Takashi Shirogane
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Takashi Shirogane |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | Curtis (husband), Adam (ex-boyfriend) |
| Fandom: | Voltron |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane is the paladin of the black lion from the series Voltron: Legendary Defender. As the black paladin, he is the head of the Voltron lion when they assemble and is the leader of the team until he passes on the position to Keith Kogane.
Canon
Shiro was born on Earth on February 29th. His original DotU counterpart is Sven Holgersson but the two are radically different characters. Shiro, unlike Sven, is Japanese. He is also gay, and was formerly involved in a long-term relationship with his flight partner, Adam. After the war is over he finds new love with fellow Galaxy Garrison soldier Curtis and eventually marries him. His character is voiced by Josh Keaton.
Like his original GoLion counterpart, Shiro died in battle. Unlike his counterpart, though, he was replaced with a literal clone of himself while the Black Lion retained his consciousness. The team does not know this until season six, and the finale has him revived via Allura transferring his consciousness to the injured clone body. For unexplained reasons, he no longer pilots the Black Lion after this.
Shiro's age was uncertain for some time, leading to a great deal of fandom wank about who he could be shipped with. In a podcast[1], Keaton said that he is 25 years old. This is confirmed in published materials that were not specifically reviewed by the showrunners. This is "Word of God" rather than canon information; while Shiro is the leader and presumed older than the other Defenders, his age is never directly stated.
Shiro's right arm has been replaced with a Galra tech prosthetic which makes him similar to his arch nemesis Sendak. Shiro has a dark pink scar across the bridge of his nose. His hair is black, shaved into an undercut with the fringe in the center of his forehead white. His typical outfit is later revealed to be Keith's deceased father's firefighter costume. As of the end of season six, Shiro's hair is entirely silver after being revived by Allura.
Fandom
Shiro's eyes were a minor fanart controversy in the fandom. Originally, it was joked that Shiro's eyes have wings because he wears eyeliner, but many fans took this joke too literally. Now many fans condemn the headcanon that Shiro wears eyeliner as racist, and maintain that his eyes are drawn to indicate monolids consistent with his Japanese heritage.
Shipping
Popular Pairings:
- Takashi Shirogane/Adam
- Takashi Shirogane/Princess Allura
- Takashi Shirogane/Matt Holt
- Takashi Shirogane/Keith - the "Sheith" pairing draws a great deal of controversy, as many fans are concerned about the age difference between the characters.
- Takashi Shirogane/Lance McClain
Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Let The Spectrum In by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions); series of S1-compliant fics featuring Shiro's relationship to the team.
- Child of the Night Sky by squirenonny; Shiro meets his (and Allura's) future child.
- your bones are puzzle pieces by smolsarcasticraspberry; An angsty, hopeful fic featuring Shiro's clone.
- Routine Maintenance by VelkynKarma; 5+1 times with Shiro's Galra arm.
Fanart
- Trans FTM Shiro Art by your-buddy-keith on Tumblr[dead link]
- Shiro Art (w/ some older Keith art as well) by biscuitkunart on Tumblr
- Shiro fanart by lanaluuart
Zines
Links & Resources
References
- ^ SHIRONANIGANS! with Josh Keaton, Dec 13, 2017