Joey Wheeler/Mai Valentine
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Joey Wheeler/Mai Valentine |
| Alternative name(s): | Polarshipping, Joey/Mai, JouxMai, JxM, 城舞 (JōMai) |
| Gender category: | Het, m/f |
| Fandom: | Yu-Gi-Oh! |
| Canonical?: | no |
| Prevalence: | common |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Joey Wheeler/Mai Valentine, also known by the name Polarshipping, is the pairing of the characters Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.
Fanon
In the earliest days of the fandom, Polarshipping was one of the most popular ships, even alongside people who didn't care about het couples. Over the years though, the ship became more divisive, with some fans feeling like the age gap between the two is too big (Joey is around 16-17, Mai is confirmed to be 24 in some source books).
This has lead into discussions about the way the anime put more romantic tension between Mai and Joey than the manga, and how the fandom in the 2000s wasn't aware of how old the character were supposed to be, as many characters only get confirmed ages on outside sources, meaning people interpreted things differently than newer fans. There have also been cases of personal attacks at some people who like the ship. [1]
Ship Name
The nickname Polarshipping, like most of the Pairing Names for Yu-Gi-Oh ships, comes from an element from the series: The fact that the two come off as polar opposites of each other, with Joey being rude, goofy, and full of friends while Mai is pretty, flirty and lonely; there's also the contrast on why they want the prize money from Duelist Kingdom: Joey wants to help his sister on her eye operation, Mai just wants to become rich.
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Conflict between the two after Season 4/Doma;
- The two getting together after the end of the series, sometimes years after Joey graduates school;
- Alternate Universes where Mai is closer to Joey's age, sometimes also going to school with him;
- Angst fics dealing with Mai's problems with loneliness
Examples Fanworks
Resources
- Polarshipping on AO3
- Polarshipping on the Shipping Wiki
References
- ^ Some instances of people talking about this harrassment on Tumblr (Archive Link 1) (Archive Link 2)