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I've been a fanfiction reader for nearly seven years now, having been introduced to that wonderful world by none other than Yu Yu Hakusho itself, and I've read my fair share of Harry Potter and YYH crossovers. Most of them were terrible, but let's save the fanfiction rant for another day and get to why this topic is aptly titled, "I have a Sorting Hat."

From my adventures in the land of YYHxHP crossovers, I have discovered something that disturbs me: Yusuke and Kuwabara are nearly always Gryffindors, Kurama is more often than not a Ravenclaw, and Hiei is automatically branded as a Slytherin.

At first glance: "That makes sense!"
At second glance: "But kind of predictable. And boring."
At third glance: "Wait a minute...."

We've had a lot of good discussions about the personalities of various YYH characters, so I thought I'd bring this to the table. We've concluded that a lot of people misinterpret characters' personalities, so wouldn't that affect which House the writer puts a character in? What do you think of these common classifications?

I'll wait for someone to respond before I go off on my tangent.

[CREDIT: This post was completely inspired by JoIsBishMyoga's The Best Defense.]

JoIsBishMyoga [of The Best Defense fame] classified the following:

Hiei - Gryffindor
Like you said, this one makes a lot of sense once you start thinking about it. Hiei is fiercely loyal to those who have earned his respect, and he's very protective of the ones he cares about most. Compared to, say, Kurama, Hiei's upfront about what he thinks about everything: if he doesn't like you, you'll know it. If he wants you dead, you'll know that too...until he kills you, anyway. And he's definitely courageous; he doesn't shy away from a dangerous situation.

Kurama - Slytherin
Admittedly, Kurama asked to be put into Slytherin so that the YYH group would have at least one member in every House - the reason why the group was there at Hogwarts was to protect the students in the first place. Yet Kurama notes that aside from Hiei and himself, no one else would be able to survive in Slytherin. Hiei explains to [a very shocked] Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Kurama was put into Slytherin because while he might seem loyal, he just won't betray you until you betray him first.

Personally, while I can also see Kurama in Ravenclaw, I do have to agree with the Slytherin thing as well. Unlike Hiei, Kurama is closed, cunning, calculating. With Kurama, what you see is definitely not what you get - he's cutthroat, and he's willing to bide his time before reducing you to absolute nothingness.

Yusuke & Kuwabara - Gryffindor
Self-explanatory. I agree that Kuwabara does possess Hufflepuff tendencies, but he seems to fit the standards for Gryffindor more. I think that if he had known his choices, he would've chosen Gryffindor over Hufflepuff.

Keiko - Ravenclaw
Also kind of self-explanatory.

Botan & Yukina
Where else would they be? They're both the most open about their kindness and empathy, and they firmly believe in fairness and principles above all.

But let's move away from the main characters....

Genkai, I have to say, would probably be in Gryffindor as well. In a way, I can also see her in Hufflepuff [hey, being in Hufflepuff does NOT mean you're a pushover] or even in Slytherin [calculating in spades, doing things for "herself," not too bad at manipulating others].

heart OMG NERDGASM heart

What I specifically love about this topic is that if you get a bunch of diehard YYH and HP fans in the same forum together, this thread could go on FOREVER. And the reason there's so much debate, I think, is the ridiculously amazing depth and beauty of the YYH characters. (Not that Rowling's characters aren't deep--but I, like Dumbledore, think they sort too soon. If one of the first things we learn about the characters is which house they're in, it does tend to automatically influence our opinion of them in genre-savvy and not-so-genre savvy ways.)

What we need to take into consideration is the qualities required of the students in each house, the personality traits of each individual character, and whether or not will would be a factor. (Particularly in iffy, undecided cases. For instance, the sorting hat told Harry that he would belong equally in Slytherin or Griffydor; it was his choice. It's possible that one or more of the YYH characters could also be privy to this.)

So, the qualities of the houses at Hogwarts--keeping in mind that the houses are morally ambiguous and you can't just throw all the villains into Slytherin (case in point: Peter Pettigrew, an "evil" Griffyndor; SPOILER: Severus Snape, a "good" Slytherin; Sirius Black, a "good" Griffyndor with an (almost) entirely "bad" Slytherin family; etc.) Perhaps the qualities we don't agree on are most telling.

Griffyndor: Brave, valiant, prizes honor(?)

Ravenclaw: Intelligent, witty, prizes brilliance

Hufflepuff: Loyal, honest, prizes truth(?)

Slytherin: Ambitious, cunning, prizes power.

Now I'll attempt to figure out which character belongs to which house based on observable personality and their preference--

Yusuke: Probably Griffyndor, in traditional shonen hero style. He cares about his family and friends to a near fault, wants to grow and be strong, etc. I imagine if Yusuke actually cared about which house he was in he'd choose this one, but for all intents and purposes I think he wouldn't really give a crap.

Kuwabara: I'm torn between Griffyndor and Hufflepuff. On the one hand, he's loyal to every core of his being, and self-sacrificing for his friends, which is probably a Hufflepuff trait. On the other hand, he's ridiculously honorable, to the point of not wanting to fight females and so forth, which I'd consider a Griffyndor trait. Possibly this comes down to his choice--which for me is hard to predict. I can see him wanting to be a Griffyndor because it's renowned for its heroes and honor--yet at the same time, he seems pretty well-adjusted in his sidekick roll (although don't you ever tell him that's what he is.)

Kurama: Another torn one; he is definitely smart, and I think he prizes his intelligence enough to go to Ravenclaw. But he is also cutthroat and ruthless, willing to do almost anything he has to, which I'd say is more of a Slytherin-type personality. So again, I think this would come down to his choice. If we're talking human Kurama with Shiori as his morality pet, I think he'd probably choose Ravenclaw, as Slytherin might just remind him of his demon side which would infallibly go to Slytherin. He might also choose Ravenclaw if he were trying to blend in more, since his obvious intelligence would make a lot of people ask why he isn't in Ravenclaw if he were in any other house.

Hiei: Definitely the toughest of the bunch. I completely understand the argument for Griffyndor; as said, he has an honor code and sticks to it. He's also honest and loyal, though, Hufflepuff traits, and no one would call him stupid, a Ravenclaw trait. And while the Slytherin argument is incredibly cliche and typical, I think there is something to be said for it--look at how much he is willing to risk to gain power. He's the most ambitious of all four of the main characters, and not opposed to making tough sacrifices. I think Hiei really is one of those swing characters, whose house depends almost entirely on his choice. His choice, I think, would differ drastically depending on the circumstances. I can imagine him, like Yusuke, being unsufferably apathetic and not really giving a crap WHICH house he joined--but like I said, it depends on the circumstances. Is this a fully-grown and developed Hiei, or is this an AU Hiei who is the equivalent of 11 human years old? I imagine that he would sympathize with Slytherin if he heard that they were ambitious and not adverse to getting what they want--but I can also see him wanting to preserve his honor and dignity and going with Griffyndor. In the end, though, I imagine his reaction to all this would be, "I'm above your stupid human (wizard) games; when do I get to kill someone?"

So there's my two cents. Sorry it's a tl;dr post, but you know how we YYH fans can get. biggrin

Before I jump in: I'm not analyzing AU versions of the characters. I'm Sorting them by all the qualities they exhibited over the course of the show.

I still have to say Gryffindor for Kuwabara. Gryffindor values loyalty just as much as Hufflepuff does, courage [which is the biggest thing, I think - look at Lavender, who seems to have absolutely no redeeming qualities aside from the fact that she was brave enough to help pack up those Blast-Ended Skrewts and fight in the final battle at Hogwarts], chivalry [Kuwa's got that in spades], and honor [he's got that covered too, even more than Yusuke or Hiei do]. He seems to be so...Gryffindor-ish that I can't really see him being in Hufflepuff unless he chooses to be. Gryffindor seems to be his dominant quality.

Hiei, by the end of the series, didn't really have any ambition. While he was still fighting all of Mukuro's lackeys, he kind of just...angsted and said he didn't give a damn about living anymore. While the old Hiei might've been dumped straight into Slytherin, post-series Hiei? Not so much. He displays Gryffindor qualities, not Slytherin ones. [He's not a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw either, because neither of those Houses prize the traits that he displays most prominently. Hiei values smarts, but not vehemently so - he just thinks everyone else, for the most part, is stupid. Hufflepuff is the House of fairness/justice [which Hiei likes to define for himself xD], loyalty, hard work without reward [...yeah, Hiei's kind of a fail in that part], and misfits [people who don't particularly belong in any other House]. It's similar to Gryffindor, but definitely not the same. Gryffindors would go forth and kill the lords who terrorize the poor; Hufflepuffs would run the most successful charity project to eliminate poverty ever.

Keiko's brave, but only up to a certain point. She doesn't seem to value it terribly, even though she's got the trait. While yes, she is rather Hermione-like, I think Keiko's better suited to Ravenclaw because she does value the whole resourcefulness, cleverness, and wit package. Remember that Sorting is rarely ever ideal - most people don't just fit into one of four categories. Snape's ideal House probably wasn't Slytherin. Wormtail's ideal House definitely wasn't Gryffindor. It's not meant to be ideal, just what works best.

Besides, she kind of only acts on her heart whenever Yusuke's around....

Part of what's tricky about Sorting is that Hufflepuff seems to share its underlying values with both Gryffindor and to a lesser extent, Ravenclaw. All Houses except for Slytherin seem to value moral goodness and hard work to some extent. I think what separates those with Hufflepuff beliefs from true Hufflepuffs is whether they particularly value anything else as well. If Keiko didn't have such a strong academic interest, it is most likely that she would be sorted into Hufflepuff. If Kuwabara wasn't so chivalrous and brave, then he too would be in Hufflepuff. In a way, you could say that Gryffindors and Ravenclaws are Hufflepuffs with another dominant interest/aspect.

True. So it might depend on what part of the series we make our decisions from. Hiei does lose a lot of his ambition after meeting Yusuke, as shown in Chapter Black when he gives up on his return to Makai. Though I wouldn't say he ever loses his cunning...

Bravery, daring, and chivalry though...I mean, he DOES have a code, he just doesn't parade it around as much. And he does seem to rather despise the low-life demons who just grovel about for their next meal or victim. That could either be attributed to "They have no great ambition" or "They have no honor." Anyone have a reference to shed some further light?

Either way, I think he'd be a dynamic addition to either House.



Hmmm...Reviewing the Houses...I say she might be a good Hufflepuff as well. Not saying she's not smart, but she's not particularly witty or deductive either. Also, hard-work and loyalty fit her rather well...I mean, she wasn't JUST a straight-A student, she was dedicated to her school, taking leadership roles in student council, and remained loyal to her friends...ESPECIALLY to Yusuke.

Though she had quite a few showcases of daring and bravery, such as her outspokenness during the Dark Tournament, but perhaps that could just be attributed to her loyalty?