How One Piece Failed Its Greatest Villain

Another interesting point to bring up with Hody is his ultimate fate. Physically decrepit, heavily imprisoned; Oda did something he almost never does, and unambiguously closed the door on Hody ever being able to return or even move forward on his own. I think it’s a very good metaphor for how the path of blind hatred Hody was walking down led to nowhere, and how there’s no hope for a future with that kind of ideology.

I haven’t thought about Hody in a long time, but he and his followers represent a type of mentality that is very relevant today. The act of radicalizing someone with misinformation and hate is all too common now and throughout history. People are struggling, so you convince them that there is some group that’s completely responsible for all of their problems or that there is one person who can fix everything. It’s so much easier than actually fixing real problems. People will just give everything they have to their cause and follow blindly, even if it means doing terrible things and causing real harm. We’ve seen this over and over again throughout history, and it’s happening again right now. I don’t ever comment on videos, but this has given me a new appreciation for the FMI arc. It not only touches on some of the complexities of racism but also gives a glimpse of how some of the worst groups in history become what they are.

The "what did humans do to you?" moment is still one of my favorites in the series. The tricky thing about fishman racism is you can sort of understand it (Arlong was a monster, but it makes sense that an oppressed people to have a chip on their shoulder), but Hody's hatred is entirely divorced from reality.

Bro was a perfect representation of how drug addiction, ego, & ambition can be a persons downfall.

The New Fishmen Pirates were never a physical threat to the Straw Hats, but an ideological one

Even if Hody Jones somehow succeed in his plans, he and his New Fishmen Pirates would get casually taken down by the Big Mom Pirates as Fishman Island was under Linlin's protection and that they destroyed her candy making factory in the first place.

Hody is the most realistic arc villain, ironically the most human. Hody is someone whos existed in all countries at some point and one who exist today

If Arlong found out that his actions created Hody Jones’ monstrous nature, it’d be one thing to finally humble his mindset.

“Where are his chains Luffy? What do you mean he’s your helmsman Luffy?”

I've never understood people who criticize the fact that the character Hody Jones has "no motivation" when that is the whole point of the character

I believe Hody was the first ever villain to represent how 'will' passes on through time to others and eventually stacks up. He was the villain who literally had 0 motivation other than his existence, which was non other than hatred itself. Just like how the will of D is a huge thing in the One Piece World, I feel like Hody could've shown the true depth of what it truly means for any type of 'will' to gain power, from the side of an antagonist. Sadly, his entire character was soon just a sorry sack of sh*t for how bad he was. Burning down up to weed, and more weed.

The Sun Pirates flag covers the hatred underneath it. The New Fishman Pirates flag shows it openly. They're hollow on that front, too.

"The arlong we have at home" killed me

0:30 Tbh he wasn’t as bad as people say he is … he just suffered from post-timeskip 1st villain who is there to just show the strength of the Straw Hats … I don’t think pre-time skip Straw Hats could beat him

Hody Jones was a well-written character who epitomized what terrorists usually are: people who love to hate. All Hody lived for was to hate; feeding and stoking that hatred was all he ever did. His biggest problem as a character was that it was not the kind of villain you would expect to see in One Piece.

I think Hody’s motivation hits too close to home for many of the people that “hate” him as a villain. The brilliance of Hody is that any one of us could be him. Holding beliefs that have no basis in our own lived experiences.

I. Love. EVERY. Arc. Of. One Piece. Seriously, I truly love the literature of the story as a whole. I don't think any (canon) arcs are skip-able. They are each important to the story at large and are necessary to be consumed to be a part of the true depth of this story. ESPECIALLY the arcs that people (wrongfully) call "slow"; Skyoepia, Fishman Island, Punk Hazard, Dressrosa. All amazing arcs for sure. The One Piece is Real.

I used to think Fishman Island would've been a better arc if you just replaced Hody with Arlong. Basically just bring Arlong back with a power boost and a newer, stronger crew. But in the years since then, I've come to understand this arc and it's theme better, and now I've changed my mind. I still think Arlong's presence on the island during this arc would have made it better, just not as the primary antagonist. Like, just imagine the kind of impact it would've had if Arlong himself had a moment where he realized what an empty monster Hody was and how he contributed to that, and that men like Hody were the end of the path of hatred he'd been walking. I'm not saying redeem Arlong or anything like that, but just have him there, taking part of the arc in some way, and break down that ambition of his even further than Luffy broke it as a result of his own ideals and actions. I dunno, I just feel like having him there to witness the end result of his ideals manifesting in Hody would've been a really great moment that added to both him and Hody, and not having that happen was a missed opportunity.

kind of unrelated, however you mentioning the sun pirates jolly roger made me think of something. What are the chances that we never touch the Noah again, and the "destruction" of fishman island happens when the seas are finally drained and all of the fishmen are suddenly trapped at the center of a gigantic pangea, literally the exact opposite problem they have now.

Ive been rewatching your older videos and I just wanted to say that your current videos re sooo much better! The way you sound and speak is leagues better than before. I can feel your love for one piece and your personality