Shipping is such an interesting concept. It can be for fun, but it can also be for filling the gap where representation lacks. And that's important. That is SO important.
I've passively shipped before, but bakudeku has definitely been a very different, very intense, shipping experience. And lately I've been thinking about how heavy the potential is for it to become canon.
I want you to let go of the more surface level feelings of shipping for a moment to consider this: if shipping is something that allows us to find solace where representation otherwise lacks, how much more impactful do you think it would be for it to turn canon? Really think about the impact that would have.
We are talking about the first MAJOR Shonen anime to give us two gay leads. Do you know what that means? Can you actually feel the gravity of it? We stand on the cusp, on a turning point, in both anime and queer history. MHA might not be the first Shonen to ever have gay characters, but it is one of the top animes in the world. It's reach is vast. Imagine the impact it will have on both the anime and queer community. I don't think I can stress how wildly important it would be to see this ship reach canon foundation. Kids and repressed adults alike could see characters that are just like them. And it wouldn't be in a bad or stereotypical light. Could you imagine? Two gay/queer superheroes. What would you have given for that when you were young? ...What would you give for that now? To feel a part of something. To feel validated. To see love on a screen that actually looks like your love...
Throughout my time in the MHA fandom, I have been hesitant to allow myself to have hope in this possibility. To believe that it even had a chance really. But guys, I think there is a chance. And even if it doesn't end up happening... hasn't Horikoshi taught us, if nothing else, that HOPE is good? That hope is powerful and influencial?
I had an openly gay friend tell me that he wouldn't be caught dead shipping a gay couple in a Shonen anime. He LOVES MHA and ships Ochako and Izuku. When I asked him why, he told me "because there's no point in hoping for something that will never happen". I asked what he liked about the couple, he said "nothing more than they're realistic"... Realistic of what? He doesn't have an answer. But this is what our culture and media has done. He is married to a man and is ashamed to try and find any couple that might look like him because of the impact that media has had on him throughout his life. He is so afraid of being queer baited to a degree that he only looks at straight heteronormative couples... I hate that.
I don't want to live like that.
So yes, maybe it's a long shot, though right now it doesn't feel all that long. But I'm going to hope. And if it happens I'm going to cry and celebrate the turning of an era. And if it doesn't...then I'm going to still keep hoping, that one day something will change. Because everyone deserves to see their own love immortalized in media, especially in a culture so saturated in it.
So, here's to our symbols of both hope and victory. Let love win and save, save and win. Best of luck to Horikoshi who I am sure is fighting a good fight and of course to our boys Izuku and Katsuki. I believe in you.
titsay
germansingergirl
gummygunk
dededos
theartofmadeline
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
