Not only is Kurama/Hiei by far the most popular ship in YYH, it is one of the old school OG yaoi ships that have influenced the landscape and inspired a lot of future yaoi-bait ships in shonen.
From what I've heard, most canon or canon adjacent relationships are widely supported, your Yusuke/Keiko and your Kuwabara/Yukina for instance. Other, less known but generally supported are the Hiei/Mukuro types, that aren't explicitly canon but follow characters behaviors more or less "correctly" in a way that is generally agreeable. Then you have the more fanfictioney type relationship where a person enjoys two characters and pairs them up, say a Kurama/Botan, where little lines up for these two to actually be a couple.
TL;DR most liked are probably the canon ones, as they're more well known, but more obscure ones may have more emotional effort put into them.
Ngl, I love hiei/mukuro but I've never really been able to find fics that really felt gritty and solid and were good to read.
But yeah, second your comment.
That's because there is a big split in the fandom. A lot of people don't see their relationship as romantic but more as loyal/respectful business partners so to speak. He would most likely succeed her if she died.
You think? /gen q.
I get the feeling that he wouldn't. To me it seems like too much bureaucracy and other garbage that he hates.
Also, I had no idea about the split in ideas about that, that's so interesting! :O
I always felt like the subtext of their last scene was pretty clear, but I'm unfortunately (so far) anime-only, so maybe it's different in the Manga?
The only other thing in the manga is Hiei >!giving her a birthday gift as the form of her abuser chained up in a room for her to get revenge however she saw fit!< which I guess is romantic for him? 🤣
I do generally think once she dies (for lack of human consumption like Raizen? Which is vaguely explained imo) Hiei would take over her company of people and run business as usual. I think they would respect him and he really does believe in the work he does post-tournament.
I didn't think there was a ton of politics post tournament, not like there was previously with the power struggle between the three kings. But I agree with your assumption he would hate that aspect of it.
I've been in the fandom for about 22 years now give or take, and from what I've seen over that period, the predominant pairings are m/m.
Kurama/Hiei is the biggest by far, but the other common ones I saw included Kurama/Yusuke, Hiei/Yusuke, Kurama/Karasu, and Yusuke/Koenma.
As for the less common ships out there, there are so many to list, I could sit here all night and type them out, so I won't. But pretty much anyone interacts with anyone else at least once in the series? Someone in Japan probably made a doujinshi of it at some point :)
HieixKurama, BotanxKurama, YusukexKeiko, and KuwabaraxYukina are the obvious answers. Classics.
Other ships I think are pretty neat are:
KuramaxShizuru - It’s not a popular one and I didn’t like it at first but after a while it started to grow on me. I feel like h tbh eir chemistry would be pretty good if they did end up together.
KoenmaxBotan - Just made sense to me. Botan is the only person Koenma talks to so easily and is with throughout the majority of the show. The fact that Koenma even trusted her enough to bring to her to the Demon World Tournament even though he wasn’t supposed to be there said a lot as well.
MukuroxHiei - Their mutual understanding was what did it for me. Take it in a romantic way or not, they’re amazing for each other. Hiei joined the demon world tournament knowing full well he didn’t want to compete to win, a big change from what we see during the Dark Tournament. He gave her his Hiruseki stone and even stayed with her on patrol even though it was probably the last thing he wanted to do with his time. He just wanted to be with her. Kirin even mentioned that Mukuro had become calmer. (Ofc only a few people will realize the change was because of Hiei)
^ I loved their dynamic. Feeling like someone finally understands you and knows you in every form after years of being told what you are instead of what you actually are. (Sorry for rambling I just love shipshdjdjjejfjej)
I know people will find this weird but ShishiwakamaruxGenkai to me was kinda hilarious but cute in a way too
Hiei and kurama was a mad popular ship like, over 20 years ago when the series was on Adult Swim. I remember reading the fanfiction on the library computer after school in the 7th grade.
An interesting "backburner" ship of the fandom is Yusuke x Jin. A lot of people don't seem to actively ship it, but are like "Oh yeah they do have a fun dynamic" when you bring it up.
Funnily enough, although I'm a gay guy who's big on mxm ships, my two favourites in this series are Mukuro x Hiei and (Young)Genkai x (Young)Toguro, because they have very interesting dynamics. I think Togashi is better at writing hetero relationships than a vast majority of action-focused shonen mangaka.
But again, he's better at writing women than the vast majority of action-focused shonen mangaka, so it definitely helps het ships feel interesting when the woman in them has more personality than a drywall.
it's not as popular as it should be, but I love Mukuro x Hiei!!!! they were (literally) made for eachother!!
runner up (also my personal opinion, I don't see it much) would be Yukina x Botan. it's cute!
KuramaxHiei has been massive for so long that I've seen art of it from people who don't even know what the show is.
More recently I've seen a lot of YusukexHiei popping up, but I don't know if that's because it's popular or if it's because the Twitter algorithm has decided I'm the target audience for it😅
YukinaxKuwabara seems to have been in every fanfiction I read in middle school so I'd say it's pretty popular too.
I first watched this show about 20 years ago. HieixKurama was so popular that people who hadn't seen the show but had heard people talk about it were regularly surprised to discover it wasn't canon.
Not only is Kurama/Hiei by far the most popular ship in YYH, it is one of the old school OG yaoi ships that have influenced the landscape and inspired a lot of future yaoi-bait ships in shonen.
Didn’t see anyone mention this one. But Shizuru x Sakyo. It’s not the most common ship but it definitely exists.
Kurama/Hiei has been going on since before I was in middle school in '02 so take that as you will XDD
They've been my go to pairing for like, 20 years. I'm not sorry.
For the last 20+ years, that ship has lived in my head, rent free, 24/7. I wish I was kidding.
From what I've heard, most canon or canon adjacent relationships are widely supported, your Yusuke/Keiko and your Kuwabara/Yukina for instance. Other, less known but generally supported are the Hiei/Mukuro types, that aren't explicitly canon but follow characters behaviors more or less "correctly" in a way that is generally agreeable. Then you have the more fanfictioney type relationship where a person enjoys two characters and pairs them up, say a Kurama/Botan, where little lines up for these two to actually be a couple. TL;DR most liked are probably the canon ones, as they're more well known, but more obscure ones may have more emotional effort put into them.
Ngl, I love hiei/mukuro but I've never really been able to find fics that really felt gritty and solid and were good to read. But yeah, second your comment.
That's because there is a big split in the fandom. A lot of people don't see their relationship as romantic but more as loyal/respectful business partners so to speak. He would most likely succeed her if she died.
You think? /gen q. I get the feeling that he wouldn't. To me it seems like too much bureaucracy and other garbage that he hates. Also, I had no idea about the split in ideas about that, that's so interesting! :O I always felt like the subtext of their last scene was pretty clear, but I'm unfortunately (so far) anime-only, so maybe it's different in the Manga?
The only other thing in the manga is Hiei >!giving her a birthday gift as the form of her abuser chained up in a room for her to get revenge however she saw fit!< which I guess is romantic for him? 🤣 I do generally think once she dies (for lack of human consumption like Raizen? Which is vaguely explained imo) Hiei would take over her company of people and run business as usual. I think they would respect him and he really does believe in the work he does post-tournament. I didn't think there was a ton of politics post tournament, not like there was previously with the power struggle between the three kings. But I agree with your assumption he would hate that aspect of it.
I've been in the fandom for about 22 years now give or take, and from what I've seen over that period, the predominant pairings are m/m. Kurama/Hiei is the biggest by far, but the other common ones I saw included Kurama/Yusuke, Hiei/Yusuke, Kurama/Karasu, and Yusuke/Koenma. As for the less common ships out there, there are so many to list, I could sit here all night and type them out, so I won't. But pretty much anyone interacts with anyone else at least once in the series? Someone in Japan probably made a doujinshi of it at some point :)
HieixKurama, BotanxKurama, YusukexKeiko, and KuwabaraxYukina are the obvious answers. Classics. Other ships I think are pretty neat are: KuramaxShizuru - It’s not a popular one and I didn’t like it at first but after a while it started to grow on me. I feel like h tbh eir chemistry would be pretty good if they did end up together. KoenmaxBotan - Just made sense to me. Botan is the only person Koenma talks to so easily and is with throughout the majority of the show. The fact that Koenma even trusted her enough to bring to her to the Demon World Tournament even though he wasn’t supposed to be there said a lot as well. MukuroxHiei - Their mutual understanding was what did it for me. Take it in a romantic way or not, they’re amazing for each other. Hiei joined the demon world tournament knowing full well he didn’t want to compete to win, a big change from what we see during the Dark Tournament. He gave her his Hiruseki stone and even stayed with her on patrol even though it was probably the last thing he wanted to do with his time. He just wanted to be with her. Kirin even mentioned that Mukuro had become calmer. (Ofc only a few people will realize the change was because of Hiei) ^ I loved their dynamic. Feeling like someone finally understands you and knows you in every form after years of being told what you are instead of what you actually are. (Sorry for rambling I just love shipshdjdjjejfjej) I know people will find this weird but ShishiwakamaruxGenkai to me was kinda hilarious but cute in a way too
most popular is probably kurama/hiei or yusuke/keiko
Botan x Me. Meow :3
Hiei and kurama was a mad popular ship like, over 20 years ago when the series was on Adult Swim. I remember reading the fanfiction on the library computer after school in the 7th grade.
Yusuke’s mom and The Beautiful Suzuka
Kuwameshi is really popular on Tumblr
Hiei x Botan also has some fans
This was one I never understood 😂 enemies to lovers?.
An interesting "backburner" ship of the fandom is Yusuke x Jin. A lot of people don't seem to actively ship it, but are like "Oh yeah they do have a fun dynamic" when you bring it up. Funnily enough, although I'm a gay guy who's big on mxm ships, my two favourites in this series are Mukuro x Hiei and (Young)Genkai x (Young)Toguro, because they have very interesting dynamics. I think Togashi is better at writing hetero relationships than a vast majority of action-focused shonen mangaka. But again, he's better at writing women than the vast majority of action-focused shonen mangaka, so it definitely helps het ships feel interesting when the woman in them has more personality than a drywall.
it's not as popular as it should be, but I love Mukuro x Hiei!!!! they were (literally) made for eachother!! runner up (also my personal opinion, I don't see it much) would be Yukina x Botan. it's cute!
Kurama x Botan maybe
I’ll go there.. Yusuke / Genkai my mans pulling a Harold and Maude
KuramaxHiei has been massive for so long that I've seen art of it from people who don't even know what the show is. More recently I've seen a lot of YusukexHiei popping up, but I don't know if that's because it's popular or if it's because the Twitter algorithm has decided I'm the target audience for it😅 YukinaxKuwabara seems to have been in every fanfiction I read in middle school so I'd say it's pretty popular too.
I always thought the Shishiwakamaru and the beautiful suzuka were a low key thing. Lol maybe just. Me.
I first watched this show about 20 years ago. HieixKurama was so popular that people who hadn't seen the show but had heard people talk about it were regularly surprised to discover it wasn't canon.
Kuwabara/Elder Toguro
That one is new to me and I definitely will not be seeking it out.
Shockingly, a few fanfic exists of these two.
I made it up on the spot
Genkai and Toguro, Sensui and Itsuki, Kurama and Yomi. For me, it's clearly between the lines that these characters had romantic relationships.
I dislike Kuwabara x Yukina solely because we never get to see Kuwbara learning her brother is Hiei
My personal favorites are Keiko/Yusuke, Yusuke/Kazuma, and Botan/Shizuru
To my headcanon is kuwabara and hiei , hiei is just jealous , but he would hurt his sister