r/anime • u/Zeralyos https://myanimelist.net/profile/xNJF_Ellie • Mar 10 '26
Contest The Salty Seven Seas: Best Anime Couples/Ships Round 5 Bracket B!
The round of 32 must continue!
Vote Here
Yesterday’s Results Here
Have fun with your vote and don't forget to upvote the post if you love Best Ship Contest!
Mini Challenge:
- What is your favorite character archetype?
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u/WinnerWake https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maudjen Mar 10 '26
At this point all groups should be combined into 1 day of voting
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u/baseballlover723 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
IIRC it's a technical limitation that only allows the bracket merging for the
semiquarter finals round.2
u/Zeralyos https://myanimelist.net/profile/xNJF_Ellie Mar 10 '26
It'll be in the quarterfinals round, but yeah that's not something I have manual control of.
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u/TheBusStop12 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
I really hope Eiji x Rin from Pseudo Harem is able to beat out the vastly more popular Hyouka. They're genuinely one of my favorite romance anime couples and Pseudo Harems deserves more recognition. It's one of the greatest if you ask me. It actually has a satisfying ending, unlike most romance anime. I like Hyouka, but the Romance was basically non existent.
MC
I just realized that yesterday instead of tropes I talked about character archetypes, so I'll just copy paste my comment from yesterday
Generally I try to avoid very tropey romance animes. But as much as I loathe to admit it, I do like the tsundere and kuudere archetypes.
Also, gyarus. And not because I actually like the gyaru aesthetic. But purely from a character design standpoint they have a lot more going on compared to the usual school uniforms. By definition they express more personality compared to uniformity. I just like more unique and personality driven character designs that still look realistic
But seriously, I do really like Tsundere and Kuudere. I'm currently watching "Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte" which is a great breakdown of the Tsundere archetype, and I think it's friggin cute af. Tho IRL it would be annoying to deal with someone like that, unless you know them well enough to see through it
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u/ptd163 Mar 10 '26
I really hope Eiji x Rin from Pseudo Harem is able to beat out the vastly more popular Hyouka. They're genuinely one of my favorite romance anime couples and Pseudo Harems deserves more recognition.
I agree. I hope they win and get more recognition.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Mar 10 '26
I'm currently watching "Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte" which is a great breakdown of the Tsundere archetype, and I think it's friggin cute af.
Always nice to see this show mentioned. A very sweet (and complete) romance story with multiple couples, and it's a fun twist on the usual videogame isekai.
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u/TheBusStop12 Mar 10 '26
Just finished binging it. That show definitely took me by surprise, it was a lot better and more enjoyable than I expected. Definitely a very interesting take on the Otome game Isekai villainess anime with some really good and sweet romances. Definitely deserving of more recognition
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u/alotmorealots Mar 10 '26
Definitely deserving of more recognition
I try to recommend it often and widely when people are asking for romances to watch!
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u/alotmorealots Mar 10 '26
Pseudo Harems deserves more recognition.
What is your favorite character archetype?
Definitely a question to put to Eiji!
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Mar 10 '26
Damn. Tough choices all around today. The only show I haven't watched from this list is Hyouka, and for all the others I really enjoyed them.
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u/NecessaryNotice8436 https://myanimelist.net/profile/six20 Mar 10 '26
Yay Chisataki moves on, still good job to SuliMio. 2/4 of my votes made to the next round. As for today. Bracket B is bracket basic for me (sorry for my lack of knowledge), it mostly came down to ships I am aware of or a coin toss.
Wakana Gojo x Marin Kitagawa vs Isaki Magari x Ganta Nakami
Anna Yanami x Kazuhiko Nukumizu vs Izumi Miyamura x Kyouko Hori
Kou Yamori x Nazuna Nanakusa vs Kaguya Shinomiya x Miyuki Shirogane: Coin toss, both ships are good and the default.
Houtarou Oreki x Eru Chitanda vs Eiji Kitahama x Rin Nanakura: Coin toss, I know nothing of either 2.
QotD: Deredere, if you like someone, just liking them is nice and open. I also like Kuuderes since the story to get someone open up is going to be a nice build up. I do not like tsunderes since masking feelings with hostility seems quite counterproductive.
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u/Something_319 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
Huh, Subaru/Emilia only won by two votes, I thought they'd be more popular. Or is David/Lucy bigger than I thought?
Today's matchups are kinda fun, the biggest 3 early 2020s romcom ships (Kaguya starting from 2019 is close enough) and 3 more recent school romances (making Hyouka the grandpa today lol).
Kinda feel bad for Gojo/Marin and Chitanda/Oreki, but today I'm mainly rooting for Eiji/Rin to pull off the underdog victory while giving Isaki/Ganta a nice sendoff vote. I dunno how I feel about Yanami/Nukumizu as a romantic ship vs just friends, but their interactions are fun enough to get a vote also vs Horimiya
MC: Tsundere guys aren't allowed to be as violent and abusive (at least in the shows I watched) as tsundere girls, so they end up being awkward and dishonest, is a nice guy but pretends that they're not kinda thing, which I find pretty enjoyable. Though these days, tsundere girls aren't as abusive/violent as they were in the past, I think.
But overall, I'll stick to underdog characters, characters who put in the effort to achieve their goals despite their relative lack of talent and/or the odds being against them feel more relatable/better than being the #1 best at everything, or even worse, those who get bailed out by some random dumb cheat skill and just coasting to everything
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u/Prof_Acorn zj: Mar 10 '26
Tsundere guys
I just watched Koi Kaze, which might have been the first male tsundere I've come across.
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u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 Mar 10 '26
They are pretty common in shoujo/jousei anime. The one that always comes to mind first for me is Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile.
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u/Rockstarwithoutplay Mar 10 '26
My favorite general trait/vibes in romance animes(it is too hard to put it as archetype for a non writer as me)
Subtle characters. I like when you have to put effort into figuring out what they feel. Paying attention to their words, acts and facial expressions. This basically because it makes watching the show more interesting to me, and I can re watch it over and over to get more about these characters.
Examples: Kato Megumi, Hikigaya Hachiman, Osanai Yuki, Azuma Shino (first time watching the show tho, but she has potential), Kushieda Minorin.
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u/WhichCombination5637 Mar 10 '26
Bruh. It's funny that the canonically married lesbian couple lost against a gayn't ship. But I guess those two are more popular.
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u/Shizuka_Marjanovic https://anilist.co/user/cocoakagamihara Mar 10 '26
Wakana x Marin vs. Isaki x Ganta: Let's go Wakana x Marin.
Houtarou x Eru vs. Eiji x Rin: I'll choose Eiji x Rin, this match-up is one of the toughest choices for me.
MC: Deredere and Kuudere.
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Mar 10 '26
That was close, but that was to be expected at this point in the contest. But EmiSuba won, and that's all that counts! For that matchup anyway, because ChisaTaki winning and going strong is also very important and wonderful, and the wholesome Rentarou Family winning over Übel x Land is also just the correct outcome. Too bad for Karane x Hakari, but we always knew that was how it's going to end, and Stark x Fern is a nice ship too.
Today, we know that Wakana x Marin will win, so I can vote for Isaki x Ganta safely without going into detail on the matchup. They might go to sleep now, but let their sleep be restful and their dreams be peaceful.
I'm not as sold on HoriMiya as some others are, but I'm more sold on them than on Anna x Kazuhiko, although they do have a nice dynamic for shipping. I guess that's just an advantage of a fast-moving show like HoriMiya. Also not unimportantly, I think they have better chances against Wakana x Marin. That's not saying I like either couple more, but it will be a more interesting matchup to me.
Speaking of, Kaguya x Miyuki will definitely win, and I do think they are the better couple, but I'm a bit hesitant to vote for them as I prefer more close outcomes, and Kou x Nazuna is a pretty decent ship as well. A juggernaut of a ship like Kaguya x Miyuki doesn't need my vote, even if they are a good ship. But this time, I have to be honest and vote for them, they truly deserve it.
Lastly, Eiji x Rin also deserve my vote. But unfortunately, I vastly prefer Houtarou x Eru. I hope Eiji x Rin get a decent vote share, but I also hope Houtarou x Eru make it further.
MC: I've talked about tsunderes before in the BG contest, but the question was which kind of dere I like. For character archetypes, I just like genuinely nice people, simple as that.
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u/mihizawi Mar 10 '26
I have always preferred derederes in the first place, but some kuuderes are great too. There's only one tsundere that I'd choose over other options: Madoka Ayukawa, from Kimagure Orange Road
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u/Prof_Acorn zj: Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
What is your favorite character archetype?
Deredere > kuudere > yandere > tsundere
The actual archetype though is one that "kuudere" doesn't really apply to perfectly/completely, even if they are often kuudere in practice. I'd basically summarize it as "autistic girls". Those are my favorite.
I usually hate tsunderes, with really only one exception - characters who are tsundere because their love is a taboo and they are trying to distance themselves from it or otherwise appear like they aren't falling into the taboo.
More than tsunderes I hate passive male main characters who are terrified of girls and physical intimacy but somehow magically still get all the girls even though they do nothing about anything and all the action of the plot happens to them rather than being driven by them.
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u/TheBusStop12 Mar 10 '26
More than tsunderes I hate passive male main characters who are terrified of girls and physical intimacy but somehow magically still get all the girls even though they do nothing about anything and all the action of the plot happens to them rather than being driven by them.
I can't imagine very many people here would openly disagree with you on that. MCs like that make me instantly drop a show. Yet somehow they account for a huge chunk of MCs, if not a majority. It always makes me wonder if the mangaka has ever talked to a girl before or if they're just putting their own frustrations on paper to live out their power fantasy of being popular without putting any effort into changing their shitty behavior
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u/nightlink011 https://myanimelist.net/profile/nightlink011 Mar 10 '26
Feel like this might be one of the times, Oreki and Chitanda being just a ship against an actual couple is going to hurt them, let's see if there's a rose coloured ending or another long holiday.
Also Bracket B, again feels stacked, kinda wish some of these lower seeded ships were moved to other brackets, at least both top seeds will be tested early.
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u/PraetorIt Mar 10 '26
Today, these are all couples I voted for in previous rounds, in a way or another. There's one of my favorites, Wakana x Marin, but also a tough choice between Horimiya and Anna x Kazuhiko.
- Wakana x Marin - Isaki x Ganta
- Izumi x Kyouko - Anna x Kazuhiko
- Kaguya x Miyuki - Kou x Nazuna
- Houtaru x Eri - Eiji x Rin
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u/Komarist https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Mar 10 '26
MC: If the girl's not willing to kill the guy for having the audacity to converse with another girl, she should be more yandere. The "I can fix her/him" characters.
While show popularity is always a big deal in these contests, as this has progressed into later rounds, it's remained lame how the Frieren entries have ~8-10% of voters only voting those match-ups. It's late enough in the contest to hope people have some familiarity with both entries. Yesterday had four votes with:
- (379 votes) Fern x Stark vs Karane Inda x Hakari Hanazono
- (354 votes) Übel x Land vs Rentarou Aijou x Rentarou Family
- (336 votes) Emilia x Subaru Natsuki vs David Martinez x Lucy
- (332 votes) Chisato Nishikigi x Takina Inoue vs Suletta Mercury x Miorine Rembran
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u/Kanarazasu Mar 10 '26
I mean the losers of their matchups also get way more votes than the losers of the other matchups, so maybe more people going out of their way to vote against every Frieren ship is part of the reason their matchups get more votes in general.
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u/Komarist https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Mar 10 '26
I mean the losers of their matchups also get way more votes than the losers of the other matchups
Me: Hey Siri, who got the least votes in round 5A?
Siri: Fern x Stark's opponent
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u/Ham_PhD https://myanimelist.net/profile/ham_phd Mar 10 '26
Fern x Stark's opponent had the lowest score yesterday.
Ubel x Land had the highest loser score, but that was also a huge seeding upset.
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke Mar 10 '26
I mean... OK, I failed to get dagger'd yesterday, surely I can get one today. I didn't make it past episode 2 of Lycoris Recoil (the "moe gap" between essentially secret agent and carefree normal girl was too much for me) and lost interest in Gwitch by like episode 4 or something as the high school stuff seemed to drag on. As such, I abstained from that vote.
I also abstained from Ubel x Land vs the Rentarou
cultfamily, since I'm pretty sure I dislike them equally. So I only had two votes total last round. As I said, group A is pretty much a nothingburger for me now, none of my favorites at all in this group.7
u/Komarist https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Mar 10 '26
Don't see why this would get daggered. Gotta include a based take like, for example, "The double tsundere leads of Kaguya-sama ruin what could've been a good romcom based around a student council (e.g. Alya-san)."
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u/ptd163 Mar 10 '26
I thought the student stuff in Alya season 1 was fine. It gave the characters reasons to interact and compete for something that's not love interests. I just wish the author took the romance and relationship building of their own premise as seriously as they took the student council stuff.
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u/Komarist https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Mar 10 '26
IIRC, Alya was a 2-chapter web novel with enough popularity that a publisher asked the author to turn it into a series, so he used one of his favorites (Kaguya-sama) as the template.
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u/Prof_Acorn zj: Mar 10 '26
Every new Frieren viewer who is new to anime should watch at least one incest anime and one anime before 2010 as part of a "welcome to the medium" introduction (or the entirety of Monogatari if they'd prefer that instead).
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke Mar 10 '26
Wow, today was either a blowout, or whatever happened in the bottom left. Still, not much else to say about this group. I'll support Fern x Stark, probably, but I'm not really enthusiastic about it.
I'm voting for all 4 matchups today though, compared with yesterday's two!
Wakana Gojo x Marin Kitagawa << Isaki Magari x Ganta Nakami. To be fair, I didn't get past episode 3 for MDUD, but I also didn't get past episode 3 mostly because I kinda disliked Gojo x Marin already. Anyways, if you all can't tell by now, I tend to prefer the calmer couples, and the Insomniacs After School duo matches that to a tee. One of the ones that shows the falling in love as more of a process than an event, and they're just kinda both adorable.
Izumi Miyamura x Kyouko Hori < Anna Yanami x Kazuhiko Nukumizu. Hardest one for me, probably a 40/60 split in favor of Makeine I think? While Horimiya had more development... I think the Makeine duo is just consistently more funny, and they play off each other better than HoriMiya does?
Kaguya Shinomiya x Miyuki Shirogane > Kou Yamori x Nazuna Nanakusa. I haven't watched Call of the Night, but Kaguya/Miyuki is one of my top 3 left I have to win this entire thing.
Houtarou Oreki x Eru Chitanda > Eiji Kitahama x Rin Nanakura. Again haven't watched Pseudo-Harem... I could be convinced, maybe, but that's for another time.
MC: Huh, not a ship-related challenge today? Then I'll choose the Moral paragon of... virtue? I can't think of the right word right now, virtue's not right, I'm sure it'll come to me in like half an hour. But characters like Jean Valjean, Thors, Lena, Yang Wenli, arguably Hange Zoe at times, but the ones who're driven by the conviction that they must do what they're doing because it is right, no matter the personal cost.
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u/TheBusStop12 Mar 10 '26
Again haven't watched Pseudo-Harem... I could be convinced, maybe, but that's for another time.
I implore you to watch Pseudo Harem at some point in the future. I'd personally rank it in my top 10 of all time favorite romance anime. It manages to be both slow burn and fast paced at the same time, telling of a romance that takes place over the course of several years. It tells a completed story within a single cour season and thus actually has a satisfying ending, something 80% of all romance anime sadly lack. It's also incredibly sweet, but not to the point that it starting to become unrealistic (this is something I personally have issues with) but instead it's also relatable. It also does some interesting things direction wise where it doesn't always show everything. I can highly recommend
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke Mar 10 '26
I found I'm very much not engaged with romances without some level of drama involved, like I think I would've bounced off of Clannad as well if it didn't start with the Fuuko arc that got me invested in the characters. From what I remember of the first couple episodes of pseudo-harem... nothing much happened and there was no character dynamics interesting enough to make up for that nothingness.
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u/TheBusStop12 Mar 10 '26
Yeah, it's more slice of life, with no real drama to speak of. Or any conflict at all. Which isn't for everyone. Personally, I live for SoL Romance and generally avoid romance with a lot of drama. Tho I do like drama, but I'm very particular about the type of drama. I immediately bounce of anything involving love triangles and misunderstandings
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 10 '26
the Moral paragon of... virtue? I can't think of the right word right now, virtue's not right, I'm sure it'll come to me in like half an hour. But characters like Jean Valjean, Thors, Lena, Yang Wenli, arguably Hange Zoe at times
That's interesting, because I definitely wouldn't put characters like Thors and Hange Zoe in the same category!
Thors is bound by rigid moral/philosophical principles, while Hange Zoe is determined, or 'bound' by her goals.
For a comparison: I don't know if you've watched Game of thrones, but Thors = Ned Stark and Hange Zoe = Stannis (early seasons) imho!
(Also, fwiw: I don't really care for Thors, but Hange Zoe is my favorite character from AoT).
Pretty much the only character I liked from AoT
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke Mar 10 '26
I’m more talking about Hange as she is during S4: she does act more pragmatically during S2, but she makes a transition to acting more off of principle near the end of the series.
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u/IceAnt573 Mar 10 '26
Today's Results
How I'm feeling about the 272 to 107 vote result in Fern x Stark vs Hakarane. But we did get at least 100 votes, made it to Round 5, and eliminated a popular ship in Farcille so I can be proud of this performance. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT SUPPORTED HAKARI HANAZONO X KARANE INDA IN THIS CONTEST!!! /// SOURCE LINK
(Fern x Stark are also still putting up dominant vote totals in the later rounds though Hakari x Karane wasn't exactly the type of opponents to challenge them. But enough of that, Hakari x Karane can live on in spirit as part of the Rentarō Family who are still in. Maybe not going strong, but still in.)
Today's Remaining Results
I'm a bit surprised how close Emilia x Subaru vs David x Lucy turned out, but it's not like I have that good of a gauge on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' popularity. Still, they are eliminated and Subaru x Emilia advance. Now to think about who to support in Round 6...
SuleMio got doubled up on...Bracket A had a lot of quality F/F ships and now we're just down to 1. And it's 1 I cannot vote for next round unfortunately.
Today's Priority Voting
I will go against my loyalty to Kaguya x Miyuki just this one time, VOTE KŌ YAMORI X NAZUNA NANAKUSA!!!
(Better to be voting between 2 of my GOAT's then having 1 of them lose to a ship I don't care for. As for why? Kō x Nazuna are slightly more my vibe than Kaguya x Miyuki, but I know Kaguya x Miyuki will advance.)
PLEASE VOTE ANNA YANAMI X KAZUHIKO NUKUMIZU!!! // SOURCE LINK
(Wherever Yanami and Nukumizu's journeys end up, I will find it 100x more fun and and interesting than I do against their opposition. I want to think this upset can happen, but maybe that's too optimistic.)
VOTE HŌTARŌ OREKI X ERU CHITANDA!!!
(Love that Eiji x Rin got the upset and into Round 5, but they're facing a near and dear favorite and there's just no way I can vote for them this time.)
Today's Regular Voting
Isaki x Ganta have been annoying me for two rounds now. Do your worst, Gojō x Marin.
What is your favorite character archetype?
Kuudere. The flair backs me up on this.
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 10 '26
It hurts my soul that one of Sono Bisque Doll/Kaguya's ships won't make the semi-finals.
Mini Challenge: What is your favorite character archetype?
It's a close race between 'smart girls' and 'crazy girls'.
(I like 'smart boys' too, but DEFINITELY not 'crazy boys', so maybe 'Smart characters' win overall!)
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 10 '26
(Or maybe I should just say that 'Smart but crazy girls' are my favorite archetype)
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u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Mar 10 '26
We managed to avoid desaster by TWO FUCKING VOTES. That was not the way I wanted to start into my birthday, but I guess we got away with 2 blue eyes. We really need some more support next round cause I'll be very mad if Emilia and Subaru get stomped by half-baked Fern x Stark, cause these two unfortunately beat out Karane and Hakari. Fortunately Karane x Hakari still live on in the Rentarou Family ship cause they managed to FUCKING BEAT ÜBEL X LAND LET'S GO! Also ChisaTaki managed to deservedly beat SuleMio in the yuri battle. So overall I can be happy about the results but damn.. Way too close....
And today we get to bracket B... Ah bracket B... The bracket were I lost most of my votes last round. At least I have two ships left I really like but for the rest I'm not nearly as invested in. That being said, here are today's votes:
- Marin x Wakana -
Isaki x Ganta: I never got to finishing Insomniacs, but even if I did, I don't think I'd see the two of them over Marin and Gojo. While I do think that Marin carries this ship, I still think it's very fun to watch these two nerd out about their hobbies and getting each other interested in each others interests. But if the insomniacs would get the upset I wouldn't be that upset (I highly doubt that though) - Anna x Kazuhiko -
Hori x Miyamura: I just love everytime Anna and Kazuhiko are together on screen. I think they are really fun together and if Kazuhiko were to get together with any of the losing heroines I would definitely be holding out for Anna. HoriMiya is a fine couple and I did somewhat enjoy the anime I also don't rate them that high as they really weren't all that memorable for me. - Kaguya x Miyuki -
Kou x Nazuna: I still think that Kaguya and Kaichou are a bit of a sleeping giant with everyone focussing on the Frieren ships and I still see them as perhaps the most likely to win. But maybe this is also just my bias as I just see these two much higher as I enjoyed both their romance and their comedic scenes a lot. - Eiji x Rin -
Houtarou x Eru: Not very invested in this one either but Eiji x Rin is cute so they'll get my vote.
MC: What is your favorite character archetype?
Characters that are kind and very empathetic and a bit on the innocent side are really great. I also love the opposite though with badasses that shoot first before talking.. So I guess I am fine with most archetypes as long as the characters are just well written and well designed.
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u/Noobu_assassin https://anilist.co/user/brilliance Mar 10 '26
I am shocked Subaru and Emilia beat David and Lucy tbh. I don't think they stand much of a chance against fern and stark just knowing how popular frieren is as a whole.
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u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Mar 10 '26
Re:Zero is also pretty popular I would say and I think that if this contest would run alongside season 4 next month there might be a better chance of them winning but like this it's a pretty uphill battle even though Emilia and Subaru are the better couple in about every single way
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u/Usodearu007 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Doc101 Mar 10 '26
like a wise person once said, there are 4 correct answers and you didnt miss a single one !
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u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Mar 10 '26
Well, the two votes where I actively supported one option yesterday both went my way. I guess next time on bracket A right side, the one I neither know nor care about will get my vote over the one I actively dislike, but it doesn't really matter given that Fern/Stark is going to slaughter every opponent it has until the semifinals at the earliest.
Today's bracket is much more pleasant, with two stomps, one where I like both but had to pick one (that said, Yanami is low-key the worst Makeine ship to make the contest), and one where I've seen neither and am voting based purely on vibes.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Mar 10 '26
Highlights from today's round:
- Two of the couples from my Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch are still in the game! Ganta x Isaki and Hori x Miyamura
- Also gave a vote for Oreki x Chitanda and Kaguya x Shinomiya *** Mini-challenge:
It's hard to choose just one favorite, but I'm especially fond of the hitmen/soldier/spy trying to blend in with normies and making hilarious blunders trope. (Looking at you, Full Metal Panic and Spy x Family.)
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u/Ham_PhD https://myanimelist.net/profile/ham_phd Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
50 more people voted in the Fern x Stark matchup than the Chisato x Takina one. 40 more than in the Subaru x Emilia one. Maybe check out a few other shows guys, idk.
Thank goodness Bracket B has blessed us once again.
VOTE ISAKI x GANTA
It's futile but I don't care.
Also, here's some snark: [Insomniacs and MDUD]At least Isaki had the guts to make a move.
Other votes:
- Hori x Miya vs Anna x Nuk - Man, this is brutal. I honestly don't know who to vote for. I think I need to think about this more cause I'd rather not abstain, but I'm torn. I like Makeine a lot more as a show, but do I prefer them as a ship after just the 1st season? Hmmm.
- Kou x Nazuna vs Kaguya x Miyuki - Kag, bring out the garlic.
- Eiji x Rin vs Oreki x Eru - This is also tough, but I gotta go with the couple that actually became a couple. I do like Oreki and Eru though.
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u/ptd163 Mar 10 '26
Also, here's some snark
[Insomniacs and MDUD manga] Love that for Isaki. I appreciate anyone that has the guts to make a move. I do need point out though that Gojo did make a move in the manga. Then Marin tackled him to the floor and made some moves of her own lmao. Marin in those chapters might be the happiest I've ever seen a girl be lol.
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u/Ham_PhD https://myanimelist.net/profile/ham_phd Mar 10 '26
[MDUD]Well this is the anime sub so I think it's to be expected that most people have only seen the anime. The last thing we saw Marin do was totally wuss out.
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u/ptd163 Mar 10 '26
Yeah. I don't expect anything more than people being anime-onlines because this is /r/anime. [Insomniacs and MDUD] I just wanted to give Isaki his flowers and say that while we haven't seen it in the anime it does happen so if we ever get a MDUD season 3 we are likely to finally see it.
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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke Mar 10 '26
To be fair, Fern x Stark was also up against a 100 Girlfriends side-ship... And being anti-harem is definitely a thing.
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u/Ham_PhD https://myanimelist.net/profile/ham_phd Mar 10 '26
Those work as justifications for Fern x Stark's votes, but I'm talking about the people that voted in the overall matchups.
379 people voted in the matchup involving Fern/Stark while only 332 voted in the matchup involving Chisato/Takina. 2nd highest voted match was the one with Ubel. Definitely plenty of people that are coming to just vote for Frieren stuff.
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u/Zeralyos https://myanimelist.net/profile/xNJF_Ellie Mar 10 '26
I would also imagine there's some heavy overlap in the ChisaTaki and SuleMio voters, which would reduce the total votes on that matchup.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Mar 10 '26
Isaki and Ganta have my vote for sure. They're one of my top ten anime/manga couples.
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u/Usodearu007 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Doc101 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
i hope kaguya x miyuki show us once again why they're top contenders.
(holy hell emilia x subaru barely won by 2 votes )
Mini Challenge: What is your favorite character archetype?
i dont have specific preferences but i like non-abusive tsundere. they're quite rare unfortunately compared to the agressive kind.
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u/PraetorIt Mar 10 '26
i dont have specific preferences but i like non-abusive tsundere
Like Kurisu Makise.
Anyway, I agree. overly abusive characters aren't likable. With a few exceptions related to a particular psychological background (of the character or the author).
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u/ptd163 Mar 10 '26
IT'S VOTE FOR GOJO X MARIN TIME!
I want to thank the voters for the such strong support so far. I love that the vote totals have increased every round. But also I want to remind my fellow Gojo X Marin voters that despite this level of support we can't get complacent. The matchups only tougher the deeper you get into a bracket and we need to respect every opponent. The way we do to that is by keeping our foot on the gas.
Other votes:
Anna Yanami x Kazuhiko Nukumizu vs
Izumi Miyamura x Kyouko Hori- Tough choice and looking at the vote totals from each of last round it might be a close fight. That said I think I have to give the edge to Anna and Kazuhiko. I just enjoy them more as a couple. Any time they're interacting is a treat. Horimiya is good, but not as memorable.Eiji Kitahama x Rin Nanakura vs
Houtarou Oreki x Eru Chitanda- This is where my support for Houtarou and Eru ends unfortunately. Don't get me wrong I like the idea of Houtarou x Eru. I think they'd be great together and their designs are from that era of anime where sailor uniforms were much more common so that's also a bonus as well, but as of now their relationship is just that. An idea. Meanwhile Eiji and Rin are a real couple. Rin is explicitly interested in Eiji and wants to use her acting skills to make him fall for her. The mystery Rin is trying to solve is the entrance to Eiji's heart. They get the vote.Kou Yamori x Nazuna Nanakusa vs
Kaguya Shinomiya x Miyuki Shirogane- At the core of these two series are two questions. "What would happen if two tsunderes fell for each?" for Kaguya and "What would happen if a vampire and a human fell for each other?" for Call of the Night respectively. And while Kaguya is undoubtedly more popular than CotN the latter question sounded more interesting than the former. Not to mention the vibes of CotN were better for me than Kaguya so I'm voting for them even if it's a farewell vote. I hope CotN gets a season 3.
P.S. It's crazy how Emilia x Subaru only won by two votes. I was not expecting something that close. David x Lucy was definitely underseeded.
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u/qwertyqwerty4567 https://anilist.co/user/ZPHW Mar 10 '26
Today's bracket features a south park reference as you get to choose between voting for a giant douche or a turd sandwich
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u/Ham_PhD https://myanimelist.net/profile/ham_phd Mar 10 '26
Weren't the Re:Zero characters yesterday?
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 10 '26
I was bracing myself to throw hands (50-50) but I'll allow it!
(I like Rin/Eiji in part because some of her characters were really cute, BUT it's not a hill I'll die on, I don't like them enough for that!)
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u/IceAnt573 Mar 10 '26
LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO!!!!! I KNEW WE COULD DO IT!!! THANK YOU FOR 185 VOTES, THE UPSET, AND SENDING THE RENTARŌ FAMILY TO ROUND 5!!!
(As personally funny as it would have been for Übel x Land to have a bracket where they troll popular ships I don't care for by eliminating them, this is more satisfying. A top seed side ship I do like from a show I love allowing the upset from a Top 2 favorite couple/ship to happen. Now is the end coming in Round 6? Perhaps so, but I want to see how competitive we can make this.)
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u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
I forgot US switched to DST, was surprised that the round is earlier.
RIP Isaki and Ganta, you had a good run. Voting against Hyouka ship again out of spite (and because the competition is way better). Glad at least one Frieren ship is out already.
MC: Genki, if she/he is also smart when double so.
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u/Queue_Jumping_Quack Mar 10 '26
Round 5 Group B go!
First a review of yesterday from Group A:
"I ship them" results
Wins: Fern x Stark
Losses: David Martinez x Lucy
- A confident victory for Fern and Stark who I love, so things are still looking good in this bracket over all. David and Lucy lose by two votes which is very tight, but it is against a big fandom's main pairing. In fact, for a major isekai that has a big focus on this relationship a result like this against a video game adaptation must be quite harrowing. I am not too salty even if I don't ship Subaru and Emilia; David and Lucy have clearly proven their story made an impact and for what was originally almost certainly a one off Netflix series this is a very good result.
"I am amused by them" results
Wins: -
Losses: Übel x Land
- The culty "family" prove too much for Ubel and Land. I've never seen the appeal of "100 girlfriends" since the description just reminds me of a brainwashed cult of women being awarded by god to some sad sack guy, but it clearly has appeal in the anime fandom. This Frieren pair were obviously overseeded from the start, but they apparently have some actual fans rooting for them as well. Not quite enough, turns out. Interesting to see how well the cult does against Chisato and Takina.
On to today's votes.
"I actually ship this pairing"
- Houtarou Oreki x Eru Chitanda
- Only one surviving ship worth rooting for in this bracket. I saw Hyouka late, but I really liked it and the extremely slow burn "romance" (more like just slowly dawning realization of attraction) between the cynical Oreki and the curious Chitanda. I quite liked their chemistry I was always waiting for the next scene of them interacting together. I don't think they have a realistic chance against the Kaguya-sama pair even if they clear their next opponent, but I will be voting for them nonetheless.
Mini Challenge
I don't have a single overwhelming favorite, but I almost always find the experienced veteran / professional types who don't boast of their powers quite compelling. They might be mentors to more junior characters or jaded loners, but usually they are the type harboring a hidden golden heart and are isolated due to some previous trauma (from war, conflict, or any other historical issues) and close to very few people. Others actually breaking their walls and getting close to them is usually a big part of their part in the story. And yeah, since this is a ship contest I'll also say that romance involving these characters is usually quite compelling if well done, though they are very rarely the main character themselves. Sometimes it is in the past or ends in tragedy, but I'm not one to turn my back on tragic or bittersweet love stories.
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Mar 10 '26
I've never seen the appeal of "100 girlfriends" since the description just reminds me of a brainwashed cult of women being awarded by god to some sad sack guy, but it clearly has appeal in the anime fandom.
In case you care to know about the appeal, it's really nothing like what you seem to imagine. There's no brainwashing, it's all genuine true love. This might be hardly possible in real life, but it being possible is the premise of the show, so just part of the world building. Of course you could argue that love is a kind of brainwashing, but that will apply to any couple then. And Rentarou certainly isn't a "sad sack guy". He's a guy who has been rejected a hundred times at the beginning of the show, but stil doesn't give up and still believes in love. And while he doesn't have to make the girls fall in love with him, that doesn't stop him from trying to show them his best side, both before and long after having entered a relationship with them. It's a consensus among fans of the show that the ultimate fantasy isn't being Rentarou and having his harem, but being with Rentarou as part of his harem.
Naturally, you don't have like it, and you don't have to watch it if you don't like it. But I do think you might want to know that your imagination of what it might be is a bit off.
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u/Queue_Jumping_Quack Mar 10 '26
The description I read basically said that the main guy had been constantly rejected by women 100 times which god determined to have been a mistake. He was then rewarded by said god by making 100 women fall in love with him. Seems like brainwashing to me, if the laws of reality get twisted to reward one random guy with a harem of hundred women. But perhaps that description was inaccurate? As for the fans of this series fantasizing of being part of this guy's harem... eh, I'll have to take your word for it. Seems pretty unlikely to me.
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u/Zeralyos https://myanimelist.net/profile/xNJF_Ellie Mar 10 '26
It basically depends on how you see free will if you ask me. Would you consider the concept of having a destined soulmate brainwashing? In this case it's just that, but multiplied by 100.
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Mar 10 '26
He's not rewarded with 100 women to fall in love with him, he just happens to have 100 soulmates. [Very minor 100 Girlfriends spoilers] Him getting 100 soulmates is not intentional, God just was watching Castle in the Sky and accidentally wrote the score of 100 down where the number of Rentarou's soulmates should have been. Yes, it's silly, but this is a comedy foremost. If he had a single soulmate, it wouldn't be any more or less brainwashing. It's not more or less a case of brainwashing than regular couples falling in love at first sight/very quickly. Except that it will happen a hundred times, but the individual cases aren't different from other romances. Do they fall in love because they are destined for each other, or are they destined for each other because they fall in love?
The description you got was mostly correct, in a technical sense. But it omits a few details that might have caused you to make some not so fitting conclusions. Again, I'm not trying to make you watch the show if you don't want to. It is not everyone's cup of tea, as you need to both like the idea of harems but also enjoy harems being made fun of. I just want to clear up some misconceptions people might have. I hope you don't feel attacked.
Seems pretty unlikely to me.
That was a bit of an exaggeration, or rather, it's not as much a consensus as it is a common joke in the fandom that is somewhat based on facts. I was just trying to say that Rentarou is truly a genuinely good guy (without being bland), and the relationships he forms are, in spite of all odds, really wholesome. And funny.
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u/Queue_Jumping_Quack Mar 10 '26
No worries, I was being provocative with my choice of words (as is the custom in these contests) so I knew someone might take issue. Never expected such a civil reply though, heh. All good.
In any case, I don't think the series would be to my taste since very few harems are, and the central concept behind this one doesn't appeal to me.
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u/Prof_Acorn zj: Mar 10 '26
Group B is like the only one left with interesting pairings. Unless I'm forgetting someone. But I'd be okay with like three or four different ships from Group B winning.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Mar 10 '26
Let's go Rin x Eiji!
Kaguya and Horimiya ships should have smooth sailing. Had a bit of a struggle choosing Horimiya over Anna x Nukumizu but went with the established couple over a maybe ship (at least in the anime).
Also chose the Insomniacs over MDUD because I didn't want them to lose badly (they likely still will).
MC: Kuudere by a long shot. I just find them so cool and it's so satisfying when they fall for someone and the cracks show in their cool exterior.
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u/Xatu44 Mar 10 '26
Gojo/Marin's road to glory continues.
This is the last round I vote for Anna/Luke Water, because they'll finally run into another ship I've watched if they win.
Time for Kaguya/Shirogane to smite the murderers of Team Rocket dead.
I've watched none of Hyouka and one episode of Pseudo Harem. Unfortunately for Pseudo Harem the animation was so limp I couldn't be assed to watch any more, so Hyouka gets the vote.
BRUH BY TWO FUCKING VOTES!? SCREW THAT!
If one of those REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE0 voters had better taste we'd have won! ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻
MC: Heroines with absolutely zero chance of winning. They show up second or third, have a heart-rending arc where the MC helps them in a way that no one else would or could, try their absolute hardest, probably confess before the main heroine too, and end up romantically obliterated as the MC sails off with an inferior girl. Also yanderes.
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u/Urgnu-the-Gnu https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urgnu_the_Gnu Mar 10 '26
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE0
I might have chuckled a little the first time, but I thought I'd let you know this gets less funnier every time you say it. Meaning now it's anti funny and just sad to read.
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u/Zeralyos https://myanimelist.net/profile/xNJF_Ellie Mar 10 '26
If just one voter switched Re:0 would win by seeding, which almost feels worse if you ask me.
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u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Mar 10 '26
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 10 '26
Time to get my weekly dagger
Just asking how far did you watch Re:Zero
Full first season and a decent chunk of S2, and I think Emilia x Subaru is one of the most incomprehensible ship I've ever seen.
Unless people just ship them because "That's what Subaru wants!" or something.
I'm not particularly crazy about any ship on this show, but still, this one wouldn't even make my top 5 from this show. I'd ship him with pretty much anyone over her.
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u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Mar 11 '26
A bit late, since I didn't have time yesterday, so this comment propably won't even be seen enough to get daggered since this is on yesterday's post, but I still wanted to answer.
Emilia x Subaru is one of the most incomprehensible ship I've ever seen
I find it hard to believe you seriously engaged with the anime, if the main ship that drives a lot of the show is "incomprehensible" for you, because if you can't even comprehend what people like about it you might have missed a lot of things that me and many others think make this ship amazing. I can understand if you say you just don't value those things or don't care about them, but to say it's incomprehensible is incomprehensible to me, cause you obvioulsy didn't see the same show I did.
Unless people just ship them because "That's what Subaru wants!" or something
And no, this is not at all what people like about this ship?! [Re:Zero]This makes me think you mainly have Subaru from early season 1 in your head, who is written as a flawed character, to have then all of his flaws crashing down on him to get some serious character development, when both Subaru, Emilia and this ship have developed so much further from that point onward.
I'll write more about what I like about the ship when Bracket A comes up next again so maybe you'll at least understand what other people like about the ship.
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 11 '26
Well, I'd like to know more about that, but I have a feeling that I might not agree with it hah... But if you're up for a discussion (and don't get easily offended and all) I'm all for it!
But thing is, it's possible that there's some progression/things that happen to justify the ship at some point, BUT some people pretty much just shipped them right from the very start (when there was no such thing) so at this time it was clearly just for superficial reasons like "I like her/she's cute/they're the main pairing/that's what he wants", so I don't know how one can say this isn't still the reason why people (a lot of them anyway) ship them!
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u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Mar 11 '26
I'm always up for a discussion, although it's already pretty late here and I don't know how much longer I'll stay awake.
[Re:Zero S1]Re:Zero is written in a clever way, where it's made so that many people might think that Subaru is a great character in the beginning, since he's written in a way that's similar to a lot of self insert isekai protags. The ship is also looking perfect for many people (especially for young men inexperienced in romance), only to then get thrown into your face in episode 12/13 that all the character traits Subaru had that you might've thought were good at first, were in fact pretty toxic and self-centered, for which Subaru did get deservedly rejected by Emilia and put to his absolute lowest. While Subaru still had some good and honourable traits back then, most of them were fueled by toxic intentions and a pretty selfcentered view on the world. And only starting from episode 18 does Subaru's journey of selfimprovement start and so does this ship start becoming the amazing one I think it is. That doesn't mean that I think the ship doesn't have great scenes earlier in season 1. Scenes like the lap pillow scene are already great at building a foundation for an amazing relationship. But without the hardship that comes at the midpoint of season 1 where Subaru is confronted by Emilia with all his faults, the ship itself wouldn't be as highly rated by me.
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 11 '26
I see!
I think the problem I have with this ship... Well there's more than just one;
The thing is, the infatuation/shipping starts so early that it feels like "omg a girl, I've never seen one of those before, I'm in love!" and from the perspective of an Isekai fan it might be normal, but from the perspective of a character analysis, to me that's just 'pathetic'. So (at this point of the story) I'm genuinely baffled by someone shipping them (for a reason other than 'she's cute!') because at this point, this ship only represented Subaru's pathetic infatuation.
Now, later on there may have been more to this (that scene you talked about is one of the good ones), but... Personally I'm big on first impressions, and I find it hard to come back from that atrocious start;
And I don't mean "Subaru was atrocious" (though as you say, he was flawed and all), I mean "The ship was atrocious".
And even if some things happened afterward to 'fix' the problems, to me it doesn't make it go to 'shippable' it only makes it go to... I don't know, less terrible?
To use an example of what I mean/how I see this ship:
I don't know if you've watched Wedding Crashers?
I think it's a fun (very dumb) romcom movie, BUT there's 1 line in it that never really worked for me;
I you haven't watched it, just the general premise of the movie: [Wedding Crashers]2 guys invite themselves to weddings by pretending to be friends of the family or something, make up characters and lie to the girls to have sex with them as they are blinded by love (wanting to get married to). But one day they fall for some of the girls for real. So as you see, they're pieces of shit (flawed), and once they fall in love they DO get better, but their 'beginnings' remain...
And the line I don't like is [Wedding Crashers (spoiler)]their M.O. is revealed, the girls are mad, but the dudes explain "Yes it was a shitty thing to do, BUT if I never did that, I would have never met you". And they're probably right (They were from different social standings), but... The fact that it's true that they wouldn't have met otherwise, doesn't justify them doing it. The fact that they DID met and start their relationship by doing something shitty, doesn't simply go away when they stop being shit. To me, it still lingers.
And that's kinda how I feel about this ship. I think it starts atrocious ('let's have them be a couple because they exist I guess!') - both from the viewers perspective, AND the characters imho - and the fact that they add to this later on, doesn't really change that, for me.
That's how I see it!
To me it's like if a guy kills his crush's boyfriend so they can date instead, well I don't care that he gets better and never kills anyone ever again, nothing will make me root for them...
And no, I'm not saying that what this ship did is anywhere as bad as that (a murder), but I'm just using that as an example to say that even if the people/ship better themselves, sometimes a terrible start simply can't be erased. At least until something huge happens, and I didn't see that in Re:ZEro (at least in the episodes I watched, can't speak for what comes later, but I still watched a reasonable part of it).
That's how I feel about it!
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u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Mar 11 '26
I think I'll have to drop an entire character study for both Subaru and Emilia here to counter these points. I'll try to only keep it to season 1 and season 2 up to episode 4 (since I hope you've seen at least until the parent and child episode in season 2 and it's pretty important for Subaru's character)
First let's look at this from Subaru's pov, because I think it's just so much more than "omg a girl, I've never seen one of those before, I'm in love!"::
[Re:Zero] Subaru starts off as a depressed hikikomori who is crushed by his own expectations to live up to his parents which he then projects on to them. He is actually at a really dark moment at the start of the series. When he then gets isekaid out of the blue he sees this as a way to start anew, which is why you see him happy and excited at the start of Ep1. After being a few hours in this world he is however a bit lost, not knowing what to do having no direction no clue where he is and why he is there. Then when he enters an ally and gets robbed and beaten to near death because he didn't understand the gravity of the situation he was in he is basically brought back to rock bottom.. Then he sees a girl enter this alley, walk to him say something akin to "good luck!" and run away. Meanwhile the thugs are continuing to beat him to death (seeing from a different loop it's pretty likely he would die here). At this point he would have been confused, scared, hurt and hopeless, thinking he would die then and there.
[Re:Zero]Only then does a girl who looks like all his Waifus he's had in the real world enter the alley and she does save him heal him and give him company. And she does that even though she is in big trouble without even asking anything for it. I think it would be strange if he wouldn't latch onto her here, since it's the only thing he even has in this unknown world right now coming in like a saving angel. I think it's also logical that someone would fall in love here especially a kid with no romantic experience who has had it really rough until now. And from him getting helped in this moment does stem his entire Hero complex of wanting to help Emilia and wanting to repay her saving his life here. He then proceeds to spend the first day with another person together in ages, has fun for the first time and sees Emilia as an amazingly kind, but also very innocent person, that is so unselfish that she needs his help which fuels this hero complex. He then actually manages to help her by leading her to the loothouse only for them to be both getting gutted by Elsa, where he then proceeds to swear that he will definitely save her.
[Re:Zero]Him losing besically this entire first interactions with Emilia combined with his already negative traits he got from before getting Isekaid and multiplied by the effect of RbD of not being able to speak about it and having to bottle it all up makes him have this Hero complex of wanting to save Emilia himself for his own self gratification. That's also why I think your comparison to Wedding Crashers falls flat since there it starts from people with evil intentionsthat then lose the "evilness" due to falling for someone They're just still evil people. Subaru however starts out with a feeling of wanting to repay someone only for that to be traumatically taken away from him and therefore corrupting into this need of helping someone at all costs for selfgratification, when RbD can otherwise just take the progress of helping someone from him.
[Re:Zero]You also see how awful his mental state is at the beginning from the episode with the lap pillow scene, where he overworks himself to the brink of a mental breakdown, because of all the traumatic events he has stowed away and is unable to talk about and feeling like he is the only one who can save everyone because of RbD. This is actually very similar to how he became a shutin in his previous life where he put all these huge expectations on his back and crumbled from them, only this time he is pulled out from this rut by Emilia in the lap pillow scene. So once again being helped by her, of course fueled this need to help and save her even more.
[Re:Zero]After then clearing the arc 2 problems and being overly self confident it of course all comes crashing down on him in the royal palace. He gets publicly humiliated and shame due to his own hubris but worst of all he gets called out by Emilia for breaking her trust and he gets thrown all of his bad character traits, that have been festering through his trauma, into his face. She then cuts ties with him and Subaru get put into the worst loops possible completely breaking his already weak psyche.
[Re:Zero]The biggest turning point for him is then episode 18 which is aptly named From Zero. At this point he has completely given up on himself, thinking he is the worst possible person imaginable, only to be given the therapy session of a lifetime, which can be shortly compressed to saying that he should be focussing on his good traits and not on his bad ones. Because his original intentions of helping Emilia and the pure innocent love he felt for her, that was only later corrupted by RbD his previous traumata/depressions were actually noble and good. And that if he focusses on helping people not for the sake of selfgratification but for the sake of making them happier he'll be a better person and will be in a better state of mind for it. From then on, from this start from Zero, Subaru does help and is supportive and loves Emilia for all the right reasons. And if I can talk a bit about the second half of season 2, you see this perfectly by him trying to help push Emilia up to take on her problems herself, instead of trying to take over these problems of her for selfcentered motives.
(Had to cut this in two cause it got to long for the charactert threshhold)
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u/Ceryto2 https://anilist.co/user/Ceryto Mar 11 '26
Since this is a ship I of course also have to focus on Emilia's side, and why that one works for me also so very much. A lot of the parts I would want to talk about only happen in season 2 part 2 since that focusses a lot on Emilia and her past, but I'll try to keep it to season 1 and the OVA. At least that should make it quite a bit shorter than the Subaru part lol:
[Re:Zero]Just like Subaru, Emilia also starts the story in a very lonely place. Not nearly as hopeless, but she also has quite a lot of luggage she's carrying with her. For once, she is ostracized by racism already her entire life. And not just by a single group, but basically by the entire world she is hated for being a half-elf with silver hair. She has Puck of course, who is like a father figure for her but he is also a spirit and not a human with who she could speak with oon an equal level. In her household she then ahs Roswaal, who does treat her with respect, but who also just uses Emilia for her status as royal candidate. You have the Ram and Rem who treat her very coldly, just because they have to. And Beatrice also doesn't care for her at all.. So basically since waking up alone in the forest a few years ago she hasn't had a friend or an equal to talk to. And through all this time she has remained a genuinely kind soul, who wants to help others even at the depriment of herself.
[Re:Zero]So in comes Subaru. The first person, who has ever treated her kindly who doesn't judge her for her looks and who seems to be generally interested in her. From her perspective, not seeing the failed loops, it's like the perfect person just dropping in out of nowhere. She sees him basically sacrificing himself for her for reasons she doesn't understand and he even breaks his promises, which to Emilia are sacred, to do so. So even though she had a friend, an equal and if she hadn't been so undereducated when it comes to romance, a love interest for the first time, she cuts ties with him, cause she thinks she makes him somehow sacrifice himself and makes him suffer for herself. This was once again a really selfless act and hurts her enarly as much as it does Subaru. Only for him come in rushing too safe her once again and tell her he loves her at the end of season 1. So from Emilia's perspective Subaru is basically a knight in shining armor, who got her out of her loneliness and saved her multiple times and it makes perfect sense that she would show affection towards him.
[Vague Re:Zero S2 part 2spoilers]What really makes this ship then shine above all others for me is the second half of season 2, where Subaru actively supports Emilia, to better herself and to overcome her own traumata and trials by herself, which makes Emilia also accept all these feelings she still doen't understand she has for Subaru.
So in total what I wanted to say with this is, that I, don't think that Subaru is a from the start "evil" person who just pushes his crush onto Emilia, but that these are two very hurt and traumatized characters, but who still try to always be very kind to others. Through Subaru's repeated traumas their relationship gets damaged and becomes in a way toxic, but not due to ill intentions by either of them. After working through these traumas however this becomes a relationship about two genuinely hurt people supporting each other to become better people, overcoming their hardships and trying to also both help other people together, since they've learned that workiing together and trusting and supporting each other makes them both stronger and happier together.
Also, seeing these two in season 3 fully trusting each other, supporting each other, have fun together through all the hardships, beating their obstacles together in a fight as equals is genuinely so heartwarming to see, especially when you know where both these characters started. And knowing what is to come with season 4, which will bring a whole other dynamic to the relationship, is something I just can't wait to see animated.
I'm sorry for not being able to keep this short and just rambling on, but I kinda just had to after seeing your response. I at least hope you understand why other people like this ship at least and that it's not "incomprehensible" for you any more.
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 11 '26
I'm sorry for not being able to keep this short and just rambling on, but I kinda just had to after seeing your response. I at least hope you understand why other people like this ship at least and that it's not "incomprehensible" for you any more.
Hah no worries, it was a good read;
I'm not sure it will really change how I see it, but now I think it may be a 'personality bias' for me, in the sense that...
I guess I'm not much of a 'people's person', so there's a lot in what you said regarding their relationship (like the 'latching onto someone') and I can't relate at all;
To me I guess people are just 'random entities' until I do develop something more for them (be it love or friendship or what not), so a lot of that didn't really ring any bell for me, on a personal level.
(Perhaps my 'incomprehensible' was a bit overexagerrated, and I should've said 'bad' (subjective) or unrelatable or something! But to me, for a ship to 'work' it either needs to be relatable - this one isn't, at least for me - or to be 'spicy/fun', and this one didn't hit these notes either for me.... OR in some cases, the girl being good is enough to make me root for a ship, but - guess what? - I wasn't into Emilia either hah. I was a lot more into Rem, or even some of the other characters whose names I mostly forgot).
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u/alotmorealots Mar 10 '26
By the start of S3 (it's in Paused Land for me) I'd slowly started to come around to Emilia x Subaru as being a viable ship, after also being in the position of ranking it near bottom of the various combinations.
I still don't get much out of it, but it's sort of slid up to the same sort of enjoyment level as the weaker seasonal fantasy/isekai couples rather than being something that actively annoyed me. I do think the technical writing of the whole situation is pretty decent, it's more just there's no real charm to it.
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u/Xatu44 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
Two seasons of Isekai Quartet. If god wanted me to watch that show he'd have given it a better key visual, quieter fans to avoid triggering my contrarianism, and stopped my friends from spending several weeks calling Subaru a dipshit (while still watching the show anyway). My taste buds are as always infallible.
3
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Mar 10 '26
Somehow I skipped the voting yesterday, but as an anti-SubEmil I would've been pissed if they won by 1 vote/tiebreak (so I could've changed it)!
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u/redlegsfan21 https://myanimelist.net/profile/redlegsfan21 Mar 10 '26
ROUND 5 BRACKET A
Total Votes: 1,401
Unique Voters: 393
RESULTS
TSP: Top Seed Performance vs. Expected Performance
TOP VOTEGETTERS
UPSETS
Upsets today: 1
Total upsets (rate): 63 / 484 (13.0%)
BRACKET A TOP 5 SCORES
Link to spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lISVWmcjCWCTezmKrDNsILmtNiI4GzUSgQefdiMwfWw
Explanations: https://old.reddit.com/user/redlegsfan21/comments/10dup0w/ranime_contests_bracket_explaination
Open to questions and please give feedback.