Note: Undoubtedly, those of you who have read YYH fanfic will recognize many of the items on this list from particular stories--you may even have used them yourself; we certainly have, and we know what it's like to write stories based only on the few episodes we could get our hands on. This isn't meant to be a criticism of the stories or the authors. On the contrary, it reflects that we've read the stories, remembered them, discussed them, and avidly searched the series for these elements when we were finally able to acquire the episodes and the manga. It's a tribute to the imagination of the fanfic authors, that they were able to describe the YYH universe in such stunning detail, despite the many gaps the series itself leaves. And keep in mind that just because something doesn't happen in the series, it doesn't mean it *can't* happen--it may simply have been offscreen.

...The over-ambitious Top Ten List of...

Unsubstantiated YYH Fan Myths

by Amparo Bertram and Denise Wyatt

Kurama has regular meetings with his mother after he moves out Corollary: She uses the opportunity to press him into dating, with an eye toward grandchildren: This one has at least a partial justification. We know that the two are close and that Shiori likes to keep in touch, since she calls her son while she's on her honeymoon to see how things are going. However, by the series' end we haven't been shown Kurama's family interaction after he strikes out on his own. As for wanting grandchildren, though it's no doubt a quality of mothers everywhere, she doesn't bring up the subject in the few instances we see them converse.
Hiei wears only black and white Corollary: He always uses four white belts: True, he's usually to be found in his simple black coat and white scarf (an ensemble very practical in that he can remove it in one quick swipe--or even with a burst of ki alone) or a ragged black shirt and pants, but it's not to the exclusion of all else. When he goes to the Dark Tournament, he shows up in an elegant outfit in shades of purple, red, and gold. Later he wears a shirt of royal blue. In the manga, he's even drawn wearing tight jeans (for which some of us are truly grateful). As for his trademark belts, he alternates between two and four white ones and a double red one that knots rather than buckles.
Kurama sleeps on a futon at home: Since Kurama's bedroom is the one place in his house where he's least likely to be interrupted by his family, it's no wonder the topic comes up so frequently. Curious about this important domain, we compared images of his bedroom from the manga and the anime. In both versions, he sleeps in a Western-style bed, rather than a futon. There is an intriguing difference, however; in the anime, his bed is directly under the window, while in the manga, it's against the opposite wall. Whether there's any significance to the rearrangement...
Genkai trains the Urameshi Team: Genkai is introduced in the series to train Yuusuke, after he wins her competition. She is never interested in training the others, and after giving Yuusuke her powers during the Ankoku Bujutsukai, she no longer teaches him.
Hiei keeps a tight rein on his emotions Corollary: He never smiles or laughs: Arrogance, anger, shock, concern, amusement, pride, pain, terror, glee... It's all there to read openly on his face, at one time or another. He can be seen smiling on a regular basis, albeit not necessarily out of the goodness of his heart, and he laughs more than once. He is never as energetically expressive as Yuusuke or Kuwabara, but he does appreciate a good joke...unless it's at his expense.
Kurama's parents mistreated and/or abandoned him: We don't know anything about Kurama's birth parents, other than that he was touched by Shiori's selflessness in raising him even though she didn't know his true identity. He didn't compare her to his youko parents. (For all we know, they may have been loving and caring individuals. When you come down to it, he might have been too rebellious as a child to notice.) As a matter of fact, no other youko are ever shown or mentioned.
After returning from the Makai, Yuusuke works in Keiko's ramen shop: It's true that, in the manga, Yuusuke is seen selling ramen. However, he works at a street stand, consisting of a few stools and the counter, not an actual restaurant. Also, he appears to run it alone. In contrast, Keiko's shop belongs to her family; it's a two-story building (they live on the upper floor) with more extensive seating and cooking facilities.
Koorime are vampires: Unless this is from Japanese myth in general, the only possible justification for this assumption in the series is that Hiei has fangs--but so does Shizuru! Yukina never opens her mouth wide enough to check whether she shares the trait. Hiei does lick his own blood in one scene, but he subsequently spits it back out.
Minamino Shuuichi's personality is gentle and sensitive Corollary: He cries easily at sentimental moments: The most compelling evidence against this view is Hiei's testimony; even he considers the redhead to be a mean SOB...or should that be son-of-a-vixen? In any case, time and again he proves himself capable of cold anger and lethal vengeance, killing his enemies without the slightest twinge of conscience. He also enjoys tormenting his friends with practical jokes. Though Yuusuke weeps freely out of concern for his loved ones, and Kuwabara cries when he believes his friend to be dead, Kurama never releases a single tear in the anime. [We would like to express our gratitude to the person who brought it to our attention that he *does* shed one tear in the manga, when his mother recovers. We had mistaken it for one of the sweatdrops that had appeared on both his and Yuusuke's cheeks throughout the preceeding pages.]
Hiei can enter and explore others' dreams: He does experience vivid nightmares of his own, yet he is never shown entering the dreams of another. The only one of the team who ever displays such an ability is Yuusuke, and he could only do so as a ghost. Though Hiei's Jagan apparently gives him the power to compel humans, that power does not extend to complete submersion in the realm of the subconscious.
Keiko constantly clobbers Yuusuke Corollary: She hits him with mallets and frying pans: Keiko does hit him in the anime--exactly four times, each one after he had molested her in some way. All four times, she used only her open palm, never a large, blunt object, and never for an abstract offense such as looking at another woman, making a crude comment, or going on missions for Koenma. There is some evidence that she's more aggressive in the manga; we've seen one frame in which she chases him carrying a baseball bat, though it doesn't show her hit him with it.
Hordes of girls at Kurama's school fawn over him: "Maybe not true...but definitely understandable." There is one scene of Minamino Shuuichi in school being approached by two girls, but there is no overt flirting, nor are there any indications that he is followed by girls at any point. There are, however, several *boys* who make nuisances of themselves begging for his assistance.
Hiei is addicted to ice cream Corollary: He eats anything at all: Okay, so he probably does eat, but it is never shown. (Nor is it shown for Kurama, actually.) We have no indication whether he likes or dislikes *any* food in particular--although, as this is a person who remembers what happened to him since *birth*, if he does enjoy ice cream, there's no excuse for him to forget what it's called.
The body Kurama possessed had originally been female: This explanation does a remarkable job of accounting for Kurama's bishounen human body. We even have evidence that a disembodied spirit can alter the appearance of a possessed physical form, since Genkai did so when she delivered a message to Yuusuke through Puu's body, and Keiko was able to recognize Yuusuke even in someone as different as Kuwabara. However, it is a large step from setting facial features in a familiar expression to performing the complex biochemical changes necessary to switch the sex of a fetus, particularly if it had already begun to develop.
Hiei hates water: Granted, it makes sense for a fire demon to avoid bodies of water, but Hiei does not display any special aversion to the element. He was never in a situation that required voluntary aquatic submersion, and it didn't appear to disturb him to be near the crashing waves of the ocean surrounding the island of the tournament.
Yuusuke procrastinates about marrying Keiko Corollary: They sleep together before they're married: He may not have realized she was in love with him, at first, but that just makes him unobservant. He proposed to her before she entered high school; there's no reason to assume he would drag his feet about marrying her, once that step had been taken. As for their pre-marital relationship--since the most intimacy they ever shared (while Yuusuke was conscious) was two hugs, one kiss, and the one-sided groping for which he earned the few slaps he received, there is no evidence that Keiko would have permitted anything further.
Hiei can't understand Ningenkai technology: He may be new to the customs and artifacts of the human world, but he is by no means slow. He has no difficulties interacting with Makai technology, such as that wielded by Mukuro. It is highly likely that it would take only a short explanation to enable him to work devices such as telephones or microwaves, should he ever have the need.
Kurama prays to the fox god Inari: A translation of the story "Fox Fire" from Usagi Yojimbo has this to say about kitsune: "Messengers of the harvest god Inari, guardians of rice crops - and renowned tricksters - they grow in power as they age. After a century they are able to change shape and possess people, while after a thousand years they gain nine tails, a golden coat and great wisdom." Hence, there is indeed a connection between foxes and the rice god in Japanese folklore. Despite this, Kurama does not pray to Inari, invoke his name, or seek his protection. The only glimpse of any of the boys' religious practices (aside from their irreverent interaction with Koenma and his father) is during Yuusuke's wake.
The team celebrates by drinking Corollary: Hiei can't hold his liquor: Aside from one drink while Yuusuke visits a previous Reikai Tantei, none of the four boys touches anything stronger than tea. Though it may be reasonable for young men to go out drinking together or pass around sake at a party (especially with Yuusuke's mother's habit), it never happens in the series. We do know that it's possible for youkai to get drunk, but there is no evidence that Hiei would allow himself to risk blunting his reflexes and skills in such a fashion, particularly if it involves experimenting with unknown beverages.
Koorime can purr: It is a complete mystery where *this* quirk came from. Aside from being adorable to cat-lovers, there is no reason why it should be a physiological trait. Hiei is never warm-fuzzy enough to demonstrate, and though Yukina has several scenes of happiness, she never produces any sound resembling a purr.
Youkai sexual reproduction is different from humans' Corollary 1: Hiei can procreate without a female Corollary 2: It will be difficult for Yuusuke and Keiko to have children: During the course of the series, we are shown two examples of youkai sexual reproduction (asexual is a *whole* separate story): Hina and Raizen. It is clear from the reaction to Hina's affair that, among the all-female Koorime, what she did was rare, and they generally have no need for males. However, this tells us nothing about Hiei's potential reproduction processes since 1) he isn't a Koorime female and 2) he probably takes after his father in that respect anyway, and his father (as far as we can tell) did nothing out of the ordinary, technique-wise. Raizen thoroughly describes how he began Yuusuke's family line by spending one night with a human woman; if she could conceive and have a healthy child with no outside assistance after only one encounter, Keiko should have no difficulty in that respect.
Kurama is about 400 years old: In the anime, when Yomi describes the events leading to his blindness, he says that they occurred a thousand years before. Since Kurama was alive back then, that makes him *at least* a thousand years old, and possibly much more than that, because he was a mature adult even then.
Hiei is a virgin/sexual innocent before the series: Admittedly, it's difficult to imagine him forming an intimate relationship with anyone prior to his arrival in the Ningenkai. However, in the flashbacks to his childhood, it is shown that he was raised by a group of adult male youkai. Unless they all remained painstakingly discreet during the years he was one of them, he ought to have picked up at least the basics.
Kurama will return to his youko body when the human one dies: He does admit that he had intended to return to his youko form, when he tells Yuusuke his life story. However, he says nothing about his human form dying first. It is likely that he can permanently return to his ageless youko body any time he wishes, provided that he is still alive when he makes the transformation.
Hiei cries tear gems Corollary: His tear gems are black: There is no way to prove this assumption, since Hiei never cries. It is possible that he inherited the trait for producing tear gems, if he has any distinctively Koorime traits at all, which is debatable. Aside from the chance that Hiei is simply a mutant, if he acquired a "gene" altering the gemstone type that both his mother and Yukina are shown to create, it would have to have been a result of his father's genetic contribution; this would depend either on fire demons *also* having the tear gem trait (except with the "black" allele) or the gemstone type being a result of the interaction between more than one gene (of which Yukina recieves the same set as their mother, but he does not). This is, of course, postulating a human-analogous genetic structure, since youkai and humans can interbreed.
Kurama doesn't get along well with his stepfather Corollary: Hatanaka-san is suspicious of his sexual orientation: Kurama's stepfather is shown in the anime for a grand total of about 30 seconds, during which he appears to be a decent sort. (He's smiling, at any rate.) It is, of course, reasonable that the average Japanese man might be sufficiently homophobic for this situation to be the case, yet there is not enough of him to arrive at a definitive conclusion.
Hiei is illiterate Corollary: He is just now learning to read: As logical as it may seem at first glance, this is simply incorrect. In one scene, Kurama hands Hiei a relatively lengthy note, which he reads and comprehends immediately. This proves that, not only is he literate, everyone *knows* he can read.
Kurama has an insatiable sexual appetite: Despite our own not-so-innocent reactions to someone with his beauty and seductive voice--and issues of intimate friendship aside--we know more about Yuusuke's love life than Kurama's. He never engages in traditionally romantic behavior (unless you count showering his teammates with rose petals during combat), nor does he identify past lovers as such. If he's awash in a sea of raging hormones, he does an exceptional job of concealing it.
Hiei calls Kurama "stupid fox": As cute as this is, and as in character as it may seem, it is certainly not his typical mode of address. Hiei insults Kuwabara readily enough, but his taunting doesn't extend to the youko.

[Short Scenes]

© 1998 Amparo Bertram and Denise Wyatt
If you uncover evidence supporting one of these myths, please email Amparo at weyrbrat@umich.edu or Denise at wyattden@pilot.msu.edu and let us know. There are some that we would love to have proven.