Category Archives: Pairings and Shipping
The Love Triangle Ruined Everything in Classroom Crisis
After episode 11 of Classroom Crisis, I was ready to call Nagisa x Mizuki the OTP of the season. I like the way Fumiaki Maruto writes romance, and there was something really refreshing and honest about Nagisa and Mizuki’s relationship. I mean, geez, they even got around to kissing, which was unexpected but definitely not unpleasant.
But then, in the final minutes of the final episode, they introduced a love triangle. And everything went to shit.
My Hot Take on Kumiko x Reina
I like lesbians. However, even though I like lesbians, I did not watch Eupho while it was airing. In fact, I marathoned it yesterday just in time for today’s post. Therefore, this post is literally my hot take, fresh out of the oven.
The Deplorable State of Nisekoi Shipping
Over this past year, Nisekoi has slowly but steadily been sliding into irrelevance. A second season aired earlier this year to absolutely zero fanfare. The manga has also consistently been ranking low in the WSJ magazine surveys. What’s more, the story is finally starting to wrap up, so there may come a time when there are no more Nisekoi shipping wars.
It will be a sad day for humanity. But nevertheless, life will go on.
12 Days of Shipping: An Introduction
The true spirit of anime Christmas
The other day I got a question on Ask.fm that went on like this:
“Is Anime Christmas superior or inferior to Traditional Christmas?”
Now, as I explored in last year’s series of Christmas posts, anime Christmases are full of variety. In an anime Christmas, magical girls can appear out of nowhere, friends can die and cities can get destroyed. I wouldn’t want to be in an anime Christmas, but they’re certainly entertaining to watch.
The biggest difference between anime Christmases and traditional Christmases, though, is that Christmas in Japan is supposed to be more of a romantic holiday than a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus. (Let’s pretend for now that Christmas in North America is also about celebrating the birth of Jesus and not about celebrating $$$.)
As an anime blogger, I’m all about perverting traditions. Why else would I start publishing “12 Days of Christmas” posts before Christmas Day instead of on the day itself, which is how the tradition actually goes? Nevertheless, there are some traditions which I do believe are worth observing, like the time-honoured fandom tradition: shipping.
If anime Christmases are all about shipping, then it makes sense to dedicate my Christmas-themed posts to shipping in all of its glory. As a person who has never been in a serious relationship, I feel incredibly entitled to comment on how “well-written” and “realistic” anime couples are. You should definitely pay attention to my philosophical ramblings about the nature of love as well as my anguished poetry and fanfiction.
Looking back, 2015 was like any year for shipping. There were some good ships and some bad ships, and wars were waged in their name. I believe it is my duty to separate the good ships from the bad ships for the betterment of all humankind. In this series of posts, I will look at some of the prominent ships in the fandom this year and present my expert analysis on them. You’re welcome to contribute your thoughts, but just remember that your OTP is shit unless it’s the same as mine.
So pull up a seat and enjoy the ride. See you on the other end!
Random Thoughts about Noragami Shipping
I recently watched Noragami.
It’s a fun show, filled with likable characters. None of the plot threads really came together, though, since the first season was mostly dedicated to character introductions and setup. But that doesn’t really matter when the characters are so much fun to watch. At any rate, the anime is getting a second season soon, so now’s as good a time as any to hype it up, I suppose.
The only problem was deciding what to write about: an ambitious thematic essay about Shintoism and new religions in Japan, or shipping? Which is more important to me as an intellectual? I spent over a day agonising over this soul-crushing dilemma. Then finally, it hit me… why not both?
Shipping: Gamagoori x Mako (Kill la Kill)
And lo, the god of shipping said!
“Behold the two golden rules of shipping:
1) The Union Between Two Awesome Characters Is, In 90% Of Cases, A GREAT Idea
2) The Less Time A Couple Spends Together In A Show, The More Acceptable Their Love Is To The Audience”
Notice how Gamagoori x Mako ticks all the boxes.
Shipping: Hakuryuu x Morgiana vs Alibaba x Morgiana (Magi)
Magi is a funny series for me. For whatever reason, it is a great anime for shipping. Possibly this has something to do with the huge mixed gender cast and how everyone gets a chance to interact with each other in ways I would consider pretty endearing and heartwarming. I’m ridiculously attached to all the characters, although I think the overall plot lacks thematic focus. I’ve liked this second season a lot so far because the characters are given the chance to loosen up, although it doesn’t seem like the fun times will last forever what with the main crew splitting up.
But with the recent attention being given to the Hakuryuu x Morgiana pairing, I thought now would be a good time as any to pitch in with my thoughts.
