Kaminari and Jiro's epilogue panel truly shows how My Hero Academia handles shipping
My Hero Academia is a series with a lot of popular ships and one of the most notorious is the one between Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro. This is because of their friendship throughout the story and how the series gives some subtle hints that they could have romantic feelings for each other. The epilogue in the manga deals with this in a now-classic fashion from author Kohei Horikoshi.
With the exception of the romance between Izuku "Deku" Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka, Horikoshi always aims to make the relationship between these possible ships as vague as possible. This leaves for interpretation and, in a way, plays it safe, which is something that is bound to annoy some My Hero Academia fans but also appease others who perhaps are not that interested in shipping.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a publication.
The My Hero Academia epilogue shows Horikoshi's traditional way of handling ships through Kaminari and Jiro
Both Kaminari and Jiro have always been shipped together because they are best friends throughout the story, they spend a lot of time together, and there are even hints of a romantic interest, such as when the former had to step in during the first war arc and began to think of the latter as motivation.
Therefore, the way author Kohei Horikoshi handled their ship in the epilogue is a prime example of how he deals with romance in the series.
In the epilogue, when class 1-A reunites for dinner, they are asked why they are together again after all these years and whether they are dating or not, to which they reply they aren't and simply spend time together because their agencies are next to each other. They react somewhat nervously, denying it as if they got caught in the act, but the story leaves an open ending for them.
This is something that Horikoshi has done with almost every single popular ship in the series, leaving room for interpretation in the story and not dividing the fandom with these decisions. The only exception was the confirmed relationship between Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka in the last chapter of the manga, which also sparked a lot of strong reactions online from the community.
The importance of romance in the series
Romance has never been the main focus in My Hero Academia but something like the relationship between Deku and Uraraka was a plot point throughout the story. It was shown time and time again that Ochaco had feelings for the protagonist so the subplot had to reach a conclusion, which ultimately happened in chapter 431.
On the other hand, while having Kaminari and Jiro together as a couple would certainly please a good percentage of the fandom, it wouldn't affect the series in the grand scheme of things. Their relationship wasn't very significant in the story and would have only majorly pleased the shippers, who are fans like any other but are not a priority within the series.
Final thoughts
Kaminari and Jiro were not confirmed as a couple in the My Hero Academia epilogue but fans of this ship could also argue that they were not confirmed to be friends either. It is the classic approach Horikoshi has had for romance that is bound to generate discussions in the community for a long time.
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