Sinju

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Pairing
Pairing: Sinju
Alternative name(s): Jusin, Judasin, Sinbad/Judar
Gender category: M/M
Fandom: Magi
Canonical?: No
Prevalence: Popular
Archives: Works at AO3, Works at FF.net
Other:
Sinbad and Judar, by nair.
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Sinju is a slash ship from Magi between Sinbad and Judar. It has been one of the most popular ships in the Magi fandom, with an impressive amount of fanart and doujinshi.

Canon

Sinbad and Judar met, when Judar was sent by Al-Thamen to trick Serendine into starting a war against Parthevia. Sinbad got involved as the Al-Thamen magician Falan noticed that she could use Sinbad as a pawn in her plan to make the Black God Ill Ilah descend from the sky. Judar presented himself as an ally to Sinbad's group as was the plan, until finally betraying them and revealing to be on the side of Sinbad and Serendine's enemies. This caused a rift in the relationship of Judar and Sinbad for the upcoming decades. Judar was seen as a villain in Sindria, as he was in the faction that had killed countless of innocent people on the island. The two clashed at times, for example when Sinbad conquered one of Judar's dungeons. Judar had initially wanted Sinbad to become his King Vessel, but eventually came to the conclusion that it would be more fun if they fought, as Sinbad was so strong, and he'd get to destroy Sinbad and Sindria instead. It was only after the truth about Al-Thamen was revealed to Judar that he grew to detest the organization and shifted his focus towards killing its leader. The next time the two meet, years had passed and the situation had flipped over: it was Sinbad who needed to be defeated, and Judar was on the side trying to save the world. Their thoughts of each other had lost the rage — Sinbad had come to understand that Judar had not been in control of the Al-Thamen plots of the past, and Judar had come to see the humane flaws in Sinbad's character.

Fandom

Sinju is the third most popular ship tag for Magi on AO3. In terms of art on Pixiv, Sinju is among the most popular ones. In numbers of doujinshi, Sinju is also high on the list. In the English-speaking fandom, many Sinju fans refer to Judar as "Judal", which was the common spelling used in the fandom before "Judar" was confirmed as the correct romanization.

Tropes

The most common additional tag is Fluff; Sinju fanworks can often be divided in fluffy and angsty ones. Fluffy fanfiction often includes things such as Sinbad pampering Judar. One popular canon divergence AU includes Sinbad giving Judar asylum in Sindria. Angsty fics can include death or the circumstances from canon that keep the two apart. They might try to kill each other.

A common setting for a story is Judar somehow sneaking into Sindria's palace or Sinbad's room through the window or balcony.[1] Judar's long hair is often included as a factor in stories focusing on sensuality. Longer fics tend to have slow burn.

Why is it that in every SinJu fanfiction, Judal always sneaks inside Sinbad's chamber, haves sex with him and later kill each other? Why.

OtakuNuts[2]

Sinju fanart often portrays Judar with a lot of jewellery, or in Middle Eastern style clothes more detailed than his canon ones. The trope of Judar coming into Sinbad's room through the window or balcony is just as popular in Sinju doujinshi as it is in fanfiction. Because Judar is younger and shorter, and is often seen as an uke in this ship, some art gives him a "cat in the lap" sort of role in comparison to Sinbad.

Criticism

Sinju was not very controversial in the beginning, quickly becoming one of the most popular ships during the Magi boom around 2012–2013 and amassing an impressive amount of fanart and doujinshi. At this state, people were familiar with the characters from the main Magi series, with Sinbad being 29 and Judar being 18 at the beginning; so both of them adults. However, it was clear that they had history, which was one of the appeals of the ship as well. The ship became more controversial in the English-speaking fandom eventually, especially after Judar's appearance in the spin-off manga Magi: Adventure of Sinbad, which shows Judar and Sinbad's first encounter. At that time, Judar was 7 years old and Sinbad was 18. This age gap, as well as the characters meeting when Judar was so young, has caused the ship to become unpopular in certain circles.[3][4][5]

Sinju has also ended up in crossfires with the more popular Sinja and Juhaku ships as Sinju includes characters from both. Especially between Sinju and Sinja shippers there was a bit of a ship war, with some Sinja shippers feeling like theirs is the only valid Sinbad ship.[6] Around 2014–2015, when Juhaku rose in popularity, Sinju suffered a hit as many who had supported Sinju in the past moved to Juhaku instead, eventually making Juhaku the more popular ship in the English-speaking fandom.

SINJU TAG IS DYING TO JUDAL/HAKURYUU PLS REVIVE SINJU TAG

hierarclitus, January 2, 2015.[7]

Events

Japanese-speaking fandom

In the Japanese fandom, April 10th is known as the Sinju Day. This is a pun based on the ship name, in Japanese spelled as "Shinju": "shi" is Japanese for "four", and "juu" is "ten". Therefore, Sinju has become "four ten" or 4/10. In Japanese, the month is marked before the date, so it is April 10.[8]

English-speaking fandom

Sinjufest was a fan event that was held in 2017. It was originally set for April 8–10, but was extended to the 14th.[9] The timing was set to align with Sinju Day celebrated by the Japanese fandom (April 10). During this event, people posted fanart and fanfiction. There were prompts for three days, encouraging people to portray Sinju in canon, AU, and however they wish.[10]

Example Fanworks

Archives and Communities

References