u/Knitting_Kitty

Let me preface this by saying that I haven't watched the whole series yet. I am on episode 18 and I have come to the conclusion that Okabe is pansexual. He states in the same episode "Prattling on about gender roles. Hell, I wasn't born yesterday. The only thing that matters is chemistry." This was in the dubbed version where he said this to Rukako after their date. And based on the previous episodes, in the timeline where Rukako was assigned male at birth, she stated things that align with what transgender people feel, therefore I consider her to be a girl, regardless of which timeline it is. And anyways, beased on what Okabe said in episode 18, it does not matter to him what the gender of his partner is. So in conclusion, I consider Okabe and Ruka to be canon, even without having watched the whole anime. This is based on what the characters themselves stated. I understand that the anime was made in a different time, even though it was only 15 years ago, the views about gender identity and sexuality have definitely shifted in many parts of the world. If the anime were made today, Okabe x Rukako would have been in the anime.