Official Couple: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Some shows are made to be deliberately enticing to [[Shipping|shippers]], but for the most part relationships in the story are merely heavily suggested. This could be seen as a bit of cowardice to the writers, but a sympathetic view is it allows them to please many potential fans without alienating anyone else. It's what keeps [[The Unwanted Harem]] afloat, assures plenty of fun [[Ho Yay]], and allows for plotline flexibility.

On the other hand, these kinds of shows often have a pair of characters who are a little more overtly paired off, usually two people the other characters admire. (This makes [[The Hero]] and [[The Chick]] the usual suspects, but any combination may prove valid.) They might [[No Hugging, No Kissing|never kiss on screen]] or even flirt with other characters, but it's [[Everyone Can See It|understood by the cast that the two are an item]]. Naturally, this does absolutely nothing to offset [[Shipping]], as there seems an [[Shipping Bed Death|inexplicable inverse relationship]] between the officiality of a couple and the actual fervent fan interest in it.

 

 

Sometimes, there's another couple that sometimes serves as a [[Foil]] and/or companion to the "official" couple that involves [[The Hero]]. This other couple usually involves [[The Lancer]] and a minor female. This couple is called the [[Beta Couple]].

See also [[Love Chart]]. Contrast [[One True Pairing]], [[Fan-Preferred Couple]].

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Sukisho]]'' has Sora and Sunao (or Yoru and Ran) and [[Beta Couple|Nanami and Shinichirou]].

* Haruka (Sailor Uranus) and Michiru (Sailor Neptune) from ''[[Sailor Moon]]''. A rarity in that unlike the show's main couple, they're quite popular and shipping either of them with men usually leads to an extreme backlash.

** More importantly is the main character Usagi and her boyfriend Mamoru. Each has upwards of five people lusting after them, depending on the canon, but they are ''literal'' destined lovers. This doesn't stop the fanon, though.

** Similarly to Touya and Yukito, Gingetsu and Ran in ''[[Clover]]'', though they are slightly more canon as Ran is referred to several times as 'Gingetsu's partner', and [[Word of God]] states that they were written as an old married couple.

*** Eriol/Kaho is official too, though they never showed up in Tsubasa. There's always a chance they might later show up as a couple in ''xxxHolic'' though.

** Official [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]] unrequited love is Tomoyo for Sakura. While most pronounced in ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'', it seems that every Tomoyo in TRC has an immediate attraction to Sakura...

* Chi and Hideki in ''[[Chobits]]''.

** Yamato/Sora and Miyako/Ken are however official

* ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' has [[Toy Ship|Takato and Jeri]]

* Yusuke and Keiko, Sensui and Itsuki in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]''.

** [[Word of God|Yoshihiro Togashi]] originally did plan for Hiei and {{spoiler|Mukuro}} to be an official item, but severe fan backlash prevented him from doing so.

* Chrono and Amy of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. Despite what the [[Shipping|shippers]] want to believe, everyone else is still officially listed under "best friends" by the [[Word of God]].

** ''[[Triangle Heart 3 ～sweet songs forever～]]'' has Kyouya and Shinobu as the official couple, as revealed in the OVA and ''Nanoha''. Surprising, since Shinobu wasn't part of the main [[Love Triangle]] in the game.

* Kiba and Cheza in ''[[Wolf's Rain]].''

* Many examples in ''[[Fruits Basket]]'': {{spoiler|Kyo and Tohru, Yuki and Machi, Hatori and Kana (later Hatori and Mayuko), Shigure and Akito, Hatsuharu and Isuzu/Rin, Hiro and Kisa, Ayame and Mine.}} There are also official couples for ''minor characters''.

*** As of the ''Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop'' manga, {{spoiler|Zechs and Noin, as well as Duo and Hilde}} are married, but in the latter case, {{spoiler|they divorced later}}.

** ''[[After War Gundam X]]'' has four final pairings ({{spoiler|Garrod and Tifa, Jamil and Salah, Toniya and Witz, Ennil and Roybea}}) but at least two or three are pretty clear throughout the series and just need to evolve into full-fledged love.

* Kenshin and Kaoru from ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]''. {{spoiler|Marriage and a child in the epilogue: it doesn't get more official than this.}}

* Ueki Kyousuke and Mori Ai from ''[[The Law of Ueki]]''. While not explicit in the anime it is made clearer in the manga and becomes fully canon by the end of the sequel series, ''[[Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo|The Law of Ueki Plus]]''.

** [[Macross Frontier]] has {{spoiler|Alto and Sheryl, confirmed by the end of the second movie and [[Word of God]]}}. Also Michael/Klan.

* Let and Julia from ''[[Rave Master]]''. Strangely, even after denial from [[Word of God]]. Maybe [[Word of God]] isn't quite so God-like.

* Kanade and Yukino from ''[[Candy Boy]]'', despite its [[Twincest|complications]].

* Yumi and Sachiko from ''[[Mariasama ga Miteru]]''.

* ''Sket Dance'': Himeko and Bossun.

** Unique in some respect among Shonen because of how much attention it actually gets in the canon, and how even though Himeko is a [[Tsundere]], the two are rather openly affectionate (in a non-sappy way, promise) for any manga period.

* ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'' has Yukiteru and Yuno, a [[The Ship Yard|Loose Cannon Ship]].

* By the end of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]: Angelic Days'', it's Hikari/Touji and {{spoiler|Shinji/Asuka}}.

*** Gendo/Yui is official in all versions of Evangelion (original or otherwise)

* Rock and Revy of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'' are ''almost'' this, due to numerous... implications.

* Alice and Tonio from ''[[Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai|Pokémon the Rise of Darkrai]]'', as well as Ruby and Sapphire from ''[[Pokémon Special]]''.

** Jessie & James in the ''[[The Electric Tale of Pikachu]]'' manga.

* Shiki and Mikiya of ''[[Kara no Kyoukai:]]''. Not very surprising, considering it's essentially a romance. Well, there's some stuff in there about the nature of personalities and murder too, but the romance is the important bit. [[Brother-Sister Incest|Azaka is really kind of unhappy about it.]]

* By ''[[When They Cry]]'''s [[Mind Screw|standards]], a few of the couples from ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' look to be set in stone (unless it turns out someone's hiding something... [[Unreliable Narrator|again]]). Among those are: George/Shannon, Jessica/Kanon, Battler/{{spoiler|Beatrice}} (However, these three couples become very messy due to the fact that {{spoiler|all three cousins are in fact in love with the same person}}), and Bernkastel/Lambdadelta.

** Unless they break up at some point due to obvious complications that may arise in such a relationship or unless the light novels are different (though I don't see why it would be), Celty and Shinra are pretty much official.

* ''[[Hellsing]]'' has [[Officer and a Gentleman|Pip Bernadotte]] and Seras Victoria. Though [[Word of God]] states that "if Seras wasn't a vampire and Pip wasn't a mercenary, they would be the perfect couple that everybody would be envious of."

* Chapter 81 of the ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' manga confirms that the official couple is {{spoiler|Tamaki and Haruhi}}. The anime, on the other hand, left things wide open for any shipping to possibly happen, particularly since Haruhi had had several meaningful moments with the twins, Kyouya, and Tamaki.

** Shiba and Rena themselves are the official couple in the [[PlayStation]] game.

* Sawako and Shouta from ''[[Kimi ni Todoke]]''.

* ''[[Otome Youkai Zakuro]]'', spoiled from the start by both the opening and ending credits - Kei/Zakuro, Riken/Susukihotaru, Ganryuu/Bonbori&Hozuki.

* ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5]]'' has Coco and Nozomi. Really the only 100% official pairing within the rather large ''[[Pretty Cure]]'' franchise thus far. Every season has at least one highly probable pairing, some of which are basically accepted as canon. But Coco and Nozomi are the only pairing {{spoiler|to have kissed, and Nozomi stated that she loved him in the final episode of the first season}}, among many other lovey-dovey things that certainly didn't happen with other (potential) pairings.

* Several in ''[[Dragon Ball]]'': Goku/Chichi, Yamcha/ Bulma first, Vegeta/ Bulma later, Krillin/ Android 18, Gohan/ Videl,etc.

* ''[[Psyren]]'' The two protagonists, Ageha and Sakurako.

* ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'': In the future Ryohei and Hana are a canon couple.

* Caesar and Nakaba in ''[[Reimei no Arcana]]''.

* [[Ho Yay|Nezumi and Shion]] of ''[[No. 6]]'' were confirmed by the end.

* Akira and Koharu of ''[[Koharu no Hibi]]''.

 

 

* Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman in the ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]''.

* Jean Grey and Cyclops (a.k.a Scott Summers) in ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''. Many consider Emma Frost coming in to be, well...

* [[Scott Pilgrim]] and Ramona Flowers.

* [[Incredible Hulk|Bruce]] and Betty Banner. They're currently on the outs, in the wake of Betty returning from being [[Only Mostly Dead|Mostly Dead.]]

* [[ROM Spaceknight]] and Brandy Clark.

* [[Hawkman]] and Hawkgirl are married.

* [[Wonder Woman]] and Steve Trevor were this for decades, but he has long since dropped off the radar.

 

== Film (animation) ==

* ''[[Alpha and Omega]]'' has two: {{spoiler|Humphrey and Kate, and Lilly and Garth}}

** Actually, it could only apply directly to [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White and her prince]] (one kiss), [[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]] and Charming (one dance), [[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Philip and Aurora]] (one dance) and [[Mulan|Shang and Mulan]] (romance ''implied'' at the end of the movie). All the other princess/prince couples are very obvious about their attraction to each other. {{spoiler|[[Pocahontas|Pocahontas and John Smith]] are [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|midly implied to have had sex]], even..}}

* [[Anastasia]] and Dimitri, whose [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] ends in an elopement.

* Garrett and Kayley in ''[[Quest for Camelot]]''.

* Derek and Odette in ''[[The Swan Princess]]''

* ''[[Corpse Bride]]'': Victor and Victoria.

* When ''[[Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe]]'' begins, Jude is happily dating Molly and Lucy is happily dating Daniel. Then Jude and Lucy find each other, and we have a plot! Also, Sadie and Jojo, much to Prudence's chagrin.

* Jake and Neytiri from ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]''.

** In the [[Tron|first film]], Tron and Yori - and their User counterparts Alan and Lora. The deleted scenes and novelization play it up.

* Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann in the ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' films, complete with {{spoiler|the most [[Crazy Awesome]] wedding imaginable}} in the third movie.

{{quote|Phedre: "I wish to present Joscelin Verreuil as my consort."

Queen Ysandre: "It's about time." }}

* Scarlett and Rhett were pretty much as close as it gets in ''[[Gone with the Wind]]''.

** Also Melanie and Ashley.

 

 

* Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth, and Jack Hodgins and Angela Montanegro, in ''[[Bones]]''.

* Sydney and Vaughn in ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''.

** In ''[[Torchwood]]'', Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones, as of Season 3.

** ''Forty-five years'' after their original run, ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' episode "Death of the Doctor" made both Ian and Barbara and Ben and Polly official.

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' has a few, mostly involving the [[The Hero|Red Ranger]], most notably Kimberly/Tommy a.k.a. "Tomberly" from MMPR, who shared several (and indeed the first) of the few on-screen kisses that went down in PR history. [[Fanon Discontinuity|There was no]] [["Dear John" Letter]].

** Kat and Tommy were indicated to be married in the distant future once and there's really nothing that's said otherwise since then. That could actually make them even more "official" than Kim and Tommy, who broke up and never got back together, no matter how much their supporters dislike that fact.

* ''[[Super Sentai]]'' every so often follows through with it's [[Ship Tease|ship teasing]], one example being [[Team Mom|Urara]] and [[Sexy Mentor|Hikaru]] of [[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]].

** Super sentai has few actually, Ryu and Kaori from [[Choujin Sentai Jetman]], Asuka and Mahoro from [[Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger]], Tatsuya and Yuuri from [[Mirai Sentai Timeranger]], Nanami and Isshu from [[Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger]], Satoru and Sakura from [[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]] is also implied in Gekiranger vs. Boukenger

* ''[[Numb3rs]]'' has two: Charlie and Amita for one, who have had tension since they were introduced, and Larry and Megan, which nobody saw coming.

** Three: Don and Robin

* ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'': Neelix and Kes, then Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres, but never Janeway and Chakotay to fan disappointment. In fact, given that the need for everyone to start pairing up was lampshaded early in the series (as they thought they'd take 70+ years to get home) it's surprising how little romance there was on the ship.

* [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Captain Sisko and Cassady Yates]]. In fact this was made possible because she was a freighter captain who frequented the station, meaning he was not her subordinate. All other trek captains had problems with never being able to stay around long.

** Tony/Ziva has become this. It's basically the only couple actually discussed anymore.

* Mal and Inara from ''[[Firefly]]'', carrying all the requisite drama. Zoe/Wash, being married, are also very official, and have considerably less drama.

** Daniel/Vala was this in the last couple seasons.

** ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' has Scott/Chloe, much to the consternation of Eli/Chloe shippers.

{{quote|'''Roslin:''' I love you.

* Chuck and Sarah in ''[[Chuck]]''.

** Also Ellie and Captain Awesome.

* Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett from ''[[Castle]].

* Robin Hood and Lady Marian in ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]''. So obvious that it hardly warrants mentioning, except that the [[Fan-Preferred Couple]] of Guy/Marian had some fans [[Die for Our Ship|vilifying Robin]], listing the reasons why Guy was a better match for Marian, and clinging to the hope that they would somehow end up together. Ultimately Guy {{spoiler|murdered Marian}}, effectively ending ''both'' ships, and yet there were still some that complained that it was Robin and not Guy who got the {{spoiler|[[Together in Death]]}} scene with Marian at the end of the show.

** Played completely straight with Lily and Marshall, however. They've already been together 9 years when the series begins, and [[Flash Forward|flashforwards]] show them still being happily married in the year 2029. However, once they got married they mostly became the [[Beta Couple]].

** As of the season 7 finale. {{spoiler|Barney and Robin are ulimately confirmed to be this}}.

** This show also has the interesting variation with Ted and the mother, it's a couple so official the show's named after it, but half of that official couple is completely unknown.

* ''[[The X-Files]]'': Mulder & Scully. I don't think that's really spoiling anything.

** Funnily enough, [[Word of God|Chris Carter]] insisted that Mulder and Scully were never supposed to be anything but platonic work partners. The writing, however, suggests otherwise.

** Also Matt and Caroline, although there is definitely a spark forming between Caroline and Tyler in season 2.

** And Jenna and Alaric.

* John Sheridan and Ambassador Delenn of ''[[Babylon 5]]'', who, as mentioned elsewhere, walked through fire for their love and lasted the entire run of the show.

* On ''[[ER]]'', couples came and went, with pretty much everyone dating pretty much everyone else at some point or another. The longest-lasting and most plot-driving couples on the show were [[Happily Married|Mark and Elizabeth]] and [[Slap Slap Kiss|Abby and Luka]], with minor pairings being Susan with flight nurse Chuck, Peter and Cleo, and lesbians Kerry and Sandy, {{spoiler|which ended tragically}}.

** Doug and Carol as well.

* [[Happy Days|Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola]]. After their own series (''Joanie Loves Chachi'') tanked, they got married.

* Protagonist Tsukasa and Natsumi of ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]''.

* Lizzie and Gordo in ''[[Lizzie McGuire]]''.

** While ''Fire Emblem'''s support system is designed to allow mix-and-match pairings, several characters in ''Radiant Dawn'' have a specific love interest whom they will marry at the end of the game, provided the support level between the two of them is high enough; Calill and Largo are already married when they're introduced, which just means you don't have to do the work.

** ''[[Fire Emblem]]: The Binding Blade'' and ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' (''Blazing Sword'' in Japan) (and to some degree, ''The Sacred Stones'') are an odd mix of following and subverting this Trope. Most ''Fire Emblem'' games leave character coupling a bit more open to truly please as many fans as possible. Generally a main character can have around five possible romantic endings, where background cast generally has at least one, with a few [[Ho Yay]] and [[Les Yay]] pairings that are less obvious in the English version.

** To further show the confusing quasi-subversion here, ''The Binding Blade'' and its Prequel ''Blazing Sword'' do not deny many Couples. Most of the cast in ''Blazing Sword'' that have kids in ''Sealed Sword'' don't explicitly name the other parent, so 2-3 other characters can end up marrying them by the player's choice of gameplay. Only six of the characters in ''Blazing Sword'' have defined relationships: the Fighter Bartre must end up with the swordmaster Karla, the sage Pent and the sniper Louise are married from the start, and the shaman Canas has a wife and son we never meet {{spoiler|(though it turns out he's one of the mages in ''Sealed Sword'', Hugh).}} Hawkeye is also married, and {{spoiler|the father of [[The Archer]] Ingrene in ''Sealed Sword''}}.

*** That said, the game really seems to push [[The Hero|Eliwood]]/[[Mysterious Waif|Ninian]], [[The Lancer|Hector]]/[[Hot Chick with a Sword|Lyn]], and [[Teen Genius|Nino]]/[[Hitman with a Heart|Jaffar]], even though most of these characters have other romantic options as well. Unlike other pairings, these three couples have scenes of romantic tension even ''outside'' their support conversations.

** Sothe and Michiah from ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius|Radiant Dawn]]'' are so official that they start out with max support for each other. You have to go out of your way to make them not end up together.

** [[Word of God]] says that in the ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|Wind Waker]]'' timeline, there will be some romance between the two. She also has a more active role in that subseries.

*** {{spoiler|Finally an official couple at the end of ''Spirit Tracks''; after finishing off the [[Big Bad]], they walk off holding hands.}}

** Certain games seem to push the Link/Zelda relationship angle more than others. For instance, they're definitely implied to become a couple in ''Wind Waker'' while the ones in ''Twilight Princess'' don't even interact that much, appear to have a significant age difference between them, and Link seems way more interested in Ilia. This is likely for the best as all Zeldas are related to each other and at least some Links are, making it incest if they ''always'' paired up.

** {{spoiler|Seemingly become a couple at the end of Skyward Sword, where they decide to remain on the surface, renaming it Hyrule and found the royal family.}}

* ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'', largely due to reveling in [[The Power of Love]], generally has one set per game/route when it comes to their [[Original Generation]] characters:

** The first set comes from ''[[Super Robot Wars 4]]'' with Irmgult "Irm" Kazahara and Ring Mao, who were later given cameo appearances in ''[[Super Robot Wars Alpha]]''.

* Gordon and Alyx in ''[[Half-Life]] 2''. Gordon is silent and controlled by the player, but Alyx has clearly fallen for Gordon.

* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' and ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' (the main campaign) suffer from only having one option for each gender of player character (Juhani doesn't really count; that arc was never really developed). Cut content in ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'' ensures that there is only one option for each gender in the main campaign and in Mask of the Betrayer, but technically with restored content plus the fact that the same character is running through both stories gives each gender three options, but the fact that the main campaign options all died in the [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies]] ending and Neeshka was one of the cut characters forces us to the conclusion that male character/Safiya and female character/Gann were what the writers intended.

** However, other than the trailers, almost everyone, devs included, stay away from calling the human love interests 'official.' Good thing too, because the [[Interspecies Romance|majority of the fandom]] would rip them apart if they did.

* {{spoiler|Meryl and Johnny}} of ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'' definitely counts. {{spoiler|The wedding at the end}} kind of makes it obvious.

* Mario and Princess Peach from ''[[Super Mario Bros. (video game)|Super Mario Bros]].'' and all of its sequels and spinoffs. For all the times he's had to go to "another castle" to go after her, you'd figure the poor guy would get ''[[Smooch of Victory|some]]'' [[Smooch of Victory|sort of reward]].

** "Unusually", Peach has a ring on her middle finger in ''Brawl''.

** Given how much the two appear together in side games, Luigi and Daisy may be moving in this direction as well.

* The ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' series has Lan Hikari and Mayl Sakurai, who are revealed to be married with a kid during the post-series epilogue. The sequel, ''[[Mega Man Star Force]]'', equally leans towards Geo/Sonia and Geo/Luna, so it has [[Love Triangle]] fun every now and then.

*** And said kid (Kyle) forms another official couple with [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Reala]]. In fact, in the end of the game {{spoiler|the universe acts to put the timeline back on its tracks, but opens an exception for Reala for her to be with Kyle}}. Because the couple is just ''that'' official.

** Lloyd and Colette from ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]''. The game has [[Relationship Values]], but Colette is the official one according to the [[First Girl Wins|intro]], the [[Damsel in Distress|storyline]], the [[Road Cone]], and to top it off the [[Word of God]].

** The official couple for ''[[Tales of Graces]]'' is {{spoiler|Asbel and Cheria, even though Cheria's not the main heroine. The kicker is the [[Distant Finale]] scene of Sophie looking after a kid who looks like Asbel and Cheria.}}

** ''[[Tales of Rebirth]]'', on the other hand, doesn't have a clear official couple. You could make a case for Veigue and Claire, but they seem to be really just friends (or [[Like Brother and Sister]]), even with Veigue's [[She's Not My Girlfriend]] moments.

** ''[[Tales of Innocence]]'' pulled a page out of [[Reincarnation Romance]] for its official couple, Luca and Iria. However, ''Innocence'' has an extensive [[Relationship Values]] system, meaning that, like Lloyd and Colette in ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'', while Iria is the designated love interest, you can hook Luca up with whoever you want to, really. ( {{spoiler|And the [[Reincarnation Romance]] thing kinda gets a hefty wrench chucked in it when you find out that Iria's past life murdered Ruca's past life and caused lots of bad things to happen. But Iria has severe [[Amnesiac Dissonance]], so it's all good. [[Your Mileage May Vary|Kinda.]]}})

** ''[[Tales of the Tempest]]'' gives us borderline-[[Toy Ship]] Caius and Rubia. [[Fanon Discontinuity|If you're willing to recognize its existence]].

*** Food for thought - when [[Tales of Symphonia|Zelos]] lists all the Tales series' official couples in ''Viva Tales Of'', he puts Senel with Shirley. That's the closest we got to official word by Namdai about the subject.

* ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'' gives us three: [[Anti-Hero|Jak]] and [[Wrench Wench|Keira]], [[Action Girl|Ashelin]] and [[Rebel Leader|Torn]], and [[Weasel Mascot|Daxter]] and [[Genius Ditz|Tess]]. God help you if you begin [[Running the Asylum]] and you [[Internet Backdraft|try to mess with their relationships]].

* Chaz Ashley and Rika in the 4th installment of the ''[[Phantasy Star]]'' series. [[Word of God]] via the prelims for a canceled sequel support this.

* Fox and Krystal in the ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star FOX]]'' games. Ever since her introduction, it's been made clear that one of Krystal's roles (outside of [[Ms. Fanservice|the more obvious]]) is that of Fox's [[Love Interest]]. ''Command'' left things in doubt when they split up briefly (some endings featured them getting back together, some featured them splitting apart), but it seems that game is [[Canon Discontinuity|being ignored]] and her profile in ''[[Super Smash Bros Brawl]]'' the later year, whilst acknowledging their "relationship problems" from ''Command'' still cites them as being romantically involved at current time.

** Thanks to [[Alternate Continuity]] and [[Executive Meddling]] Fox McCloud is ''at the same time'' interested in Fara Phoenix. Cue [[Fan Dumb]] as the two bases [[Broken Base|fight each other]] over who is the ''more'' official couple.

** [[Word of God]] has confirmed [[Ho Yay|Jeff/Tony]], or at least one-sided on Tony's part.

** [[MOTHER 1]] has [[Toy Ship|Ninten/Ana]], which is so official that Ana pointblank asks Ninten if he likes her at one point.

** In the second game, Sheba makes a comment to Jenna along the lines of "Aren't you and Isaac, like... an item?"

** However, the [[Ship Mates|corresponding]] Garet/Mia, while not technically ''[[Ship Sinking|sunk]]'', would require some serious violations of [[Occam's Razor]] and even then wouldn't result in them being [[Happily Married]], as ''each'' has a playable child (as does Ivan).

* ''[[Lunar Silver Star Story]]'' has Alex and Luna, Nash and Mia, and Jessica and Kyle. ''Lunar 2'' has Hiro and Lucia, as well as Ronfar and Mauri.

* In ''[[Silent Hill Homecoming]]'', Alex and Elle are heavily implied to be around that area or moving toward it, if not already there.

* ''Breath of Fire II'' strongly implies that the Ryu and Nina from the original ''Breath of Fire'' married.

** The Manga adaptation of Persona 4 looks to be pushing {{spoiler|The Protagonist and Rise}} into this direction. There's been additional [[Ship Tease]] between the two [[Adaptation Expansion|that wasn't even in the game.]]

* ''[[King's Quest]]'' : Graham and Valanice are [[Happily Married]], as are Alexander and Cassima. Rosella and Edgar wisely agreed to a proper courtship canonically, but the [[Fan Sequel]] opens on their wedding day.

* ''[[Space Quest]]'': Roger Wilco is fated to marry and have a son with Beatrice. However, that didn't stop Flo from shamelessly flirting with him, nor did it prevent the Two Guys from throwing in some interesting [[Ship Tease]] with Stellar Santiago in the final game.

* While it's left ambiguous enough that shippers could argue either way, ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'' hints heavily that its official couple is meant to be a Vyse/Aika/Fina [[OT3]].

** Enrique and Moegi is more official. {{spoiler|The first scene of the ending is their marriage.}}

 

== Visual Novels ==

** Also to some extent, Gumshoe and Maggey. If only the big lug could work up the courage to ask her out, weenies just don't quite have the same effect.

** Ron and Desiree Delite

** Oddly enough, despite being quite clearly the official couple (every other route is also canon... as a build up to the grand finale dedicated to Nagisa), Nagisa doesn't get the sequel. [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Tomoyo]] did.

* Technically, she doesn't even really have an appearance except in the first two routes and Shiki can end up with one of five girls, but Arcueid/Shiki is basically ''[[Tsukihime]]'''s official couple. Her own path is first, the anime is based on her, the manga is based on her and she gets a [[Tenchi Solution]] in ''Ciel's'' good ending. Oh, and despite ''[[Melty Blood]]'' supposedly being based off [[Demoted to Extra|Satsuki's route]], Sion mentions that Shiki and Arcueid are lovers, though apparently they don't live together.

** Since her route is [[Title Drop|the name of the game]], does that mean that the story of the game is her route?

*** That's not so much because her route is the name of the game, but because ''she herself'' is the name of the game (specifically, tsukihime, "moon princess").

*** The Far Side routes could be considered the story of Tohno Shiki in that it reveals a lot about Shiki's history and secrets, much in the same way as the "Unlimited Blade Works" path in ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' being, by [[Word of God]], the story of Shirou or Shirou's route. However, again by [[Word of God]], Arcrueid's and Saber's routes are the true story in each respective game.

*** It appears that Akiha's route is most likely the "official" Far Side route, due to ''[[Carnival Phantasm]]'''s focus on her more than Hisui and Kohaku. Not to mention Akiha being alongside the Near Side characters as the three main heroines from the Tsukihime side of the ''Nasuverse''.

* [[Questionable Content|Jeph Jaques]] is on record saying that Martin and [[Tsundere|Faye]] were the official couple for the first 500 strips or so; however, before it visibly materialized, he changed his mind (later saying in the comic that they would have been a terrible couple) and delivered a [[Wham! Episode]] that got rid of Martin/Faye and set up Martin/Dora. He later paired Faye up with Angus McPhee. However, he then broke up Marten and Dora and put Marten together with Padma, a new character, only to reveal that Padma would be leaving soon to California to take care of her mother. There's no other official word on it yet.

* In ''[[Red String]]'', there's Miharu and Kazuo, {{spoiler|[[Schoolgirl Lesbians]] Fuuko and Hanae}}, and the [[Everyone Can See It|almost]] [[Beta Couple]] of Reika and Eiji.

* Tom and Karla in ''Home on the Strange''.

* Piro and Kimiko from ''[[Megatokyo]]''.

* While mostly having a reputation for slash, the [[That Guy With The Glasses|TGWTG]] fangirl fandom ''adored'' former real-life pairings Linkara/Iron Liz and Spoony/Scarlett. We also had a "that's so adorable!" [[Squee]] over Doug getting engaged to his girlfriend.

** More recently, we have [[Desu Des Brigade|JesuOtaku]]/[[What The Fuck Is Wrong With You?|Nash]] and [[The Nostalgia Chick]]/[[Todd in the Shadows]]. This one's layered: Lindsay and Todd are dating in real life, but in-character [[The Nostalgia Chick]] pursues [[Todd in the Shadows]], [[All Love Is Unrequited|who brushes her off and pines for]]/[[Stalker with a Crush|stalks]] [[Obscurus Lupa]], who may or may not be in a relationship with [[Phelous]].

 

== Western Animation ==

* Kim and Ron on ''[[Kim Possible]]''. When the series came back for a [[Post Script Season|fourth and final season]], the creators have repeatedly commented that they backed themselves into a corner with the trope, and had to be extremely careful not to jump the shark or gross out the ten-year-olds watching.

** To be fair, the creators didn't expect the show to ''have'' a fourth season, because of Disney's episode-number limit. They thought the series was ending with the ''So the Drama'' movie.

* Jake and Rose in ''[[American Dragon: Jake Long]]''.

* Danny and Sam in ''[[Danny Phantom]]''. Really not much of a challenge, as the only other major available female characters are the proverbial [[Dating Catwoman|Catwoman]] and a second example of a [[Romantic False Lead]]. Like most examples, at times, it's almost as if she's only there so that the writers can drop anything-but-subtle hints at the prospect of them "pairing up" [[Last-Minute Hookup|in the last two seconds of the series]].

* ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' [[Green Lantern]] (John Stewart) and [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Hawkgirl]], going through a whole era of being [[Star-Crossed Lovers]] when Hawkgirl's people invaded and she cooperated with them. Even once those issues were eventually cleared up, Stewart was in another relationship and had a hard time due to [[Unresolved Sexual Tension|lingering feelings]]. Things were made even more complicated when he met his and Hawkgirl's future son from the ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' era. The series ends with them apart; it's been stated by [[Word of God]] they will settle for each other eventually as John [[Screw Destiny|didn't want to]] get together [[Because Destiny Says So]].

** And then there's the other official [[Beta Couple]] pairs of [[Huntress]]/[[The Question]], [[Green Arrow]]/[[Black Canary]] (this one arguably done better than in the comics, at that), and [[Supergirl]]/ {{spoiler|Brainiac 5}}.

* Chiro and Jinmay in ''[[Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!]]!'' were pretty well set-up from Jinmay's introduction, which is amazing for something [[Toon Disney]] used to run.

** Nova and SPRX-77 as well; and ''they'' had a [[Slap Slap Kiss]] vibe through the show's entire run, which makes it even more astonishing it ended up on [[Toon Disney]].

* Gwen and Kevin in ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]].''

** Along with Ben and Julie later on.

* Cuddles and Giggles in ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]''. An odd example, as she has been shown flirting with (or even ''dating'') other characters even after the couple was established. Then again, this is Happy Tree Friends, where characters frequently die horribly only to be fine in the next episode...

* On ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', Candace and [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man|Jeremy]] get together in "Summer Belongs to You" [[Word of God]] has also more-or-less confirmed that [[The Chick|Isabella]]/[[Oblivious to Love|Phineas]] and [[Precocious Crush|Ferb]]/[[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|Vanessa]] will happen, though they also like to [[Ship Tease|tease other ships]] at times.

* ''[[Moral Orel]]'' has the titular character and Christina.

* Helga and Arnold in ''[[Hey Arnold!]]''.

* [[The Mighty Thor]] and Jane Foster in ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes|Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]''. [[Ant-Man]] and [[The Wasp]] might also count, but Ant-Man doesn't explicity admit that he loves [[The Wasp]] until {{spoiler|episode 25}}.

* Stan Marsh and Wendy Testaburger in ''[[South Park]]''.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Love Tropes]]

[[Category:Shipping Tropes]]

[[Category:Love Interests]]