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TheChimera Ant arcofHunter x Hunterintroduces a lot of new characters, including thedeadly cat-like ant, Neferpitou (Pitou for short). Pitou has an important role in the arc, killing Kite, who Gon admires greatly. This causes Gon to hate the ants and Pitou in particular for their gruesome acts of violence.
Alongside being a key character in this arc, Pitou has also piqued fans' interest because of their ambiguous gender. Pitou has a somewhat feminine appearance, with a wavy bob hairstyle and long eyelashes. However, she/her pronouns are not used to refer to them. So what is Pitou’s gender, exactly?
Neferpitou’s Gender, Explained
Pitou is generally thought of as agender-neutral character. Depending on which anime sub you watch, Pitou is largely referred to with’they' or ‘he’ pronounsby other characters.
In the manga,Pitou uses masculine pronouns to refer to themselves, never feminine ones.
Pitou’s gender is never ‘officially’ stated, but because he uses ‘they’ and ‘he’ pronouns for themself, we can infer they aregender-neutral and masculine-leaning.
The 2011 anime made Pitou look more femininein comparison to their manga design, which is where the increased confusion of their gender comes from.
References To Neferpitou As Female
There have been some instances where Neferpitou was referred to as female or implied to be.
In the game Hunter × Hunter Battle Collection,Pitou is classed as a female character, alongside Alluka. Asthis is a spin-off mobile game, Pitou’s gender in it shouldn’t be considered ‘canon’.
The cover of Volume 28 of the manga is a direct reference to classic paintings of Coronation of the Virgin Mary, withPitou in the position of Mary.
However, this islikely a metaphorical comparison, and isn’t literally saying Pitou is Mary, and therefore female.
Despite some references to Pitou being female, they are gender-neutral in the main narrative.
