It’s Valentine’s Day, so what better time of the year to post a list of my top favorite fictional couples? None, I tell ya! I don’t talk about ships too much, but this is the one time of year it’s okay to spew out everything I love about these fictional couples, so I’m going to do it! Here is a list of my personal top 10 favorite fictional couples!
The only rules are that they have to be two fictional characters that I like together as a romantic couple, whether it is canon or non-canon (I’ll make mention of whether it is or isn’t). This being said, there may be some SPOILERS ahead (I can’t stress this enough, I like to talk details)! There can be ties so long as I like the pairing for very similar reasons.
Also keep in mind this is just my silly personal opinion- if you don’t like a couple on this list, that’s perfectly okay! We all have different opinions and this list is simply for fun!
10) Tomoyo Okizaki & Nagisa Furokawa; Clannad: After Story
This couple can only be summed up in one word: Precious. Their relationship as a couple begins at the end of Clannad and blossoms forth in Clannad: After Story. It’s fun to see how they begin to fall for each other in the first series, but it’s After Story where their relationship truly shines.
What I love most about their relationship is that the small, simple things that make them happy. I love how just holding each other’s hand means the world to them. Simply being together is everything to them, and I think that is admirable in every sense. It shows clearly through their actions of how much they care- Tomoyo works hard at his job thinking of nothing but to support Nagisa while she always awaits him at home with a hot, fresh meal- and that was even before she married him!
All in all, I love the connection between these two. I love all their interactions, their behaviors towards each other, just everything they do feels like a solid, legitimate, healthy relationship, which eventually leads to them starting a happy family… You know, the second time around.
9) Miriel & Henry; Fire Emblem: Awakening
So this is probably the strangest pairing I have on this list, but hear just me out- In Awakening, the player has the option to pair any male and female characters together to unlock the future children characters, and while I was off marrying all the characters I forgot two of my most favorite characters- Miriel and Henry! I was saving them for last to find them the perfect match, and as it turns out, they turned out to be a great match for each other! Something about these two just clicked! Reading their support conversations was super interesting. Henry admittedly is compatible with a variety of characters in Awakening, but something about his interest in Miriel seemed so genuine to me. Not to mention, I thought it was precious how he gets her to blush.
These characters are seemingly opposite, but when you think about it, there’s a ton they have in common. They’re both problem solvers, though Henry’s solutions might be a tad more chaotic than Miriel’s, and they’re both crazy for experiments- heck, that’s why Laurent was born (oh that poor child). I love seeing them interact, and I just love how differently their speech and mannerisms are, but in the end, they both understand each other perfectly clear.
Not to mention, I just love these two and Laurent as a family. Laurent takes after his mother- a lot- so to not only get Miriel’s reactions to Henry’s odd antics but Laurent’s as well makes this family, to me, quirky and adorable.
8) Steven Universe & Connie Maheswaran; Steven Universe
While not a couple yet, there have been some heavy implications of these two ending up together, and I really hope it happens. I just adore these two’s relationship. Even though it hasn’t gotten to a romantic stage yet, I just love seeing these two together. Their relationship feels real. I was a bit skeptical when we were first introduced to Connie that it would be a typical boy meets girl cliché, and while you could argue that in a way it was, how they handled their relationship afterward is why I think they’re so great together.
I think the thing that I adore most about this pairing is that it’s not a forced relationship. It progresses so naturally. Occasionally Steven will get rosy-cheeked around his companion, but they act like friends first and foremost. It’s an actual relationship! I love how they can goof off together, but also rely on each other when things get serious. Not to mention they actually act like kids. Their relationship is just starting to bloom and it shows. I like that they don’t rush into things and just let them act their age, letting the two grow up together and mature in their relationship accordingly. There doesn’t need to be constant kissing or romantic gestures to see how much these two care for each other, it’s apparent through their actions, and I applaud that.
I also have to point out how much I love that in later episodes Connie starts to use Rose’s sword and Steven uses her shield, it’s such a great symbol of their bond and love for one another. The sword and shield are fine apart, but together they create a great force, just like Steven and Connie.
7) Varrick & Zhu Li; Avatar: The Legend of Korra
To be honest, there’s a point in The Legend of Korra where I honestly just watched because of the B-stories, one of the most interesting to me being Varrick and Zhu Li’s relationship. In the second season, I never would have thought about these two being together, but I felt the fourth season worked in a really nice storyline for these two romantically.
It really piqued my interest when Zhu-Li supposedly switched sides and started working for the enemy. The performance was really believable, but something in my gut told me that she still really cared about him- and she did! Even more so than I had thought, which was a very pleasant surprise. Varrick is easily my favorite Legend of Korra character and it was always fun watching what he would do next, so I was really excited when this arc came around for him. It gave both characters some really nice development! After that, all I wanted to know was how these two were going to get back together and profess their love to each other.
I think I like these two for the same reason I like Miriel and Henry together- they’re both total opposites in the terms of mannerisms, but intellectually they’re on the same page, and they both admire each other for it. While they show it in different ways, they love each other, and I’m so glad that even though Varrick stumbled a lot along the way- and I mean a LOT- he finally proposed to her and we were rewarded with an adorable Zhurrick wedding in the finale because she just makes him so dang happy!
6) Kermit the Frog & Miss Piggy; The Muppets
One of the wackiest, fun couples I know- Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. I’ve been a fan of the muppets ever since I was little, and even then I loved these two together. They would always make me laugh and I would always root for them together in each silly scenario they were in.
Re-watching a lot of the old movies again as an adult I can really appreciate their relationship even more. There is one scene in The Great Muppet Caper that I absolutely adore and I think describes their relationship perfectly. It’s after Kermit discovers that Miss Piggy is not Lady Holiday and as they are progressing through the scene, Piggy starts overacting- and Kermit lets her know it. They wind up having an “unscripted” argument, which makes Piggy genuinely upset. Afterward, there’s a quiet moment with just soft music playing where Kermit approaches her and apologizes. They have a quick little make-up scene before returning to the actual plot of the movie, and I just love it. These two are known for getting into zany squabbles, but at the end of each one, you know that they truly care for each other.
Then there’s just how cute they are. I think it’s precious how Miss Piggy, this tough, larger than life, don’t-take-no-crap woman, lights up whenever she see’s her amphibian partner, running to him with open arms. Their chemistry is so on point and quirky, it’s hard not to love these two together.
5) Howl Pendragon-Jenkins & Sophie Hatter; Howl’s Moving Castle
Howl and Sophie are just one of those couples that make their other half better and they know it. I’ve always been a huge fan of couples where one partner is way over the top and the other is the straight-man- or woman- learning to cope with the overly eccentric half, but also learning more about themselves at the same time (as you can clearly see by most of my choices for this list). Howl and Sophie started my love for these interesting pairs.
I was introduced to Howl’s Moving Castle through the Studio Ghibli film and I instantly fell in love with these two characters. The only thing I wished for was that there was more interaction between the two because everything we got involving Howl and Sophie was fantastic. They had such great chemistry it was a shame they didn’t share more screen time together because, to me, that’s when the movie was most interesting. Yes, the rest was great as well, but scenes like Howl’s meltdown were just so enjoyable it made me yearn for more. The book did dive more into their relationship, which I did very much enjoy as well.
In the third book, where Howl and Sophie are merely supporting characters to the lead Charmain, you could still see what they were up to and how their relationship was with each other, and that was my favorite part of that book. One part in particular where Howl disguises himself as a toddler and behaves the part also (a little too well actually), and Sophie, having to already care for their own child now has to tend to little “Twinkle” as well. Howl hams it up as much as he can, clearly seeing that Sophie isn’t having any of it, but they’re at that point in their relationship where he just knows he can get away with it and it’s hysterical! Now, I’m sure Sophie would give him an earful later on, but I love it when a couple can just get so comfortable with each other that they can do silly things like this.
4) Kristoff & Anna; Frozen
Once I saw the trailer for Frozen and that there were two possible candidates for Anna to end up with, my first pick for her was Kristoff, and what do you know, they wind up together, and I could not be more happy about it. I mean, I felt bad for Hans… You know, until he turned out to be the totally unnecessary villain- but, hey, it makes Kristoff look all that much better.
Though there’s one Disney couple that I rank above these two, I think Anna and Kristoff work the best off of each other. Their personalities work so well with one another. They’re not complete opposites, like most romantic movie couples tend to be, which is refreshing. When they talk together, it doesn’t feel scripted, it feels so legitimate (and I have to give props to their voice actors for that as well). Kristoff can always keep up with Anna’s spur-of-the-moment antics and can even laugh about it instead of it stressing him out. While their romance did blossom rather fast- I mean, come on, it’s a Disney movie, what did you expect- to me, it progressed genuinely and didn’t feel forced.
I also just love how much they care about each other. When Anna is in trouble, Kristoff does whatever he can to save her. He keeps her safe throughout their journey and does what he thinks is best for her, even if it means letting her go. Anna does her share of saving Kristoff as well, including staving off a pack of hungry wolves. At the end, while Anna herself performed the act of true love if she didn’t, we knew that Kristoff would have come and given her true love’s kiss, and she knew it. You can see it on her face when she looks to Kristoff over Elsa’s shoulder when they hug at the end. Even in things outside of the movie such as the short film Frozen Fever, and even on the Frozen Ever After ride, you can always just tell how much they mean to each other and how just being together makes them happy. It’s adorable.
3) Aragorn & Arwen; The Lord of the Rings
The instant I saw these two together I was so intrigued. A human and an elf, what an unusual, interesting concept! Of course, I later learned that it was a common fantasy cliche to have a human-elf or human-fantastical race relationship (which while somewhat common, I always find it intriguing), but even still, in my book, Arwen and Aragorn are THE couple that tops them all.
The thing that intrigued me the most about these two was that Arwen was immortal and Aragorn was not. How would this relationship work? Surely it must end in tragedy, I thought. Still, Arwen loved Aragorn so much that she decided to stay with him regardless. To this day, the scene in the third film where she has a vision of her future son and she talks to his father and makes this decision burns clearly in my mind. Though he was destined to die, she chose to be by his side until that time came, and ultimately she too joined him in the afterlife shortly after, not being able to bear living without him.
All and all, as a lover of fantasy, I really feel like Aragorn and Arwen are so iconic and was the most influential couple when it came time for me to write my own fantastical adventures. May the legend of the King and Queen of Reunited Kingdoms live on in years to come!
2) Tiana & Naveen; The Princess and the Frog
The Princess and the Frog is my favorite Disney movie for many reasons, and one of those reasons is for the characters. Tiana proved to be a very strong character and Naveen won me over the minute he stepped on screen, so naturally, I love them together even more. Now, this is a couple that I would go and say they are nearly opposite in every way, but because of this, they really do complete each other.
Naveen begins as a carefree Prince, flaunting his royal status and living life to the fullest- though this has left him in debt, which causes the main conflict of the film. Tiana is a hard-working, independent woman, but this has excluded her from many social events and festivities. Together, Naveen shows Tiana how to have a good time and Tiana shows him how to be a hard worker, and in the end, together they make each other’s dreams come true, and even better is that we the viewers got to see them fall in love.
There was no skip in time, there was no love at first sight- in fact, when Tiana and Naveen first meet, Tiana rolls her eyes and keeps moving on, but by the end of the movie she becomes Naveen’s Evangeline (by the way, sweetest line ever). I love how they have just nice, casual conversations throughout the movie. The way they interact is very natural, and their personalities work so well even though they contrast. They also show so much care for each other, and it’s evident in so many scenes throughout the movie. It’s there when Naveen decides to marry Lottie so he can give Tiana the money for her restaurant just to see her dream come true, when Tiana stood up to Facilier and gave up her restaurant to be with Naveen, and, of course, when they both decided to stay frogs so long as they could be together. Would you be a frog for your significant other? Think about that.
And now a few Honorable Mentions for those couples that I love but didn’t quite make the list…
Sumia & Chrom and Ike & Elincia from Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance because both are a super cute Princess and Hero duo. Both pairs have a sweet, caring woman and a noble young man who, while a little clueless and blunt, care deeply about the other. Though it is possible to make Sumia and Chrom live happily ever after together in Awakening, Ike leaves Tellius never to be seen again, leaving Elincia behind (and having very little contact with her in Radiant Dawn. Meh).
Naruto Uzumaki & Hinata Hyuga from Naruto because I was drawn to the manga many years ago because of young Hinata’s crush on Naruto. I thought it was sweet how he inspired her so much- if only he would notice her sooner! Though I haven’t read anything Naruto in quite some time, this couple always holds a special place in my heart, and it’s good to see after all this time that they finally ended up together.
Haruhi Fujioka & Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club is another couple with the eccentric-calm dynamic that I seem so attracted to. Tamaki makes this relationship unique though by tricking himself into thinking he loves Haruhi like a father loves a daughter, though the whole host club knows he really just had a huge crush on her and didn’t know how to handle it. It was really cute to see their relationship grow and it was a close choice to getting on this list. I’m giving this couple the honorary 11th place title.
Megara & Hercules from Disney’s Hercules because the way that Hercules loves Meg is just so innocent and true. He always seems so happy to see her and is willing to do anything for her- even jump into a sea of undead souls to rescue her. That moment where Hercules chooses Meg over an immortal life on Mount Olympus gets me every time- and please don’t ruin it by telling me how it ends in the real Greek myth, I already know it and I’ll gladly take the Disney version thank you very much.
Austria/ Roderich Edelstein & Hungary /Elizaveta Herdervary from Hetalia will always be dear to me. Though it‘s been a while since I’ve watched Hetalia, this was always the couple that I loved the most. I loved the reverse-rolled nature of this pair where Hungary was the powerhouse that protected her significant other and Austria was the house-husband who just enjoyed the little things. Though the pair is canonically apart since they were ‘divorced‘ when the Austro-Hungarian empire split apart, you could always see in their interactions that they cared for each other still, and I feel like there was something inside them that still wanted them to be together.
Franken Stein & Marie Mjolnir is another couple that I felt was very honest and enjoyable. They were a bickering couple, but they knew that they cared about one another, and wound up together in the end (in an awesome reveal too)! Marie was always the one who was able to get through to Stein when he faced the madness, and she stuck by him when no one else would. Love her, Stein! Love her and never let go!
1) Link & Zelda; The Legend of Zelda
From the beginning, I have always been a fan of a princess and her hero falling in love and living happily ever after, and that was no different when I was introduced to The Legend of Zelda. Ever since my introduction to these two in The Wind Waker, I was convinced that they were meant to be. Now I’m very much aware that in this case, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and some people don’t see them as a couple, but in every incarnation of these two, there’s always something there that binds them, and I can’t help but see this blooming into a romance.
Now in some games, there is a hinted romance that is more prominent than others- Zelda II, Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, Ocarina of Time, and of course, Skyward Sword. Skyward Sword by far has the closest relationship between the two so far, and it is so well done. The best part about it is that they don’t even need to say “I love you”. Their actions alone show how much the other means to each other, and that is incredible that such emotions can be shown without language.
Though Skyward Sword has the most obvious romantic indication, as a diehard ZeLink fan, I always manage to find those subtle clues to loving intentions. Though we hardly see the two interact in Twilight Princess, the way Link smiles when he see’s that Zelda is safe is so endearing. In Ocarina of Time, Link returns to Hyrule Castle when he’s sent back in time to meet Zelda again and it’s precious as ever. Even the people who made Hyrule Warriors knew there was something there and made it a major plot point in the game (yes, I know it’s not canon, but the inspiration had to come from somewhere).
With Breath of the Wild coming up there have been some intense trailers premiering with many scenes between the Princess of Hyrule and her hero, and I honestly can’t wait to see what Nintendo has in store for my number one favorite fictional couple.
Thank you all for taking a look at my list, I hope you enjoyed it! Were some of your favorite fictional couples on this list, and if not, who are they? Leave it in the comments below, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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false: lon qu and miriel is the otp.
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