Princess Allura/Keith Kogane

Pairing
Pairing:	Keith Kogane/Princess Allura
Alternative name(s):	Kallura, Juniblade
Gender category:	Het
Fandom:	Voltron, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Canonical?:	Yes in mainline Voltron canon, no in Legendary Defender
Prevalence:	common
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The pairing of Princess Allura and Keith Kogane, or "Kallura", is a moderately popular Het ship in Voltron: Legendary Defender and the most popular ship in the original Voltron franchise. While nowhere near as popular as Klance and Sheith in VLD, the pairing maintains support from a vibrant, healthy fanbase.

Canon

The relationship between Keith and Allura has always been integral to the Voltron/GoLion canon, going back to the original series, between Akira Kogane and Princess Fala, Keith and Allura's original names, respectively. In the original, their relationship was platonic but received ship tease. The dubbed version, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, made the relationship more romantic in nature. This was helped by a few episodes produced specifically for the show by Toei. Voltron Force featured the two of them in a romantic relationship as did the Devil's Due continuity (which made their romance sexually explicit). The two eventually married and become King and Queen of Arus.

In Voltron: Legendary Defender, the relationship is strictly platonic and not romantic, due to the show going with the pairing of Lance and Allura. However, they have had a few moments, like going off alone, and shortly afterwards twirling in space like dancing, after the craft they were in exploded. In season 3, Keith helped comfort Allura after a mission gone bad, and in season 4, she tried to convince him to stay with the team. Overall, the two seem to share a deep connection.

Fandom

Shippers can either be older fans of the show, shipping it out of nostalgia, or younger fans, who are drawn to their interactions. However, after season 2 was released, there was a harsh backlash from fans of the ship Klance, who accused the two of not having any chemistry, or, in extreme examples, of being a racist ship (Keith in VLD is half-Galra, the empire who wiped Allura's Altean species out). However, these are a vocal minority. There are also negative opinions from fans of the Sheith pairing, but this is rare. Opinions on both ships by Kallura fans are overwhelmingly negative, for how they seemed to take over the fandom at the “flagship’s” expense, their perceived senses of entitlement, and their general toxic behavior. Resentment at Klance in particular is not uncommon.

There is also a dislike of Shallura shippers as Shallura shippers would persistently harass Kallura shippers early on, accusing Kallura of being "heteronormative" and "pedophilic". This became hilarious in hindsight as both major points of attack came to crash and burn spectacularly against Shallura shippers — first with Allura being confirmed a teenager and thus pedophilic according to the rules the Shallura shippers themselves set, and later with Shiro being confirmed gay.

The other biggest rivalries are with Allurance, which is canon in Legendary Defender (to many Kallura shippers' dismay), and Lotura, which they've always had a rivalry with, dating back to DotU's Keith/Lotor rivalry. The former the Kallura shippers have focused most of their ire on, out of bitterness. Because many were bullied out of fandom spaces, most shippers tend to keep to their own circle but are welcoming of new fans. Allies of the ship include fans of the pairing Plance (Lance and Pidge/Katie Holt), although some Kallura shippers also happen to ship Plance. A common phrase among this alliance is, "Sharpening my Juniblade, Watering my Plance".

After the show finished airing, reactions from fans were mixed. Many fans, while disappointed, were still satisfied with the final product. Others were not, universally furious with the show's decision to kill Allura in the final episode. Some fans organized a letter-writing campaign to Bob Koplar, the CEO of Voltron's rights holder, World Events Productions in response, but welcomed fans who did not ship Kallura. The general mood of the fandom post-LD seems to be a mixture of sadness, anger, bitterness and resentment at their treatment from fans, and possibly from the show's staff. These feelings are understandable; this is the first series where Allura is dark-skinned, and not only does not end up with Keith, but dies at the end.

While the future of the franchise is still unclear at this point, it is possible that Kallura could regain its position as the franchise's "flagship". The poor reception of Legendary Defender's final seasons, poor reception of the Lance/Allura pairing, and the toxic behavior of Klance, Shallura, and Sheith shippers leaves the door open.

The backlash towards Kallura in the Legendary Defender fandom has opened up discussions of Racism in Fandom, particularly since this Allura is dark-skinned. Ironically, this was part of the reason for the initial backlash against the ship. But since Allura, and Kallura by extension, has a large WoC fanbase, those fans have accused the Antis of being racist.

Common Tropes in Fanworks

• Fix-it fic for the series finale, where Allura never sacrifices herself, or after she's been brought back.
• Allura returns after her time away repairing the realities, or Keith finding a way to bring her back.
• Allura breaking up with Lance.
• Battle Couple
• Lady and Knight

Example Fanworks

Fanfic

• The Other Side Of Paradise https://archiveofourown.org/works/27911404 by Quinn73. This is an angsty, humorous, romantic Kallura companion piece to the author’s Plance fan fic, “A Respite in Paradise.”
• Bigger Than Us [1] by Spinzgirl. A pre-season 8 fanfic that originally started off as a speculative fic.
• The Dance [2] by the same author. Written right after season 2, this is a Canon Divergence fic.

Other Fannish Resources

• Allura / Keith (Voltron) tag at Archive of Our Own