Warning: contains minor spoilers for chapter 1052 of One Piece
Few One Piece heroes have inspired as much debate as the Straw Hat Crew's newest member, Yamato. Though fans have undoubtedly spent countless hours arguing over the proper pronouns to use when referring to the powerful fighter, the series' newest chapter has seemingly decided the issue once and for all.
Introduced in chapter 971 of One Piece, Yamato is the only child of the incredibly powerful Yonko, Kaido. Despite being Kaido's kid, Yamato grew up admiring the samurai Kazuki Oden. Touched by Oden's heroism and strength, Yamato chose to reshape their entire identity around emulating the fallen warrior. While this applies to obvious things like mannerisms, personality, and belief systems, this also extends Yamato's gender identity. As a result, not only does Yamato refer to himself as Kaido's son, Kaido and his crew refer to Yamato as the Yonko's son. While this should make it obvious that Yamato identifies as a man, several matters complicate this. An information card was released for Yamato that listed his gender as female, which seemingly settled the issue for many fans, including the series' wiki. On the other hand, the series' English translation consistently uses male pronouns to refer to Yamato. Though the debate is certainly complex with many nuances, fans who believe Yamato is a trans man were just given a victory by the manga.
Chapter 1052 of One Piece takes place after the Straw Hat Crew won what could be their toughest battle ever, defeating Kaido and freeing Wano from his oppressive rule. Yamato officially joins One Piece's Straw Hats and partakes in the crew's post-victory revelry. As the team heads for a nice relaxing dip in the hot baths, Nami asks if Yamato would mind joining Nami and the other girls, to which Yamato declines, telling Nami that there's no mixed bathing in the castle. Though Nami doesn't seem to understand, the male Straw Hats are more than welcoming, with Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper treating Yamato as they would any of their other male crewmates.
While fans may continue the debate, this one scene should settle it for good. Regardless of what the information card says, the actual text of the series is clear that Yamato thinks of himself as a man. Other than the gender identity Yamato was assigned at birth, nothing in the actual One Piece manga suggests fans should have any reason to doubt that Yamato is the identity he says he is. Fans have argued that Yamato only sees himself as a man because he's emulating Oden, but does the reason why Yamato identifies as a man matter? Though Yamato's representation is far from perfect, he's still a very positive step forward for the portrayal of trans characters. There's a reason Yamato is a popular subject for One Piece cosplayers.
Of course, it's entirely possible that Yamato may change his mind about his gender identity later in the series. If that does happen, then it's important to respect the hero's new gender identity, whatever that may be. Though Yamato's gender in One Piece is a complicated issue, the series' latest chapter should settle the debate once and for all.
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