Flawed Love | Ships In Houseki No Kuni 

The Reader and Depression is the strongest ship that will never be broken.

I think Rutile’s obsession with fixing Padparadscha is just another example that showcases how the gems value themselves and others based on their jobs and how skilled they are at their jobs. They consider themselves and others worthless if they don’t excel at their jobs (to a degree, this is a reflection on human society). We see this in Phos, who is considered useless at the start because they don’t have a job, Dia’s inferiority complex because they are weaker than Bort, Red Beryl constantly feeling the need to improve the clothes even though the adjustments are tiny, and so on. I do think that at the start, Rutile began to fix Pad because they genuinely cared for them. But then, being a doctor became their role in society and was therefore tied directly to their self worth. Rutile was a skilled doctor but the only thing they couldn’t do was fix Pad. Rutile considered themselves to be a failure because of this one thing they couldn’t figure out, and at that point it became an obsession and they didn’t do it out of love for Pad anymore. The lunarians being able to fix Pad rather easily was the final straw that destroyed Rutile’s self worth.

Euc and Jade's ship is probably the only stable and healthy ship in the whole franchise cuz they're the only gems who respect each other and communicate well 😭

What I find really interesting in Antarc and Phos' relationship is that Antarc was the one to teach Phos to push themselves to their limit. I even remember them saying something like "I can't help but wish Phos had arms to match those legs." They were also saying how weak gems like the two of them need considerably more effort to achieve things. I think that's why Phos was so obsessed with Antarc in the long run. Antarc was their drive to always strive for better, to always BE better and go beyond what they're currently capable of. It's quite a destructive way to think and leads to one never being happy with who they are at the moment. But Phos loved Antarc and internalized their philosophy forever... It's tragic

Land of the Unhealthy relationships

happiness/phos is only ship which i accept

As an appreciator of tragedies and lost potential, I see this as an absolute win.

I think Haruko Ichikawa is incredible at conveying relationships in spare moments; your analysis really puts the feelings she installs in the reader into words, it's great. That storytelling in details is probably most prominent in background "ships", like Neptunite simultaneously not missing Benitoite and loving them, and Benitoite conveying their frustration to Neptunite but still saving them (both in Volume 11). It also ties back to the fact that the gems are not human, what with Neptunite's feeling that seem so contradictory to us. Like some gems perfectly reconcile their eternal care/love and their eternal separation (like the Amethysts), but others (Phos most prominently) get lost in that eternal grief...

Phos x Happiness is the only ship I can get behind

PREACH. i hate every ship in HNK 😭

So far, you are the only person, with whom I mostly agree on hnk. I'm so tired of "Phos did nothing wrong, everyone else is horrible". Just for unknowing Phos's relationship to Cinnabar (how they didn't even think that the thing Cinna truly wants is a friend, company, never came to talk to them. Phos thinks that Cinna wants a job because that's what Phos wants.) I love you so much. Thank you.

The Ghost control thing im not even confident is real. I find it hard to believe Adamant wouldn't have noticed it when inspecting Caringorm and, once he started acting self destructive, im sure he would have done something. Then, tiny slvers in the eyes aren't much to exercise control over an entire person. I think Ghost's last words are important. "Protect phos". The last piece of guidance before Ghost is chipped away for good. I see it as less of comtrol, and more the significance of the final words from someone that's literally been a part of you for hundreds of years. Gems break under extreme mental distress. Imagine if you were told that you've never been in control of your own actions. I don't think it was Ghost breaking Caringorm but rather Aechmea vilifying Ghost to corrupt literally everything Caringorm had been her entire life.

I always found shipping Ghost or Antarc with Phos weird, because when you look deeper; Antarc and Ghost never actually cared about Phos whatsoever, they cared about pleasing someone else. Or in Ghosts case; bringing back someone they used to please.

I feel like the way to actually liking hnk ships is because they don't work and we need to idealize them. Kinda like with the story, liking it for how sad and messed up it is. The only way to make them good would be to completely change the story and probably even the world and the fact that they're gems. They'll never work(relationships ) because gems aren't like us, they don't care for each other in the way a short lived creatures would but there's still some kind of beauty in it even tho it's so obviously flawed. Also the fact that rutile says something along the lines of "how good am I if I can't even help you" viewing their competence and capabilities (as a doctor) by padparacha and yet still completely losing themselves when padparacha is gone and not caring about being a doctor just goes to show how much rutile sees padparacha as an object, puzzle and something to fill their heart with as if they were completely empty and their life didn't have any meaning Cairngorm probably gives aechema what he wants as a result of fearing that they'll be left alone and will have to go back to being empty, thus lying to themselves that they like this and that's who they are as it's better then before and they just don't wanna go back. It really mimics how abused children(then abused adults) get into unhealthy relationships and Cairngorm is baciclly a kid compared to aechema as aechema is I think even older than Kongo. And not to mention the power and mentally difference. aechema knows that Cairngorms affection is based on fear and their trauma but still chooses to not do anything about it and continues the toxic relationship and just exploits them. Cairngorms and aechemas relationship is nearly just text book example of predatory relationships

Tbh, i dont know if youre familiar woth Puella Madoca Magica, but Rutile and Padpas relatiounship reminds me of Madoka and Homura. Homura was a lonely, ill girl that started ideolising madoka immediatly after hetting to know her. Amd when Walpurgis night happened, she traceled back in time to save Madoka and her friends. Unfortunately, with each time loop Homuras attempts began to morpth into obsession. Infact it became so bad, that Homura became more or less content with sacrofising her other friends or world for Madika. When Madoka was erased from reality and became Godoka, Homura probably saw it as failure, sank inti desparity and lured Madoka in to erase their memory and bring them back, inspite of Madoka not really wanting it. In unreleased movie Madoka was compared to a swan, likelly alluring to her being bird in Homuras cage. It shows that Homura probably stopped valuing Madoka for who she is and more as trophy that she needs to protect.

japanese descendant here! with japanese culture, the honorific thing is less of an age thing, but it definitely plays a big part. with honorifics, it’s mostly dependent on your relationship to the person you’re talking to/about. take chan for example, it’s seen as an honorific that you only use for people very close to you (who are younger) or for younger sisters. or at the cash register, you refer to your customer as “sama” because you are serving them, and their comfort/priority is at the top of your list. fun fact, the suffix “sama” is also used for royalty, or at least used to be. i’m not so sure on that for this day and age

Cinnabar and phos hurts so bad every day especially with how it ended with cinnabar on the moon I want to throw up

When I first read the manga and saw Cairngorm post-ghost-removal or whatever you call that form, I really liked them. I felt really happy for them to be honest, maybe it's because at that point everything has been so depressing that seeing someone so carefree and happy, though naive, was a breath of fresh air. I also laughed a lot at their clueless interactions that balanced out all the somberness. I love their pompousness, their honesty, I see a lot of people hating them but to me, Cairn never owed Phos anything. They were manipulated over and over again by different people, they spent over a hundred years suicidal, thinking of jumping under the ice floes. I know there's something wrong with Cairn and Aechmea's relationship, Aechmea getting mad because they went away without notice, Cairn marrying someone without even knowing what a wife means,... In the end, I'm oddly content with Cairngorm, I don't approve of their obviously toxic relationship, but at least they're happy, ignorant but happy. Isn't that what a lot of fans wish Phos to stay as?

ive been re reading hnk all day and this was posted 5 minutes ago!! my lucky day!!

I am so curious about what Cairngorm would have been like if they had been able to live without that sliver of Ghost inside them AND outside of Aechmea's influence. Also, I think the immortality of the gems in combination with there being so few of them (every one knows every one, so there's never a neutral party to help mediate or process conflicts) is a big factor in the toxicity of their relationships. All the envy, jealousy, bitterness and so on gets to just fester for eternity. Maybe that's why Rutile becomes a mental health therapist on the moon? To help foster healthier relationships, after healing her own relationship with Padpa?

It was so weird to ship phos and cinnabar for the promise phos made, but phos being phos it didnt aim to some place. And it was sad see them distance themselves and every time they saw themselves phos felt like a failure because they didn’t give any purpose to cinna and phos lose itself so they didnt remeber.

I love Rutile and i love Padpa but i hate the relationship, it makes me cry and i hate the fact we never got to see them have a normal interaction together I HATE IT

Damn, this video made me ship Bort x Cinnabar. They unironically are kinda cute together. I wish we could have seen more interactions between them

I think the main reason every ship sucks is because virtually every character sucks (at least a little bit). The only "good" characters would be Padparacha (though that could be because of little screen time idk) and Kongo. Also Phos' and Cinnabars dynamic felt awfully similar to the way some people try to "cure" dissabilities, especially mental ones. Like how, generally good intentioned, people talk about "a cure for depression" or "a cure for autism" ex. becuase they see how those people struggle and think the solution is to remove the "problem". But that "problem" is a part of them and if they need to change to be better they wouldn't be themselves anymore (also implying that they themselves are inherently bad) which is exactly what Phos thinks and goes through. And so even if there was such a cure, many dissabled people probably wouldnt take it just like Cinnabar. Instead a solution could be to accept the persons differences and work with that, try to adapt the envirements desinged for ablebodied/minded individuals and the attitudes by said individuals and make them more inclusive and accepting, kindof like what the earth gems do later on.

Your channel is so intriguing, you create so much content on this one thing no matter the views. Your determination and passion is impressive.

The only good ship is phos and chairs 😢

you are going to make me CRY!!

Randomly found your videos just cause I wanted to hear the opening music again Thank you for your insights, these are very interesting points I've only seen the chair video and this so far, but hearing you talk about these themes are very interesting

amazing thumbnail i love ur content

Maybe in another universe...

Phos is a frustrated codependant, and noone's willing to put up with their nonsense for too long

The comment i was typing disappeared and is gone 💀💀💀💀💀 I was gonna do a whole thing about Rutile x Padparascha but I can't remember now so Nice video, you earned a subscribble from me

cinnabar and phos is terrible cinnabortz on top gang 😭🙏🙏

Maybe a bit late, but I don’t think that a ship has to be “healthy” and “sweet” in order for it to be good. Specifically in relation to Rutile and Padpa, it’s the fact that Rutile slowly became disillusioned, slowly stopped seeing Padpa as a person and more as a goal and the cornerstone of their identity that makes it so interesting. I don’t think I would like nearly as much of it wasn’t so dysfunctional, that toxicity obviously isn’t something that you would strive for irl, but in fiction and art, it’s definitely something I love seeing. It sort of reminds me of that popular metaphor with the pomegranate. It’s tedious, meticulous work to peel a pomegranate and it stains you. Personally, the appeal in their relationship lies in that flawed and messed up dynamic, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I f-in knew you're (somewhat) filipino i sense it in my filipino antennas

I was about to jump these comments when I thought the most evil ship of them all wouldn't be mentionned🤣🤣. I am kicking, crying and throwing up every time Cairngorm and Aechmea look at each other

I'm really looking forward to the relationship cairngorm&aechmea video

Diaphos is underrated.

I wish every anime fan was as media literate as you. Amazing analysis

Did you use other people's AMV's in the footage? Please leave credit in the description

It’s honestly kinda surprising to me how nobody ever brings up the lunarians when it comes to the discussion of flawed characters in hnk, I mean it’s sorta self explanatory since our impression of the lunarians at the end of the series can literally just be watered down as “selfish, evil” beings who only use the gems for their own amusement and to relief themselves into nothingness. but I feel like people don’t really delve into lunarians as much as they do with the gems and honestly I want to see those discussions more often. Yes I am biased and mostly just referring to Cicada and Barbata.

Hnk ships make me uncomfortable because all the gems consider Sensei their father and they were all raised together with him

10:50 I feel like “time isn’t of importance/ doesn’t matter when you live an eternity”swings both ways, how when you live really long singular moments can very much still change your entire worldview, maybe because I feel those moments contrast the relatively long period of time where it was different. Also completely off topic; isn’t it interesting how ONLY phos changes? Everything that happens is phos’ fault for not writing the damn encyclopedia lol

The best ship is phos and the rocks 🪨

Hi! A quick question, how does buy me a coffee works? I would like to do something similar but I'm not sure what I need to do. (By the way I love the way that Ichikawa portrait relationships in hnk.)

All my homies hate Aechmea

Still weird there's shipping in this anime given there's no eros here, well aside from with achidna. Its all just philia, familia and the like.

Ok I'm not fan of padparadja. I don't really get why everyone is...? I mean after moon she destroyed her FRIENDS physically and mentally (rutile) just because Phos and moon people rebuild her. Phos & moon ppl are no-one for her. At the end she chose they and not her friends. Accept it , what she do ? Nothing! Just go some places and smile. It's all! There nothing welcome in her ,or good, or annoying. On moon she also do nothing, just enjoy her time. Maybe that people just so tired from all problems, conflict and issue so they gonna like someone eho seems don't have it all, but she have! She is not good ,like at all

I will always ship CinnaBort 😔 no one can stop me.

I love it when all my ships are doomed by the narrative ;"D(if you're wondering ,it's antraphos 🥲) Edit: my favorite ship is phos x rock now