Choujin X is a manga that follows the tale of the individual who would be dubbed…you guessed it, Choujin X. And till now, we have no definitive answer as to who it will be.
Ever since it was mentioned in the manga, the identity of Choujin X has been discussed heavily in the fandom.
Since the manga itself is said to revolve around this individual, it makes complete sense to have our curiosities aroused.
The main trio are obviously the frontrunners to inherit the title, however, even now there is no fixed answer to who will take up the mantle or what kind of impact the character will end up causing.
Though the answer is up for the grabs, rereading certain parts of the manga allows us to form some deductions and helps us get a better understanding of the identity of X. I will be trying to do just that in this article.
But then, before we start guessing identities, it is important to get a complete grasp over the term Choujin X.
What is the Choujin X?
As revealed in chapter 24 of the manga, Choujin X is a title given to the choujin who is born with a power so great that they can topple civilizations and annihilate the entire world.
Such a choujin appears once in every generation or an era, as if destiny itself were willing them into existence.
They are beings who are regarded with awe and envy in the choujin world because of their sheer power.
Read More: Who is the Beast of Prophecy in Choujin X?
There have been cases when multiple people in the same generation have wielded such enormous power. For instance, both the War Choujin, Queem Macman, and the blessed beast, Sora Siruha, donned the title of Choujin X. And both of these people lived at the same time and fought each other.
It is possible that Macman’s powers started waning after Siruha awakened her abilities (possible infection), but we don’t have much info to go on about it!
Depending on their personality, the Choujin X can be either the harbinger of calamity or the shield that guards and protects the world.
While Macman was the leader of a divided nation, an epitome of dictatorial rule and oppression (maybe I am painting him to be too evil), Sora was the one who saved Yamato from his advances.
Since the X can be either a good guy or a bad guy, it is highly possible that a choujin with the title of X who has gone bad, or according to Zora’s prophecy, chaosified will become the Dark Calamity. And apparently only a choujin of equal power can stop them.
The new recruits at Yamato Mori are trained with a mindset that they could one day face this powerful foe in battle and are required to be ready for such a scenario.
Even a group of choujins fighting together can’t hold a candle to Choujin X, as evident from chapter 34.3. Sandek and the other choujins together barely managed to defeat Zora while being inflicted with some major losses on their side.
However, Sora is said to be weakening everyday, and according to prophecies, a new Choujin X is all set to appear, that too in Yamato.
This brings us to the next part – speculating the identity of the choujin who will be given the title of X.
Who could be Choujin X? Tokio, Ely or Azuma?
As I mentioned before, we don’t have much in terms of information to go on about, so it will be hard to give a very conclusive answer as to who Choujin X will be.
However, the breadcrumbs we have at hand are enough to help us cook up some theories and speculations.
As expected, all three of our main characters have thrown their hats into contention for being the X. Not only are they powerful, but they come with their own unique personality trait, which makes each of them a very interesting choice.
But before we get to that, let’s consider the instances which will help us zero in on the identity of this being!
The panel from chapter 24:
According to me, the biggest hint regarding the identity of Choujin X is given in the panel from chapter 24, where Ishida kind of announces the story. It says, “ This is the story of X and those who were swept up in his tale.”
Unless it’s a translation error, Ishida specifies that X will be a dude. So, we can maybe conclude from this panel that Ely is not the Choujin X.
But there are some things I’d like us to consider before chucking her out entirely.
Ely is extremely powerful and her steal ability does make her a candidate who can upset prophecies like the Holy Mother said. Also, she is the only choujin out of the main trio, to have an innate ability of her own till now.
Going by her parallels with Sora, one could argue that she too will turn out to be Choujin X.
But, if we were to believe what the author wrote, then Ely is no longer in contention for the titular name.
That leaves us with two possible options, Tokio and Azuma.
Going back to the panel, it mentions that the manga will follow the story of X. Now, Choujin X has intermittently shifted POV from Tokio to Ely and sometimes even Azuma. However, it is clear that Tokio is the focal point and inadvertently the protagonist of the story, which makes him a prime candidate to be Choujin X.
Ely and Azuma just got swept up in his tale for now.
But then, can we just go make that assumption out of a single panel? Both Azuma and Tokio are revealed to have received their choujin abilities from Zora (Holy Mother or Sora), and both of them have the potential to be powerful enough as Choujin X.
Zora chose Tokio because she ASSUMED that he was the beast of foresight. She needed a beast who would fit the puzzle and just straight up ignored Azuma, stating that he had the properties of iron.
But that’s not entirely true, Azuma was shown to understand the Hyena’s speech in chapter 19.
Being able to talk to animals is a trait of beast choujins. Tokio is able to talk to birds, while Nari is shown to communicate with snakes. This once again adds more weight to Azuma too being in contention for the title.
In fact, in chapter 26 Sato puts the onus on Azuma, instead of Tokio, to be the choujin who will tip the scales.
Though Sandek rejects that idea considering the newbie’s current state, we know for sure that Azuma does have the potential to be one of the strongest out there.
Related: Azuma’s choujin powers & abilities explained!
Which brings us to the question.
Why can’t both of them be Choujin X?
Choujin X is just a title that is given to a choujin who possesses immense powers. There is no hard and fast rule that suggests that only one person may be strong enough to hold that title at a certain point of time.
As I pointed out in the previous section, there are instances in the past when two Choujin X are known to have existed at the same time.
Such a scenario might come to pass with Azuma and Tokio too.
And there are certain instances that point to this outcome too, especially the dream that both Tokio and Azuma had.
Tokio and Azuma’s dream:
Tokio and Azuma shared a similar dream or a vision; in which they witnessed the destruction of Yamato Mori. However, there was one key difference. While in Tokio’s vision it was Azuma who blamed him for the destruction of Yamato, in Azuma’s dream, the roles were reversed.
This might be Ishida’s way of foreshadowing that both of them will one day come to possess enormous powers and their actions will be key to how things pan out in the future in Yamato, which in turn points out that both of them can be Choujin X in the future.
Based on what Zora has implied, it is possible to avert the bad outcomes that are seen in prophetic dreams. Tokio blaming Azuma and vice-versa could signify that, at the current point, both of them are equally capable of being the savior or the Dark Calamity, or their actions in some way having led to the birth of the Dark Calamity.
In short, the path which they take in the future could determine what roles they end up playing.
Another possible symbolism for both Azuma and Tokio being the X, is seen at the end of the first chapter.
The panel from chapter 1:
In the panel in question, Tokio and Azuma are pointing syringes at each other, gambling with fate, as they look to overcome the situation with Johnny Kageyama.
In this pose, their hands cross and form an X or sorts, which could again be a possible foreshadowing that both of them are one day going to be strong enough to earn the title of Choujin X.
Based on his powers, Azuma is theorized to have inherited the aspects of Queem seen in Zora, suggesting that it would be foolish to leave him out of contention. Though Zora pushed him aside, there is no way we should be doing that!
So, what do we conclude in the end?
So, who is it gonna be?
From the hints I discussed above, I can conclude that both Tokio and Azuma will become strong enough to gain the title of Choujin X. However, since Tokio seems to be the protagonist, the title could be referring to him.
Coming back to that panel from chapter 24, I noticed a possible narrative foreshadowing revolving around it.
The monologue describing who Choujin X is, begins with Azuma, and it ends (after the panel) with Tokio. Once again, this could be hinting at both of them being strong enough to take up the mantle from Sora and Queem.
Well, on the other hand, the panel could only be suggesting that the protagonist of the story, which seems to be Tokio, will definitely be Choujin X. We know that the story follows his exploits, but there is no saying that he won’t turn into the Dark Calamity. And if that is the case, Azuma (and in extension Ely) will have to up their game to stop him.
Protagonist turning the villain? Is that even possible? If you find that hard to digest, just take a look at Ishida’s previous work, Tokyo Ghoul, in which Kaneki transforms into the Dragon at the end; becoming the final villain everyone bands together to defeat.
He only wanted to be strong enough to protect those close to him, however, the consequences of his actions had something else in store for him. There is a high chance that Tokio’s arc could have some similarities to Kaneki’s.
But then, both Choujin X and Tokyo Ghoul have pretty different vibes and I won’t place all my eggs in that basket.
Who would you pick to be Choujin X? Let me know your answers in the comments below!! I’m always open for a good discussion!