Roses
and Peonies:
The
Soldier of Love & the Romantic Deity of Death
Opposites attract.
- many of you may disagree to
this reason, but in fact... opposites make the best couples in
real life. Usually, 'birds of the same feather flock together'
refers to a group of friends or peers. A best friend's attitude
is usually the opposite of yours; however that doesn't
necessarily mean you have different ideas. Besides, in most
anime, couples are opposites of each other. It's because the
other compliments the other in terms of attitude. :)
He's the only one who treats her like a woman.- I don't mean this literally, of course. ^-^ I mean, Botan is a woman; and Kurama treats her that way. He doesn't treat her like a girl/kid like the other guys do. He has intelligent conversations with the lady (even if she doesn't know a single thing about the topic), giving her respect, understanding, and not calling her names and insulting her all the time.
Botan? A flower? - This is a tad bit of a shallow reason, but I'm just adding all the possibilites of how and why these two are paired up together. ;) Botan's name is usually written in hiragana. But Botan's name in Kanji means 'peony', which is a kind of flower. And you know how Kurama adores flowers and plants. By the way, ever consider or wonder about 'Botan' and 'Botany'...?
He says, she says - Ever noticed that in Yu Yu Hakusho dialogues, whenever Botan talks, Kurama answers? And whenever Kurama talks, Botan answers? Check out our sound files --when they're up! ^-^;; *looks at Mars* Aren't you supposed to be in charge of the sound files page??
Designer clothes? - They're both great dressers. Ok, ok... so this is another shallow reason, but what the heck. We need all the clues, heeheehee. ^-^v Aside from Kurama's Chinese clothes, and Botan's kimonos, these two hit it off really well with their style of clothes.
Let's Rock! - On a shirt I saw before where he plays lead guitar, and she plays the synth (keyboard), she was eyeing him looking very thrilled (sequence: Keiko is looking at Yusuke; Yukina is looking at Hiei ...since Kuwabara is way at the back playing the drums.). Wanna see the pic? There's one at the Real Thing Gallery. :D
At a Glance- Several scenes in the TV series have caught our attentions, telling us that Kurama and Botan can or may be more than just friends.
At the Ankoku Bujutskai, Kurama was the one who went in front of Botan to protect her from Hiei's Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha while fighting Zeru. Kuwabara or Genkai could've done that, but they didn't. ;) There's a pic in the Real Thing Gallery.
Kurama helped Botan bring the injured Kuwabara to the waiting room, after Yusuke defeated Dr. Ichigaki.
During Kurama's fight with Karasu, Botan was the only one smiling excitedly among the four girls when Kurama transformed into Youko Kurama.
When Kurama was being beaten up by Karasu, Botan was the only one among the girls looking very worried. She was the only one who stood up, and she was the only one saying, "Kurama won't die! He'll be able to make it!"
During the last round of the Ankoku B. (where the Urameshi team fights the Toguro team), Botan never cried for Kuwabara (who everyone thought died), nor Hiei. The only ones she cried for were Genkai, Kurama, and Yusuke.
When all of them were on the boat headed home from the Ankoku Bujutskai, try pausing the part where their backs are towards the screen. You'll notice that Kurama's facing Botan.
When Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, and Botan entered Kido's, Yanagi's, and Kaito's strange house, Botan was about to blurt out "atsui" when Kurama covered her mouth with his hand, saying, "Don't say that.". There's a pic in the Real Thing Gallery.
After he covered her mouth, look for the cel where they're beside each other. Kawaii, ne? :) Too bad Kuwabara was in the screen shot with them. ^^o There's a pic in the Real Thing Gallery.
When Botan accidentally blurted out the word "atsui", check out Kurama's expression. Priceless! ;)
Kurama's eyes narrowed and his expression turned angry when Kaitou mentioned about girls' souls (referring to Botan's soul being in his grasp).
After Kurama defeated Kaitou, he, Botan, Kuwabara, and Hiei confronted Yanagi. Kurama and Botan were in the same cel in where Kurama was showing Yanagi the key to the next door.
Check out the cel where Botan and Kurama (they were with Kaitou and Kuwabara) are together outside the hospital (Yusuke vs. Dr. Kamiya). The background is glaring white; therefore the animators are focusing on the two. Excellent screen shot! :)
When Kurama rushed into the hospital to find out what was going on, Botan worriedly said (putting her fist to her breast), "Be careful.".
When Kurama fought Shigure in the Makai tournament and won, he was terribly injured. Botan, who was supposed be in disguise (and who was supposed to stay that way because of the dangers lurking about in the demon world), threw away her disguise and rushed towards Kurama on her oar.
In the last episode of the series, when all of them (excluding, Yusuke, Koenma and Genkai) were at the beach, Kurama was staring intently at Botan when she took her shoes off.
Pass the Popcorn, please.- In the 1st YYH movie, "Vengeance of Koashura", Botan was knocked off her oar by a winged youkai. Kurama came, and saved her from the fall (In the film book, it took 5 boxes to show how Kurama saved her). There's a pic in in the Real Thing Gallery. :D
- Also in the second movie... when Yusuke's and Yakumo's
big fight began (or rather, already started), Kurama
already had his arms around the unconscious Botan before
he even said, "We have to get out of here", and
even before Hinageshi helped him. There's a pic in The
Real Thing Gallery.
.
*** I have never seen the Yu Yu Hakusho Valentine OVA special, but word has it that Kurama tried to court Botan because he liked her. Hiei, too, liked Botan. And I think the two youkai were able to steal a kiss from her. ***