KenUri

KenUri is the slash ship between Kenny Ackerman and Uri Reiss from the Attack on Titan fandom.

Canon
After finding out that Uri Reiss is the true king of the walls, Kenny Ackerman tracks him down and attempts to kill him. Although Uri stops him, Kenny does not give up, pointing a gun at him. Being held in the palm of Uri's titan's hand, Kenny throws a dagger at Uri, but to stop it Uri shields himself and lets it pierce his own palm. Kenny, feeling panicked, asks Uri to forgive him for attempted assassination and let him go, so they can fight again when he comes back more prepared for a clash with a titan. Despite Uri's brother Rod Reiss claiming that Kenny has to die, since they cannot erase an Ackermans' memory, Uri makes his own choice and spares his life. Uri falls to his knees and genuinely starts crying and apologizing for all the pain and misery his family brought upon the Ackermans' clan. He says he understans his hatred, and apologizes again for failing as a king and noy being able to build a paradise for his subjects. Uri's sincerity and humility, according to Kenny, left him speechless. Kenny feels something joilt inside him and he says he wants to help Uri.

The two talked a lot with each other, and Uri told him about the Founding Titan and how he would need to pass it down to his brother's children since he had none of his own. During one of such conversations, as Uri and Kenny are sitting by the pond gazing upon the water, Uri tells Kenny that he believes his time has come. Kenny seems surprised to learn that Uri will be passing his "gift" to Rod's children. Uri tells Kenny that the worl as they know it will be ruined soon. They discuss the nature of this world, and Uri says that he wants peice and prosperity for the place they live in despite all the violence that surrounds them. Uri remembers the day they met, and how they managed not to succumb to hate, but overcome that pit and insted become friends. Uri calls what happened that day a "miracle".

During Kenny's final moments, he reminisces over his past that mainly consistes of memeroies of Uri, to the day they met and the Reiss's succession ritual where he died. Kenny dreams of finding the titan serum and injecting himself with it so he can turn into a titan and see the world the way Uri used to.

Almost 20 years after Kenny first met Uri, as the truth about Kenny, Levi, and Mikasa Ackerman being related came out, Levi told Mikasa that both he and Kenny experienced a moment of revelation when inexplicable surge of power overcame them (as well as Mikasa, who remembers the day she met Eren). This references to the moment when Uri's speech paralized Kenny and he decided to help Uri and his life changed forever.

Quotes
"I never imagined there could be anyone in this world stronger than me."

- Kenny about Uri, Chapter 69

Behind the Scenes
In the 進撃の巨人 ANSWERS/Shingeki no Kyojin ANSWERS Guidebook, Hajime Isayama, the writer of the series, states that Kenny was attracted to Uri.

Fanon
KenUri has a solid sized fan-following. Many have compared their close bond to Eren and Mikasa, Levi and Erwin's bonds. KenUri, along with EreMika and EruRi, is considered an example of the "ackerbond", a special relationship that an Ackerman family member has with the person they imprint on. Mangaka Hajime Isayama doesn’t use the fan term, but speaks about that special bond between the three pairs in Attack on Titan: Answers, where he describes it as an instinct that makes them follow the person they deeply respect, however it’s not blunt fate, but a personal choice. After meeting such person, Ackermans feel a sudden power awaken inside them, and they're changed forever thanks to that person: thus, Mikasa's moment was with Eren, Levi changed after meeting Erwin, and Kenny — after meeting Uri. Therefore, all three ships often appear in fanfiction and fan arts together side by side. Considering all three represent different age categories, in fan works they are depicted as a family: older more mature generation (sometimes including Kuchel, Kenny's sister), current generation, and new generation.

Often the scene of Kenny and Uri's first meeting, when Uri stops Kenny's dagger with the palm of his own hand is compared to the similar scene from Attack on Titan: No Regrets, when Erwin stops Levi's blade with his bare hands. Another parallel that fans mention is Kenny recognizing Uri's look in Frieda's eyes, the same way Levi recognizes Erwin in Armin's. After it's been revealed in the final chapter of Attack on Titan manga, that both Mikasa and Eren had mutual romantic feelings for each other, many KenUri fans started drawing even more parallels.

KenUri fans are intrigued by the fact that Kenny wanted the titan serum shot because he wanted to have Uri's memories and see the world through his eyes. Some believe it to be interesting that Uri had to pass his powers to Rod's children, as Uri didn't have children of his own, even though he was coming from a royal family, and the royalty think of having successors first and foremost. Fans that support KenUri usually like to explore and  tropes. In some fan arts they are depicted as a medieval king and his loyal knight, like in this art.

In fan works that explore Uri and Kenny's dynamic in their later years, Kenny helps his sister Kuchel bring up her son Levi, and Uri is always glad to give them a hand. Sometimes, Uri and Kenny are shown raising Levi together (like here). Historia at times also appears in KenUri fan works, given that she is Uri's niece and they seem like they would have been very close due to their personality resemblance (those fan works are often featured by YumiHisu as a side couple).

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Uri/Kenny on FanFiction.Net
 * Uri/Kenny on FanFiction.Net

FAN ART

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