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. Still, over the years, the two grow to be extremely close. Shinra dedicates himself to understanding her, and becomes remarkably skilled at reading Celty's body language and guessing her thoughts. Rather than stay with Shingen, Celty chooses to follow Shinra when he moves out on his own.

By the start of the series, Celty has begun to reciprocate Shinra's feelings. However, she struggles with emotional insecurity. Celty questions whether her feelings are real, whether she belongs among humans at all, and what she can actually give to Shinra. Thus, she runs from her feelings by pursuing her head and hoping regaining her memory will give her clarity. 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 realize and admit to 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, as she no longer seeks to recover her memory. She is happier having accepted her feelings.

From this point onward, the relationship between the two is a major element of the story. Although Celty remains insecure, Shinra's support and affections allow her to gradually become more self-accepting and confident. Their bond is a source of motivation for Celty, her wanting to make Shinra happier or avoid being separated from him. Celty opens up her vulnerable side to Shinra, going to him when down or in need of comfort. Similarly, Shinra is enthusiastic for anything involving Celty. Despite Celty's lack of a head, Shinra is also remarkably skilled at telling her thoughts and feelings. He 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, suggested to respect the pairing. 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 is often shameless in his physical attraction to Celty, while Celty will at times respond with insults or physical punishment. Nonetheless, it's made clear that this is their way of teasing and playing with one another, and both of them enjoy it.

Eventually, Celty is forcibly reunited with her head. Her memory as a Dullahan regained, Celty becomes convinced that she must leave. She fears that she doesn't belong among humans, and that her presence has only brought pain and strife to those she cares for. She thus pretends to have lost her memories of her time headless to try and spare her friends and Shinra the pain of losing her. In truth, 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. After failing to change Celty's mind, he opts to separate her head once more. He hopes this will cause Celty to lose her memories of being a Dullahan again, thus convincing her to stay. Shizou agrees to throw 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 shocks Celty out of her act. She saves him from his fall and cradles him with her shadows. Seeing Shinra risk his life to be with her, Celty realizes that he matters more to her than anything else. She thus finds the resolve to stay among humans 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 has accepted that she wants to stay with him forever, even if she is inhuman.

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

Fanon
The fan reaction to ShinCelty has been overall very positive. It is by far the most popular of the canon Durarara pairings, and is beat out only by Izaya x Shizou in terms of overall popularity. It is quite common to see ShinCelty counted on 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.

Nonetheless, some Durarara fans are strongly against the pairing. They typically argue that the relationship is toxic, due to Shinra's obsessiveness and open willingness to do anything to keep Celty from leaving 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 singled out. Fans are split mainly by their opinions of Shinra and his obsession with Celty, 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. These fans generally portray Shinra as manipulating Celty out of her goal of returning to her old life, despite that Celty pursued this goal out of emotional insecurity and against her own wishes to remain with Shinra.

Defenders of the pairing will typically admit that Shinra, and even Celty, can sometimes be toxic to the other. 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 very secure in their relationship. Furthermore, whatever Shinra's intentions, Celty's decision to stay with him is made both times of her own accord based on her own feelings. The two overall have a very supportive relationship, and Shinra's affections are a major source of character growth for Celty. As such, despite the flaws, most fans argue that ShinCelty is still a healthy pairing, likely the most so in Durarara, and should be enjoyed for what it is.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * Whether the two can be considered officially engaged or just in a committed relationship is somewhat unclear. Shinra has said he wants to marry Celty, and Celty is implied to feel the same, but there is no explicit proposal scene between them. Nonetheless, given their apparent mutual interest, most fans consider them engaged.