Chimera Ants (HXH)

Pitou's Appearance: Neferpitou had the appearance of a humanoid cat with wavy white hair. Their cat-like ears and tail were covered with yellow and white fur, respectively. They had ruby-red eyes, and their knees had demarcated joints like insect legs. Neferpitou's hands were slightly larger than an average human hand. Their clothes were a blue overcoat with six yellow buttons and cuff links, shorts and orange socks with thin black stripes, and a pair of blue shoes.

Pitou's Personality: Neferpitou was very loyal to the King and would sacrifice themself for him. Of the three Royal Guards, Pitou was the most curious and would get distracted easily and loved to play, and according to Shaiapouf, would get carried away when having fun.[2] Pitou was a cat Chimera Ant, and like a cat, loved to play with their opponents like a cat would with their prey. Despite their cheerful and playful manner though, Pitou had a cruel and terrifying personality as well. Pitou also took their duty to protect the King seriously and was willing to sacrifice their chance to fight strong opponents to fulfill their duty.

Unlike Menthuthuyoupi and Shaiapouf, Neferpitou did not seem to mind Meruem's later newfound interests in Komugi. Thus, among the three Royal Guards, Neferpitou was the only one that greatly prioritized Komugi's safety as opposed to Menthuthuyoupi and Shaiapouf's hatred towards Komugi, something Neferpitou was aware of which created distrust in regards to the matter, for making their king deviate from the path they envisioned for him.

Pitou's loyalty and devotion to the King were so great, that during Komugi's operation to save her life from the injuries caused by Zeno's Dragon Dive, Pitou showed their vulnerability and fear since they had no means to defend themself from Gon's wrath for what they had done to Kite. As a result, for the first time, Pitou surrendered to Gon and Killua. They asked them for mercy with no consideration of fighting them by putting their hands upward—a signal that predators use to surrender—to show a lack of malice in order to fulfill the King's order to save Komugi. When surrendering, they expressed their true affection for the king, understanding that Komugi helped Meruem become the individual he was now, and if Komugi was killed, Meruem would cease to be who he was now. Even after their death, Pitou's Nen still remained; their Terpsichora, even stronger than before, manipulated their corpse to attack Gon to protect the King.

Despite their intense loyalty to the King, that loyalty did not extend whatsoever towards the Queen. While Pitou did initially support the Queen and was willing to help feed her, this was only done out of the desire to help the King be born. This loyalty immediately faded once he was born, and even though Pitou could have healed the Queen with Doctor Blythe, they simply said now that the King was born, the Queen was of no use anymore. Pitou went so far as to call the Queen a "thing", demonstrating little respect for their progenitress. However, they did have cordial relationships with some of the other Chimera Ants such as Peggy, Colt, and Rammot, and was not very strict with them despite being their superior.

Pouf's Appearance: Unlike the other Royal Guards, Shaiapouf bore a more human resemblance. He looked like a young adult, with a tall and lanky frame, thistle purple skin, and short dark blond hair, covering up his forehead and ears. The only insect parts that Pouf had were his multi-colored butterfly wings and antennae. He wore a frilly white shirt, black pants and a pair of black shoes.

Pouf's Personality: Shaiapouf posited himself as the calmest and rational of the three Royal Guards, often speaking about the importance of logic and reasoning, more than his emotions. However, his intense devotion to the Chimera Ant King clouded his judgment. He held a preconceived absolute ideal to live up to, with no room for amendment. Pouf also held the King to a similarly impossible ideal, manifesting in mad fanatical monologues and treacherous action when it appeared that his lord was being led astray. He was often seen reading books and playing his violin; he usually played this instrument while talking or whenever he was agitated.

Shaiapouf vehemently loathed Komugi. He believed the woman to be holding back the King from his supposed right to world domination, as the pinnacle of evolution. A master of psychological games and subterfuge, Shaiapouf was willing to deceive, betray, and murder anyone in order to preserve his image to the King.

In crises involving the Chimera Ant King, Pouf forsook delegated duty and acted solely according to the sway of his emotions. Shaiapouf was indeed the most irrational of the three Royal Guards; manic and demented by his magnification and love for the King. In the end, Shaiapouf became loyal only to his "version" of the King, not Meruem himself, and would always try to change the King to that version while getting privately enraged when it did not happen. Of the three Guards, Pouf was the only one genuinely disloyal to the King himself and grew the least out of the three.

Even though he had absolute love and devotion towards the King, he still held Neferpitou and Menthuthuyoupi rather close. He was pleased to know that Menthuthuyoupi had the same negative sentiment towards Komugi. Upon seeing Menthuthuyoupi's dead body, Shaiapouf was left in shock and mourning for his fellow comrade and was in a frantic state of mind when trying to look for Neferpitou, demonstrating the bond he shared with them.

Youpi's Appearance: Menthuthuyoupi was the least humanoid of the King's Royal Guards, yet his physical appearance was loosely human. He had a bulk musculature and manly frame, but with irregularly shaped ears, animal-like legs with feet initially depicted to be claws of three digits which were later revised to two digits and of round toes (the 2011 anime adaptation only used the latter design), and razor-sharp teeth. He had dark red skin and short black hair slicked back on his head. Menthuthuyoupi had prominent facial bones and would constantly squint his eyes. He was the largest of the Royal Guards and scarcely clothed, only wearing a pair of skintight black pants. In the manga, Menthuthuyoupi was also briefly seen wearing a cape, which he would discard after the birth of the King and learning flight for the first time; while in the 2011 anime adaptation, the cape was never shown.

Whether it was his natural or Nen ability, or a combination of the two, Menthuthuyoupi could transform his body and had adopted various other forms beyond his default throughout his appearances. Depending on the situations at hand, he had on occasions significantly altered his body mass and ratios, grown wings, given himself extra eyes, granted himself additional limbs and morphed them into tentacles, burst spikes out of his body, expanded into a lump of almost-unrecognizable mass that seemingly consisted entirely of faces, as well as achieving a centaur-like form. After feeding most of his body mass to save Meruem, Menthuthuyoupi had greatly shrunk in size, becoming a vastly smaller version of his original form, with a pair of wings along with a rugby helmet.

Youpi's Personality: Menthuthuyoupi was the most straightforward of all the Royal Guards, possessing a strength stemming a lack of any ego. He was a Chimera Ant without an iota of human genetic material within him, caring less about his identity as an individual. He was quick to cease unnecessary thought, focus on prioritized goals, and act upon his instincts allowing him to be completely selfless and devoted to the King. His simplicity was both a boon and a burden. His belligerent, vehement, capricious, and irascible nature made him a fine, yet a variable soldier. His naïvety contrasted the eccentricities of his fellow Royal Guards, much to Menthuthuyoupi's confusion.

During battle with the Hunters, particularly Shoot, Morel, and Knuckle, Menthuthuyoupi began to mature and change, beginning to act selfishly in contradiction with his previously displayed nature. He grew emotionally, and began to cunningly use his "rage" in strategic moments. Towards the end of the battle, Menthuthuyoupi had matured to the point of reaching his "Rage Incarnate" form, and, although he would not understand it then, some degree of fairness and compassion. This change was significant enough for Knuckle to lose his drive to fight Menthuthuyoupi, since he could no longer see Menthuthuyoupi as a villain.

Like Shaiapouf, Menthuthuyoupi was not fond of Komugi, although he did not possess the same burning hatred for her as Shaiapouf did. He was perfectly willing to kill her if her existence proved to be a burden to the king, and when Meruem lost his memories, he agreed not to tell him about Komugi to preserve the bond they had created with Meruem.

Meruem's Appearance: Meruem had a rather humanoid build for an Ant. He was muscular and toned, despite his relatively small frame as compared to his servants. He had two long antennae on his ears resembling long earlobes and a large shell-like armor over his head that resembled a helmet. Meruem's tail, the scorpion's tail, an organic extension of his body, is a formidable weapon. The venomous needle, located at the end of the tail and adorned with dark green and black rings, could inflict mortal wounds. Emerging from Meruem's back, a jointed tail extended vertically, culminating in a sharp needle that resembled a scorpion's stinger. The tail, covered in alternating dark green and black rings, gave it an elegant and lethal appearance. Dark pigmented areas were on his arms, legs, chest, and head. Meruem was always barefoot. His powerful tail, equipped with a stinger, served as his weapon.

Meruem's Personality: Meruem was initially a heartless warrior, respecting people only through their abilities to endure combat with him, but would eventually grow to be a kind and compassionate pacifist, valuing time spent with those he cared for over even his pride. Throughout the arc, Meruem struggles and displays signs of humanity in contrast to his biological birth as a Chimera Ant.

Meruem was born as a cruel and violent leader. The Queen's intention to give birth to a perfect offspring was reflected in Meruem's haughty mentality. Within the womb, he would disregard his mother's concern for his development and tear through her abdomen, forcing his own birth. He felt no concern for his dying mother or other ants, killing and cannibalizing several Chimera Ants who had chosen to attend to the Queen's injuries instead of attending to him. Neferpitou would be the first person to gain Meruem's respect, after being able to withstand an attack that Meruem expected to kill them with without defending themself. He showed no empathy towards humans and viewed them as nothing other than a food source, killing and devouring a child not long after his birth.

Meruem would eventually gain some respect for a human girl named Komugi, which subsequently evolved into deep care for her. With this change in heart, Meruem started to question the differences between Ants and mankind and battled with his identity as half-human and half-insect, questioning the nature of violence and strength as true power. After his interactions with Komugi and his fight against Netero, Meruem began to see humans as incredible beings with immense potential through their tenacity in breaking their own limits. He showed great respect and complete admiration for Netero, viewing his abilities and fighting style as truly magnificent, and constantly praised him throughout their battle, referring him as a rare example of a human who has transcended his limitations and the very pinnacle of human capabilities. Because of this change in perspective, Meruem no longer considered farming humans for food and instead suggested the co-existence of humans and Ants, with humans being selected and controlled for quality.

Meruem's defining traits were his pride and self-confidence. Meruem exhibited strong confidence in himself and conviction in his actions. He insisted on proving his intellectual capabilities to himself by defeating the champions of various boardgames at their own games shortly after learning their rules. However, after losing several games of against Komugi, he displayed his first sign of human emotion, trying to scare and distract her during a game of Gungi by threatening to tear her arm off if she lost. Komugi would manage to exceed his expectations and respond with such respect for him and the game that Meruem would tear off his own arm in apology for his impudence and disrespect towards her and the game.

He viewed certain concepts of human society as absurd and totally meaningless. Such examples were when Shaiapouf explained how certain people could become rulers through connections or bloodlines instead of power, something which Meruem viewed as defying all-natural logic, because he believed that power would only bring ruin if it were in the hands of an incompetent, even declaring that humans were stupid for following such concepts. When he gained an understanding of the unfairness of human society, where children starve while pathetic weaklings have everything they need, he wanted to replace it with a new world where the concept of inequality would be completely forgotten. Furthermore, he came to believe the true purpose of power is to protect the weak who deserve to live, not to torment the defeated.

While Meruem often ruled by violence and cruelty in the beginning, he slowly began to change his methods thanks to his interactions with Komugi, gradually preferring communication and dialogue over violence. When Netero confronted him with the intent of a deathmatch, Meruem refused to fight several times, and repeatedly insisted on talking, gesturing his sincerity by sitting down in front of his potential opponent. Meruem only agreed to fight when Netero promised to tell him what the name his mother had given him, and even chose to stop fighting again once he recognized that he had survived Netero's strongest attack. He extended this generosity to those weaker than him, forgiving them instead of punishing them, like when Meruem spared Welfin's life despite the later stating to his face that Meruem was not his king; Meruem did not attack Welfin and merely wished him the best with finding the person he admired, hoping he could have a good life with him.

He was quite adept and learned things at an astonishing rate, being capable of mastering any form seen of board games in just ten matches and defeated world champions with ease. After a brief loss of memory he seemed to become much more respectful and closer to his subordinates after being fed a part of them when he was dying, as he could feel things they can feel, and tell easily if they were hiding something or not from him; at the same time he could sense their loyalty to him, causing him to put their loyalty to the test before considering to punish them, even more so if they answered truthfully despite doing so may inquire admitting to a miscalculation. The sense of loyalty he felt from them was strong enough for Meruem that it prevented him from killing both Pouf and Youpi for lying to him, despite previously telling them not to lie to him.

Despite his extreme arrogance and superiority complex, he felt fear for the first time as Netero prepared to detonate the Poor Man's Rose and unleashed a frighteningly malevolent aura and supreme confidence despite being on the verge of death. Moments before he succumbed to the poison, he admitted to Palm Siberia that humanity had won and he was willing to accept his defeat. His desire to fulfill his last wish to spend his final moments with Komugi was so strong that he was willing to kneel before Palm. Nevertheless, despite wanting to play one more time with Komugi, he tried to warn her to step away due to his poison, showing his concern over the girl mattered more to him than his own life.