Manga: Chapter 641 (SPOILERS)

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

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Summary
King Cobra is currently bedridden. (Cover story)

Luffy, Shirahoshi and the Neptune Brothers try to hold off Hody.

The Ryugu Kingdom Soldiers plan to fire an air bubble at Noah in order to give Luffy an area to fight Hody.

Thoughts
A few weeks ago I was playing with the idea that Vivi could be the queen of Alabasta and represent the country at the upcoming Reverie. Then I thought about it and knew that couldn't happen because King Cobra would most likely be king. After seeing this week's cover story, I am confident that Vivi will be at the Reverie on behalf of Alabasta. It doesn't look as if Cobra will be able to get well in time for the Reverie. It will be interesting to see Vivi attend the Reverie and how she will react if the Straw Hats are mentioned.

Cobra seems to have aged well though.

 I think the majority of the fans are asking this.

This week's chapter addressed something that I think many fans have been wondering about Hody's plan and what he is doing. I even mentioned it last week in my manga review. The best explanation for what Hody is doing is that he is creating his own Fishman Island and claiming to be the king for the Reverie. That seems fine but we have no idea if this is Hody's master plan or if he has even thought this far ahead. This is the only thing that could happen if Hody continues down this path of destruction and hate. If there is anybody left to rule over.

It is nice that the motivation behind Hody's plan and actions is being addressed in the storyline. This means that it will be explained eventually. 

I think I have figured out why fans don't really care for Hody. There are people who despise Hody as a villain but I find myself not caring too much about him. I actually cared for Decken more as a villain then I did for Hody. I feel what Hody is lacking is a motive. Buggy has dreams of riches. Arlong wanted to advertise the superiority of Fishmen. Crocodile was fueled by his desire for power. Eneru had his God complex. The CP9 were tools of the World Government controlled by Spanda. Each one of them had strong motives but Hody's feels a bit weak. The flashback earlier in the arc showed us a young Hody who hated humans but it doesn’t explain enough.  We know that Hody is fueled by his anger and hatred of humans but we don't know why.

I can only guess that Hody hates humans because  of his life in the Fishman District but there has to be more as alluded to in this chapter. Another possible reason  is that the Fishman District may have become so vile after Arlong, Jimbei and Tiger left. These explanations don't feel satisfying. I hope that when Fukaboshi explains Hody's 'True Form,' he also   explains his hatred and his uncaring attitude toward  his fellow fishmen and crew.

I may not care for Hody as a villain but I still hate the guy. It is mostly his attitude that makes me hate him. He is all bark and no bite.  I admit he is powerful, but I don't think he is as powerful as he thinks he is. The worst thing about him, is that his power came from a drug instead of strength that he developed over time. He claims that Luffy is weak yet he hasn't been able to  hurt him  until this chapter, and even then it doesn't  threaten Luffy.

Luffy on the other hand has laid a beating on Hody that has put the fishman on his knees. Even in the sea where Luffy's strength is a bit weakened, the rubber pirate has been able to land impressive blows against Hody.

Hody may have been able to take down some weaker characters but he isn't putting out when it matters which feels disappointing. No matter what is revealed about Hody, his fighting abilities won't improve. Then again fighting is only part of the equation when it comes to One Piece.

This chapter focused on Hody, Neptune's Kids and Luffy instead of the fights happening back in the plaza. It wasn't what I expected but the chapter was still good. I don't know or understand why there is an air cannon but I am guessing it plays a role in life at Fishman Island. If the device is able to allow Luffy to fight Hody then that is fine with me. I just want to see Hody put in his place. The fishman can take a punchbut that is about it. Now we just have to wait until next week to see if Fukaboshi will reveal Hody's 'True Form' and everything will be set. It would be interesting to see Luffy fight Hody as Noah falls to the ground.

We’ll see what next week brings us. Until next time true believers!

Written by: Mikey
Edited by: Dsaftler