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1%%This trope needs a canon couple to overshadow for it to count. The canon/ones with no canon couples to compete with are removed. The ones without mentioning them are hidden/rewritten. If you want to unhide one please add a canon couple or come to this thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14860997890A40152400&page=1
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4{{Fan Preferred Couple}}s in AnimeAndManga.
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7* In ''Manga/AkameGaKill'', [[TheHero Tatsumi]] ends up with [[{{Tsundere}} Mine]], the Night Raid sniper. While some fans were happy about them being together, some still preferred the concept of Tatsumi being with someone else:
8** The titular assassin [[RedBaron Akame]] is the main pick for the fan-preferred pairing with Tatsumi. Unfortunately, this may be IncompatibleOrientation as Akame was known to show feelings for an assassination target she had once: [[PsychoLesbian Merraid Oarburgh]]. So she may be a lesbian.
9** Another big pick for who should be Tatsumi's LI is [[TheDragon the villainous General Esdeath]], the secondary antagonist of the series, as people believed that Tatsumi could invoke a HeelFaceTurn. However, Esdeath is an [[BeyondRedemption irredeemable]] {{sadist}} [[SocialDarwinist who believes that the weak deserve to be put out of their misery while the strong rule]]. This didn't actually stop the Tatsumi/Esdeath shippers, since [[RootingForTheEmpire many of them expressed a desire for her to successfully corrupt Tatsumi instead]]. [[ShipSinking This ship was sunk when Akame killed Esdeath in the final battle of the series.]]
10** A third great pick is [[TheGadfly Chelsea]], due to being (usually) much nicer than most of the cast, as well her canon crush on Tatsumi. [[spoiler: This ship was sunk as well due to the AnyoneCanDie nature of the story, as Chelsea suffered [[CruelAndUnusualDeath the most undeserving and horrifying death]] in the whole series ''shortly after being introduced'']].
11%%* A lot of ''Anime/AquarionEvol'' fans, at least in the U.S., preferred [[spoiler: Amata to be with Zessica and Mikono to be with Kagura.]]
12* From ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'', at least half of the fanbase will tell you that [[KidSamurai Kennosuke]] is that much of a more fitting match for Nadja. It helps that Nadja's [[LoveTriangle Love Triangle-y]] canon interest on Francis/[[spoiler:Keith]] (Black Rose) is mostly based on a "he saved me, therefore I love him" reaction, while her friendship with Kennosuke was actually developed and detailed.
13* Among all of Aki's possible love interests in ''Literature/BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts'', [[DudeLooksLikeALady Hideyoshi]] is the only one that has yet to physically assault him. And as of the later light novels, [[HoYay the feeling is apparently mutual]].
14* ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'' fans like Aoki with either [[BirdsOfAFeather Takagi]] or especially [[spoiler:[[OppositesAttract Shinda]] [[RescueRomance Fukuda]].]] In the end, [[spoiler:Takagi ends up married to Miyoshi, while Aoki is in a relationship with Hiramaru, and is ultimately engaged to him]].
15* ''Manga/{{Beastars}}'': Legosi x Louis is infinitely more popular than Legosi x Haru, both because of the unreal amount of Ho Yay moments shared between them and because Haru becomes increasingly irrelevant as the series continues in favor of Louis taking her spot as the series' deuteragonist.
16%%* ''Franchise/{{Beyblade}}'': (Zero-Context: Entries are not names and do not reference the canon pairing they are preferred over)
17%%** The most popular ship for the original ''Anime/BakutenShootBeyblade'' anime bar none is Takao/Kai. (Zero-Context: Entry is just a pair of names and does not reference the competing canon entry)
18%%** ''Anime/MetalFightBeyblade'' fans often ship Ginga and his rival Kyoya. (Zero-Context: Entry is just a pair of names and does not reference the competing canon entry)
19%%** Shipping Valt and his best friend Shu has caught on with ''Anime/BeybladeBurst'' fans, especially in Japan. (Zero-Context: Entry does not reference the competing canon entry
20* Many fans of ''Anime/TheBigO'' prefer lead character Roger Smith to be with [[RobotGirl Dorothy Waynewright]] over [[FemmeFatale Angel]].
21* Most ''Manga/BlackButler'' fans ship Sebastian/Ciel, despite WordOfGod repeatedly stating that they are only using each other for personal gain. As for their canon romantic options, Ciel is engaged to Elizabeth, while the only thing Sebastian genuinely loves is cats.
22* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
23** As the two primary main cast characters, Ichigo/Rukia is extremely popular among fans even though WordOfGod has stated that their relationship is [[PlatonicLifePartners "close, but not romantic"]]. The anime also supports this ship and inserts a lot of filler material to give them ShipTease that doesn't exist in the canon material. The DistantFinale revealed that Ichigo and Rukia respectively married [[spoiler:Orihime and Renji]], much to many a fan's consternation, and this is one of the several reasons why the finale is an AudienceAlienatingEnding.
24** Quite a few people prefer Ulquiorra to be with Orihime. He's her most popular FoeYayShipping partner, and forms the second or first most popular Orihime ship overall.
25%%** The major slash pairings are Ikkaku/Yumichika, Kyouraku/Ukitake and Yoruichi/Soifon. Canonically, the first two are both HeterosexualLifePartner examples and the third is a mentor/student UndyingLoyalty relationship. However, both the fandom and the animators love shipping them together and find any excuse to do so.
26* Daikichi and Yukari from ''Manga/BunnyDrop'' are this. They have their ShipTease and fans find the idea of two single parents up together adorable, however come the manga {{timeskip}} [[spoiler:and it turns out it didn't work between them due to the fact Rin and Kouki end up dating.]] The manga's OfficialCouple is Daikichi and [[spoiler:''Rin'', the kid he's been raising since she was six.]] Both the anime adaptation and LiveActionAdaptation [[CanonDiscontinuity ignore]] the manga and leave open endings with plenty of implications that Daikichi and Yukari will end up together.
27* ''Manga/CageOfEden'': Akira/Mami has started rapidly gaining popularity, even though Akira/Rion was the official pairing.
28* ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'' has Eriol/Tomoyo, even though Eriol/Kaho is canon, and [[spoiler: Tomoyo is in love with Sakura]]. But many fans will pair them because of their similar personality traits and that they find Eriol dating Kaho to be "creepy" because of their apparent age-difference (WordOfGod has stated though that [[spoiler: Eriol is Fujitaka's age, technically making him older than Kaho and ''way'' older than Tomoyo]]).
29* ''Manga/CaseClosed'': During the early parts of the series, it was heavily implied that [[ImpliedLoveInterest Shiho/Ai]], was in love with the main character [[OblivioustoLove Shinichi/Conan]]. Both characters had personalities that fans found complemented each other more naturally with the whole DeadpanSnarker schtick. However as the series went on, the creators almost completely erased all mention of Shiho/Shinichi ShipTease material and now, they’re just TrueCompanions. A large majority of fans of the series still prefers Shiho/Shinichi due to how their personality plays off each other as opposed to the canon [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Ran/Shinichi]].
30* Many ''Manga/CeresCelestialLegend'' fans consider Yuuhi to be a better match for Aya than Tooya, [[spoiler:though she actually ''does'' sort of end up with him. Not on-screen, but considering [[YourDaysAreNumbered Tooya is dying already]]...]]
31* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Post-series, the creators did their best to [[ShipSinking dismiss]] the Lelouch/C.C. ship. Fans of Lulu/CC persist because the pair, a [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] ByronicHero and a MysteriousWaif BrokenBird, complemented each other very well - so well that a vast majority of the show's art, both fan- and official, puts Lelouch with C.C. rather than [[ActionGirl Kallen]] or [[DisposableWoman Shirley]]. ''Anime/CodeGeassLelouchOfTheResurrection'' resulted in much rejoicing because it created an alternate timeline where Lulu/CC is canon.
32** And when it comes to slash ships, [[FoeYayShipping Lelouch/Suzaku]] is the most famous and has the most fan material. It helps that the creators and marketing team caught on to this and released quite a lot of homoerotic official products of them.
33* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Spike has a canon love interest in Julia, but the majority of fans prefer him with Faye. It helps that WordOfGod has confirmed Spike and Faye had a thing for each other, but Spike's obsession with his past prevented him from doing anything about it.
34* Fans of ''VisualNovel/DaCapo'' are rather divided about who Jun'ichi should have ended up with, but most think Kotori would have been a much better match for him than Nemu for various reasons, among them not being a {{Tsundere}} or his [[NotBloodSiblings adopted sister]]. Unfortunately, the sequel reinforced the official pairing by featuring Jun'ichi and Nemu's granddaughters. (An alternate-universe OVA was released in which Kotori wins. Kotori must have been pretty popular.) In the original VN, Nemu has almost an unrecognizable personality if you're only used to her in the anime (she's far less bitchy and far more empathic and likable). She was undoubtedly the favorite of the majority until the anime adaptations.
35* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'' had a ship war between the 74th Class trio. Munakata/Juzo vs Munakata/Chisa vs Juzo/Chisa, being that there were heavy implications that Munakata and Chisa were an OfficialCouple. Ultimately, with TheReveal that [[spoiler: Chisa was a Remnant of Despair who had been actively pushing Munakata into despair and took part in killing Chiaki]] and Episode 10 of Side:Despair revealing that [[spoiler:Juzo was in love with Munakata, ultimately, doing a HeroicSacrifice and saving the last participants of the Final Killing Game in exchange of bleeding to death]], Juzo/Munakata quickly toppled the other two ships.
36* In ''Literature/DateALive'', while Tohka is the lead girl, fans would prefer shipping Shido with [[CuteAndPsycho Kurumi]] since they snark so well with each other.
37* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': Despite the ShipTease between Laios and Marcille, fans widely prefer Marcile/Falin and Laios/Kabru; the former because of their extremely close relationship, [[LesYay to the point of sharing a bed and bathing together]]; and the later due to their contrasting characterization, good looks, and Kabru's [[FoeYayShipping obsessiveness]] towards Laios.
38* ''Anime/DenNohCoil'': A large portion of the fanbase, particularly on Pixiv, seem to be supportive of [[LesYay Yasako and Isako]], leaving Haraken to [[DieForOurShip die for their favorite couple.]]
39* ''Anime/DevilmanCrybaby'' doesn't end in good prospects for any of its pairings, and the romantic stuff that is there tends to lean on AllLoveIsUnrequited. Nonetheless, most of the fandom [[ShipMates seems to rally behind]] shipping Ryo/Akira with a side of LoveRedeems to resolve the aforementioned ending troubles, and Miki/Miko to tie up the major romantic loose end this creates and [[DyingDeclarationOfLove validate their final interaction]].
40* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': With its dozens and dozens of characters over the years, there's been all sorts of contention. Digimon fans grew up with the rise of the internet, so these are some of the earliest Fan Preferred Couples ''online''.
41** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'': In a rather infamous example of DependingOnTheWriter, Taichi and Sora became a vastly more popular couple than the canonically-intended couple of Yamato and Sora. Show director Hiroyuki Kakudou had always planned for Sora and Yamato to end up together, with Sora and Taichi simply being JustFriends. Sora and Yamato being married with kids was even a part of the original finale to ''Adventure'' but he scrapped this as he thought the characters were too young. Even the production staff appeared to ship Sora with Taichi instead as they admitted they were used to the main boy ending up with main girl (which was a cliche that Kakudou himself was specifically trying to avoid) and some of the voice actors expressed a preference for Taichi/Sora (including Mayumi Yamaguchi, the VA for Yamato's Digimon partner Gabumon). Mamoru Hosoda, who directed ''Our War Game'' seemed to imply that Sora had a crush on Taichi, although this "crush" was never a thing in the original ''Adventure'' and ''02''. Naturally, the fans were all thrown for a loop when Kakudou [[StrangledByTheRedString forced the issue]] by having Sora and Yamato become a couple during the ''02'' ChristmasEpisode despite [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight their relative lack of relationship development prior]], whereas Taichi had lines like "I want some of Sora's love, too," and referring to "something very precious to me on the other side of this wall" when he's on his way to rescue her. The English dub added further fuel for the Taichi/Sora shippers, as the dub writers, who would have been unaware of how the original director's endgame was, added more ShipTease to their interactions. However, the Yamato/Sora relationship went over with Japanese audiences much easier than it did with Western ones and also enjoys a much warmer reception in other countries such as in South Korea. Later sequels and video games such as ''[[Anime/DigimonAdventureTri tri.]]'' and the [[VideoGame/DigimonAdventurePSP PSP video game]] attempted to spin the Yamato-Sora-Taichi relationship off as a LoveTriangle because of how inconsistent the writing had become, as well as possibly being the Japanese writers throwing a bone to the Western fanbase's perception.
42** While Ken and Miyako wound up married in the finale of ''02'', most fans shipped Ken with Daisuke instead, since they have very little in-show support other than her having a massive crush on him that he never seemed aware of. The relationship between Ken and Daisuke is much more developed and more intense, being chock full of HoYay even when Ken was the Digimon Kaiser. In comparison, Ken has little-to-no meaningful interactions with any of the main cast besides Daisuke, which only reinforces the shipping notions. In fact, on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, the pairing outranks all others from the whole franchise.
43** ''Anime/DigimonTamers'': Ruki Makino is commonly shipped with costar Takato (in the west), superseding the [[OfficialCouple canonical]] [[PuppyLove Takato/Juri]], and has a large number of interpretations ranging from MasculineGirlFeminineBoy (Ruki's Tsundere and Takato's Adorkable) to SlapSlapKiss to TwiceShy.
44* ''Franchise/DragonBall'', quite a few.
45** An example comes from the voice actors surprisingly. As Bulma and Yamcha's seiyu reportedly didn’t like the fact Bulma hooked with Vegeta in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', seeing as it threw away the growth the couple had throughout the [[Manga/DragonBall early series]] and [[OutOfCharacterMoment felt out of character for Yamcha to play the field]].
46*** Really Vegeta and Bulma only got together for the sake of plot and getting another Saiyan into the picture aka Trunks. Lampshaded in ''Manga/DragonBallThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsYamcha'', where the kid who is reincarnated as Yamcha loves Bulma but realizes that being her boyfriend and [[TrainingFromHell not training]] got Yamcha killed, and secondly he has to let Vegeta get her for the sake of billions of people in the [[BadFuture future]].
47** A good chunk of the fanbase actually like Goku and Bulma together, since they’ve had such strong connection from the start and Bulma becomes attracted to Goku seeing him as a grown man. But ultimately he ends up with Chi-Chi; lampshaded by Bulma herself where she reflects how lucky she could’ve been to be his wife but understands ''[[ShipSinking she really missed the boat on that one]]''.
48** One particularly painful example is Tien and Launch (particularly her mischievous blonde side) who have more fan support than most ships in the franchise but Launch was PutOnABus (forever) despite all the ship teasing in Dragon Ball. Creator/AkiraToriyama said in a 2013 interview they do not end up together but remain good friends. It got especially annoying in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' when some chick called Yurin was introduced as a potential love interest for Tien all while Launch’s existence was continuously ignored.
49** Thanks to ''Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGoku'' and ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi'' a lot of fans ship Bardock and his female teammate [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Celipa/Seripa/Fasha]] together and even speculated that she was Goku's mother as she's the one who reminds Bardock of the exact date of Goku's birth. When ''Dragon Balll Minus'' introduced Gine, a good deal of fans still preferred Bardock with Fasha. It wasn't until ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' that the majority came around on Gine.
50** Some people also hate Videl Satan to the point where they ship Gohan with someone else, usually someone like filler character Lime or sideline nice-girl Erasa.
51** Similarly some fans detest Chi-Chi and ship Goku with Caulifla or Vados from ''Super''.
52** [[BestFriend Goten/Trunks]] remains the most popular ship for both of them. Both would get female love interests in media after ''DBZ'', but Goten's girlfriend Valese in ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' isn't very popular for being a one-dimensional BrainlessBeauty. Meanwhile, Trunks' ShipTease with Mai in ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' is seen as downright {{squick}}y since Trunks is a child while Mai is a woman older than Trunks' mom de-aged to a child and tried to kill Trunks' mom many years before he was born.
53** A lot of fans of ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' thought Goten and Bra, as well as Trunks and Pan should eventually hook as way of uniting Goku and Vegeta’s families and ensuring the survival of the Saiyan-line on Earth.
54** HoYay side, a good chunk of fans actually prefer rivals Goku and Vegeta together rather being with their respective wives.
55* Episode 13 of ''Anime/DogDays'' gives Cinque/Millhi as the OfficialCouple, but there's a ''lot'' of fanart out there for Cinque/Eclair.
56* In ''Anime/FafnerInTheAzureDeadAggressor'', main characters Kazuki, Soushi, and Maya are supposed to be in a LoveTriangle, with Soushi liking Maya who in turn is in love with an oblivious Kazuki. The thing is, Kazuki and Soushi have some great chemistry together, share a lot of very intimate moments, and ''Maya'' thinks that Kazuki would rather be with Soushi than with her. All of this has turned Kazuki/Soushi into an overwhelmingly popular pairing, to the point that shippy fanart about the two makes up about a third of all ''Fafner'' fanworks hosted on pixiv (for a reference, that's ten times as much fanart as Maya has, and she managed to avoid DieForOurShip rather well). Before the sequel ''Exodus'' came out, ''Fafner's'' official website hosted a poll asking fans to choose their favorite moments in the franchise. Out of the five winners, four were scenes of Kazuki and Soushi bonding and showing affection for each other.
57* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Although Rin is technically a love interest to Shirou Emiya, fans generally prefer to ship her with her Servant Archer instead, due to their snarky relationship which mixes elements of MistressAndServantBoy and LadyAndKnight together. Ironically, Archer [[spoiler:''is'' a version of Shirou Emiya from the future, albeit one who is heavily jaded by his experiences]].
58* ''Literature/FateApocrypha'': Fans tend to find Jeanne/Sieg very dull, whether it's due to being too similar to the already lukewarm Shirou/Saber, their lack of chemistry, the apparent jump to love interests [[StrangledByTheRedString happening far too quickly,]] or just not liking Sieg. Because of this, people who like Sieg tend to prefer him with Astolfo, who is more popular, contrasts Sieg better, and has more evident chemistry. It also frees up Jeanne, who can end up with Mordred, [[VideoGame/FateGrandOrder Marie Antoinette, or her own Alter counterpart.]] This one even got some official acknowledgement in ''Learning with Manga'', where Gudao watching the show ''immediately'' interprets the two as a couple, and even gets jealous over it.
59* ''Manga/FoodWars'': [[TheHero Soma Yukihira]] and [[AlphaBitch Erina]] [[{{Tsundere}} Nakiri]] tends to be the most supported pairing in fan works and forum discussions, despite [[{{Deuteragonist}} Megumi Tadokoro]] having a number of ShipTease moments with Soma.
60* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' is a shipping goldmine! While many support the cannonical Kyo/Tohru, Yuki/Tohru and Kyo/Kagura complete the love triangle with a large fan base. On the yaoi side, Yuki/Kyo and Yuki/Hatsuharu are pretty popular too.
61** Interestingly enough, there was a pretty respectable contingent of Haru/Akito shippers... but only when Akito [[spoiler: was thought to be a boy]].
62* ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'': For years, Roy/Ed was the most popular pairing of the show, surpassing both the heavily teased Royai, aka Roy/Riza, and the OfficialCouple, Edwin, aka Ed/Winry. However, by the 2020s, interest started to shift more towards Royai, as the ship gained more traction in recent years and Roy/Ed became less popular due to {{Squick}} over the age gap between the adult Roy and teenaged Edward. As of 2022, Royai has beaten out Roy/Ed for the most fan fiction works of any other couple in the franchise on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, though Roy/Ed still remains as Edward's popular ship. This also only applies to the Western fandom, as Roy/Ed still has the most fanworks overall on the Japanese side.
63* ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'':
64** Many fans prefer to pair Miaka with Tasuki instead of Tamahome.
65** Suboshi is ''far'' more popular a love interest for Yui than Yui's canon boyfriend, Tetsuya.
66** [[VitriolicBestBuds Nuriko/Tasuki]] also has their share of fans. It helps that their English voice actors actually got married.
67* Ostensibly, the main pairing of ''Manga/GaRei'' is Kensuke/Kagura. However, the prequel, ''Anime/GaReiZero'', focuses on Kagura's relationship with the otherwise minor character Yomi - and as it turns out, said relationship turned out to be a ''lot'' more compelling, in spite of ([[StarCrossedLovers or even helped by]]) being DoomedByCanon. That ''Zero'' is the more popular of the two overall doesn't hurt, nor does [[BestKnownForTheFanservice the most famous scene in the franchise]] being [[SpaghettiKiss the two of them playing pocky game.]]
68* ''Manga/GakuenBabysitters'': Later in the plot, the protagonist Ryuuichi is in the middle of a love triangle in which the {{Tsundere}} Inomata and the ShrinkingViolet Ushimaru try to get with him. Most fans however tend to ship [[SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan Ryuuichi with Kamitani]]. It's somewhat HilariousInHindsight as it's implied that Ushimaru envies how close the two men are, if not outright recognizing Kamitani as another love rival.
69** Connected to it, as the two girls befriend, a lot of fans started to ship them with each other rather than Ryuuichi.
70* Quite a few ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'' fans would love to see Madarame and Saki at least try to get together. Sure, Madarame seems to have a disadvantage compared to Kousaka in the looks department, but he and Saki seem to be a much better match when it comes to temperament. They also like to tease each other a bit too much for comfort.
71* ''Manga/GhostHunt'' has Naru/Mai and Monk/Ayako. Some fans also seem to like Masako and John together; an odd pairing given that the former only has eyes for Naru in canon and the latter is a [[CelibateHero Catholic Priest]].
72* In the ''Manga/GoodLuckGirl'' fandom, the Pixiv fanartists are ''very'' much in favor of Ichiko and Momiji over the former's canonical love interest Keita.
73* The ''Anime/GreatPretender'' fandom is heavily focused on the Makoto/Laurent ship, moreso than the {{ship tease}}d Makoto/Abbie, and the formerly-canon-but-now-over [[spoiler: Laurent/Dorothy]]. The two have a rather HoYay-laden relationship, with Laurent having a bad case of NoSenseOfPersonalSpace where Makoto is concerned, his constant teasing, and calling him by the AffectionateNickname "Edamame." There are hints in-series that [[AmbiguouslyBi this is intentional]]--when Laurent playfully flirts with his associate Cynthia (and informs her he's doing so), she responds, "I thought Edamame was your favorite?" While it's left ambiguous whether she's referencing a genuine attraction on Laurent's part or just teasing him about his favoritism, [[YaoiFangirl fans latched on to the former interpretation.]]
74* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' fans seem to prefer [[TeacherStudentRomance Onizuka and Urumi]], at least as far as the majority of the Western fanbase first introduced to the series through [=GTO=] is concerned. The pairing tends to get more support due to the opinion that Urumi has more of a developed personality, while Fuyutsuki too obviously fills in the role of [[SatelliteLoveInterest obligatory love interest]].
75** Ayame and returning LoveInterest Shinomi from ''Shonan 14 Days'' join the fray, with the advantage of being the same age as Onizuka rather than a minor.
76* While the official pairing in ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'' is quite obviously Shu and Inori, many fans actually consider [[{{Tsundere}} Ayase]] or [[NiceGirl Hare]] as better romantic partners.
77* Despite the NoHuggingNoKissing tone of ''Anime/HaibaneRenmei'', and slight ShipTease between Reki and a childhood friend of hers, Rakka/Reki is the most popular ship.
78* ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}: Many fans like the idea of Kanoka getting together with her crush Tanaka who at the very least supports and admires her. [[spoiler:Even after Tanaka marries Shimizu, some still prefer him to be with Kanoka.]]
79* ''Manga/{{Highschool of the Dead}}'': The majority of fans would rather see Takashi end up with [[LadyofWar Saeko]] instead of [[OldFlame Rei]].
80* Tsukushi was originally supposed to end up with Rui in ''Manga/BoysOverFlowers'' but Tsukasa/Tsukushi became so popular with fans it became the OfficialCouple, which is ironic because after the manga finished, Rui/Tsukushi became the FanPreferredCouple because a lot of people thought Tsukasa became an incredible jerkass at times who kept upsetting Tsukushi while Rui gradually became a much more friendly and warm young man who was always there for Tsukushi.
81%%* The most popular ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' couples are [[BodyguardCrush Alucard/Integra]], [[MentorShip Alucard/Seras]], [[SlapSlapKiss Pip/Seras]] and [[HoYay Alucard/Walter]] (the young or Dark Walter versions...which is ironic since canonically [[spoiler:Alucard refers to Walter's natural, elderly body as being trillions of times more beautiful than his artificially youthened one]]).
82%%** Walter/Girlycard. Sometimes, the fans make Alucard take his girl form (aka [[FanNickname Girlycard]]) in Alucard/Walter stories.
83* Many ''Manga/HotGimmick'' fans prefer Hatsumi to have ended up with [[spoiler:her (adopted) brother Shinogu]] rather than Ryoki, given Ryoki's [[FetishizedAbuser treatment of Hatsumi]]. And in the novel, [[spoiler:Hatsumi actually ''does'' end up with Shinogu]].
84* ''Manga/InuYasha'': A vast majority of the fandom is very evenly split between pairing [[NobleDemon Sesshomaru]] with either [[MoralityPet Rin]] or [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight Kagome]], ignoring his canonical ImpliedLoveInterest status with [[DarkMagicalGirl Kagura]]. The reason for the even split is because Rin is eight years old and (though he doesn't directly admit it because that would mean admitting he actually cares about a human) Sesshomaru's adopted daughter, and therefore causes controversial WifeHusbandry support/squick debates. Kagome's status as the GirlNextDoor character makes her an extremely seductive, and less controversial, WishFulfillment alternative for shipping fans.
85* Due to the [[CastFullOfPrettyBoys nature of]] ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', fans tend to prefer the [=JoJos=] with their {{Heterosexual Life Partner}}s or {{Rival}}s instead of their canon love interests.
86** While most fans take kindly to Jonathan's relationship with Erina, he is more often paired up with Dio due to the strong FoeRomanceSubtext between the two, both acting as {{Foil}}s to each other, and [[spoiler:their final moments together where Jonathan is still shown to care about Dio, and the latter being visibly shocked by the former's death]].
87** Although [[OfficialCouple Joseph/Suzi Q]] is still a generally well-liked couple, [[HeterosexualLifePartners Joseph/Caesar]] is one of the fandom's most popular pairings due to the two's well-developed FriendlyRivalry [[spoiler:which is tragically cut short by Caesar's death]].
88** Despite Jolyne [[spoiler:getting together with Anasui post-reset]], many fans prefer to ship Jolyne/Ermes as the two's [[BashBrothers Bash Brother]] relationship parallel the previous Parts' "[[HeterosexualLifePartners BroJo]]" pairings such as Joseph/Caesar and Josuke/Okuyasu.
89** Continuing the trend of each Part, Johnny/Gyro is the one of the most popular pairings from Part 7 due to the strong friendship the two form over the course of the story, their humorous dynamic with other, [[spoiler:and Johnny's devastating reaction to Gyro's death]]. Even after [[spoiler:Johnny is shown to have gotten into a loving marriage after the Part's events]], this is still his most popular ship.
90* [[ForTheLulz Shizuku]] and [[CluelessChickMagnet Natsuru]] in ''Literature/{{Kampfer}}'' are essentially this in the eyes of the fans, who love seeing Shizuku trolling Natsuru. The OfficialCouple according to the LightNovel is Natsuru and Akane, while the anime opted for the "everyone wins" route. [[spoiler: The manga has Shizuku winning.]]
91* Amongst the ''Anime/KillLaKill'' fandom by far the most popular ship is [[FoeYayShipping Ryuko/Satsuki]] that tends to have at least twice as many fanfics written about the two then any other pairing. TheReveal [[spoiler: that the two of them [[SurpriseIncest are actually long lost sisters]] doesn't seem to have petered most of the fandom at all, if anything [[IncestYayShipping it's actually made the pairing stronger]]]]. The popular Shipmates for the two seem to be [[HugeGuyTinyGirl Mako/Gamagoori]] (it helps that Gamagoori seems to have feelings for Mako InUniverse anyway). A lot of this was changed by the ending, however, when [[spoiler: Mako asks Ryuko on a date]]. Preferences after that went in the direction of a Ryuko-Mako-Satsuki {{OT3}}.
92* ''Manga/KissHimNotMe'': For those who like yuri, Serinuma/Nishina is probably the preferred ship, helped by the fact that Nishina is legitimately [[GayOption part]] of Serinuma's harem and she shares a lot of good points with Mutsumi.
93* ''Manga/LuckyStar'': There are quite a few fans who choose to believe that Ayano isn't dating Misao's unseen older brother, but rather, this is a euphemism to cover up her relationship with Misao herself.
94* ''Manga/{{MAR}}'':
95** Jack/Snow is surprisingly more popular than Jack/Pano (if only because of the Ghost Chess arc) on forum discussions.
96** On the HoYay side, you have Ginta/Alviss, Phantom/Alviss and Rolan/Alviss with the first two being nearly tied.
97* Meiko and Satoshi are this in ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy''. Many fans were [[spoiler: visibly irked by Namura's re-entry into Meiko's life, and the abrupt abortion of what seemed a slow-but-steady romantic buildup between her and Satoshi. Many post-series fics have been written [[DieForOurShip with Namura either]] [[DroppedABridgeOnHim dying in a fire]] or turning out to be an [[DomesticAbuse abusive husband]], leaving the door open for Satoshi to play KnightInShiningArmor.]]
98%%* There's the popular pairing of Ruri/Akito in ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico''. This is also kind of aided by the fact that their seiyuu, Omi Minami and Yuji Ueda, are married in real life.
99* ''Manga/MedakaBox'' has Zenkichi/Emukae. Medaka/Kumagawa definitely seem to be fairly popular as well, compared to the canonical affection Zenkichi has for Medaka [[spoiler: which seems to be reciprocated as of Chapter 140.]]
100* Many fans of ''Manga/MidoriDays'' seem to prefer Ayase/Seiji more than the official couple.
101* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
102** The amount of Domon/Allenby shipping in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' is rather amazing considering that this show came before [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing the series]] that allegedly attracted all the [[EstrogenBrigade stereotypical shippers]] to the franchise. Proof that {{Love Triangle}}s can survive and thrive even in a fairly straightforward {{shounen}} kung-fu-with-giant-robots show. The fact that Allenby herself is a ShipperOnDeck for Domon/Rain, and the one who convinces Domon to tell Rain how he feels, doesn't seem to have gotten in the way.
103*** The manga adaptation played up Allenby and Domon's [[BelligerentSexualTension teasing]]; the artist made it clear in an interview that he preferred Allenby to Rain.
104** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': The show's writers intended [[HitmanWithAHeart Heero]][=/=][[RebelliousPrincess Relena]] (especially in the sidestories like ''Blind Target'' and ''Battlefield of Pacifists''), but the YaoiFangirls [[DieForOurShip completely and utterly despise her precisely because of that]] and pair him with [[TheLancer Duo]] 99 times out of 100. Making this especially odd is the fact that Duo [[ShipperOnDeck does his best to get Heero and Relena to admit their feelings for one another]].
105** A lot of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' [[BrokenBase fans still debate over the official pairings]]. In the canon, [[AllLovingHero Kira Yamato]] has a rapport with [[IdolSinger Lacus Clyne]], while [[HotBlooded Shinn Asuka]] is in a relationship with [[{{Shorttank}} Lunamaria Hawke]]. While Kira/Lacus and Shinn/Luna both have their followings, it's not uncommon for people to wish that [[TheOjou Flay Allster]] and [[TykeBomb Stella Loussier]] had survived [[TargetedToHurtTheHero their]] [[ShootTheDog fates]] in the canon so that Kira/Flay and/or Shinn/Stella could've happened instead. Also, what with [[BestFriend Kira's friend]] [[ForgottenChildhoodFriend Athrun Zala]] practically having an UnwantedHarem due to being an unwilling ChickMagnet, people prefer him with [[RebelliousPrincess Cagalli Yula Athha]], Kira's sister.
106* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': All Might/Inko became a popular pairing after Chapter 97 after the former admitted he admired her, not only for her resemblance to his deceased mentor, but her personality too. Despite Inko being canonically still married to Izuku's father, several fans prefer to simply ignore this fact either by portraying All Might as Midoriya's father or Inko as being divorced (helped by said father being TheGhost).
107* ''Anime/MyHime'': Many fans are convinced that the [[TallDarkAndSnarky dark and suave]] student-council vice-president Reito Kanzaki makes a much better match for Mai than male main character Yuuichi Tate, since Reito openly acknowledges his crush on her early on while Yuuichi [[CannotSpitItOut tends to skirt the issue]]. [[YuriFan Others]] believe that Mikoto Minagi would be a better pairing option for her (hard not to see, since [[LesYay the two of them are attached at the hip throughout most of the series]]). Keep in mind that Reito and Mikoto [[spoiler:are brother and sister]], but that's needlessly complicating things.
108* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' [[LongRunners ran for 15 years]] with no {{Official Couple}}s in sight for the teenaged cast until the very end. Do the [[{{Shipping}} Shipper]] frustration math yourself.
109** [[HoYay Naruto/Sasuke]] has been going strong ever since their AccidentalKiss in Chapter 3 and is more popular the Naruto's canon pairing with Hinata. Naruto/Sasuke is the most popular pairing on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn. It helps that the anime showcases a lot of rather... romantic moments between them, either in {{Filler}} or the openings and endings. You can see the [[{{HoYay/Naruto}} Naruto Ho Yay page]] for more details, where they have an entire ''folder''.
110** Tsunade and Jiraiya, before [[spoiler:the latter died]]. The latter's love for the former is canonical but {{unrequited|LoveLastsForever}}, both before she met Dan, her canonical boyfriend, and after Dan died. Though with that said Tsunade did say to Jiraiya she might’ve give him a chance [[spoiler: then he dies soon after while Tsunade hides her tears and remains single forever]].
111* In ''Anime/{{Nightwalker}}'' the main character, Shido, has a FriendsWithBenefits relationship with his colleague Yayoi, and his evil vampire dad [[StalkerWithACrush really wants to get back together with him.]] Plenty of fans prefer either one, but the show goes for a surprise LastMinuteHookup and pairs Shido with his adoring, high school-aged vampire daughter.
112* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'', being a ReverseHarem series, has a lot of this:
113** Going by amount of fan fics and communities, it looks like Haruhi/Kyouya counts as this. Maybe it's Kyouya's more [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys ominous and even humorously evil personality]] in contrast to the sweet but dumb and clingy Tamaki or maybe it's fans just plain not wanting the independent Haruhi to end up with a ManChild like its a sitcom. Kyouya respects her intelligence and independent nature while Haruhi can match wits with Kyouya- seeing through his lies and cool facade to the good-natured man afraid of being seen as soft underneath.
114** Haruhi/Hikaru also counts across more avenues of fandom. While both the twins care for Haruhi, it is the more-clueless Hikaru that must be pushed into recognizing his feelings by his brother that gets the most time with Haruhi. The two get entire episodes together, showcasing their quirky dynamic of the unflappable, OnlySaneMan Haruhi with the rich but savvy Hikaru. Helping matters is that Haruhi is the only person ever able to tell the twins apart, allowing the two to feel like their own persons for the first time in their lives; something that they have always wanted but dreaded at the same time.
115** [[{{Twincest}} Hikaru/Kaoru]] is the third most popular pairing on fanfiction.net. Not surprising, given how incredibly close to two are and just by the virtue of their club gimmick hyping up their relationship so much.
116** Though Honey gets a female love interest in the manga, most of the fans still prefer him with [[KissingCousins Mori]].
117* Some fans of ''{{Literature/Paprika}}'' have lots of trouble accepting [[spoiler: that Chiba loves Tokita]], and would rather have had her [[spoiler: [[RescueRomance end up with Konakawa.]]]] This ignores how the [[spoiler: [[MisaimedFandom fake ending with Konakawa and Chiba]]]] kissing in the sunset is supposed to be making fun of trite, cliché movie endings, which implies that pairing them together would have made for a really, really bland and predictable ship.
118** The aforementioned viewers would argue that Chiba ending up with [[spoiler: Tokita]] is equally trite and cliché for [[spoiler: its [[UglyGuyHotWife wish fulfillment]] for [[DoubleStandard male audiences.]]]]
119%%* ''Anime/ProjectK'' has Kuroh/Shiro, and Mikoto/Munakata to the point where it's rare to see them shipped with anyone else. Though the best example in the series is probably the Fushimi/Yata ship that has both very overwhelming and enthusiastic support from both the Japanese and western fandoms. The creators are very aware of the fan preferred couples and often [[ShippingFuel pander to them.]]
120* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Though it doesn't compare to the juggernaut of Kyouko/Sayaka, Hitomi's most popular pairing is not with her canon paramour, Kyousuke, but instead with Sayaka. Technically, Kyousuke/Hitomi is more common, but that's only because [[ShipMates it gets Kyousuke out of the way]] in Kyouko/Sayaka; the pairing itself has few actual fans. If Hitomi is a main character, most of the time, she'll be paired up with Sayaka. This is only helped along by the PSP game directly suggesting that Hitomi is interested in other girls, despite [[TransparentCloset her protestations to the contrary]].
121* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ryoga Hibiki is almost always paired with Ukyo Kunoji, rather than their respective canon suitors, Akari Unyuu and Konatsu the kunoichi, due to the fact that most of their "romance" felt like a tacked-on LastMinuteHookup with no development.
122* ''Manga/Reborn2004'':
123** A huge majority of the [[YaoiFangirl fandom]] ships Tsuna with Hibari rather than his two canon female interests. It has to do with Hibari's fixation with Tsuna's growing strength, obsessively challenging him to fights (which Tsuna always declines), his suggestive catchphrase[[note]] I'll bite you to death[[/note]], and him being the stoic Bishounen to Tsuna's naïve personality has fans shipping both by droves. It helps that Future Hibari actually respect's Tsuna's leadership in the Future Arc, which made the shippers ship them harder.
124** Sidekicks Yamamoto and Gokudera are the most popular ship among American fans, as they like to turn Gokudera into a {{Tsundere}} for Yamamoto while kicking Tsuna out of the narrative or ship him with [[ShipMates Hibari]]. Some keep Gokudera's obsession with becoming Tsuna's right-hand man and give all the romantic teases to Yamamoto.
125** As for the het couple fans, a lot of rare male fans find Tsuna and Haru’s relationship much more enjoyable due to Haru’s unique personality than Tsuna and Kyoko’s stereotypical puppy love TokenRomance.
126* Many of the fans who watched the ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'' prequel {{OVA}} ''Tsuiokuhen/Trust and Betrayal'' or read the corresponding Remembrance arc in the manga came to prefer his lost love, [[EmotionlessGirl Tomoe]], over his SecondLove, [[{{Tsundere}} Kaoru]], in spite of the teeny-tiny problem of [[spoiler:Tomoe being ''dead'' by the time Kenshin meets Kaoru]].
127* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
128** Many fans find the more emotionally expressive pop idol Seiya Kou from the ''Stars'' season to be a much better match than the more subdued Mamoru because Usagi and Seiya's personalities mesh well together. The series conveniently keeps Usagi [[SelectiveObliviousness painfully oblivious]] to Seiya's feelings up until the end of the series. This is also not helped by [[Manga/SailorMoon the manga]] having Seiya love Usagi from afar (and even forge correspondence from Mamoru [[spoiler:since Usagi was still in denial over him dying in front of her]]) and the anime actually using her as a ReplacementGoldfish when Mamoru was PutOnABus.
129** Given the overwhelming amount [[LesYay lesbian-oriented subtext]] in the show, the manga, and the [[Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon live-action version]], the most popular secondary couples are Minako/Rei, Makoto/Ami and Hotaru/Chibiusa.
130* ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei''
131** Many fans find the more subdued [[NiceGuy Jun]] [[NerdsAreSexy Kudou]] to be much better to the depressive Nozomu than the cheerful [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Kafuka]] because Nozomu and Kudou's personalities mesh well together, despite rarely interacting in-series. It looks like the author picked up on it too, with Kudou starting to appear much more, coincidentally ramping up the HoYay between him and Nozomu. He even started appearing more than some of the girls. Played for laughs, of course, until the author decided to ThrowTheDogABone to the fans, by revealing that Kudou [[spoiler:has feelings for Nozomu because of the blood transfusion he received from Kafuka, thus becoming part of Nozomu's harem in the end. More specifically, it's implied Kafuka was possessing ''him'' when she married/consummated the relationship with Nozomu.]]
132** Despite the series being extremely obvious about pairing Nozomu/Kafuka, it wasn't a very popular pairing, because of Kafuka being a Manic Pixie Dream Girl to him, something that fans consider rather cliche. The popularity boosted upon the revelation that Kafuka [[spoiler:was DeadAllAlong.]]
133* While Ken and Jun officially got together at the end of the third series of ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' -Gatchaman Fighter-, there is part of the fanbase that prefers that Jun be with Joe instead, feeling that Joe is more interesting of a love interest and pointing to various moments in Gatchaman II where the two seemed closer than Ken and Jun had. This extends to the only (at time) [[Anime/EagleRiders English adaptation]] of the same sequel, where the dub writers seemed to be pushing Joe and "Kelly" more as a possible couple.
134* Some ''Manga/SekaiichiHatsukoi'' fans would prefer Chiaki with Yanase than Hatori. [[spoiler: This has to do with Hatori brutally raping Chiaki and episode 16 that pulled everyone's heartstrings.]]
135* For the ''Manga/SgtFrog'' fanbase, you're more likely to find fanart of Giroro with Natsumi rather than her canon crush, Saburo. There's also as much Natsumi/Koyuki fanart.
136* The most popular pairing in ''{{Literature/Slayers}}'' fandom used to be Lina/Zelgadis, given that both are level-headed and intelligent (despite the fact that Zelgadis cannot stand Lina at times), as opposed to the canon Lina/Gourry. Nowadays, it has a rather small following. This might have something to do with [[OfficialCouple Amelia]] becoming less hated over the years, partly due to [[CharacterDevelopment character development]]. Other [[AlternateContinuity official works]] have noted this - the LightNovel series artist now draws Zelgadis and Amelia together, and several manga adaptations, namely the manga version of the fifth anime season, has a massive ShipTease in regards to them.
137* Soul and Maka from ''Manga/SoulEater'', though the same can be said for all of the meisters and their weapon partners. Kid/Crona is also ''very'' popular, especially on deviantART. Although meister/weapon pairings are very popular, Soul/Maka seems to be the biggest faction, with at least three separate deviantART fangroups.
138** There's also a significant faction of Kid/Maka, Kid/Soul, Maka/Crona, and Stein/Spirit supporters that should not be overlooked.
139* ''Literature/SoundEuphonium'':
140** Shuuichi, Kumiko's official love interest, is largely treated as a non-entity by fans. Until proven otherwise the anime is unofficially a YuriGenre series themed around high school band club members. The original light novel is more direct about Shuuichi and Kumiko as the OfficialCouple, while the anime emphasizes Kumiko's budding friendship with Reina and has incredibly heavy HoYay between them, treating Shuuichi like a platonic childhood friend. WordOfGod in the between-seasons period was somewhat rudely dismissive of Kumiko/Reina (despite the obvious [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians baiting]] in the anime). Just to make things even more confusing, [[spoiler:Kumiko seemingly confesses to a ''different'' female band member at the end of the second season]], but this may also turn out to be misleading.
141** Shipping Kumiko and Asuka caught on in the second season due to their interactions together combined with the increasing emphasis on depicting Reina's [[TeacherStudentRomance unrequited crush on Taki-sensei]]. The fact that [[spoiler:the anime ends on NoRomanticResolution for Kumiko and instead has her deliver an emotional (probably) PlatonicLoveConfession to Asuka]] only helped.
142* Sugata/Takuto in ''Anime/StarDriver''. Even amongst the actual characters. Takuto/Mizuno is also liked in some circles.
143* Many fans ''Manga/StrawberryOneHundredPercent'' wish that Junpei picked [[spoiler: either Aya or Satsuki]] over [[spoiler: the actual winner, Tsukasa]].
144* ''Literature/StrawberryPanic'' fans will often hate Amane for two things: taking away their beloved Hikari/Yaya Coupling and being a {{Bifauxnen}}. It doesn't help that many viewers, and several reviewers, who weren't even in a {{Shipping}} mindset, found the Hikari/Amane romance subplot to be bland and forgettable.
145* ''Literature/TanteiTeamKZJikenNote'': When Sunahara appeared in episode 5 (animating part of the fourth novel ''The Egg Hamburg Steak Knows''), the western viewers immediately picked up Sunahara X Aya and prefer it over the "default" Wakatake X Aya, reasoning that a NiceGuy like Sunahara is a better choice to introverted Aya than the HotBlooded, impulsive, and occasionally {{jerkass}} Wakatake. Although later on in the anime the direction does turn to Sunahara's side; Aya and Sunahara has mutually confessed (despite still {{Star Crossed|Lovers}}), while between her and Wakatake it's more of a case of an ambiguous JustFriends plus mutual {{Green Eye|dMonster}}ing.
146* ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'': Kiyone and Tenchi is extremely popular with fans too, for the same "overtly normal or at least sane" reason as Sasami without the incest and pedophilia problems. Unfortunately Kiyone appeared only in spinoff media, ''Tenchi Universe'' hinted heavily towards Tenchi liking Ryoko, ''Tenchi in Tokyo'' ended ambiguously without a WordOfGod, and, most importantly, Kiyone was the only girl, perhaps in the entire franchise, who showed no romantic interest in Tenchi, which just made fans want it more.
147* In ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', Viral/Adiane seems to be more popular than Adiane's canon relationship with Thymilph.
148* Surprisingly, even with all those ship tease between Ako and Shou, the most popular ship of ''Anime/ThrillerRestaurant'' is [[{{Squick}} Anko]]/[[{{Squick}} the Garçon]]. It must has something to do with the ED and [[spoiler:the implication that they really have met before]].
149* ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'' combines this with AmericansHateTingle. In Japan, [[OfficialCouple Ichigo/Masaya]] is the most popular pairing. However, it's a different case in America, where a rather vocal amount of fans wanted Ichigo to get together with either the JerkWithAHeartOfGold Ryou or the StalkerWithACrush [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Kisshu/Quiche]] in the end.
150* ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'': After the time-skip, Toriko is engaged to Rin and ends up [[OfficialCouple marrying her]] at the end of the series. However, the fact that Rin has very little relevance to the plot and that Toriko and Komatsu are much, ''[[HoYay much closer to each other]]'' with a ''hell'' lot more chemistry (in fact, Komatsu is Toriko’s chef partner, not Rin, and he is the {{Deuteragonist}} with the second most important role in the plot) have led most of the fans to ignore Toriko x Rin official status and keep on shipping Toriko x Komatsu. It doesn’t help that even after being engaged to Rin, Toriko still spends much more time thinking about Komatsu than spending a panel to think of his fiance; and at the end of the series, [[spoiler: he leaves Rin at home to go to space with Komatsu to find ingredients, ''just the two of them alone''.]] Most fans agree that Toriko x Komatsu would have been canon in a heartbeat had Komatsu been a woman and not a man.
151%%* ''Anime/TheTowerOfDruaga'': Even most Kaaya fans preferred Jil and Fatina as a couple. (ZCE- please explain how the canon couple is considered poorly written in a neutral tone.)
152* ''Manga/XxxHolic'' has the [[VitriolicBestBuds dynamic duo]] of Doumeki and Watanuki as the, without a doubt, most popular pairing in the fandom. It is very rare to find anyone who ships Watanuki with anyone other than Doumeki, despite the fact Watanuki 1) never fully gets over his unreasonable distaste for Doumeki, 2) has a massive crush on his classmate Himawari and 3) by the end, has at ''least'' three other potential love interests.
153* Rein and Eclipse from ''Anime/TwinPrincessOfWonderPlanet'' were more popular (in fact, the most popular pairing) in Japan than the OfficialCouple Fine and Eclipse, at least, before the second installment began. Even Mayuki Anan, the artist of the manga adaptation, seemed to prefer them, as Rein and Eclipse got more {{Ship Tease}} than any other pairing.
154* A strong portion of the (Japanese) ''Manga/VoiceOverSeiyuAcademy'' fanbase ships Haruka/Hime over the OfficialCouple Senri/Hime.
155* While the canon Keith/Allura pairing has a LOT of fans, an almost equal number of ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' fans like to pair Allura with Lotor, in part because of Lotor's sympathetic qualities. It should also be noted that a small but vocal minority would prefer Lance be with Allura.
156* ''Anime/VoltesV'': Many fans ship [[ActionGirl Megumi]] and [[TheLeader Kenichi]] despite the two canonically not showing any romantic interest in each other, as well as Megumi having many ShipTease moments with [[TheLancer Ippei]] (though they're also implied to be one-sided, from Ippei's part). It also makes [[https://ibb.co/7xhvrJY this line]] from ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars30'' even more hilarious.
157** The [[Series/VoltesVLegacy Philippine live-action show]] actually indulges this trope by making Kenichi/Megumi canon.
158* ''Manga/WanderingSon'':
159** Takatsuki/Chiba is the most popular pairing, what with their intense rivalry [[spoiler:which diminishes just into ShipTease over time once they become best friends again]]. In the end however [[spoiler:Chiba dated Fumiya while Takatsuki ends up with an unrequited crush on Nitori]].
160** Takatsuki/Nitori is quite popular, which is expected from opposite gender major characters. Nitori liked Takatsuki early on but it was unrequited. [[spoiler:This is reversed in the end as Nitori has a long-time girlfriend while Takatsuki realizes her feelings for Nitori, which are now unrequited after so many years]].
161** Doi/Nitori is pretty popular amongst anime fans but not manga fans.
162* Fans of ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' had been rather subtle with choosing their favorite pairing since the plot kinda resets the status quo every after conquest arc, though Keima/[[{{Tsundere}} Haqua]] and Keima/[[CuteBookworm Shiori]] tended to be the fan favorite ships. Then came the [[ShipSinking bunker-buster]] that was [[WhamLine FLAG 267]] where Keima confesses to [[spoiler:Chihiro]]. Needless to say, a number of people were unhappy.
163* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'':
164** J.J./Yurio was this for a bit even after the introduction of J.J.'s girlfriend Isabella, who shared his arrogance. It died down both when Isabella showed her sweeter side (supporting J.J. after his disastrous GPF short program) and when Otabek was introduced and overtook J.J. as the fandom's preferred Yurio love interest.
165** Christophe is shown to be close with a nameless man who may or may not be his boyfriend, but their relationship is rarely found in fanfiction other than as a secondary couple. When Christophe is the focus, it's way more common for fans to pair him with Phichit or other major characters.
166* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': While Yusuke/Keiko is ''the'' OfficialCouple of the series, there are also fans of [[http://kaskachan.deviantart.com/art/request-Kurama-x-Botan-202199630 Kurama/Botan]], [[HeterosexualLifePartners Kurama/Hiei]], [[JustFriends Yusuke/Botan]], [[FoeYayShipping Yusuke/Hiei]], Koenma/Botan, Sakyo/Shizuru, and [[DoggedNiceGuy Kuwabara]]/[[ObliviousToLove Yukina]]. [[spoiler:The last one might be canon in the manga, though it's left ambiguous]].
167%%* ''Manga/ZatchBell'' has Kiyo/Suzy.
168%%* ''Manga/ZombieLoan'' has Chika/Michiru.

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