A few people asked if I'd be doing a Youpi video when I posted my Pitou one. I said that I wouldn't be. So you may be wondering why I made this. The answer is.... I lied :) QUICK CORRECTION IN THE VIDEO! I said "phagocytosis" when referring to the way the Queen passes on biological traits or characteristics to her offspring, but the correct term is actually "phagogenesis." Mixed them up.

Youpi is such a great counterpoint to knuckle imo. They have such similar concepts of honor and by the end have a respect that the others didn't

Youpi had amazing development. Sparing his enemie's lives because he came to have honor and respect their effort

I've never actually seen anyone talk about how important it was that Youpi was descended from magical beasts instead of humans. I've always thought that it was just a way to create an extra layer of world building for HxH, but the way that Youpi gained humanity despite not having any human genetics was a genius way for Togashi to get his point across. Brilliant video as always.

Man those last few minutes of the video hit home... Youpi is definitely one of the best characters in the arc, I just love how Togashi takes this extremely simple character archetype, and turns it on its head.

One thing that I would highlight is that the fist time he spares a human, he does so out of obligation to his biological purpose (Meruem), and not due to an immoral motivation (dishonor). The second time he spares humans, he does so out of a moral motivation (honor), and one that goes directly against his biological purpose (Meruem). It is only after he sees the morally evil act that has been inflicted on his biological purpose (the dishonorable bomb used against Meruem), that he decides not to spare the humans, but to seek them out and kill them. His biology and his morality are now completely aligned.

I have always felt youpi's development was taking too lightly by others because he lack "human" elements. I love that you highlight his convo with meurem after the fight it's the calm moment that made me realize the depth he developed in the background of a fight no less

I always saw Youpi as the Leorio of the Kings Group. A character who was introduced as a One Note Type of character that felt very basic and resembled “The Meathead” but as you saw more and more of their characters you see that there is a Code of Honor within them.

The second half and the last couple of minutes specifically made me tear up. Togashi portrays humanity so beautifully. What a genius.

Youpi was always my favorite of the royal guards so I'm glad you gave him the respect he deserves. I often, I kid you not, find that many find Youpi to be a dumb and superficial character with little to add to the overall narrative of the Chimera Ant Arc, but in reality, he is another example of Togashi's excellent ability to construct fabulous and compelling characters.

You can think of it like with real life humans; we evolved from animals to have a greater sense of sentience and so did the chimera ants. Their evolution happened suddenly and more directly tho, which is why the other ants would immediately show more personality and change more quickly. Youpi didn't literally have human DNA or HxH equivalent of a human soul semi-reincarnating into him like other ants, but his sentience at first did resemble the queen's who was a human-like ant that died doing her instinctual duty. It's not a surprise that all her children could come even closer to humanity (looking at it retrospectively)... But on a different note, there are magical beasts like the Kiriko that clearly have this "humanity" in them so maybe that's why Youpi still had it.

HxH really is amazing, it's incredible how you can go back to it and get new things out of it. Thanks for pointing some out and making me appreciate the series even more

Great analysis as always! It's actually so hard to choose a favorite royal guard, all 3 are awesome and so well written! Love to see some Youpi appreciation

Your videos are an excellent embodiment of how every time I watch this show, even just one episode, I find more and more detail in its beautiful themes. Youpi is one of these examples, as he shows that everyone can change for the better, given the right circumstances and mindsets, which is one of my favorite messages of this arc.Thanks for another great analysis!

Your HxH content is a steady favorite of mine. Thanks Alecz

Youpi probably my favourite of all the royal guards I didn't expect how much we would get from him he became the most interesting to me which out me even realising it

I have been toying with the idea that the three royal guard represent the id, ego, and super ego of Mereum, and that their metamorphosis is indicative of his metamorphosis. They begin as representations of the standard three psychological concepts in humans, but they develop into something more to show that Mereum truly transcends to a higher evolutionary stage by the end, adding to the tragedy of his demise. The rest of the theory so far is as follows: Youpi represents the id in that his ideal for the king are plainly to exist. On the evolutionary hierarchy, continuing one's existence is all that matters, or all there really is. There is no other concept of being present other than just being. Pitou represents the ego in that her ideal for the king is the preservations of the relationships he forms. This is above plain existence in the evolutionary hierarchy because it acknowledges that part of being involves the connections formed with other beings. It is stated, by the narrator I think, that Pitou's reasoning for what she's doing is to prevent losing part of Meruem by losing Komugi. Pouf represents the super ego in that his ideal for the king are to rule. This ranks highest of all because it requires recognition of something higher than interpersonal relations, ones place in a culture or society. Mereum, as the most advanced being in the world, is naturally destined to sit at the top of society and rule. What I'm still working out is how the changes in the three royal guards are connected to changes in Mereum, but what I find very interesting is Pouf's intransigence until almost the very end of the arc. My thinking is that the fact that Mereum was born to rule is overwhelmingly obvious, which made it the hardest part of his being to let go of.

The Human conditon and humanity’s consistent persistence are my favorite tropes in fictions. Thank you for doing a dive on a severely underrated character, always love discussions on the human spirit. Also seriously great writing AJ, loved how succinct and genuine it was!

The selection of the Fallen Arm for music fits so damn well.

"Such is our blessing, and such is our curse." My seventh favourite HxH character, and often very underrated. Thank you for this :3

I loved this video, you're always capable of strucking a cord with me that resonates deeply and reminds me why I love the stories that I love so much. Being a Youpi top 1 guard guy, I was already happy you simply made a video on him but you've once again given me a newfound and more profound appreciation of his character, HxH and particularly the Chimera Ants arc, which floors me because it's already so far beyond any other fictional work for me. Anyway, every time I comment on this channel I feel like it's overcongrulatory but I also think it's truly deserved. Looking forward to the next one as always AJ!

Amazing, Youpi was a great character but he even had his own specific purpose in the arc.

I deeply believe you have an immense potential as a narrator. Its rare for me to feel this impressed, your story telling skill and observations add so much more depth and density to the stories that already are themselves, and i dont think im exaggerating. Thank you very much for what you are doing :)

Awesome vid as always. Love how u dive deep in to every character plus that voice OMG so soothing that it fits right in.

Once again an amazing video where you manage to put extremely well chosen words on things that are really abstract and hard to grasp, understand or even notice in a show even after rewatching it multiple times. Thank you for making us appreciate this story even more, also thank you for all these thoughts about philosophical/spiritual -ish concepts that we can think about and apply in our own lives.

Yes more exposure on my favorite ant guard

I want to thank you real quick because your videos motivated me to get into the manga for HxH. I only very rarely read manga but your content is so amazing, just the thought of missing out on a few videos was enough to get me through this one. And of course just wanting to know what happens after the anime. Finally I can... wait for the next chapter to never release with the rest of the fandom.

Amazing video, I never noticed that he had that thematic role.

It shows ya how amazin this ark is just through you comin back to make videos on it years later

I shivered. What a beautiful story, and what a great video. Thank you very much for having made it.

Finally! A video about Youpi! Thank you!

Great Video as always! Glad you talked about the time where Youpi "changed back" as well.

Finally, i have all of them *videos on the king and all his royal guards*

Now we have a particular video on each of the Royal Guards.

I love being able to revisit great shows and buff the gems to find new sparkle in them. Many wonderful lessons to take from each time. Enjoyed the video and have a nice day eveyone!

Good video, the idea of the soul being the key to Youpi's humanity is an interesting one.

I cannot tell you how happy I am that you’ve finally tied the knot with the Royal Guards ! Youpi has such a satisfying journey to follow and doesn’t get better than that when it comes to those three. Many thanks for the video homie 🤙🏾

many thanks for making

I needed this honestly

I always love seeing more Hxh Philopshy style videos thank you for making this I enjoyed it alot

FOR THE KING

It's interesting that Youpi starts off taking on completely demonic transformations but when he finally learns humanity despite being comprised entirely of a magical beast with no human traits- his transformations of a centaur and later a chibi have a noble quality.

I took a break from nonstop watching HxH Reaction for over a year now, but when Aleczandxr uploads HxH Content, then i cant resist.

You and like story’s of old are my favorite finds from within the last two years

Crazy how much analysis you've wrung out of a single arc. Just goes to show how masterful it is. Probably the single greatest arc in shonen manga? I've read a fair share of Epic Fantasy books as well and the palace raid of the Chimera Ant Arc is right up there in terms of powerful, climactic storytelling.

Wooo! Yeah! This is what I have waiting for!

It's morning here and i'm glad that's the first thing i see today ✨

I think the biggest thing for me was the character starting out as a pure evil person and then developing into such a 3 dimensional character. Togashi knocked it out of the park with everything in this arc.

love all ur hxh content

I really really love your videos and hope that some day I could understand stories are well as you do, I too love great and fasinationg stories, thanks for the video

I really like Youpi he was always my favorite royal guard and felt he wasn't appreciated enough. The changes he makes during the palace invasion are so interesting and a joy to see even if he doesn't get a big dramatic moment before the end. His interactions with Knuckle, Shoot and Morel are so good and I love how all of them made him see things from a different perspective and learn who he is and how he wants to use his strength.

Another wonderful video as always!

at this point aleczandxr has squeezed HxH dry but I'm here for every moment of it

you just blew my mind! woah 🤯

I'm not done but I truly enjoy what you do dude. Seems like the three guards represent the mind, body and soul of the King. Truly beautiful

Pitou: The playfulness, inquisitiveness, and the inner depravity of humans. Pouf: Mental afflictions of humans and/or the sins of humanity. Greed, Anger, Vanity, psychosis, etc. Youpi: The embodiment of humanities ability to evolve with what happens around them. Though he could be the most "ant" of them all and be an insects ability to evolve to better suit the world around him, much like Meruem evolves throughout his life. All three are pieces of what makes a human, although from an abstract lens.

Your Pouf video is one of my favorite analysis on the internet. I saw Youpi and immediately knew this was going to be amazing

I'm in love with yours videos ☺️

This alex guy has a unique and awesome way of communicating to his audience. The way he anunciates his words is awesome.

Great analysis. I love Youpi as a character.

Thanks for this video.

BABE wake up, Aleczandxr posted another HxH video

Great vid man.

another masterful video

Youpi was never my favourite Royal Guard, that honour went to Pitou followed by Pouf and then Youpi. However, in the years of reflection from watching the series, I must admit that my list has changed to something like: Pouf, Youpi & Pitou. Looking back at Youpi, I can finally understand the sheer level of depth conveyed through this seemingly simple character, and I can appreciate him and Pouf even more for their roles with each passing day. Pitou stole my favouritism in the first place for her wild entrance and amazing "fight" with Gon. However Pouf and Youpi continue to keep me invested in the Chimera Ant arc long after their departure

I always found Youpi to be underrated, so sure am glad you made this. You don't need human DNA to show humanity, those kirikos we meet in the hunter exam arc also showed human decency.

Perfect

I miss this show so much

New hunterxhunter content 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

You are good at this

Hey Aleczandxr what do you think of isaac from castlevina?

Great video !

Youpi was my second fav royal guard

Youpi was always my favorite royal guard so underrated

Wish this series would continue 😔

Gotta wait another 10 years for the next arc

Love Youpi so much.

NEW ALECZANDXR DROP!

Can you make a video essay about jinx from arcane.

The hiatus is over. We can smile once again.

I didn’t even get a notification for this video I had to search your channel yt slippin

Bro what did we do to deserve to get an analysis on Youpi?!

Ironic how he spared Shoot for no reason, and then spared others for a great reason. If he killed Shoot he likely would've regretted it.

If this video and the video on Pitou are anything to go by, The Chimera Ant arc carried the subtext of the question "what defines humanity" much like Ghost In The Shell, and the Blade Runner series, if I understand the context of that right. But where as the latter two were borrowing from Phillip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," I'm not sure the same can be said with Meruem and his royal guard. And Youpi being 100% animal, albeit a magical one demonstrates the concept rather well. Because while he follows his base instincts without question, his battles with Shoot, Knuckle, and Morel caused him to gain a sense of honorable respect for humans much like Meruem has in his friendship with Komugi. The problem is, he doesn't understand that's what's become of him.

man, 3 years, I hope there is new chapter before I die :)

I'm hearing some Persona 5 and SMTV music in here

An awesome video with much usefull information, thanks for that. Greetings from Spain

My favorite royal guard. I love all of them tho

Will you ever do a video about morel?

The death of the King and the Royal guards was tragic.

Would you ever do any hajime no ippo characters? Love you videos !!

once i watched one of your videos on hxh and i really liked it so i subscribed but the problem is that on your other videos there are no french subtitles could you solve my problem?

In most of the stories protagonist shows the paths for humanity to villans . But in HxH they develop themselves

When do the next chapters come out?

@Aleczandxr can you do a video on Komugi next please, thank you for your work.

It's worth mentioning that many of the magical beasts shown throughout the show seem to be intelligent creatures capable of communication who in all ways other than being a part of the homo-sapien species undergo the human condition. He's also in a long line of togashi's foil characters who mirror their counterparts in various ways being a kind twisted version of knuckles kind hearted nature towards all beings.

👏👏👏

Yo my favourite Chimera ant because aside from Meruem. They actually look like a...... Monster.

I love these hxh vids but will you be making another aot video soon?

Youpi and Knuckle could've been honourable bros, or king's guard knights-in-arms.