Board Thread:Manga Discussion/@comment-32189512-20180216130910/@comment-25506276-20180419023435

2601:600:C880:32E2:C5EA:AF96:C2D9:3EEE wrote:

That would actually be great! Of course I dont expect you to go through and pick out certain parts that would be a rather unreasonable request on my part. You are absolutely right as well I should of done more research on the topic beforehand. In that regard, surprisingly enough it was not Pitous wiki page that I went to for further information as wiki pages tend not to be the most reliable sources. After checking it out prior to your statement though it did become rather obvious that much of the iformation I found correlates to the page. My comment on the use of kare resulted after I decided to further look into the data book as I had seen it cited multiple times by various people and reading your comment on the use of boku. I totally understand your reasoning behind not wanting to use it as a  source but in my opinion when examining a series it is imprtant to take all forms of media into consideration, the source though I admit, most definitely takes precident over all others. My statement on Pitous flat chest was a reference to this pannel but as an artist myself who understands the complex process that is character design your counterclaim that this was simply part of the design process is a strong enough argument for me to agree that point is not valid.

You would be correct in your assumtion, my point of the lack of gendered pronouns maily came from the anime adaptation, my knowledge of the anime is limited to the english text but as I stated earlier what the manga portrays is more reliable a source than the anime. Genderqueer identities in Japan is a topic I actually know a bit more about that I do Hunter X Hunter but for arguments sake I'll keep it to a rather short summary. Like most non western societies the concept of a third gender is not new, in japan it first originated arround the Edo period, the modern day concept though of course is far different from how it began. In Japan the term they use for genderqueer is X gender of course it has its differences but its not too far off from the wests concept of nonbinary if you would like to do further research on the topic I have a great sight full of links that explain in more detaill that im sure I could track down again.

I do believe your reasoning is fair but being a rather feminine non binary individual myself who is honestly starved of media representation I will be holding onto my belief until there is confirmation from Togashi on either stance, As you have stated Togashi has created trans characters in the past some, like you aknowledged, are rather unfortunate portrayls, but seeing how well Alluka was handled as trans character (I know there is a large debate around this aswell but you seem to be in agreement that Alluka is presented as a trans girl) has caused my veiws of Pitou as yet another posibly trans character to feel even the slightest bit more realistic. I do also understand that your veiws are based on what we have been presented so far by togashi as a creator and yes he does seem to have the trend of linking breasts to strictly female characters but who's tp say that that trend is accurate 100% of the time. Though your reasoning was solid, it was not solid enough to fully change my beliefs but at the same time there lacks solid evidence from my side as well. To me Pitou's gender will remain unofficial and for that reason I still believe them to be genderqueer. I was not under the impression that you were transphobic or bigotted in real life as non of your points seemed to be against the idea that these identies existed but rather you aknowledged them while at the same time explaining why you believed Pitou did not belong to said identity,

You have every right to be assertive in your claims, they were obviously well researched and clearly thought out and I in know way felt like this was an attempt at provocation or anything of the like, you were a bit harsh and very blunt but you did indeed managed to keep the civility that you intended.Dancing around your points would have only weaked our convesation and made it more difficult to see the others side. I very much so enjoyed this conversation as forming a definite opinion without understanding the contrasting argument leads to nothing but further conflict and issues, I would love to keep up this debate but due to mental health reasons interactions such as this one are often draining after a certain period of time and nearly impossible for me to keep going. Please do not think this means I found our conversation boring or tedious but rather I am dissapointed that I was not able to keep it going longer. I likely will be checking up on this thread from time to time though and perhaps lookforward to discussing this further in the future. http://www.mediafire.com/folder/hmxjgh3cd4we4/hxh_jp

Well I couldn't or wouldn't feel the need to refute an opinion born from (lacking)representation. You gotta do you. And like I said I wasn't trying to change your opinion but I just kind of enjoy dismantling faulty arguments, which are far to common in this fan base, so hopefully everything that's to be learned of the pronouns used in the manga can help you and others make some more informed deductions in the future.

I'm already as informed on Japanese "x-gender" culture as far as some rudimentary google searches will allow, but if you think you know of anything or find anything that can be more specifically linked to Pitou's portrayal in the manga then feel free to let me know. You're definitely not obliged to respond if you don't think you're up for it though, and while I'm maybe a bit disappointed this is cut short, it's good to get this out there at least. Maybe you could consider bringing something back for other people you know who involve themselves in this topic?

Cheers.