Shipping is an integral part of any fandom out there. I’m not saying that everyone in a fandom has to ship something, I’m just saying that a very large portion of each fandom has at least one pairing that they favor, whether in fanart, fanfiction, or anything else. I’m a shipper. I’ve shipped in many fandoms through my years with a multitude of different characters and I’ve done so alongside a huge amount of other fans who do the same.

Now, shipping in any fandom has always been interesting due to the dynamics it can create within communities. In most fandoms there are shipping wars. I remember back when I was a hardcore Bleach fan that there was a shipping war between whether Ichigo/Orihime or Ichigo/Rukia was going to become canon. The forums I frequented had fanclubs for each of the separate ships, and often within those clubs there would be bashing of not only the opposing ship, but also just the other female character herself and her fans. It was all rather hostile, and I can only imagine how insane other shipping wars could escalate to. I’ve heard some stories that honestly shock me over how intense things can get.

Thankfully, the One Piece fandom is different, and it’s all due to Eiichiro Oda’s stance on romance in his story. Oda has said that there is not going to be romance in One Piece with the main characters, and as contrary as it may seem, this is actually a good thing for shippers in this fandom. In most other fandoms the major shipping wars are over which couples they think should be canon. They see glimpses of chemistry between characters and think that it is going to lead somewhere in the plot. When the pairing that they are waiting for doesn’t come to fruition, some fans will blame the author for making the wrong choice or for leading them on. Obviously, this is not so with One Piece. No fan is under the impression that Oda is leading us up to any big romance, or that romance is going to have any significant part in the series. Thusly, no one is going to blame Oda for when they’re particular ship doesn’t come to life in the pages. The few pairings in One Piece that do happen are usually those of (often dead) parents or side characters like Sai and Baby 5, and do not end up as a major focus for the plot.

With very few and rare exceptions, fans of One Piece don’t expect or even want their ships to become canon. People who read One Piece certainly don’t do it for any kind of love connection except for a love for adventure and freedom. Am I going to re-read as many good Law/Luffy fanfics as I can? Of course, I have and I will continue to do so. But as for wanting it in the manga? Nope. Give me piracy, teamwork, and ridiculous faces. Romance doesn’t have room in the plot, and that doesn’t degrade the quality of the story at all. There is no forced chemistry or annoying love triangles clogging up our pages. There aren’t hundreds of forum threads of side-by-side panel comparisons with fans going, “See, they looked at each other in this battle, meaning that they are destined for each other!” One Piece fans accept that we aren’t going to have that in the manga and are fine with it. If we feel the need for an OTP (One True Pairing), we focus on fanart, fanfiction, or role playing.

The fact there is not going to be any real shipping within One Piece is probably the best thing about shipping in the One Piece fandom. This is because no matter what you ship, it all has an equal amount of chance of appearing in the manga. Luffy and Nami shippers have the same chance of seeing their pairing in the storyline as much as Camie and Kid shippers do (you know who you are). There can’t really be shipping wars because no one is arguing over what is going to be canon since nothing is going to be canon. When people talk about their ships to each other I notice that often they just go, “Oh, that’s a cool ship! I don’t ship that one, but here’s some fanart of my personal OTP.” There is no outright derision or dismissing of crazy pairings, known as crack ships, as there can be in other fandoms. All ships are equal. Some have more or less of a following and all of the fan created content that comes with popularity, but in the end they are all the same when it comes down to the story canon.

I love shipping in the One Piece fandom. There are such a huge amount of characters to choose from. If I end up shipping two characters that have never met, it doesn’t matter since everything has basically a zero percent chance of happening in canon anyways. You can ship any genders together, any number together, hell you can ship literal ships together for all that it matters (Sunny/Merry is best ship ship). The rest of the fandom just gives you a pat on the back, maybe sends some fan-made content your way, and lets you keep on shipping. Apparently the best way to foster a healthy community of shippers in a fandom is to just make it so there are no ships in a series. It’s a good thing that Oda has decided the only kind of ships he’s going to focus on are pirate ships.

If you want to reach me or gush to me about your OTP you can comment here or at my twitter @PiratessUnluck.

See you in a fortnight!

“Fort Knight” is a bi-weekly editorial column written by Jill Knight exclusively for the One Piece Podcast website.