One Of The Most Controversial One Piece Debate: Discussing Yamatoβs GenderΒ
So keep in mind that I wrote this like at 1 am and I'm tired. If it feels like I'm repeating myself or if something seems off, that's why. Do not go after people mentioned in the links.
While I was scrolling on Twitter/X on one random evening (last night) and I encountered this post: https://x.com/EtherionMaster/status/2068066518840058251 and the comment section was full of people referring Yamato to feminine pronouns. This user caught my attention and well letβs just say that 2 users had some disagreement over Yamatoβs gender. https://x.com/marcyline_/status/2068158986835136596 Thereβre other not so nice comments attacking her for her views of Yamatoβs gender because she uses masculine pronouns for Yamato. (please donβt be like those people) You would think that this post would probably be from a year or two ago, right? Wrong. The original post was posted on June 19th and the argument was the following day. In the argument this person referred to the vivre card as proof that Yamatoβs a girl, so I decided to do some digging, and guess what? I fell into a rabbit hole.
And thatβs why I wanna write this because even to this day the one piece community does not have a collective view on Yamatoβs gender, whether using male or female pronouns. For the sake of this, Iβm putting aside my biases and since Iβm curious about others opinions and viewpoints, I have collected evidence (from reddit and manga) about both sides to the argument, for why Yamatoβs a woman and why Yamatoβs a man. But I would like to mention that Iβll be bringing up the vivre card, then the female argument. the male one, and what conclusion i drew from this. Please put aside your biases you have for the other side and just hear each side out. If youβre unwilling to compromise your opinion because of pride, feel free to leave or comment down saying how stupid this is. Regardless Iβll see what you say, positive or negative.
Vivre Card isnβt Reliable:
To put it simply, the vivre card isnβt exactly verified by Oda himself nor his staff, rather itβs promotional material and considered merchandise, so few mistakes are bound to be made, though the accuracy is around 90% of the time, so it shouldnβt be considered as a piece of evidence. But I would like to bring it up because it is often used as evidence that Yamato is a woman. However it only refers to her biological gender and not Yamatoβs gender identity. If you want a closer look to why the vivre card shouldnβt be used to determine Yamatoβs identity, refer to this:Β
Why the vivre card is shoddy evidence for Yamato's gender
The Woman Argument: (using she/her pronouns)
The reason why Yamato is often referred by feminine pronouns within the community is because of the way Oda draws her, more specifically on the manga covers. Firstly her biological gender is a female because Oda gave her boobs and feminine features, he also drew Yamato on a color spread with female only characters. Another thing to point out that Oda has also drawn Yamato as an Oiran, the highest ranking courtesan who is always a woman. Besides manga color spreads, thereβs also Yamatoβs whole identity, she idolizes to be like Oden, therefore claiming to be him and acting like him. This doesnβt mean that she has to change her gender to be like Oden even though itβs not wrong to, itβs just that she chooses to go into the men bath because thatβs what Oden would do if this argument were true.
The Man Argument: (using he/him pronouns)
Yamato idolizes Oden so much that heβs willing to also change his gender to be like Oden, basically he claims to be Oden and is referred to the proper pronouns. It can be interpreted that his belief is that he acts like Oden and is referred to masculine pronouns like him. Itβs also really important to remember that Yamato is referred as a man and with masculine pronouns by everybody in the manga, in the dialogue, even if he does look like a woman. He is referred to Kaidoβs Son and not Kaidoβs daughter for a reason (kaido supports trans rights). This is also further backed up by Yamato joining the menβs bath because he sees himself as Oden, so he also sees himself as a man. Also guess who drew the menβs bath scene? Oda himself drew Yamato joining the menβs bath even if he drew Yamato on a female only cover spread.
My Conclusion:
I need to briefly discuss Sanji. Iβm still currently reading Wano, so Iβm not exactly sure what pronouns Sanji uses for Yamato, but he did get a nosebleed, for Yamatoβs body. This is only because of Yamatoβs biological gender and had nothing to do with Yamatoβs identity. Because thereβs people who believe that Yamato is a woman, that doesnβt mean theyβre all transphobic, itβs a matter of how they interpret the manga. But if youβre asking me and for my own opinion, Yamatoβs trans for one big strong reason. Because people actively use masculine pronouns for Yamato in the manga. People shouldnβt be attacked for having different opinions from you, welcome to the internet. It really makes sense why the debate has been ongoing, because Yamatoβs gender identity is still kind of vague and both sides have good arguments for and against one another unlike canon trans characters like Kiku. Still, if Iβm being honest, I wrote this to be more open minded and hopefully I helped? Oda handled Yamatoβs gender poorly, hence the debate. I just hope I cleared things up about both sides. Neither are wrong to me.
If I did get anything wrong or would like to discuss further, just lemme know or smth like comment down your opinions lol.



















