Thoughts on anime shipping

Shipping – a part of anime fandom that invites some of the most extreme feelings of passion and dispassion amongst fans. Though I know there are plenty who love anime without caring about shipping, I’m sure most of us do or did have at least one shipping pair we were into. I too have gone through a few favorite ships, though more so in the old days than now…

I know shipping has existed for many years in all forms of media, but I didn’t discover it until I discovered anime. Just as my anime fandom started with Pokemon, so did my first ship. The amount of shipping pairs that fans have come up with in the Pokemon franchise is beyond staggering (Bulbapedia has a nifty list here). However, the only one I was ever interested in was Rocketshipping (pairing the anime’s main antagonists, Jessie (Musashi) and James (Kojirou).


I used to drool over scenes like this

Nowadays I don’t really care anything for Rocketshipping, but in my years of total Pokemon immersion (1999-2001), I was a hardcore shipper. Thankfully I had a friend who was as geeky about it as I was, and we wiled away many hours looking at and printing out Rocketshippy fan art or screenshots, reading Rocketshippy fanfics, and browsing Rocketshippy fan sites (in addition to regular Pokemon activities). I had a huge binder full of just shipping fan art and other printouts.

Unlike all the other ships I’ve gone through, I don’t feel anything for Rocketshipping anymore and I’m kinda puzzled about why I was so into it. I think the main reason is because I had seen very little anime before Pokemon, thus I didn’t know how fleshed out “real” anime couples could be. The relatively ambiguous and open-ended evidence for Rocketshipping looked convincing to me in my newbie-ness. Since Jessie/Musashi and James/Kojirou were my very first favorite anime characters, and I had never seen characters presented in such a way before, I couldn’t help but want to pair them together.

My next major ship didn’t last as long as Rocketshipping, but it was still pretty big. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I was quite into the relatively unknown Pokemon-esque kids anime, Mon Colle Knights, back in the early 2000s, even going so far as to purchase some of the raw Japanese VHS/DVDs. I also found the two main characters, Mondo and Rokuna, to be a very adorable pair.


I would spend hours making my own screencaps XD

It’s not like they got married in the end or anything (they’re only like, ten years old =P), but the many instances where they embraced and showed care for each other was just so cute~

A few years after that came my most major ship from the anime that was my #1 favorite for the longest time so far – InuyashaxKagome


One of my favorite wallpapers back in the day

With Inuyasha being such a long series (193 total episodes, 4 movies, and 558 manga chapters), as well as Inuyasha and Kagome being the main characters, there’s tons of evidence for shippers like me to squeal over. As is the nature of Rumiko Takahashi’s way with romantic couples, she made their relationship obvious yet ambivalent, until finally confirming it at the end of the series. I’ve seen lots of anime pairings since then, but Inuyasha and Kagome have had one of the strongest and most gradually realistic relationships I’ve ever seen, not to mention one of the most intense love triangles that was constantly putting their feelings to the test.

Almost simultaneously with InuxKago came another ship of mine, ShinjixAsuka.


Shinji and Asuka dancing from the Eva manga~

During my many rewatches of Evangelion, I loved examining all of the interactions between Shinji and Asuka especially. Some may say that The End of Evangelion movie does sort of kind of confirm their relationship, but I wasn’t satisfied until I wrote my 30-page WYDS fic about it XD I even downloaded and played a subbed version of the Eva PC game, “Girlfriend of Steel,” ’cause it had some good ShinjixAsuka scenes. I’m hoping the new Evangelion movies will give me more to ship about~

I haven’t had any ships as major as the above four in several years now. But with Haruhi becoming my favorite series in 2007, I can’t help but become enamored with KyonxHaruhi.


The art in this pic is a bit crude but the feeling’s there~

I’m not as into this ship as I am Haruhi in general (KyonxItsuki is fun too but only as a joke XD) At this point in the series, I think that Haruhi loves Kyon, but as for Kyon, it still seems like he has special feelings for all three of the SOS Brigade girls and isn’t yet obliged to “choose” Haruhi over the others in terms of that kind of relationship. But I can’t say anything for sure until the light novels end.

I’ve also gone through a number of minor ships, which I’ve listed below. I call them “minor” because, although I like and support them, I’ve never been as into them as the above five.

MiakaxTamahome (Fushigi Yuugi): Oh boy, Fushigi Yuugi takes me back to my high school years when my silly friends and I would nickname each other after the characters XD Nostalgia aside, Miaka and Tamahome had one of the most staple shojo romance relationships, even if it is cheesy at times.

LinaxGourry (Slayers): Another old ship of mine and another reason (among others) why Slayers Next is my favorite of all the Slayers seasons.

RentonxEureka (Eureka 7): They’re just the sweetest and most well written anime couple I’ve ever seen.

TaigaxRyuji (Toradora!): Like RentonxEureka, this dragon and tiger are one of the most solidly written and well developed anime couples of all.

NagixJin (Kannagi): A relatively new ship that I’m liking so far but I need the series to develop more before I can really get into it.

IchigoxRukia (Bleach): With Bleach’s huge cast of characters, I can only imagine how many ships there are. But this is the only one I care about.

ShanaxYuuji (Shakugan no Shana): The relationship between a tsundere and a male lead done right.

NagixHayate (Hayate no Gotoku): “Hayate~!” “Ojou-sama!”

What can I conclude from my list of ships? In 99% of cases, the only ships I care for are the canon ones, or at least ones that don’t seem too outrageous for the original creator to pursue (if they haven’t already). I’ve just never cared for ships where there’s virtually no evidence for it, especially in relation to other pairings (SesshoumaruxKagome for example) or if it’s a ship I know the creators would never make true (like AshxBrock or something). I have absolutely nothing against fans who like these kinds of ships, they’re just not my taste. When I get into ships, I think, “Hey, the creator seems to be hinting that these characters are (slowly) falling in love. Let me see how I can piece together the evidence for it.” For all the ships I’ve liked, they either became canon, were left ambiguous, or haven’t yet been resolved if the series is still ongoing. If the ship does end up becoming canon, like Renton and Eureka for example, that makes all the evidence I picked up on throughout the series all the more fulfilling. And if it’s left open to interpretation, that lets me keep on dreaming.

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. Liza says:

    Oh boy. Shippings. Something I live on. I usually do support the canon shipping but there are also plenty of others I like for the fun of it or it’s just obvious that they like each other(first one to pop in my head was LightXL). With every show I usually like at least one pairing of characters.

    Some of my top favorites would be:

    AkihikoXMinako(FeMC) from Persona 3 Portable-This is my absolute LOVE pairing. I have a bunch of fanart stored on my laptop for it.

    TooruXNatsuno from Shiki-After watching their first interaction together I knew that they belonged together. Even if it never becomes canon it’s just funny to how obvious they act around each other. It’s kind of like Nartuo and Sasuke.

    SoraXKen-I just recently saw Kaleido Star and these two are made for each other. They never officially get together in the anime but it is obvious they will get together.

  2. Frootytooty says:

    Lol, shipping is definitely one of the biggest contributors to resentment between fans. It’s especially hilarious when people come up with the most obscure pairings between characters who have never even met in the series… and not to mention the general rule of thumb is that if a character exists, they will be shipped with somebody/anybody. And if that character is a lead character, they will probably be shipped with just about everybody. Certainly makes for some interesting fics.

    As for canon pairings, I know many people who ship them as you do. However they tend to be extremely easy to spot (especially once you’ve read like a billion shoujo manga as I have), and thus for me lacks fulfilment. Therefore most of the pairings I ship aren’t canon, and it makes every little scene with them together more precious even though it’ll never happen. It also makes you want to engage in more fan activities such as writing fanfics or drawing fanart – whereas for canon pairings, well, they’ve already gotten together after a torrid romance, so there really isn’t much else you can add to it.

    Interesting post as always!

    • Yumeka says:

      I personally can’t understand the appeal of shipping characters who have never even met – I guess it comes from someone finding them aesthetically pleasing together, or feeling that their personalities match up if they were to meet.

      The fulfillment for me comes from piecing together all the evidence. Even if it is pretty obvious that a certain pairing will become canon, I’m interested in how it happens – what kind of hardships will their relationship face and how do they express their love for each other. This makes it fun even if you know they’ll eventually get together in the end XD

  3. f0calizer says:

    I tend to admire and enjoy loving relationships between anime characters rather than actively work to put them together. The only relationships that leave a strong impression on me are especially moving or poignant ones. For example, in Cardcaptor Sakura Toya and Yukito are such a good couple, even though Yukito isn’t even a real human being. Similarly, in another CLAMP production, Tsubasa Chronicles, I find Kurogane’s relationship with Fai quite compelling. Kurogane starts out in love with his queen/savior/priestess Tomoyo (alternate reality version who is less creepy than the one in CCS), and even though he never admits it he misses her so much, but as the manga develops his love-hate relationship with Fai deepens. And lest you think I only do same-sex relationships, another one of my favorites is Batou X Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. They clearly have feelings for each other, but because of their professional positions in Section 9 they can’t quite have a normal romance. It’s even more poignant in the movies (alternate reality/re-telling) because Motoko merges with the ‘Net, transcends humanity and becomes a super-AI, and poor Batou is left pining for her.

    BTW, I’m with you on Shinji X Asuka in Evangelion; I never quite saw how Shinji and Rei would work as a couple. (Now Shinji X Kaoru on the other hand…!)

    • Aaron B. says:

      Along the same lines, I have a greater interest in character relationships that are platonic, such as Motoko and Batou. There are plenty of character relations that turn out quite nice after several episodes or chapters of teasing, but I’m often more intrigued by storytelling or character dynamics that put characters together who have put some effort into co-existing. It’s harder to make friends than it is to fall in love (or, to become a close friend/to work with someone, than it is to fall in love with them).

      As such, because Motoko and Batou aren’t romantically involved (even though there are opportunities where one might suspect they should be), their interaction and value to the greater story keeps building. There’s never any emotional resolution. Platonic relationships, for me, better identify a character’s character.

      By some strange coincidence I’ve largely ignored (or have been ignorant of) shipping during my fandom. It kind of annoys me when characters that are completely unrelated or irrelevant to the story are forcibly joined at the hip, but what can you do… In some way shipping speaks to the emotional investment some fans have in media, rationally or otherwise. I’m sure it would make for a great laboratory, case study.

    • Yumeka says:

      Heh, on a similar note, lest you think I only do opposite-sex relationships, I also think Touya and Yukito are a great couple ;) Also, Utena and Anthy (from Revolutionary Girl Utena). Even though there’s evidence that Utena has feelings for the male characters, her relationship with Anthy could definitely be seen as some sort of romance.

      From what I’ve seen of Motoko and Batou in the GiTS movie, their relationship looked very solid =)

  4. LovelyAngel says:

    @Liza:
    I’m in total agreement with SoraxKen!

    @Yumeka:
    Nice, thoughtful post, as always!

    I tend to be fairly accepting of canon shippings, but there is one notable ship that I think needs to be: MeikoxMiwa in Marmalade Boy. Meiko is my favorite character in Marmalade Boy, and shipping her with Na-chan is just all wrong – I don’t get the made-up chemistry at all. Contributing to the conflicting feeling is that Wataru Yoshizumi, the mangaka herself, hadn’t planned to ship Meiko with Na-chan – in fact the original ending of the manga would hint that Meiko and Yuu might connect. I’m glad her changed ending made GintaxArimi (Gintarimi) possible.

    The one ship I’m rooting for right now is KyokoxRen in Skip Beat! That one has gotta happen!

    Oh… I guess I’m also rooting for KoheixErika in Fortune Arterial.

    My other favorites are:

    MikixYuu (Marmalade Boy)

    YukinoxSouichiro (Kare Kano)

    KazuyaxMiya (Here is Greenwood)

    YusakuxKyoko (Maison Ikkoku)

    KyousukexMadoka (Kimagure Orange Road)

    (As you can tell, I have roots in very old anime!)

    ~Amy

    • Yumeka says:

      Heh, unfortunately Kare Kano is the only one of those series I’m familiar with XD I’ve seen the Kare Kano anime and I was completely blown away by how deep Souichiro and Yukino’s relationship was.

      The rest of the ones you listed sound good too XD

  5. KyonzumiNagato13 says:

    First I like the main pic… I really do.

    But anyway, I really like most anime shippings. But if someone doesn’t like it, sometimes they have shipping wars. Have you ever had those with someone?

    • Yumeka says:

      I’ve never had a “shipping war” and I don’t think I ever will. If someone’s into a ship I’m not into I simply ignore them. They’re enjoying the series in their own way, as I am, so I don’t have any right to say bad things to them. I could debate with them about why I don’t believe in the ship, but I’d rather just leave it alone.

  6. xueqir says:

    thumbs up for inuyashaXkagome xD

  7. glothelegend says:

    My favorite ships include:

    Ryoko X Glothelegend
    Mizore Shirayuki X Glothelegend
    Yui Kotegawa X Glothelegend
    Riza Hawkeye X Glothelegend
    Zashiki Warashi X Glothelegend

    Great ships and perfect matches if you ask me.

    Sincerely,
    Glothelegend

    • Yumeka says:

      LOL, I’ve never once had the desire to ship myself with anime characters…though I wouldn’t mind meeting guys in real life who are like certain characters =)

  8. kluxorious says:

    I found myself shipping characters almost instantly and rooting for them till the end. My one true pairing gotta be Ichigo and Rukia with Haruhi/Kyon coming in second.

    • Yumeka says:

      Cool…I only follow the Bleach anime (minus fillers) and I feel there was more evidence for IchigoxRukia in the early arcs. I guess it’s ’cause they’re not together much in the later ones.

  9. Shance says:

    Errm. Just to note out, canon pairings cannot be considered as shipped pairings since they are, like the notion describes, canon.

    But let’s put that aside. It’s an expected reflex for fans to make ships out of the characters they root for, simply because they know it won’t happen. Inuyasha will not, for the love of his life, fall into gay lesbian love with Sesshoumaru. But since there are some fans out there who love both characters and love to see them in tandem, they give room for the benefit of the doubt.

    This is one reason why the doujin industry blooms in unstoppable passion, and I as an artist love all of it for what it is, ships or whatnot.

    • Yumeka says:

      Really? Then canon ships should just be called “pairings” then? Or perhaps OTP?

      Ah, that’s a good explanation for why fans ship characters they know will never get together in the actual series. Since I’m not usually into those kinds of ships, I’m interested in why they’re appealing to some people.

      And yes, shipping is certainly a huge part of the doujinshi world. The main reason I’m not into doujinshi, but I certainly respect their work and dedication.

  10. Myna says:

    Thank you for that lovely IchiRuki pic.

    I feed off of shippings.
    I tend to avoid shallow, fluffy and/or uninteresting (although there are probably some exceptions somewhere) pairings (i.e. Sora/Kairi). I go for angst, yaoi, and old married couple types typically.

    My faves include: IchiRuki, Naruhina, Shinji/Kaworu, Sakura/Syaoran, KuroFai, Kyo/Tohru, InuKag, SuzaLulu, LuluCC, among countless others. But my favorite ship of all time is Ash/Misty. OTP for life.

    • Yumeka says:

      You’re a Pokeshipper? You must have been disappointed at the end of the original series before the Advanced episodes started XD Who knows when the Pokemon series will end, and I doubt the concept of Ash choosing a girl will ever be brought up, so you’ll be shipping for a long time to come!

      I also like SakuraxShaoron and LelouchxC.C. And I’ve only seen the Fruits Basket anime, but I heard Kyo and Touru are more of a confirmed couple in the manga.

      • Myna says:

        I cried like a baby when Johto ended and Misty left. I shun all episodes post Johto. (Unless Misty’s there of course. Total utter bias.) It’s okay, I’ve been a Pokeshipper since I was eleven. :D

        Yes, Kyo and Tohru are canon by the end of the manga. They get married and have a son and a grandkid. I recommend reading the FB manga. The anime was too short imo :(

        Also, I ship Roy/Riza, Shika/Tem, and Haruhi/Kyon ^^
        I think the only series where I don’t really ship anything is Cowboy Bebop.

  11. Reiko says:

    Haha, great post as always, Yumeka. :D

    I’m not really a fan of non-canon pairings either, though I am guilty to say that I have one favorite non-canon pairing…^^; (this pairing however is not a yuri or yaoi one) :3)

    My first pairing I ever shipped was KyonxHaruhi. :D I also liked JessiexJames as a child, but I didn’t really understand shipping or anything back then, so I never really got deeply into it. Also I personally prefer Shinji with Rei instead of Asuka XD

    Quite a few of my favorites are included in your favorites, but just to throw a few other favs of mine out there:

    ChiakixNodame (Nodame Cantabile)
    TsukunexMoka (Rosario+Vampire)
    PrussiaxHungary (Hetalia)
    TamakixHaruhi (Ouran)
    SuzakuxEuphy (Code Geass)

    :D

    • Yumeka says:

      Rocketshipping was also my first ship, and strangely, even though I didn’t know much about anime shipping back then, I was more into it than any of the others. Maybe I just grew out of the fangirly way of looking at shipping and started looking at them in a more “mature” way I guess ~_^

      Tamaki and Haruhi are a great couple. And Suzaku and Euphy would have been nice if it didn’t end in tragedy 0_o

  12. I think shipping is part of what makes watching anime so much fun! It’s always entertaining when you can sit and watch for the evidence that two people are falling in love.

    My favourite ships are:

    Yuuri x Wolfram (Kyou Kara Maou!): From the moment when Yuuri accidentally proposes to Wolfram in the second episode (because he’s an idiot and doesn’t know the customs of the world he’s been transported to), these two boys are perfect together. It’s great watching how they slowly develop feelings for each other, even if it never comes to complete fruition (their one and only kiss is off-screen, which disappoints me to no end).

    Tomoya x Nagisa (Clannad): This one actually makes it in the series, and in Clannad ~After Story~ they’re married and have a daughter and the couple just makes me squee. Tomoya is such a sweetheart. I love them together.

    Sakura x Syaoran (Card Captor Sakura): Just…come on, they’re perfect together. Even if they are elementary students.

    Ciel x Sebastian (Kuroshitsuji): No, it never comes to fruition during the series–it’d be pretty weird, considering Ciel is 12 and Sebastian is a demon and god-knows-how-old (but then, the Japanese did create Boku no Pico…)

    Shippings are so much fun!

  13. Koji Oe says:

    At first I thought this was an article about buying merchandise but then I remembered my ex-girlfriend talking about character shipping one time. Although I thought shipping was always about shipping characters you feel would be good that go AGAINST the canon pairing but your article seems to suggest otherwise?

    I tend to really not care about who pairs up with who but for the first time I really want to see Kyousuke get together with Kuroneko in Oreimo but I know it’s not going to happen.

    Yay doujinshi!

  14. Bass says:

    I don’t really have many shippings, but I think the first and only significant one in my anime-following life was Taiora in Digimon.

    In the end, the producers broke my heart and I pretty much swore off shipping ever since. There are a few that I sorta like in manga that I read, but none like the very first one.

    Nowadays Im just “oh they’re cute together, they’re written well, pretty sure the mangaka is gonna make them a couple” bla bla bla, but nothing significant enough for me to get aggro over.

  15. mandy says:

    I didn’t know what shipping was until… a few hours ago! but i definitely went through a lot of them haha. whenever i became obsessed with a new anime.. came along another ship!

    Like you, going back to my first anime pokémon/sailor moon. I always loved seeing Ash and Misty, Serena and Darien together!! i also have a huge love for cardcaptors and inuyasha. All these animes i still watch today! something i cant really see myself growing out of. I can go years without watching an episode or reading a manga, then something can remind me of one of them and i’m 10 years old watching it like its the first time! and i’m pretty lucky to have some friends that can totally understand and watch along with me :)

    thanks for the post about shipping, learn something new everyday haha

    ps totally agree with Myna!!! i miss misty.. no matter how annoying she can sometimes be!

  16. Frog says:

    Nice choices in shipping, if a little vanilla for my tastes. I have to say I never got into Pokemon shipping, probably because I was too young at the time to see the characters that way and even now if I watch the episodes I just can’t see the characters “that” way. I quite like Shinji x Asuka too, particularly in the school-related spinoffs. I never knew Asuka could make such an adorable childhood friend character. Definitely my fave Eva girl.

    As for shipping pairings without evidence, I have to say the reason why I sometimes get into that is because it makes me interpret interactions more actively and sometimes interesting chemistry comes about which the author never intended. Although I’ve never gotten hardcore enough to actually say, “They’re totally an item!” I am pretty aware when some characters feel more interesting together than the main couple.

    Can’t say I “get” Sesshomaru x Kagome either though. Pretty sure that’s just because no one liked Sesshomaru’s *actual* love interest and Kagome is a good generic choice to ship with anyone. lol.

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