★彡

Since the invasion’s arrival kickstarts much of the events which lead to the guards’ development, the connections between them begin to take on a new perspective as well. Notably:

In the tower, Pitou and Pouf share a tense dichotomy with one another over the invasion.

Pouf only grows increasingly wary of the new changes he finds to have taken root within Pitou and Youpi alike.

Much later, Youpi and Pouf share a brief allyship in their endeavor to keep Komugi from Meruem.

From these relations, something stood out to me in particular:

Pitou and Youpi are the only two guards that never share any significant interaction during the latter half of the arc.

In fact, from the moment the invasion begins, the two never meet each other face to face at all.

Now, I’d like to preface with a brief disclaimer of sorts. 

My primary thesis focuses the idea that Pitou and Youpi’s notable lack of association over the course of the invasion might’ve tied back to the narrative in a much more deliberate way than I initially thought, but I should also note this post was originally part of a much larger analysis that has been split up for accessibility. While the other half to this is not a necessary read, the previous write-up of mine addresses aspects of Youpi’s character that provide greater context important for setting the foundation to the conclusion I’ve come to here.

Of one of these aspects is the way in which Youpi’s development over the first half of the invasion heavily leans into his newly discovered sympathy for humanity. A key scene I’ve chosen to highlight follows shortly after Pouf and Youpi reunite, and Youpi himself comes to an epiphany regarding what he’s been told.

It doesn’t skip my notice that even before Youpi has been asked to give a stance on Pitou’s dilemma, in response to the other's situation (and his defense of Komugi), we do get this:

A sincere understanding of Pitou’s behavior.

With this revelation in mind, I turn to chapter 295, because it’s illuminating in one of two things. 1) A shift in Pitou's goals:

And 2). How isolated he truly believes he is, especially in respect to the other guards.

Because 5 chapters after Youpi has come to his epiphany and 4 chapters before Youpi and Pouf reach the king, Pitou thinks this:

That Pitou came to the conclusion that the two other guards didn’t care for Komugi made perfect sense, and in my first few reads of this scene, I hadn’t paid much attention to the particular mention of Youpi here. But after a far more thorough read of chapter 290, I could do nothing but think about it, because it appears that this estimation hadn’t been made on any current knowledge of Youpi’s new developments, only past information. 

Consider that a face to face encounter and a single line of dialogue was all Pouf needed to evaluate the changes taken root within Youpi.

Pitou on the other hand, wouldn’t have been aware of any of the changes Youpi has undergone when he hasn’t been present for even so much as a direct encounter.

Whereas Pouf had met that change with suspicion and mistrust…

…Pitou’s reaction likely would be the opposite, as would it have been a situation he’d be able to utilize to full advantage.

Not only has Pitou been physically isolated from his allies for much of the present conflict, he genuinely considers himself to be alone in his care for Komugi, because the Pitou that believes as such both was present for and remembers when Youpi said this:

Pitou doesn’t need somebody who's ambivalent about Komugi, he needs someone who’d understand his desire to defend her (of which we’d seen prior in Youpi).

Because part of his struggle doesn't solely lie in healing and protecting her, it's also entrusting her to someone who could guard and safely deliver her to Meruem once he leaves with Gon.

We’ll never know what Pitou had been intending to say here before he’d been cut off by Gon, but given Komugi and the urgency surrounding his current situation, I’m willing to bank on the idea that his request had to do with her continued safety / ensuring she reached the king.

Inevitably, Komugi is taken hostage in the first place because there is no one else Pitou can entrust her to for her protection.

I also find the implications of Knuckle’s presence in chapter 295 equally intriguing here.

Knuckle, one of the key hunters present in the battle against Menthuthuyoupi, considers sharing key developments regarding the latter... 

...and stops before he can mention anything of true gravitas.

It is less so his reasons for doing so that catch my attention, as it is rather, what he knows that could have led to Gon’s hesitation and doubt. It’s the implications of what he’s about to say- everything that he’d been preparing to share- Youpi’s ability to change, his decision to spare the hunters, his newfound appreciation of humanity. Knuckle specifically mentions Youpi here only to pause once of the implications this new information could have on Gon’s mental state settle, but it’s also notable that this is news that would have been vital to Pitou even if it is information that would have, admittedly, reached him far too late to have been able to be acted upon. 

Knuckle’s internal dialogue leads us to consider only one party here, but I sincerely believe that he’s been framed besides not just one, but two people whom his information would have greatly affected. 

The In-Between

In terms of thematic development of the guard, Youpi appears to be a middle way of all sorts between all three.

As has been pointed out by others before me (and with far more eloquence), Pitou is introduced to the audience as a character who lacks the ability to empathize with others.

By the end of his arc, he becomes largely characterized by his ability to sympathize with humanity.

Whereas Pouf is defined by his lack of it. His resentment only continues to increase, if anything, as the arc progresses. 

Youpi’s growth over the invasion and his subsequent ability to sympathize with the opponent mirrors Pitou in that regard. His struggle against the hunters takes him from being rather simple-minded in his view of humanity to being able to express awe and respect for his enemies.

He extends mercy to the hunters and honors Knuckle’s deal despite having gained the upper hand in a situation that would easily enable him to kill them.

On the flipside, the poor man’s rose and the near-death of the king quickly saps Youpi of any sympathy he has for the extermination team.

If Pitou’s growth could be abbreviated as positive with Pouf’s as negative, then Youpi’s character development could surely be described as having undergone both positive and negative change.

I’d also like to note that it isn't just these specific occurrences that make Youpi’s arc reminiscent of both Pouf and Pitou’s opposing natures however. I present a small but important scene that occurs shortly after Pouf and Youpi’s reunion wherein the former relays details of the palace invasion.

I’d like to draw attention to these series of panels:

Having been presented with Pitou’s struggle through a recount of events, Youpi is given insight to the situation. As in, he now possesses a deep understanding of the other’s actions (healing and defending Komugi) as a result of his own encounters and change in character. After all, he himself has bridged the gap between he and his opponents through honor and mercy.

Later down the line unfortunately, true to his nature of balance and much in line with Pouf’s own schemes, he goes from understanding Pitou’s desire to keep Komugi safe, to thinking this:

But keep Youpi's previous insight in mind.

Because it’ll be important for a concept I’d like to revisit in a later post.

Nen Ability

It’s a recurring motif throughout Hunter x Hunter’s storyline that nen abilities often reflect the nature of their users.

The power of transformation and Rage Blast are both respectively associated with Youpi over the invasion. Earlier outlines for this post initially only planned to cover Youpi’s ability to shapeshift (as I found the flexibility of this ability similar to the malleability of his character) without taking his Rage Blast into deeper account. From there, I intended to segue into Rage Incarnate until it occurred to me a couple weeks ago as of publishing this now, that both abilities are inextricably tied to his evolution in that they must be considered together.

Youpi's Rage Incarnate is neither uniquely a result of his ability to control his explosions or solely an offshoot of his transformation. 

It is just as much the power to control his rage...

...as it is transformation.

It is both.

The catalyst for Youpi's development can only ever exist because he takes two distinctly separate abilities and combines them. Rage Incarnate represents a unification of two wildly opposing concepts. Not just one or the other.

To drive the point home, a particular panel that I believe highlights the duality of Youpi’s nature:

He embodies both destruction and creation. Rage and transformation. Sympathy and a loss of it. Halves that are simultaneous and opposite.

The last panel is fairly direct- reciprocal (present or existing on both sides; each to the other; mutual) emotions which coexist in perfect balance. Youpi’s development is all about the concept of embodying emotions that should conflict but don’t. There’s a reason why his growth is kickstarted among other things by not just his ability to specifically control his anger, but in allowing rage to consume him whilst remaining calm.

The Rule of Three

Here is where I do think Youpi’s character may be lost on some. He doesn’t adhere to one end of the proverbial scale or the other- while he doesn’t exactly hold Meruem to the invisible ideal Pouf does, he neither quite measures up to Pitou’s standard of being able to protect Meruem’s best interests either (there's extenuating circumstances within the arc that result in this, but we’ll get to that in a bit). 

I drawback to a certain scene before the invasion, a subtle and yet key moment emphasized time and time again as fundamental in both the foreshadowing of Pitou, Pouf and Youpi’s ideology. Meruem asks each of the guards of his name.

Many others before me have already pointed out how each response closely follows along the lines of their development. To Pouf, Mereuem is simply the king. His role and title as ruler is inextricable from the person and the individual.

On the flipside, Neferpitou focuses Meruem’s feelings and places them in higher emphasis. Pitou’s response is one that both conceptualizes and prioritizes Meruem as an individual with his own wants and desires independent of his rank.

And Youpi is left…

…unable to answer. 

At the time of his response, a lack opinion could largely be attributed to his simple and uncomplicated nature, though by the moment of the invasion and his subsequent evolution, I believe his lack of response to be less of the idea that he is loyal to Meruem in the simplest way, but more so the fact that he simply doesn’t fit into any of the sharp contrasts that Pitou and Pouf represent.

Consider the framing of this scene. 

Pitou and Pouf are visually posited as direct opposites of one another.

Whereas Youpi quite literally exists as the medium to Pitou and Pouf’s ideology in Meruem’s line of questioning.

(I don’t think the line of procession that Togashi has specifically underscored for their ideologies here is a happy coincidence either, considering the order in which they've been positioned before Meruem is anything but.)

And this makes incredible sense if one were to view the royal guards as a collective, from Pouf to Youpi to Pitou, as a progression in sympathies- in not only their ability to sympathize with humanity as a whole, but a mirror in the way they come to view Komugi towards the end of the invasion.

Pitou desires to keep Komugi safe at all costs and as such, goes above and beyond to protect her. All he wants is for her to live. Pouf wants to kill her. Youpi goes from being neutral on Komugi, to understanding Pitou’s desire to protect her, to neither wanting to save or kill her, but desiring to keep her away from Meruem for reasons neither uniquely linked to any other ideology.

If Pouf and Pitou represent polar opposites and we’re meant to take all three guards as representative of different phases of sorts, then from one end point to another, there must surely exist a transitional phase, the in-between.

Varied Motivations

I elaborate on a topic briefly touched in the previous section as I feel it deserved a breakdown of its own. 

One of the fascinating things about the chimera ants is that the royal guard’s ideologies (and therefore their views on Komugi) develop and exist independently of one another’s influences.

So while Youpi and Pouf find brief common ground over their desire to keep Komugi away from Meruem towards the end of the chimera ant arc, they do so for wildly different reasons.

And I believe Youpi's desire to keep Komugi away from Meruem is neither uniquely linked to Pouf’s ideology (nor his newfound hatred of humanity).

Youpi’s thought process is a fairly subtle nod in a series of easy-to-miss panels, but fairly important in the implications they hold.

Interesting to note is the use of “Us,” in the translation here, with the panel accompanying this dialogue framing all three. It implies that Youpi is not just singularly concerned with the impact Komugi may have on Meruem, and suggests that he’s referring to not just an individual, but a dynamic that affects all three in turn; something likewise involving Youpi himself and Pouf whom are not relevant or contingent to Meruem’s status as all-ruling king.

Drawing upon a relationship which impacts he and Pouf all the same and fearing a wedge within their bond with Meruem, it appears Youpi planned to keep Komugi from Meruem- not because he decided that Meruem’s current state was actually conducive to his role as pinnacle of all, or even that he feared a difference in the king’s domineering personality- but ironically, the opposite. Though Meruem has retained a large degree of his original personality since rebirth, he’s undergone plenty of change.

What's changed about him exactly, and what do Pouf and Youpi now share with Meruem? My first thought seems to be the most obvious here- Youpi and Pouf revived Meruem. In doing so, they are now a part of him and say as much themselves - 

- it’s an absolute honor as a guard.

Both are bonded with him, both are capable of feeling his emotions, and not only do they share this connection, Meruem can feel theirs as well. He’s become capable of empathizing with them on a level he previously could not. Whereas he used to ignore them at best and slap them around at worst, he now offers to help Pouf when he begins to display signs of distress.

…and offers Youpi mercy and leniency in the face of his perceived short-comings.

We can see that Meruem’s new disposition has a notable effect on Youpi.

I found the inclusion of Pouf’s reaction to be important here as well. His expression falters because his joy has been overridden by the guilt he feels- he already has been and is conspiring against the king as his goals have always centered Meruem’s sovereignty. By contrast, Youpi lacks guilt as he is yet to hide anything from Meruem or even consider doing such. This lends credence to the theory that his decision to scheme against the king did not occur in wake of Meruem’s loss of memory, and sometime in between the new changes displayed within Meruem and their arrival to the palace, as was it likely inspired because of these particular developments.

I was genuinely curious at first as to what impact Youpi believed Komugi would have on his and Pouf’s relationship with Meruem, but one of the things that hadn’t initially occurred to me (and I think is important to remember) is that Meruem’s journey in sympathizing with others through his interactions with Komugi wasn’t an immediate process nor was it apparent to his guards right off the bat.

Only Pitou is ever given the full impression of Meruem and Komugi’s growing relationship through key incidents.

Up until then, the consensus on Komugi's impact seems to be one generally shared (by Pitou and Youpi at the least):

And a misconception that puts Youpi's actions during the latter act of the invasion into context. There’s a lot more that I could elaborate on in regards to this, but considering this analysis is already quite a read, that’s probably a post for another time.

Final