'Detective Conan' Shippers In Shambles After It's Revealed Shinichi And Kaito Are Cousins

Imagine shipping two characters for literally decades only to discover 30 years into your fandom that the two characters you've wanted to see (and maybe even drawn) smooching have been cousins that whole time.

This is the current dilemma for Kaishin shippers, aka Detective Conan fans who have been pairing Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kuroba, after the most recent film in the franchise revealed that the fathers of the two rivals are brothers.

Shinichi and Kaito have been rivals of equal wit throughout the series' 30-year history, and they occasionally team up to face a common enemy. Their dynamic has long inspired an ardent legion of fans who pair the two romantically in their headcanon.

On Archive of Our Own, there are over 3,100 pieces of Kaishin fanfiction, and it's clear in the works that have come out since the "cousins" reveal that the fandom is pretty devastated.

There had been some fans of the series who suspected Kaito and Shinichi were related all along, but without confirmation from author Gosho Aoyama, Kaishin shippers operated freely under the assumption they weren't imagining incest.

On social media, users have joked about the dilemma now facing Kaishin shippers, while also handing it to those who elect to continue shipping the pair even though it's been revealed they've been related all this time.

According to some social media users, the "Kaishin Cousins" revelation is more devastating to Western fans of the series, whereas in Japan, Kaishin shippers seem much more undaunted.