10 Anime Ships That Should’ve Been Officially Canon

Creating romantic tension has never been a problem for anime, in general. However, creating romantic relationships that clearly shape narrative momentum and character evolution is something the medium clearly struggles with. From history, many of the anime’s most persistent partnerships are built primarily on mutual dependence, emotional synergy, and shared trauma.

But they are also rarely without obvious romantic tension. These bonds frequently prove to be of greater influence on character decisions than any declared love interest, even when the story stops just short of any formal confirmation or any acknowledgement of sorts. As a result, these relationships, left unresolved, become lasting points of debate among fans and viewers alike.

Not necessarily because of a demand for romance, but because the narrative already does enough work to justify the said ships. Hence, this piece highlights ten anime pairings whose character dynamics and interactions heavily suggested canon outcomes that really never materialise.

Yato & Hiyori Iki (Noragami)

For the first-time viewer, just watching Noragami, it is almost impossible not to recognise the unspoken chemistry between Yato and Hiyori instantly. From the moment Hiyori saves the stray god from a bus, the relationship between the pair becomes the emotional foundation for the Noragami series, as their fates become irrevocably intertwined.

Between the two, Hiyori is the first person to see Yato as someone worthy of loyalty and care truly. At the same time, for Yato, the half-phantom high school girl became his purpose for living, almost entirely because he cannot bear to see her unhappy.

However, despite the pair’s mutual devotion practically screaming ‘love story’, the story always manages to dance around explicit confirmation of their relationship until the end. Probably due to the cliche of the inherent tragedy of a god falling for a mortal, but for whatever reason, the series decides that a formal canonisation of their relationship simply was not necessary.

Guts & Casca (Berserk)

Guts striking a heroic pose in front of The Band of the Hawk.

A relationship forged through survival, warfare, and shared isolation, Guts and Casca are the image of the most tragically complex relationships in the medium’s history. Notably kickstarting during the Golden Age arc, their relationship grows from mutual animosity into a deeply resonant love born of their shared experiences on the battlefield.

Built slowly on trust, the pair found solace in each other, each seeing beyond the other’s mask of rigidity and aggressiveness forged by their unforgiving realities. Though technically, they were, for a brief moment, officially together. However, that moment proved too short by the Griffith’s heartwrenching betrayal and the Eclipse, a harrowing event that ensured they would never remain the same.

Through the Eclipse, the narrative essentially denied Guts and Casca the enduring canon status their relationship so deserved. For what is the rest of the story, Guts is no more than a caretaker, and Casca is a shell of her former self, unable to recall her lover or the love they shared.

Ichigo Kurosaki & Rukia Kuchiki (Bleach)

bleach beach episode ichigo rukia byakuya

Bleach’s constant chemistry oscillation between Ichigo, Orihime, and Rukia Kuchiki makes the trio, perhaps, the most volatile ‘shipping’ war in shonen anime ever. Though the story eventually leans into Orihime and Ichigo’s eventual get-together, it is Ichigo and Rukia’s shared bond that kick-started the franchise. Rukia was the portal that opened Ichigo’s life as a Soul Reaper.

On the other hand, Ichigo singlehandedly turned the Soul Society upside down to save Rukia from execution, showcasing a relationship that went beyond ‘just friends’. Through the story, the pair form a connection that is hard to measure with words but is intimately expressed in the dynamics of their interaction.

Ultimately, that connection is justified not to have meant as much, given the story’s narrative choices down the line. Therefore, despite those choices, the bond between Ichigo and Rukia, for many, will remain the most genuine thing to come out of the series.

Monkey D. Luffy & Nami (One Piece)

In One Piece, the relationship Luffy has with Nami is the closest thing to real romance that may happen within the Straw Hats. However, author Eiichiro Oda famously stated that there will be none of any kind among the crew members, despite there being moments that showcase the pair consistently skirting that line.

The bond between the two is forged in the absolute trust and reliance they both have in each other. For Luffy, Nami provides the direction he needs; for Nami, Luffy is the strength she can always rely on in times of need.

Though Luffy is typically depicted as purely focused on his goals, his protectiveness of Nami exceeds his general camaraderie with the rest of his crew, and his sacrifice for her during the Arlong Park arc basically seals it. Therefore, though fans know it’ll probably never happen, the pair’s relationship dynamic more than justifies romantic recognition in the story.

Eren Yeager & Mikasa Ackerman (Attack on Titan)

Mikasa Ackerman tugging at eren's scarf Attack on Titan — Mikasa Ackerman tugging at eren’s scarf Attack on Titan

The heirs to Guts and Casca’s throne of tragic love, Eren and Mikasa’s bond is defined by an unfulfilled longing that serves as the emotional foundation of the Attack on Titan series. Their relationship is born of an act of salvation as kids, when Eren protects Mikasa and gives her his iconic red scarf.

From that moment on, Mikasa’s devotion to Eren is absolute and unconditional, dedicating her life to protecting him in return. Though the story portrays him as oblivious to Mikasa’s feelings for the most part, the final chapters, however, reveal his heavily possessive feelings for her. Hence, their relationship is canonised in a way. Still, it just never happens practically.

Sadly, what becomes of their relationship is even more tragic because their mutual feelings are conveyed far too late to offer any satisfaction. Instead of a relationship, what viewers get is a tragedy that sees Mikasa behead the one person her heart could ever truly love.

Hachiman Hikigaya & Yukino Yukinoshita (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU)

Yukinoshita, Yuigahama and Hikigaya posing for a group picture

For a series that is classified as a masterclass in dissenting teenage social dynamics, what OreGairu does with Hachiman Hikigaya and Yukino Yukinoshita can only be classified as ‘painful’. Painful in the sense that, unlike others in this piece, the pair’s relationship is officially recognised romantically but only at the very end of the story.

Beginning as a clash of two isolated intellectuals, the pair grew into a complex understanding of each other through the intimacy of shared silence and half-expressions. Though the show presents them as ‘endgame’, most viewers’ pain is that they should have been canonised much earlier in the story to allow a better exploration of their romantic dynamics.

However, because the series ends right as they cross the threshold, that opportunity is lost forever. The only consolation it leaves is the openness of its interpretation to whichever mind chooses to interpret it so.

Light Yagami & Misa Amane (Death Note)

Though not the easiest definition of a couple on the eye due to the sheer toxicity of their relationship, the relationship between Light and Misa Amane remains arguably Death Note’s most fascinating dynamic. Purely transactional from Light’s end, he only saw Misa as a tool to carry out his devious schemes as Kira.

However, more surprising was the utter devotion from Misa’s end to Light. Worshipping him while being willing to halve her lifespan twice just to help him, the pair were more than just dysfunctional. Nonetheless, based on a ‘what if’ scenario where Light was capable of actually considering her a partner, the pair would have been an unstoppable force.

Even better, a canonical reciprocal romance between the pair would have either produced a more grounded Kira or, conversely, a more dangerous Kira by giving him something tangible to protect. Both parallels would have significantly impacted the narrative, particularly its concluding sections.

Shinji Ikari & Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

In Evangelion, Shinji and Asuka are described by many as the model examples of the “Hedgehog’s Dilemma”, a situation where two who boiously want to be together, can not because the closer they get, the more they hurt each other. Between the pair, their relationship is a tangle of teenage angst, trauma, and miscommunication.

On the one hand, Shinji is too rooted in fear to reach out to her. At the same time, Asuka’s overwhelming insecurities can only be masked by her poor treatment of him. Still, beneath their issues, the underlying attraction between them is strongly conveyed, creating the sense that they are the only two people who can perfectly understand each other’s pain.

By the end of the series and even the End of Evangelion, their relationship concludes on a violently ambiguous note. For many fans, this raised the question of whether a healthy version of their relationship would have been the ultimate foil to the despair the story concludes with.

Lelouch Lamperouge & C.C. (Code Geass)

Lelouch with his arms spread out alongside, Charles, and Marianne in the Code Geass anime.

The most powerful dynamic of the Code Geass franchise, Lelouch and C.C. share a bond arguably more profound than marriage, even though the original series leaves the context of their relationship to viewer interpretation. Objectively, it is difficult to gauge precisely what both Lelouch and C.C. are to one another, given that it is nearly impossible to separate them.

As the one who grants him the Geass and the only person who sticks with his maddening plan of tyranny, C.C. was the only person who truly knew Lelouch in all his different forms. Bonded by a contract of equity, their relationship evolves from transactional to something more than ‘love’.

However, because the story never explicitly recognises this for what it should have been, their relationship is arguably the series’ only sour point from a fan perspective. For the story’s philosophy, officially canonising their relationship as romantic makes sense because they both became immortal, and that should have been enough justification.

Spike Spiegel & Julia (Cowboy Bebop)

The relationship that singlehandedly drives the tragedy that is Cowboy Bebop, Spike’s ghost-like attachment to the idea of his ex-girlfriend, Julia, is arguably one of anime’s biggest romantic ‘what ifs’. Less of a character and more of a symbol of Spike’s unforgiving past, Julia was, for Spike, ‘the one that got away’, leading to his breakaway from the syndicate.

The pair sits atop this list as the official couple that the audience never sees as one in the present until the moment Julia dies. In their circumstances, the story actually canonises their relationship, but their reunion is heartbreakingly short-lived.

Had there been a little more exploration of the present version of the pair’s dynamics, it wouldn’t be out of place to say it may have taken the story’s trajectory even higher. Ultimately, the story decided it was better they remained a “should have been” and a dream that Spike only wakes from when it is too late.