ShuMako

ShuMako is the het ship between Joker/Akira Kurusu/Ren Amamiya and Makoto Niijima from the Persona fandom.

Canon
Makoto and Ren's first meeting doesn't start off on the right foot. After Kamoshida's confession, being the Student Council President, Principal Kobayakawa pressures her to investigate the Phantom Thieves to save the school's reputation in exchange for a college letter of recommendation. She complies at first, and begins suspecting Ren and the others, even going so far as to stalk him inside and outside of school, with her face buried in a book she pretends to read. If Ren approaches her and strikes up a conversation, her reaction varies from making a casual comment about Ren and the others, to nervously acting surprised for "coincidentally" meeting Ren. Yet she would continue to follow Ren when he started gaining distance. This would go on for a few days. In Persona 5 Royal, she would be more persistent that she even takes Ren around the new area, Kichijoji.

The investigation escalates and Makoto finally gets the proof she's looking for but she starts to question her actions, even wondering if her father would side with the Phantom Thieves if he is still alive. She's willing to erase the proof if the Phantom Thieves prove their justice by changing the heart of a mafia boss who's behind the blackmailing of Shujin's students, Kaneshiro.

This leads to Makoto's awakening her persona and becoming a member of the Phantom Thieves. Her analytical skill gains her the role of the team's strategist, and to a certain extend, assumes responsibility as second in command, supporting Ren as the leader.

Their dynamic as leader & co-leader is noticeable during some of the canon moments after Makoto joins the team. Sometimes Makoto sets out a plan for the team's next move and she also consults Ren for his approval before the team comes to a decision.

On 7/24, when the Phantom Thieves go to Sojiro's house to talk to him, Makoto gets scared when they hear Futaba screaming, so she holds onto Ren's arm for comfort. When Futaba finally appears, it scares Makoto, and she ends up completely latching onto Ren's leg. When Sojiro shows up to check on Futaba, he immediately mistakes them as a couple.

When the Phantom Thieves go to steal Futaba's treasure after giving her the calling card, cognitive Wakaba shows up and produces a strong wind that blows debris in Makoto's direction. Ren dove in and saved her at the last second.

After they successfully defeat cognitive Wakaba and return to reality, Makoto asks Ren to accompany her to check up on Futaba immediately after her awakening. They end up contacting Dr. Takemi and get Futaba to rest in her room before they sort things out with Sojiro.

During Haru's arc, together with Ren, Makoto also takes charge to confront Haru about the Phantom Thieves suspicion of her identity as "Beauty Thief".

When the Phantom Thieves figure out Akechi aims to murder Ren after the infiltration into Sae's palace, Makoto is the one who sets out a plan to trick Akechi and make sure Ren comes out alive from the interrogation.

If the correct dialogue options are chosen within Makoto's social link, Ren is able to romance Makoto, this will unlock many extra dates with her, including an exclusive valentine's day cutscene on 2/14 in-game, examples of these dates are shown in the "Videos" section.

Moments
Persona 5/Royal
 * On 6/20, when the mafia boss Kaneshiro sees that Makoto's phone is in a call with Ren, he asks if it's her boyfriend's number.
 * Eiko remarks about the "rumored transfer student" being Makoto's boyfriend when Makoto and Ren interrogate her regarding her job in a red-light district cafe. Makoto repeatedly disclaims the possibility of it. However, later in her confidant, Ren has to pretend to be her boyfriend so that they can go on a double date with Eiko and her boyfriend.
 * Ren has the option to tease her with "Boop boop." after she comments how upset she is about Eiko thinking her as a robot.
 * When Phantom Thieves visits Sojiro's house, a thunder strike causes a blackout. Makoto, scared of the dark, asks Ren if she can hold his hand.
 * Instead of holding Ren's hands as she have mentioned, she hold on to Ren's shoulder.
 * After Makoto sees Futaba sneaking up behind them, she immediately clings to Ren's legs as she panically begging for her sister to save her.
 * Sojiro asks if Makoto is dating Ren when he finds Makoto clinging to Ren's legs. Makoto abashedly tries to deny it.
 * Ren saves Makoto from a falling pillar when Wakaba Isshiki's cognition attacks the Phantom Thieves.

Persona 5 Royal
"I was thinking.... maybe we could study some things we don't have experience in yet... [...] ...I want to be with you."

- Makoto to Joker during Rank 10. "...I forgive you. But you need to stop shouldering all the burdens on your own, okay? I want to support you, especially when you're hurting. We can get through our problems together."

- Makoto to Joker during Valentine's Day

Fanon
The name of the ship came from combining Makoto and Shujinkō, a Japanese term for hero/main character/protagonist. With Makoto Niijima as a fan favorite from the Persona 5 series along with Makoto Niijima being a romancable character, ShuMako quickly became a fan favorite ship within the Persona 5 fandom. There are many examples of fanwork of ShuMako including fanfiction, fan accounts, and even a dedicated subreddit with 3800+ active members. On March 16th, 2017, a poll was made by a fan, surveying participants on their favorite Persona 5 ship. This poll had a total of 1735 votes, and the most popular ship was Shumako, obtaining 21% (362 votes) of the entire poll's votes.

A Twitter fan page named Shumako Hub, hosts an annual week-long event, "Shumako Week." The event usually takes place during the first quarter of the year. Outside of the annual event, the fan page shares the fan arts and fanfics by content creators around the Internet.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Makoto N./Ren A. on FanFiction.Net
 * Makoto N./Joker on FanFiction.Net
 * Queen/Joker on FanFiction.Net
 * Queen/Ren A. on FanFiction.Net
 * Queen/Joker on FanFiction.Net
 * Queen/Ren A. on FanFiction.Net

DEVIANT ART

FORUMS
 * /r/ShuMako subreddit on Reddit

TUMBLR

TWITTER