Kunigiri

5

Kunigami – “Hey, Chigiri.”

Chigiri – “Hm?”

Kunigami – “Do heroes... always feel this excited?”

Chigiri – “Isn't that because you're teamed up with me? Such an insensitive hero.”

Kunigami – “Hah. We're gonna win this, Chigiri.”

Chigiri – “Of course, Kunigami. I'll carry you through the whole match.”

— Kunigami and Chigiri sharing a fist bump at the end of chapter 58.

Kunigiri is the slash ship between Rensuke Kunigami and Hyoma Chigiri from the Blue Lock fandom.

Canon

Rensuke and Hyoma are both placed together on Team Z during the first selection. Although the manga does not show them interacting much during this point, they are rather touchy with each other towards the end of the first selection and Rensuke also gently teases Hyoma for wanting others to stop eating their celebration food when he himself is eating it as well. The official fan book however, revealed that Hyoma would join Rensuke when he was working out and chat while doing his leg exercises, and Rensuke would attempt to assist Hyoma when trying to dry and style his hair, even when the other members of their team were growing impatient. The 'Additional Time' segments of the anime showed the latter, with Rensuke offering a headband to Hyoma to help him style his hair, telling him he understood his problems since he has two sisters. Rensuke also referred to Hyoma as 'ojou-sama' during this segment, a term for a noble lady in Japanese, denoting Hyoma should be respected and treated with care even when the others are tired of him taking long with his hair.

Another 'Additional Time' segment showed Isagi and Igaguri attempting to trade their food for Rensuke's, since his higher ranking on their team earned him better quality food. However, Hyoma also requested to trade upon seeing this, with Rensuke immediately agree and offerings food, with shoujo bubbles appearing around them and Rensuke using a phrase that is also used to denote accepting confessions in Japanese.

In the second selection, upon seeing each other have passed, Rensuke and Hyoma immediately decide to team up with each other. They end up creating a trio of them and Reo Mikage. When their group is shown, Rensuke and Hyoma again appear very close with each other, even sitting rather close when taking a bath alongside Reo and Isagi's team. Before they play against Isagi's team, Rensuke asks if it's normal to feel so excited, with Hyoma responding that his excitement comes from the two of them being teamed up together. During the game, they continue to show a closeness to each other that is not present with Reo.

After being defeated by Isagi's team, Hyoma is picked to move on as per the rules of the second selection. Hyoma is shown to be very distraught about leaving Rensuke, but promises him that he'll be waiting for Rensuke to come win him back so they can play together again and defeat Isagi. This sentiment encourages Rensuke, who keeps his pride while also having to deal with the emotionally distraught Reo. When Hyoma makes it past the second selection, he waits to see Rensuke again, and is incredibly upset when he finds that he did not also pass, getting upset when Shidou insults Rensuke's soccer skills.

When Rensuke returns after Wild Card, he and Hyoma reunite before the Manshine v Bastard München match. His personality has changed - he's colder and more pessimistic, teling Hyoma he isn't the same person he was before and calling him a 'naïve princess'. Hyoma, on the other hand, is determined to bring the Rensuke he used to know back, telling him he would still play him as if he was the same person he was before, and promising to 'wake him up', calling him a 'cynic hero'. In the flashback to the Egoist Four's practice match in Chapter 173, Hyoma says that he came to the Bastard München stratum just to see Rensuke. He's patient with him even when he tells him he has nothing to say to him, and acknowledges that he's changed, but tells Rensuke he'll be 'keeping an eye on [him], so [he'd] better be keeping an eye on [him] too'. Later, Hyoma teams up with Rensuke, and calls him 'Cyborg Rensuke' instead of Kunigami, which is very notable, since no one in the series (apart from Reo, because he doesn't want to be associated with him family), no matter how close they are, refers to each by their first names.

Quotes

“Well, then i'll just tell you my feelings. Your plays and vibes... Have definitely changed, Kunigami. But i've changed, too... I'm looking squarely at the new you... So look at the new me, too.”

— Chigiri to Kunigami, Chapter 213

Fanon

Kunigiri is the most popular ship for both Rensuke and Hyoma in the fandom. The close relationship the two had throughout the second selection arc, especially given how the two reference their respective nicknames of 'Princess' and 'Hero' and how the two fit together, made the ship gain attention in the manga, though the lack of Rensuke content due to him being eliminated from Blue Lock for a period has allowed other ships to take over general popularity in the fandom, such as NagiReo and Bachisagi, which it is usually shipped alongside. With the release of the anime and its 'Additional Time' shorts showing Rensuke and Hyoma to be very close, the ship started to gain popularity, as well as with the Egoist Bible confirming Rensuke to be bisexual.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Chigiri Hyoma/Kunigami Rensuke tag on AO3

FAN ART

くにちぎ tag on Pixiv

ちぎくに tag on Pixiv

國千 tag on Pixiv

千國 tag on Pixiv

TUMBLR

Kunigiri tag on Tumblr

Kunichigi tag on Tumblr

Kunigami x Chigiri tag on Tumblr

Trivia

• The ship is often denoted by the "🧡❤️" or "🧡🩷" emojis.
• They have a height difference of 11cm, with Hyoma being 177cm tall and Rensuke being 188cm.
• Kunigiri Day, first appearing on Twitter in 2023, occurs on the 4th of September, since 4/9 is the combination of their First Selection jersey numbers.
• Their favourite anime are Attack on Titan for Hyoma, and One Piece for Kunigami.
• They both have older sisters, with Rensuke having a younger sister as well.
• Rensuke's favourite song is 'Silhouette' by KANA-BOON, and Hyoma's is 'Blue Bird' by Ikimono-gakari, both of which were Naruto openings.
• Hyoma and Rensuke are often paired in official art and merchandise.
• In the official fan book, the Egoist Bible, Rensuke's type is described to be 'someone gentle and cute', which fits into Hyoma's physical features.
  • Also in the Egoist Bible, Rensuke is said to have a nape fetish, and Hyoma is often shown with his hair tied up and his neck exposed when he's around him.
• Similarly, Hyoma's type is described to be 'someone who is calm and understanding', which fits into Rensuke's personality most of the time.
• The two are very often paired together in merchandise, with other pairs usally being Isagi & Bachira, and Reo & Nagi.
• In the official translation of Chapter 173, Hyoma describes Rensuke as 'Prince Un-charming', while Rensuke similarly describes him as 'Sleeping Beauty' shortly after, which links to Hyoma's 'princess' nickname.

Gallery

Anime

Variations

Egoist-4 refers to the ship between the two, Meguru Bachira, and Yoichi Isagi