ShinCelty

ShinCelty is the het ship between Shinra Kishitani and Celty Sturluson from the Durarara fandom.

Canon
A major theme of Durarara is the concept of "twisted love", and ShinCelty is one of the romances that explores this.

Celty, a Dullahan, has been living as Shinra's roommate since twenty years before the start of the series. Shinra's father, Shingen, offered Celty a place to stay so that he could study her while she searched for her lost head. Shinra claims to have been in love with Celty since he first met her, when he helped his father examine her at age 4. Shinra's obsession with Celty is infamous among his few friends and family, but Celty is initially disinterested or even annoyed by his advances.

Although she finds herself gradually start to return his feelings, Celty is afraid that once she finds her head and regains her memories, she will be forced to return to her life as a Dullahan. Celty thus doesn't accept or admit her feelings for Shinra, because she isn't human, and believes they can't be together. This is until Celty discovers Shinra's secret; that he knew where her head was and didn't tell her for fear she would leave if she got it back. This revelation brings Celty to admit to herself and Shinra her fears about recovering her lost memories, as well as her love for him. The two soon begin dating, and Celty becomes less interested in finding her head, having decided to reject her old life. She is happier to have finally accepted her feelings.

From this point onward, the relationship between the two is a major element of the story. Their bond is a source of motivation for Celty, her wanting to make Shinra happier or avoid being separated from him. When scared, Celty will at times pull Shinra into a protective ball with her for comfort. Similarly, Shinra remains open that Celty matters to him more than anything else and that there is no boundary he wouldn't cross for her. The two are shown to be very supportive of one another, and they work together to help Anri, Akane, Shizou, and others with their problems. Most of their friends are initially confused by the pairing, but grow to accept or even support it. Shingen gives his blessing on the terms that Celty call him "father", and even the generally cold Izaya is, at times, implied to support them being together.

Celty can also be very protective of Shinra, such as when she threatens Izaya for insulting him, when she takes care of him and vows revenge on his assaulter after he is attacked, or when she goes berserk chasing his kidnapper. Shinra's shameless physical attraction to Celty and her embarrassment at him displaying this publicly is a reoccurring source of comic relief. Their relationship is extremely important to both of them, although it is not without darker elements. Shinra admits he would go to any length to keep Celty from leaving him, while Celty occasionally criticizes Shinra openly or uses her powers to restrain him - although, Shinra admits that he gets a kick out of this treatment.

Eventually, Celty is forcibly reunited with her head. Her memories regained, Celty decides to leave Japan and return to being a Dullahan. Regaining her memory convinces her that she can never live among humans, and she feels her presence has only brought pain and strife to those she cares for. She pretends to have lost her memories of her time headless to try and spare her friends and Shinra the pain of losing her, but she herself is conflicted and wishes she didn't have to leave. In particular, she notes that while she wants Shinra to forget about her, she doesn't want to forget about him.

Shinra, however, sees through her act, and decides to separate Celty's head once more. He hopes this will cause her to lose her memories of being a Dullahan again, and thus convince her to stay. Shizou throws Shinra in the air after Celty, and Shinra is able to successfully break her connection with her head. Although this doesn't remove her memories as Shinra believed it would, Shinra's recklessness makes Celty realize how much he cares about her and how much she cares about him. Thus, she saves Shinra's life, and finds her resolve to accept her new life once more.

At the conclusion, Celty confesses to Shinra that she still has her memories of being a Dullahan, but she no longer cares. She that has accepted that she wants to stay with him forever, even if she is inhuman.

Moments
TBA

Fanon
The fan reaction to ShinCelty has been overall very positive. It is the most popular of the canon pairings, and is beat out only by Izaya x Shizou in terms of overall popularity. It is quite common to see it counted in lists of top anime couples or cited as an example of an exceptional anime romance. Fans praise Shinra and Celty's passion for one another, the strange and unique manner of their pairing, their cute and funny interactions, as well as their acceptance of each other's flaws.

On the other hand, some fans are vocally against the pairing. They typically argue that the relationship is toxic due to Shinra's obsessiveness and stated willingness to do anything to keep Celty with him. Shinra's lack of honesty about Celty's head and his decision to try and stop her from leaving at the end are often criticized. Fans are thus split by their opinions of Shinra, whether they see him as creepy or passionate. The most extreme opponents consider the pairing to be outright abusive and an example of Stockholm Syndrome.

Defenders of the pairing will typically admit that Shinra's behavior is problematic. However, they consider the flaws to be part of what makes the pair interesting and realistic, and ultimately secondary to their positive attributes. It is worth noting that Shinra supports Celty's work and friendships, and that he also seems to have full trust in Celty's devotion to him. Whatever Shinra's efforts, Celty's decision to stay with him is made of her own accord based on her own feelings, and the two overall have a very supportive relationship. As such, most fans argue that ShinCelty is still the most healthy pairing in Durarara, and should be accepted for what it is.

Quotes
"I'll be with Shinra to the end... I don't want to be separated from him. I realized this stronger than ever when he recently got hurt. I can't forgive those who hurt him, and I'm willing to play along with your distasteful work to get even. You see, Shinra does love me... and I love him, too."

- Celty, Durarara!!x9

"Thus, the dullahan, like the banshee, made its name as a herald of ill fortune throughout European folklore. But that was all in the past. Now she was a living urban legend and leading a happy life in love with a man named Shinra Kishitani."

- Durarara!!x13

Fandom
FAN FICTION