uses the methodology of content analysis in order to quantize the contents of science communication which include scientific knowledge, scientific methodologies, scientific ethics, science fiction and the science of life. In addition, the research uses the combination of questionnaires and statistical analysis about the three cases. Through this, the public’s recognition and attitude towards the artistic way of science communication can be found out. According to the research of the Detective Conan, the findings could be concluded in three aspects: the considerable existence of the scientific contents, the recognition of the scientificity by the public, and the easiness of attracting the public in the entertaining way. Overall, this communication pattern has referential and meaningful significance towards the further development of science communication; however, as the communication carrier, it has some limitations as well. Because of the fact that the public’s purpose of watching this programme is to entertain them instead of acquiring scientific knowledge, the function of spreading science in such anime has not been widely recognized. Therefore, such anime should be considered as a complement to orthodox science education, which is an unconscious approach of science communication.