What If Hody Jones Had Been a Sympathetic Villain?
The Fishman Island arc is often a polarizing one for One Piece fans. On one hand, you have the incredible world-building and the heavy, gut-wrenching history of Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger. On the other, you have Hody Jones—a villain who many felt lacked the "weight" of someone like Crocodile or Doflamingo. When asked what humans had done to him to make him so hateful, his answer was a bone-chilling, "Nothing." He was a monster born of pure, recycled prejudice. But what if Oda had taken a different route? What if Hody Jones had been a sympathetic villain with a genuine, tragic villain motivation?
Changing Hody from a hollow vessel of hatred into a character driven by actual pain doesn't just change one arc; it ripples through the entire power structure of the One Piece world. In a series where every Straw Hat Devil Fruit and power-up is earned through struggle, seeing a villain who is truly "right" in their anger would have made the post-timeskip debut a lot more morally gray and emotionally heavy.
The Catalyst: A Tragic Origin for the New Fishman Pirates
In the canon, Hody was just a soldier who grew up idolizing Arlong and feeding on the bitterness of the Fishman District. If we want to make him sympathetic, we have to give him a "why." Imagine a young Hody Jones who actually tried to follow Otohime’s dream. Maybe he was one of the few children who ventured to the surface under a peaceful flag, only to witness his friends or family captured by Celestial Dragons right before his eyes.
This version of Hody wouldn't be fighting because he was told to hate; he’d be fighting because he was broken by the world. His reliance on Energy Steroids wouldn't just be a shortcut to power; it would be a desperate, suicidal attempt to protect his people from a world that refuses to see them as equals. This shift changes his villain motivation from "pure evil" to "misguided protector," placing him in the same tragic bracket as characters like Kyros or even Law. It makes the conflict less about beating a bad guy and more about stopping a man from destroying himself and his island out of grief.
How the Straw Hat Crew Would React
The Straw Hats aren't just a pirate crew; they’re a group of people who have all been outcasts. If Hody had a sympathetic soul, the dynamic of the fight would have shifted entirely. Luffy usually punches things until the problem goes away, but he’s also incredibly sensitive to people’s "inner voices." In this timeline, Luffy might have seen Hody as a "shishigami" (a forest god) who lost his way, rather than just a jerk he needed to beat to save some meat.
- Nami: This is where the real emotional weight lies. Nami suffered under Arlong for years. If Hody was a sympathetic victim of human cruelty, Nami’s conflict would be legendary. She would have to choose between her trauma and the realization that the "monster" in front of her is just another victim of the same cycle.
- Zoro: Zoro respects a warrior with a conviction. A Hody Jones who is willing to die to protect Fishman Island’s dignity would have earned a different kind of steel from Zoro’s swords.
- Chopper: As a doctor, Chopper’s reaction to the Energy Steroids would be even more heartbreaking. He wouldn't just see them as a power-up; he’d see a man literally eating his life away because he feels he has no other choice.
This would have been the perfect moment for the Straw Hats to showcase not just their new skills, but their emotional growth. You can see how this would impact where they land on a One Piece tier list—not just in terms of strength, but in terms of narrative importance.
The Redemption Arc: Is It Possible for Hody?
One of the biggest questions in One Piece is always about redemption. Can a character who has done terrible things find a way back? In the canon, Hody is left to age into a frail old man in a prison cell—a poetic end for a man who chased a hollow dream. But a sympathetic Hody might have found a different path.
Imagine if, after the battle at Gyoncorde Plaza, Jinbe was able to reach him. Instead of being a symbol of hatred, Hody could have become a protector of the Fishman District under the Ryugu Kingdom's banner. This would have turned Fishman Island from a place of "forgiving and forgetting" into a place of "healing and moving forward." It would have given the New Fishman Pirates a reason to exist beyond just being "the bad guys." They could have been the "Shield of the Deep," working alongside the Straw Hat Grand Fleet in the final war. For more on how those alliances shape the endgame, check out the every Straw Hat pirate powerup in the final saga to see how the scales are tipping.
Impact on the World Government and the Marines
If Hody Jones had been a sympathetic figure, his "rebellion" would have carried much more political weight. The World Government couldn't just dismiss him as a common criminal. The Marines, led by Akainu’s "Absolute Justice," would have seen him as a high-priority threat because his message—that humans are the true monsters—would have resonated with oppressed people across the Grand Line.
This might have forced characters like Robin to dig even deeper into the history of the Void Century earlier in the timeskip. If Hody's pain was rooted in the true history of the Joy Boy apology, the stakes of Fishman Island would have felt like the start of the "Final Saga" way before we actually got there.
Conclusion: The Ghost of Hatred vs. The Weight of Pain
Ultimately, Oda chose to make Hody Jones a "ghost" of a hatred that had no substance. It was a brilliant thematic choice to show that sometimes prejudice is just a cycle that feeds itself. However, as fans, we can't help but wonder "what if?" A sympathetic Hody would have made Fishman Island one of the most emotionally devastating arcs in the series. It would have forced the Straw Hats to face the ugly reality of the world they are trying to change, rather than just the villains they are trying to defeat.
In the end, whether Hody was a monster or a martyr, the message remains the same: the sea is a wide, beautiful place, but it’s the shadows we carry within us that decide if we sink or swim. One Piece is at its best when it makes us feel for the characters we’re supposed to hate, and Hody Jones remains one of the greatest "missed opportunities" for a tear-jerker redemption in Shonen history. But hey, that's why we love these "What If" scenarios, right? It keeps the spirit of adventure alive long after the chapter ends!
