Alright then, so we all know that Chrona’s gender is - as of now - undisclosed. None of us can honestly claim that Chrona is a boy or a girl for certain. However, I’ve developed what I feel to be fairly definitive proof in favor of my initial impression and theory; Chrona is male. Now I’m going to build and explain my reasoning, hopefully persuading those of you who aren’t sure yet, and making those of you who are adamant of Chrona’s being female at least question it.

First of all, I’d like to bring up the most obvious trait - at least for me - Chrona’s speech patterns. When listening to Chrona’s speech throughout the anime, you can hear that he refers to himself as “boku”, however he also had a tendency to end his sentences with “yo” or “ne”. Now, while “yo” and “ne” are typically seen as female speech mannerisms, they can be heard being used by male individuals. This portrays a very feminine boy, but it is still a boy. On the other hand, “boku” is a strictly male way to refer to oneself - girls using the more formal “watashi” - and can only be heard from female speakers when they’re around very close other females. Seeing as Chrona uses “boku” regardless of who he is around or who can hear him, his speech patterns clearly dictate him to be a very feminine and insecure male; traits that suit his character exactly.

Secondly, I’d like to draw your attention the particular art style used in the Soul Eater animation. Admittedly, Maka has very little development of her chest, holding a similar upper body as Chrona. However, at given angles, and in her dresses and skirts, one can clearly see that she does have something. Chrona, on the other hand, has never shown any signs of any development. However, this is not the strongest point in the argument of animation. What came to my attention most prominently was the shape and art style used on the eyes. Throughout the entirety of the anime, female characters are drawn with the typical rounded eyes, the tops being shaped with an inverted “U” shape. Male characters, on the other hand, have almost “drooping” eyes, that swoop . To see these variations as noted above, the following links can be used for female analysis ([link] , [link] , [link] , [link])and the following links can be used to see the male analysis ([link] , [link] , [link] , [link]). When these are then compared to Chrona’s eyes ([link]) we can clearly see that Chrona’s eyes are done in the male style. Finally, in means of art style, I would like to draw your attention to the choice of clothing given to Chrona during extracurricular activities. When analyzed, we can see that Chrona dress more like the other boys do during Kid’s party in Episode 31, whilst all the girls wear dresses and other more feminine attire. This is seen in the following: [link] , [link] , [link] . Also, if one wants to argue, “But Chrona has such a slight body and hips!!” I have a rebuttal for both. For his physique, Chrona is SPOILER WARNING Medusa’s son, and she’s less than a doting mother. END SPOILER. Thereby, he’s not going to have a healthy physique. However, even then, looking at Kid’s physique, you can see that he, too, is very slight. As for his hips, I shall cover that in the next topic, a cross anime examination.

Every anime has it’s feminine male characters. No anime is complete without the pretty boy. Now, I’m not claiming that Chrona is that pretty boy, but I am claiming that he is the androgynous male character; yet another must have for any anime, alongside the large breasted woman (coughBlaircough). This is why, I believe, Chrona has been given hips, also as another artistic way to demonstrate his malnutrition through his abusive upbringing. If you have trouble believing this argument, I have more image proof of other male anime characters - from various other artists - with hips. If we are to be so ignorant as to say that hips make a female we are then saying that all of the following characters are then female: [link] , [link] , [link] , [link] , [link] , [link] , [link] , [link] to name a few. Also, Chrona is far from the most gender questionable character. Take, for my final example in my cross anime examination, the Zero boys, Youji and Natsuo from Yun Kouga’s Loveless (seen here: [link])Thereby, Chrona’s body form can no longer be used to gender specify him, as in claiming hips make the gender, we make nearly a third of all male anime characters female.

Next I would like to argue that it is evident that Chrona is biologically male. Yes, that’s right, I’m going to talk his actual genetic make up, his DNA, his chromosomes. How can I do this? Simple. Ragnarok, Chrona’s partner, is clearly a male entity (as shown here: [link]). Ragnarok is also the physical manifestation of the black blood. And Chrona’s blood, is the black blood. Ergo, for Ragnarok to be male, Chrona’s very blood would have to be male, correct? Hence, Chrona would have to have the XY chromosome combination, clearly leading Chrona to be male. A man cannot have female blood and still be a man, nor can a woman have male blood and still be female. Not without not being human at all.

Finally, I’d like to bring in the argument of Chrona’s sexuality. Now I know this may not hold much relevance, but I’d like to think that it also helps in the determining of his gender. I’m not bashing the idea of lesbian anime characters, not by any stretch. But the ones that usually are, are usually quite obviously women as well (take for example the Zero girls in Loveless). However, seeing Chrona’s reaction in Episode 7 when first encountering Maka - “I’ve never talked to a girl before. I’m not sure how to handle it…” - and his physical reaction in Episode 31 when asked to talk about Marie. These reactions can be seen in the following images taken from the aforementioned episodes and scenes: [link] and [link] . As I said before, this is not my strongest argument, but I would like to bring the fact that Chrona’s face has never flushed in reaction to kindness from any of the male characters. Only the female ones.

In closing, I will acknowledge the argument about Chrona’s reaction to Ragnarok’s harassment. It has been brought to my attention that Chrona reacts fairly strongly and indignantly to his partner’s pulling up of his dress (and yes, I admit he wears a dress). But please consider this. If you were a man, and your male partner decided to try to pull your dress up, would you be comfortable with it? Didn’t think so. So this concludes my argument for Chrona’s gender as a boy. Any further arguments, feel free to PM me, e-mail me, whatever. I’d love to hear ‘em and debate ‘em.

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE!!
Psychologically speaking, Chrona's abusive past dictates the likelihood of his being male as well. When children raised in abusive, single parent, homes, are studied, it is clear that male children raised by abusive mothers (as in Chrona's case) will become meek, submissive, and want nothing more than to please their abusive mothers. Conversely, female children raised by abusive mothers will become hateful and resentful. This stems from their need to seperate their identities from that of their mother. They don't want to be associated with a woman who has beaten and abused them. They wish to become their own woman. The same paradigm applies to the abuse from a father. Female children abused by their fathers will become submissive and compliant, seeking to please their father, wherein sons will become hateful and rebellious, often growing unknowingly into abusive individuals themselves. Hence, as Medusa is a single, abusive, mother, Chrona's meek and docile personality - and obsessive need to please his mother - dictate that he must be a male child. It has been psychologically proven (not tested, because who would want to do that to a child?!).