JuHaku

JuHaku is the slash ship between Hakuryuu Ren and Judar from the Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic fandom.

Canon
Judar and Hakuryuu have known each other for almost their entire lives. Hakuryuu used to have a strong dislike for Judar since he saw him as a pawn for Al-Thamen, although he once confessed that he was grateful to Judar for being the only person who never treated him differently after the fire. On the other hand, Judar has always seen potential in Hakuryuu and would frequently pester him about becoming his king vessel, despite being turned down every time.

After the death of his step-father and his mother becoming the new empress, Hakuryuu tried to convince his sister Hakuei to take the empire back. She rejected the idea, which devastated Hakuryuu and sparked a great change within him. After then being defeated in battle by his mother and feeling completely alone and powerless, Judar offered him his help once again. This time, Hakuryuu does not refuse and they eventually begin cooperating.

Together they enter the dungeon Belial and are faced with illusions of people who try to convince them to not take a villainous path. Though they both acknowledge that it's not too late for them to change, in the end they cannot let go of their hatred and swear to destroy the world that caused them to suffer. This moment pushes Hakuryuu to fall into depravity, and when Judar asks him how he wants to live from now on, Hakuryuu tells him to stop yelling as he kills the illusions of his sister and Morgiana. After that they break into the treasure room and force Belial to become Hakuryuu's djinn.

They take over a supply base and master their new abilities in preparation for their battle against Gyokuen Ren, Hakuryuu's mother and the current empress. However, a curse placed by Kouen activates within Hakuryuu and forcibly suppresses his bloodlust towards Gyokuen. Judar is extremely upset by this and is unable to do anything for Hakuryuu as he's screaming in pain. Hakuryuu manages to fight the curse and keep going, which impresses Judar. Although Hakuryuu is greatly limited in power, they still go to the capital to fight Gyokuen.

Soon after they kill the empress, Aladdin and Alibaba come to visit them. After Alibaba refuses to help Hakuryuu, he reveals that he has fallen into depravity and the two king vessels fight while Judar faces off against Aladdin.

Hakuryuu wins the fight against Alibaba, "killing" him, and demands Judar to hurry up with defeating Aladdin and return to his side. Judar tries, but gets hit by one of Aladdin's spells. Hakuryuu tries to save him by making Zagan's plants grab onto him, but they get destroyed and Judar continues to get pushed away. He gets launched into space and runs out of magic power, losing his consciousness. Hakuryuu is left shocked and continues to question Aladdin as to how to stop the spell, but Aladdin states there's no way to do that. He confirms Judar won't ever come back, leaving Hakuryuu devastated. Hakuryuu implies that losing Judar is worse than the loss of both his legs.

After Judar is saved by Ugo and returns from being stuck on the Dark Continent for two years, he immediately leaves to search for Hakuryuu. Later on, Hakuryuu also searches for Judar. They meet again in Judar's home village, where Hakuryuu learns Judar's real name. From the moment they're reunited, Hakuryuu and Judar are almost always seen by each other's side. They join Alibaba and Aladdin on their way to the Sacred Palace to stop Sinbad's plan of returning to the rukh. They also fight together during the final fight of Magi.

Overall, Hakuryuu and Judar have one of the most complex relationships in Magi. By the end of the story they are very close and are shown to be comfortable with each other.

Quotes
"I don't mind losing a leg or two but... I never imagined that... I would lose Judar."

- Hakuryuu to Aladdin after Judar's "death"

"As you command, my king."

- Judar to Hakuryuu

"If this world rejects us, then... we will destroy this world and create it anew!"

- Spoken together as Hakuryuu falls into depravity

"Hey, Hakuryuu. What will you choose now? How do you want to live from now on? Answer me! Hakuryuu!"

- Judar

"You finally came to my side! I'm a Magi. It's boring to fight alone. I will make you into a king!"

- Judar to Hakuryuu after he fell into depravity

"I'll follow your lead."

- Hakuryuu to Judar

Fanon
JuHaku is one of the most popular ships in the fandom, in part because Hakuryuu and Judar are two of the most popular Magi characters. Fans ship them because of their shared trauma, their support for each other, and Judar's undying loyalty to Hakuryuu.

There are some who consider this ship unhealthy and believe that Judar fuels Hakuryuu's unhealthy obsession with revenge. Many people who do ship JuHaku do not deny this aspect and instead find it intriguing, while most simply don't have a problem with it. By the end of the series this is pretty much a non-issue due to both characters having been redeemed and still caring about each other despite everything that's changed.

Many wish JuHaku could've been canon and feel that it wouldn't have felt out of place or forced. Judar is canonically gay or bisexual and his behavior towards Hakuryuu is frequently interpreted as romantic.

Fandom
FAN FICTION TUMBLR
 * Judar/Hakuryuu on FanFiction.Net

Trivia

 * Hakuryuu is the only one who knows Judar's real name, which not even the reader knows.
 * Judar frequently calls Hakuryuu "my king".
 * In the Final Arc, Judar states that he's satisfied with his life thanks to Hakuryuu.
 * Judar's "death" is shown to have had a great impact on Hakuryuu. After the event, whenever Judar is mentioned Hakuryuu becomes deeply upset and looks on the verge of tears. He also held a funeral and built a massive tomb for him.
 * During their time separated, Judar talks about Hakuryuu a lot. He often mentions how he wants to get back as soon as possible and fight alongside him and wonders what Hakuryuu may be doing.
 * After Hakuryuu discovers that Judar is indeed alive, he also wonders what Judar's doing.
 * When asked about his opinion on Belial's djinn equip Judar stated "It's to my taste, as expected of Hakuryuu!"
 * At the end of chapter 314, Aladdin tells Hakuryuu not to be depressed over his unrequited love for Morgiana. This is followed by a comment from the author Ohtaka that says "Even while some people are getting married, others remain single. The night of the banquet has passed... but it's fine! Hakuryuu still has Judar!!"
 * Volume 28's omake confirms that Judar desires a relationship, but he specifies that he doesn't want to be with a woman, implying that he is gay or bisexual with a preference for men.
 * Hakuryuu is notably one of very few people who Judar does not have a derogatory nickname for.