Fan Preferred Couples in Ensemble Stars!.
- It was at one point implied and supported by Word of God that the protagonist Anzu was the Implied Love Interest of Hokuto Hidaka, but the general opinion of whom to the fans want her to end up with within the fanbase has shifted greatly over time. Primarily - Anzu is preferred to be shipped with Kaoru,Madara, and certain members of Knights- namely Leo, Izumi and Tsukasa (In Japan, at least).
- For those who prefer her with Madara, this ship rose to prominence due to Madara fulfilling the Childhood Friend trope, canonically being implied to have romantic feelings for Anzu and acting as a Mysterious Protector that helps her behind the scenes. It helps that he not only is an Expy of Natsumi from Ensemble Girls!, but that he and Anzu also share a similar dynamic to that of Natsumi and the transfer student of that game. Not even the reveal that Madara has lied about most of the his past with Anzu has deterred fans from shipping them together, as he is still shown to care about her despite his blatant manipulation. His actions toward Anzu have also been shown to evolve into something more genuine over time, as A Dark Night’s Passing shows how far he’ll go to protect anyone he deems to be his precious person.
- For those who prefer Anzu with Kaoru, it’s also due to the fact that he canonically has romantic feelings for her, with Kaoru being determined to prove to Anzu that his feelings are genuine. As of Ensemble Stars!!, he’s lost interest in womanizing and can no longer flippantly flirt with Anzu as he used to, becoming tongue-tied and embarrassed when being asked to pretend to ask her out on a date.
- For Ho Yay ships, there are many due to the franchises Cast Full of Pretty Boys and the fact that the story lays on the Ho Yay between the characters pretty thick.
- Rei is a Launcher of a Thousand Ships due to his status as one of the biggest Ensemble Dark Horse characters in the franchise, and as a result he has many popular pairings. His biggest ships are those with his fellow Undead members, primarily with Koga (Which is also Koga’s most popular ship), and with Kaoru (Despite Kaoru’s sole interest in women that he’s intent on reminding the other members of the cast of.) He’s also shipped with his brother, Ritsu, a lot to the point where the ship has earned the name “Sakumacest”.
- The main ships for Kanata are split between Chiaki, Kaoru and Madara, all three of whom he gets canon Ship Tease with. However, his ship with Chiaki is his most popular, likely due to them being on the same team and getting the most ship tease together.
- Despite Izumi’s Stalker with a Crush status directed at Makoto, his biggest ship is with Leo. The story seems to encourage this ship, or is at least aware of how popular the ship is, as many Knight’s event tend to shift the focus onto their relationship. And while Leo is shipped with other characters, such as Tsukasa and Madara, his biggest ship is also with Izumi for this reason.
- Rinne/Niki became a popular ship right out the gate due to Rinne’s constant flirting with Niki in story. The ship became even more popular once it was revealed in the main story that Niki, despite saying the contrary, is just as devoted to him.
- It’s unlikely that you’ll see Mika being shipped with very many characters outside of Shu, due to his dependency on him in the story and their unit together.
- Ritsu/Mao is also one of the biggest ships due the reason above, sans them being in a unit together. It’s all but stated that Ritsu is canonically in love with Mao at this point.
- For Kuro, he’ll mainly be shipped with Keito, Nazuna or Madara Mikejima.
- Adonis/Souma seem to be the biggest ships for both characters.
- Wataru/Eichi is very popular.
- Aira is mainly shipped with Hiiro Amagi.
