Exploring Alluka Zoldyck’s Gender Identity in Hunter x Hunter

The introduction of Alluka Zoldyck in Hunter x Hunter gives one of manga’s most beloved franchises a vessel through which to explore the concept familial support (or lack thereof) for trans family members. #HunterHunter 1/12

As the story unfolds, we learn that Alluka is actually possessed and that the two entities share one body, thus offering some parallels to the manner in which Tezuka’s gender-subverting Princess Knight has two hearts. 2/12

With Alluka, though, the stakes are a little higher. She is a being of incredible power, capable of granting most any wish, but also capable of indiscriminately murdering people who fail to grasp the delicate balance in place with her wish-granting powers. 3/12

Alluka is thus both a terror (and is treated as such by her own father who keeps her locked away in a vault) and a savior (Killua specifically seeks her out because he identifies her as the only person who can save the main protagonist, Gon). 4/12

In her Masters Thesis on “Hunter x Hunter’s Progressive Gender Depictions and Exploration of Non-Binary Possibilities,” Michaela Bakker sees Alluka as a gender-ambiguous character who can “potentially challenge the established gender binary model by demonstrating loyalty to neither category.” 5/12

Bakker suggests that this challenge is created deliberately, that “the series’ authors intentionally create ambiguity” around Alluka’s gender. This aspect can be seen to position the reader in a state of seeming contradiction, inviting personal reflection. 6/12

Fittingly, the subjective nature of Alluka’s gender is explored through the variable vantage points of the Zoldyck family, in which Alluka is “a “sister” to Killua, a “brother” to their other siblings and an “object” to their parents.” -Bakker. 7/12

This conflict is so pivotal that it precedes the introduction of the character herself. Before Killua is allowed to see his sister, he must first appeal to their father who insists on using masculine gender pronouns to describe his daughter. 8/12

Killua states “Alluka’s family. Not an appliance. I’m going to ask her as her brother!!” and Silva responds “That entity is not human. Don’t think of him as family… He’s something from another place. Something that came out of the darkness.” 9/12

Silva’s assertion of masculine pronouns is villain-coded in this scene as a result of his parallel assertion that Alluka is not human. He is literally dehumanizing her while Killua asserts the opposite: that SHE is family. It does not hurt that Killua is a wildly popular and trusted hero character either. 10/12

Of course, Silva’s actions of misgendering and dehumanizing Alluka speaks to an all-too-common experience of parental rejection for trans individuals, one that is portrayed (at least symbolically) in HxH as cruel and unnatural. 11/12

Once introduced, Alluka will go on to become a fan favorite character in the series, one who regularly explores the concept of gender identity within a manga property that is both incredibly popular and critically acclaimed. 12/12