Is Hiyuki a man or a woman in Kagurabachi? The character's gender explored

The latest chapter of Kagurabachi manga, titled Lukewarm, has caused a massive buzz in the fandom, mainly due to the confusion regarding Hiyuki's character. When the Kamunabi sorcerer was first introduced in the manga, several fans couldn't identify the character's gender.

While it was widely speculated that Hiyuki is a female character, the official English translation for the latest chapter has referred to the sorcerer using male pronouns. This has led the fans of the series to ask questions such as, "Is Hiyuki a man or a woman?"

Interestingly, several aspects point to Hiyuki being a woman, including the tweet posted by the Kagurabachi manga's official X handle. Besides, there's a way to distinguish genders in Takeru Hokazono's battle shonen manga, which will be explored in this article.

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Exploring Hiyuki's gender in Kagurabachi

Hiyuki's gender has been an interesting topic of discussion in the Kagurabachi fandom ever since they appeared in the series. Their androgynous appearance made it difficult to tell whether the character is male, female, or non-binary.

However, a majority of fans felt Hiyuki was a woman due to a character detail that Takeru Hokazono uses to illustrate women in his manga; Hiyuki has the same lower eyelashes that every other woman character in Kagurabachi manga has.

Yet, the English translation for the latest chapter, titled Lukewarm, increased fans' confusion by referring to the Flame Bone user using male pronouns "he" and "him." The chapter showcased the battle between Chihiro Rokuhira and Hiyuki unfolding.

Hiyuki, as seen in the manga (Image via Takeru Hokazono/Shueisha)

Accompanied by Tafuku, the Kamunabi sorcerer demonstrated their Flame Bone of the Starving to face Chihiro and his sacred blade, Enten. However, during the battle, both Chihiro and Tafuku used male pronouns to call Hiyuki.

Interestingly, it wasn't just once or twice, but several times. On the other hand, the Spanish translation for the same chapter used "Ella" (she) to refer to Hiyuki. As such, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to ask questions such as, "Is Hiyuki a man or a woman?"

Notably, the Kagurabachi manga's official X account (which is presumably handled by the editor, Imamura-san) tweeted a post after the chapter's release, where they wrote "her" to refer to Hiyuki.

It cannot be a translation error because the Japanese version of the tweet uses the kanji "彼女 (kanojo)", which is used to refer to a woman in Japanese. Considering it's the official X handle for the manga, it almost confirms Hiyuki's gender to be female.

Besides, as mentioned earlier, Hokazono illustrates his woman characters with lower eyelashes, something that Hiyuki also has. This can be a significant pointer to them being a woman.

However, there are still some clouds of uncertainly remains. Some fans have read the chapter without the translation and discovered that throughout the chapter, Hiyuki's gender is unspecified. They are only called using gender-neutral pronouns or their direct name.

Viz editor's comments regarding Hiyuki's gender (Image via X)

Interestingly, an official editor at Viz Media named Johnbae has clarified the confusion regarding the character's gender. The editor revealed that it's difficult to figure out the genders in the manga since the pronouns are neutral. However, if Hiyuki's gender is confirmed as female, they would correct it in the translations.

In the end, there are still prominent reasons that point to the fact that Hiyuki is female. Especially, if the official X account for Kagurabachi calls the Kamunabi sorcerer "her," this almost confirms the gender.

Nonetheless, fans have to wait for an official confirmation from the manga itself. However, it has to be said that Hiyuki being either a man or a woman won't have a significant impact in the story.

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