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There’s endless discourse on the subject, but the fact is that there isn’t a concrete answer, locked behind a lack of fulfilling evidence – and Astolfo is only one character in a large pile of similar ‘I’m not a girl’ characters, with other extremely popular anime such as Re:Zero, Steins Gate and Oregairu also fielding these sorts. We don’t know if Astolfo identifies as transgender, non-binary or as male but crossdresses full-time. I could point to examples like Astolfo: Astolfo has the ‘joke’ of characters not knowing their gender identity and having a silly reveal, but is also one of the more prominent characters of their anime, Fate/Apocrypha, and the archetype isn’t hung around their neck for anything other than scant comic relief scenes that lead nowhere. It’s too often a shallow punchline that rarely goes developed. There’s not a lot of anime that use explicit language to convincingly declare characters as male/female or whether they would rather be female/male or if they are crossdressing. Words have connotations, and that’s why words like ‘trap’ are problematic when used as terms for anime character archetypes – specifically whereby a character looks female but surprise! They’re actually male. And it’s not just mice that can be trapped. Some traps are humane, sure, but the fact remains: you promised them something and fooled them before ultimately punishing them. Suddenly it’s not so funny, because I’m now thinking of real rat traps, decapitating the poor little critters under false pretence. A metal contraption that promises mice the idea of a reward like cheese, but only behind biting, murderous teeth. If you’re not in the anime fandom, a ‘trap’ is something you might comically remember from Tom and Jerry episodes.