Alluka Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

Sensitivity: Very Nice

Depth & Development: Present

Accuracy: Discernible?

Canon Status: Canon, Despite Some Debate

Hunter x Hunter is a 2011 shōnen anime based on the critically successful manga by Yoshihiro Togashi (also known for YuYu Hakusho), and the remake of a previous series that aired in 1999. The story takes place in a fictional world occupied by Hunters- a title given to those who pass a test to gain the rights to the most dangerous and rewarding jobs imaginable. From there, the viewer follows the adventures of Gon Freeccs and his many notable companions, the most notable of all being Killua Zoldyck, his best friend and the older brother of today’s review subject.

Being the popular, critically acclaimed shōnen that it is, Hunter x Hunter is, well… rather lengthy. 148 episodes, to be exact. Though it perhaps pales in comparison to other ever-running anime goliaths such as One Piece and Naruto, it’s still quite the task to take on. To top that off, Alluka only formally appears in the very last arc. Rest assured though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

(Note: This refers exclusively the 2011 anime, not the manga or the 1999 series. Also, since Alluka only appears in the final arc of the anime, it will impossible to discuss her character without spoilers, so consider this a general warning.)

Characters who are trans women or who are coded as so are not exceedingly rare in shōnen, they just aren’t usually very… nice portrayals, to say the least. Thankfully though, Hunter x Hunter is in a lot of ways not a typical shōnen, and Alluka is far from what you typically see in characters like her. For one, she’s a very young child, only 11 in the main events of the story. Two, she’s never sexualized, not even a little bit. And three, though her identity isn’t unanimously respected, it’s never called into question and the person who loves her most, her brother Killua, fully sees her as a girl.

It’s never stated outright that Alluka is transgender, but before the details of her personal identity are discussed, a little exposition on her backstory is pretty vital. Alluka is the 2nd youngest child in a family of famed assassins. Though it’s ever only explicitly shown to have happened to Killua, it’s strongly implied that all 5 children in the family have endured extreme abuse to be shaped into weapons. The politics of the Zoldyck family are complicated and relationships are strained at best, but Alluka’s treatment at the hands of her family was bad enough that Killua risked the wrath of his family in order to remove her from their home and keep her safe with him after defecting.

To say Alluka is disrespected by her family would be an understatement. She’s forced to live in an underground vault behind several heavy-duty locked doors under constant surveillance, only ever visited by members of her household when they wish to exploit her power. Despite her isolation and abuse, her and Killua are shown to be mutually fond of each other, with Killua expressing a strong desire to protect her from their dangerous family’s control- the only reason he didn’t do so earlier was due to a mind-controlling needle implanted in his head by his older brother.

By most of her family, Alluka is referred to as their brother. The servants of the house frequently call her ‘bocchan‘ or ‘bocchama‘, both of which are used to refer to a young male. Killua, however, exclusively refers to Alluka as his sister, even in flashbacks when they were both very young children. In one scene, he even outright insists that since Alluka is a girl, she requires a female butler to attend to her. Since her and Killua share a special bond not present with any of their other siblings, it’s safe to say that his judgment is the most important to consider. Alluka herself uses the personal pronoun ‘atashi‘, which is exclusively feminine. Thus, despite the (plausibly deliberate) misgendering by her family, Alluka is a girl.

Beyond referring to her as a male by the rest of her family though, she’s frequently referred to as inhuman, an object, a “thing,” all thanks to the complicated and dangerous power she possesses. Her own father implies that she has no soul and shouldn’t be considered a member of the family, and her older brother, Illumi, schemed to kill her throughout the events of the final arc. Alluka is host to another creature, called Nanika (lit. “Something”), who has the power to grant any wish at a high price. After granting three of Nanika’s requests, an individual is given the chance to ask something of her. The grander the wish though, the more severe her next requests are (in one scene, she is shown asking for one person’s organs). Should someone be unable to complete enough of these requests, Nanika’s power instantly kills them, along with a varying number of people close to them.

They share a body, but Alluka and Nanika are mostly treated as two separate entities. Alluka is shown to have an extremely compassionate, appropriately childlike personality. Nanika isn’t nearly as expressive, but Killua mentions that she’s very kind as well, no matter the horrific circumstances of her power. Both care for Killua deeply though, and most of their screentime is spent showing affection for him in some way. And likewise, Killua has a separate, but equal, affection for the two of them. He even has a special authority over Nanika’s powers thanks to understanding her on a level the rest of her family never will be able to.

Admittedly, at first I found it slightly uncomfortable that the character coded as a trans girl had what was possibly the most volatile and dangerous power of the entire cast, to the point where it was explicitly shown to be responsible for the violent deaths of dozens of people. The more I thought about it though, the more I couldn’t help but notice how much of Alluka’s treatment and portrayal mimics an actual reality for trans girls, albeit vastly hyperbolic. Intentional or not, a lot about Alluka serves as a sort of metaphor for the trans experience.

There’s a strong duality in her identity, being the host to another being entirely. She’s frequently dehumanized and stripped of autonomy for something the people around her are unable to understand, and considered dangerous for that fact. In one extremely emotional scene, Killua even orders Nanika to stay put away within Alluka, expecting her to hide an important part of herself for her own safety. Alluka reprimands him for this, though, stating that if he wishes to protect her he’ll have to protect Nanika as well. The one who loves and understands Alluka best isn’t afraid of her or her power.

Of course, a lot of this reflects the ways trans girls are demonized out of fear of what others do not understand. The language Alluka’s family used to demean her, the way she was isolated and alienated from her family, considered too horrible even for a family of assassins to properly care for… despite the very much otherworldly setting, it was very relatable- almost painfully so. Looking around online, I’m clearly not the only one who thought so either. A lot of trans women felt a certain kinship with Alluka, and personally related to the way her struggles were represented.

The comparisons aren’t totally perfect, especially considering that Alluka’s powers are extremely dangerous, something trans women obviously inherently are not. That being said, though, it never seemed like the any of the danger surrounding her character was specifically because she was transgender, or vice versa. This is due in part just thanks to the general tone of the show. Alluka never really felt like a particularly deadly or threatening character. In fact, the narrative intentionally subverts our expectations of Alluka in this regard in the way it sets up for her to be this soulless, demonic entity only to reveal that she is, in fact, just very much an ordinary little girl lacking even the esteemed combat training of her family.

Hunter x Hunter itself has a rather relieving approach to the way it treats gender in general. It’s still very much a shōnen, sure, meaning that important female characters are far and few between, but its a good shōnen. The two main characters’ most notable mentor is a woman. The youngest Zoldyck brother, Kalluto, wears a women’s kimono. Another character, Neferpitou, is entirely androgynous with no fully confirmed gender. At one point, a major male character escapes permanent death by being (sort of) resurrected in an entirely new body, that of a young girl’s. Admittedly, none of these examples sound too great on their own- Both Kalluto and Neferpitou are rather antagonistic, Neferpitou isn’t even human, and the resurrection scenario sounds like the setup to a really bad joke- however, it’s just the nonchalance the show treats it all with. Fit together, all of it feels very natural. None of it is treated like irony or punishment, and Alluka is no exception.

If I had to muster up complaints about Alluka, most of them would center around her screentime. I would hardly call it a complaint, though, since it’s very much born out of a desire to see and learn more about Alluka. Her role in the overall story is relatively small, all things considered, but she serves her part in the grand scheme very well. I do wish she would have had more interactions with other characters, particularly since aside from Killua, most of the characters who refer to her do so with extreme contempt. The scenes she had with Killua were all very genuinely heartwarming and wonderful, though.

This also means that unfortunately, there is little learned about Alluka as a person. It’s easy to tell from how she acts that she’s benevolent and gentle, but also brave and decisive when it comes to Killua and Nanika. There’s honestly not much beyond that, though, aside from her just being a typical child. Still, seeing a transgender child portrayed as being able to be a typical child is wonderful enough in its own right. Also, Hunter x Hunter has a ton of characters that make a big impact but come and go in the span of only a few episodes, so this is by no means exclusive to Alluka.

Despite all the dialogue clearly pointing to Alluka being a girl, there is still some debate concerning Alluka’s gender. Though I’d usually like to avoid discussions of fandom perception of certain characters, I do think it’s necessary to point just how much material supports Alluka being not only a girl, but transgender. Even among Japanese fans, discussions of her being transgender come up often. Killua’s judgment and Alluka’s personal use of ‘atashi‘ are usually cited, along with Togashi’s previous inclusion of an explicitly transgender character, Miyuki, in YuYu Hakusho. Here are a few of the aforementioned discussions by Japanese fans.

(One idea I’ve seen brought up that seems to be almost exclusive to the Japanese fanbase is that while Alluka is a girl, Nanika is male.)

In other words, Alluka being a transgender girl is not only thematically relevant to her character, but heavily supported in both canon and fanon. This isn’t brought up necessarily because I feel I have to prove anything, but rather just to highlight the importance of it. The allegories in Alluka’s arc have so much more meaning when applied to a young transgender girl and, although I cannot say with confidence that it’s intentional, Togashi has shown to have at least a basic understanding of what being transgender entails and has a track record of repeated inclusion of LGBT characters in his works (I am not a huge follower of his, though, so I’m afraid I can’t speak to how well-done these portrayals are, though).

And with that, it’s easy to say that Alluka is a very well-done depiction- one that’s already very well-loved by many trans women. Though she only takes up a small portion of the show’s run, Hunter x Hunter as a whole is a pretty positive experience that makes the journey to her arc very enjoyable. Despite the many, many fantasy elements, she’s a character that’s easy to adore, as well as connect to on a personal level.

Final Score: 4.5 :3’s out of 5

Hunter x Hunter (2011) was produced by Madhouse and is currently licensed by Viz Media for release in North America.

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