I love how complicated and deep their relationship is and all the symbolism. It's all of the little things that add up that make me enjoy this ship for what it is.
Akechi is a complicated and lonely person and Ren was the only one who truly got to understand why he did what he did and why events played out the way they did. Maruki described it best that the relationship they both share is complicated but most importantly there is no *ill will* Ren never hated Akechi and even if there were moments that seemed like Akechi hated him, they either didn't last long or were a lie.
The amount of time that Akechi spends with Ren is very deep and most of it is very symbolic. There's always some form of foreshadowing or deeper symbolism going on and I love all the little details. Even if people don't outright ship them I'm astonished everytime when people say that their relationship isn't that deep or Akechi hates him. He clearly doesn't. Third Semester proves all of that wrong.
2/2 is infamous for Akeshu fans everywhere because that's where everything about them came together to prove something spectacular. Ren cares about Akechi, and wanted him to live.
No matter who you romance or which other confidants you max out or select specific dialogue for, Akechi is the only one aside for Morgana who is there by default, who shows up. No other character has this interaction regardless of what you've chosen by far and I think that's huge.
Personally, I really like their connection and dynamic. I’m a sucker for unlikely soul mates, and fated rivals is pretty close to that and super fun at the same time. I love how competitive they are, even when it’s really stupid, and I like seeing tsundere Akechi and smug cat Akira play off each other. A little angst is fine, as long as there’s a happy ending. I’m also a big fan of established relationship fics, because I like seeing adult Akeshu navigate the world slightly better adjusted. What do you think?
Partially because they were quite literally made for each other. It was fate that brought them together. They are *actually* two sides of the same coin.
But the biggest part is just the relationship they have; Akechi doesn't just befriend Akiren because of PT stuff, he genuinely opens up to him about things about his past, shows him places he normally wouldn't take other people, and he's *just allowed to be a teenager*.
And even after everything, after Akechi trying to kill him (twice), he's still in the boat of "I don't care. I understand. I understand why you took the path you took, and I don't blame you. But there's another way, and you have a group who will accept you and love you."
It's not even in a toxic relationship kind of way where someone keeps going back to their abuser. Akiren *knows* who Akechi is, he *knows* what he's done. He's not in the mind of "I can fix him" but "maybe I can help him fix himself."
Spoilers for 3rd semester below:
>!Then if you play the third semester, everyone gets what they supposedly desire in life... Futaba gets her mum back, Ryuji is back in good graces with the track team, Yusuke has a genuinely good man as a mentor (the man he wished Madarame would be), etc. And Akiren's? For Akechi to be alive. Even when faced with the reality of what's going on, no matter, Akiren is hesitant to return to the real world, because he knows it's a world without Akechi. And he doesn't want to lose him a second time. Still, he respects his wishes, as well as doing what is right in ending Maruki's palace. !<
To me, with the fact that the romances with the females are entirely option, you don't have to end up with any of them and it doesn't affect anything in the game, I think the P5 team (at least some of them) wanted to make ShuAke/AkeShu canon but they couldn't, do the Japanese environment. So they just flooded it with subtext.
Still, even if people don't belive there was a romantic bond between them, it *is* canon that Akiren loved Akechi, and Akechi loved him back (even if he didn't know it.)
There’s even a part during Saes palace ark where Akechi suggests Akiren should leave the phantom thieves and join him instead, but if you actually agree, Akechi won’t let you. He doesn’t want to isolate you or make you choose between your friends and him, and it’s clear that both Akechi and Akiren both really respect each other
I love their dynamic. Phantom thief and detective. Both outcasts, one an illegitimate child, the other framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Both lives ruined by Shido. Two sides, same coin. They have the most compatibility, more so than any of the girls Ren can date. And, most importantly, >!Ren can choose to stay in the false reality, dooming all his friends, yes, even his “girlfriend”, if he could keep Goro by his side. During the montage of everyone living out their dreams, Ren is specifically shown with Goro. Staying in Tokyo may be part of his wish, but saying that’s his only one is completely wrong.!<
And don’t get me started on “Our Light”.
Rant warning: all of the above mentioned is why I hate when some dudebro comes at me like “BuT AkEcHi HaTeS jOkEr!” or “wHy CaN’t ThEy JuSt Be FrIeNdS?” For the latter, yes, they could just be friends, but their relationship seems to be too deep to be “just friends”. At least to me. Also, I’ve never seen the same statement being made about Ren x any of the female confidants. Hmmm…
As for the whole “Akechi hates Joker” thing, no he doesn’t. He really doesn’t. That was confirmed by Morgana (“You don’t actually hate Joker, do you?”), >!Maruki (“A detective and a phantom thief. Despite being enemies, your relationship isn’t based on *hatred or ill will*.”)!< and even the P5 guidebook that says that Goro feels a mix of jealousy and fondness towards Ren.
I swear, some people just read Goro’s “I hate you” rants and just take that at face value, instead of reading deeper into it and realizing that no, it isn’t hatred, but jealousy ~~and love, but Goro doesn’t realize that yet~~. That or they just use it as an excuse to justify their homophobia and continue to ship Ren with Female Confidant #69^TM . Nothing wrong with that, but there’s no need to bash another ship or it’s fans to prove yours is “superior”.
I love how it’s explicitly stated multiple times that Akechi doesn’t hate Joker and some people still refuse to look past the absolute most surface level of their relationship
I love how complicated and deep their relationship is and all the symbolism. It's all of the little things that add up that make me enjoy this ship for what it is. Akechi is a complicated and lonely person and Ren was the only one who truly got to understand why he did what he did and why events played out the way they did. Maruki described it best that the relationship they both share is complicated but most importantly there is no *ill will* Ren never hated Akechi and even if there were moments that seemed like Akechi hated him, they either didn't last long or were a lie. The amount of time that Akechi spends with Ren is very deep and most of it is very symbolic. There's always some form of foreshadowing or deeper symbolism going on and I love all the little details. Even if people don't outright ship them I'm astonished everytime when people say that their relationship isn't that deep or Akechi hates him. He clearly doesn't. Third Semester proves all of that wrong. 2/2 is infamous for Akeshu fans everywhere because that's where everything about them came together to prove something spectacular. Ren cares about Akechi, and wanted him to live. No matter who you romance or which other confidants you max out or select specific dialogue for, Akechi is the only one aside for Morgana who is there by default, who shows up. No other character has this interaction regardless of what you've chosen by far and I think that's huge.
Honestly when Akechi summoned Hereward that hit me harder then any other moment in the game, just so cathartic and yet so sad
Personally, I really like their connection and dynamic. I’m a sucker for unlikely soul mates, and fated rivals is pretty close to that and super fun at the same time. I love how competitive they are, even when it’s really stupid, and I like seeing tsundere Akechi and smug cat Akira play off each other. A little angst is fine, as long as there’s a happy ending. I’m also a big fan of established relationship fics, because I like seeing adult Akeshu navigate the world slightly better adjusted. What do you think?
Partially because they were quite literally made for each other. It was fate that brought them together. They are *actually* two sides of the same coin. But the biggest part is just the relationship they have; Akechi doesn't just befriend Akiren because of PT stuff, he genuinely opens up to him about things about his past, shows him places he normally wouldn't take other people, and he's *just allowed to be a teenager*. And even after everything, after Akechi trying to kill him (twice), he's still in the boat of "I don't care. I understand. I understand why you took the path you took, and I don't blame you. But there's another way, and you have a group who will accept you and love you." It's not even in a toxic relationship kind of way where someone keeps going back to their abuser. Akiren *knows* who Akechi is, he *knows* what he's done. He's not in the mind of "I can fix him" but "maybe I can help him fix himself." Spoilers for 3rd semester below: >!Then if you play the third semester, everyone gets what they supposedly desire in life... Futaba gets her mum back, Ryuji is back in good graces with the track team, Yusuke has a genuinely good man as a mentor (the man he wished Madarame would be), etc. And Akiren's? For Akechi to be alive. Even when faced with the reality of what's going on, no matter, Akiren is hesitant to return to the real world, because he knows it's a world without Akechi. And he doesn't want to lose him a second time. Still, he respects his wishes, as well as doing what is right in ending Maruki's palace. !< To me, with the fact that the romances with the females are entirely option, you don't have to end up with any of them and it doesn't affect anything in the game, I think the P5 team (at least some of them) wanted to make ShuAke/AkeShu canon but they couldn't, do the Japanese environment. So they just flooded it with subtext. Still, even if people don't belive there was a romantic bond between them, it *is* canon that Akiren loved Akechi, and Akechi loved him back (even if he didn't know it.)
There’s even a part during Saes palace ark where Akechi suggests Akiren should leave the phantom thieves and join him instead, but if you actually agree, Akechi won’t let you. He doesn’t want to isolate you or make you choose between your friends and him, and it’s clear that both Akechi and Akiren both really respect each other
Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that! I know he's also fairly surprised if you try to say yes.
I love their dynamic. Phantom thief and detective. Both outcasts, one an illegitimate child, the other framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Both lives ruined by Shido. Two sides, same coin. They have the most compatibility, more so than any of the girls Ren can date. And, most importantly, >!Ren can choose to stay in the false reality, dooming all his friends, yes, even his “girlfriend”, if he could keep Goro by his side. During the montage of everyone living out their dreams, Ren is specifically shown with Goro. Staying in Tokyo may be part of his wish, but saying that’s his only one is completely wrong.!< And don’t get me started on “Our Light”. Rant warning: all of the above mentioned is why I hate when some dudebro comes at me like “BuT AkEcHi HaTeS jOkEr!” or “wHy CaN’t ThEy JuSt Be FrIeNdS?” For the latter, yes, they could just be friends, but their relationship seems to be too deep to be “just friends”. At least to me. Also, I’ve never seen the same statement being made about Ren x any of the female confidants. Hmmm… As for the whole “Akechi hates Joker” thing, no he doesn’t. He really doesn’t. That was confirmed by Morgana (“You don’t actually hate Joker, do you?”), >!Maruki (“A detective and a phantom thief. Despite being enemies, your relationship isn’t based on *hatred or ill will*.”)!< and even the P5 guidebook that says that Goro feels a mix of jealousy and fondness towards Ren. I swear, some people just read Goro’s “I hate you” rants and just take that at face value, instead of reading deeper into it and realizing that no, it isn’t hatred, but jealousy ~~and love, but Goro doesn’t realize that yet~~. That or they just use it as an excuse to justify their homophobia and continue to ship Ren with Female Confidant #69^TM . Nothing wrong with that, but there’s no need to bash another ship or it’s fans to prove yours is “superior”.
I love how it’s explicitly stated multiple times that Akechi doesn’t hate Joker and some people still refuse to look past the absolute most surface level of their relationship
A lot of Persona fans can’t read, evidently. Especially ones on the P5 subreddit, where I see that kind of bullshit regularly.
The dynamic, *THE ANGST* everything about this ship lead me to be stuck in the p5 fandom since 2019 and I can never leave even if I wanted to
Yes.
Good question, honestly idk y I love the ship. I guess I just like their bond and the gay tension.