User blog comment:WonderfulAsia/Hetalia English Dub Cast Updates/@comment-2004850-20100715022535

@Ceras- Aw...

The thing with shipping is that the word itself implies that the pairing isn't canon. Shippers are usually distinguished between the readers who support whatever is official. I find it strange people are saying Funimation is "acknowledging" USxUK when, at most, it's a joke aimed at those shippers. And, honestly, it's not too strange to hear someone say that jokingly to a pair of preoccupied friends. It can even apply to just one person; "Alright, but when you're done staring at his abs, why don't you come back to Earth and join the rest of us" and such sayings.

A shipping's "proof" is more about what people can draw from rather than if the relationship is established or soon to be. Shippers shouldn't have to argue that the relationship is canon, as if they must justify the pairing. For Hetalia especially, it's quite obvious when two characters are together and when everything else is fanservice, undertones, or regular character interaction. There's also the case where they try to erase whatever the author is saying or twist the words or completely ignore it. Furthermore, the joke in dub itself isn't very serious.

I pretty much knew when I heard the line what people would be thinking, I just wished they wouldn't go there. /tangent