The Villain Makes Her Case | HxH Chapter Talk 408: Negotiation (2)

[@thedrift3r310]

Everyone horrified at the meat and knife imagery and it's implications. Me in the background giggling at the other mafia bosses being a broccoli and an onion because they are not "meat".

[@anasianboy4533]

wait a minute, that's actually a pretty goddamn good point

[@JammyJam5588]

Now I wonder what the original Morena was. I bet she was a leek or shallot, or maybe a carrot.

[@TheJinzoSpoon]

Nice catch! Carnivore Vegetables (?)

[@Franpowah]

BRUH ya just blew my mind

[@henrysarson7417]

bruh

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

people complaining this chapter was all talking but i legit didn't want it to end am dreading that hiatus, just as this keeps getting so darn good ugh

[@Rodiacreed]

What you actually read HxH? I knew you were into some manga but HxH is indeed the goat

[@Gaba_Ghoul]

Don’t jinx it! I think Togashi set up a very good pace for himself and finally started being less stubborn about getting help from assistants

[@laquanlucas6953]

Togashi is still going to 420 we still get more HxH content with the manga chapter. After that I hope we get an update for 430 hopefully his hiatus break won't be that long.

[@sdm4b]

I didn't know you were into HxH. You should convince Preston to read HxH lol

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

@@Rodiacreed 2011 anime and then switched over after chairman arc.

[@harrison1735]

It's too bad for Morena that nobody's told her about Dark Continent calamities because she would honestly stand a better chance of achieving her goal of wiping out humanity by helping the voyage to the DC succeed.

[@PuntiS]

Maybe she'll learn that the real friends are the calamities she'll bring along the way (back)

[@ErnsDaBurns]

What if she is a calamity like nanika

[@eviekims]

@@ErnsDaBurnsit doesn’t feel that way bc while her ability is powerful, it has pretty harsh limits on how powerful any one person can be, and the negotiation game has relatively reasonable allowances to boost the power of the main ability. calamities so far have demonstrated unmitigated power, even nanika has her drawbacks erased by her love for killua

[@ErnsDaBurns]

@@eviekims or one of the people who guide them or whateva

[@CalmDubs]

Who's to say she doesn't know? The DC book has been published world wide

[@spreaknessi]

I absolutely love the amount of community interaction the succession war encourages

[@lilligantlistener5526]

There’s something I noticed in this chapter that I think may give us a clue on why martial law was declared here, and I believe i doesn’t have to do with Kaiser and Melody executing their plan to kill Luzurus. In the final panel where martial law is declared, you can see sunlight shining through the clouds. Considering the position of the sunlight, and considering that Borksen wasn’t kidnapped until around noon. I believe that martial law was declared sometime mid afternoon. That’s important becuase that means that Melody and Kaiser’s plans to kill Luzurus haven’t been executed yet since they planned to enact the plan during nighttime. Which means, for whatever reason martial law was declared, it wasn’t because of Kaiser and Melody killing Luzurus.

[@laquanlucas6953]

Or dogman approaching Chrollo in the crowd at halkenberg funeral

[@ExtraOtter]

Honestly, great call, I didn't notice the apparent time of day outside. That swings me right back to thinking it's Halk-related, I guess! (But the Steiner alarm could still be summoning the Heil-Ly for that.)

[@micahmcfadden8082]

Something happend during kurapika nen class

[@tibot4228]

@@laquanlucas6953 Dogman found Chrollo (and other Nen-using Specialists) before Borksen, that's how Morena knows about it.

[@yune1000]

Ok, that idea for Kaiser giving the button to Steiner to act as a warning for Morena is really clever and makes a whole lot of sense. That alone makes me really bullish on your Kaiser working for/with Morena theory. The other possibility could be Chrollo screwing up with his theft and alerting everyone, I imagine if the kakin decide the phantom troupe are the enemies they would need the martial law to actually act against them.

[@golbez1583]

Here cuz a miniature otter was asking me if I was free, and when I finally told it that I was I was compelled to see ExtraOtter’s entire HxH analysis playlist. Time well spent!

[@axhfoediv]

I love how ppl are making legit slideshows for the succession war. I love the community

[@Stylothepic]

I hope Morena kisses Volksen real good in the lips (nothing to say this chapter was pretty good)

[@sapomen1352]

Yuri ( real )

[@Stylothepic]

​@@sapomen1352Yes beautiful woman kissing

[@dontworryaboutit5490]

😬

[@Steevy84]

Bro, your hentai imagination must be very high lol

[@mattb.7079]

Exchange of fluids

[@matthewdiehl9584]

I'm curious on which princes participated heavily in the most recent carnival. It would change the perspective on characters like Benjamin, Zang Lei, Luzurus, and Halkenburg. Halkenburg could have witnessed the carnival which motivated him to change the Royal family.

[@laquanlucas6953]

Beyond was Mogualan demon time clapping some kakin Royalty queen.

[@thedeathstar420]

The fact the Mafia video is taking this long is actually making me incredibly excited! It will be an absolute banger!

[@armstrongQB1]

Would have been useful to mention Gyro as well. They both had abusive childhoods (Morena probably had a worse one). While Gyro wants to corrupt and harm humanity, Morena wants to completely erase it. While Gyro used his influence to create a country with strict nature reservation policies, Morena seems willing to destroy nature as well. Gyro’s pain has made him aggressive towards humans, but Morena’s pain has made her disassociate with the very concept of life itself. I think Morena is worse on the scale of evil, but Gyro’s policies would be more painful on an individual level. While Gyro’s policies would probably eventually kill you, the process will be drawn out and painful. Gyro wants to spread evil and corruption both on an individual level and on a societal level. If you die, he wants you to suffer on the way out. He would prefer you die on the streets as a junkie from an evil addictive drug he created (D2) after you lost your family, sanity, home etc. rather than you just dying. Morena just wants to kill you and move on. Gyro also has had an odd amount of positive influence on people. People like Welfin adore him and consider him a brother. This doesn’t seem all that consistent of what we know of him. Morena does have followers but they don’t seem to see her on a deeper level than boss. They obey her but there doesn’t seem to be much of an emotional connection between them and Morena or between each other.

[@ExtraOtter]

Absolutely - but for the moment I was making the case that "Morena's going to be a major figure in this arc so she's not about to die" and Gyro himself hasn't been a major figure yet. Otherwise you know I'm not missing a chance to talk about Welfin.

[@LathropLdST]

​@@ExtraOtterquestion... What would happen if a QUEEN is offed? They are supposedly not part of the game, but for the younger two, Savanti and Oito, they are practically their first line of defense. Other than that, they are not part of the ritual or else, and if they do not have Nen, they do not have an ability to be stolen. Your thoughts?

[@ExtraOtter]

@@LathropLdST Within the rules of the Succ War, nothing would happen. Practically, queens who are key allies to their chosen princes would be sorely missed by those princes, but their lives and deaths don't directly affect the ceremony.

[@LathropLdST]

@@ExtraOtter I understand that, and thanks for your take! I mean, they do not go into urns either. I was thinking along the lines of "offing" the mother of one of the older princes would anger them & for some it would be an added motivation to win, but with the younger three, their Nen beast would potentially grow off the charts to compensate. (we have seen it a bit with Wobble and Marayam, but those would be other circumstances) Would be interesting to see it from a Queen-Prince pair with a tight bond, and how the beast would react. Cheers, let's see the channel grow bigger!

[@MarkosR21]

THERE IS NO HIATUS THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING STRAIGHT INTO 420! BELIEVE IT!

[@someguy4405]

IF WE BELIEVE IT HARD ENOUGH IT WILL DEFINITELY HAPPEN

[@tysongoudie6158]

I guess we’ll find out in the next few days or not depending if we get those juicy 411 tweets we all want

[@laquanlucas6953]

Yup

[@Steevy84]

@@someguy4405 yuo have to set conditions and take risks to make this nen work lol

[@TheJinzoSpoon]

Gon... You are the light...

[@angrashadow2958]

I interpreted "doing her best" as Morena saying she'll try as much as she can to persuade Borksen into choosing "Yes" as her final answer in the case of it ending with a "Return" card.

[@awesomepossumdude]

I like the broader perspective you give, a play by play is just a way to buy time

[@medalkingslime4844]

The years don’t change a thing. They’re specifically stated to be Kakin Calendar years. Japan uses the Gregorian calendar but has a sort of ceremonial calendar system that resets each time there’s a new emperor. My interpretation is that the years are akin to that and don’t correlate to the rest of the world’s years we’ve been given.

[@Tupadre97]

Obviously, bro can't read

[@miftyd6037]

10:45 THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

[@Chropper]

I think there’s one other villain that Morena has parallels with: Mukuro from the final arc of Yuyu Hakusho. Both are victims of abuse that have risen to become part of a set of three shadow rulers (the Kakin mafias and the three demon kings of spirit world respectively) and both use those positions to express a deep hatred for their own race. Maybe Chrollo will serve a similar role to Hiei in that arc, but with a less optimistic conclusion. Actually, that was also the arc where we learned Hiei’s backstory, similar to how we’re learning Chrollo and the Troupe’s now!

[@ExtraOtter]

Well observed. Could definitely be a future video in comparing the Three Kings Saga to the Succ War!

[@Chropper]

@@ExtraOtter Would love to see that! I watched/read HxH before YYH and one of the coolest things was seeing early variations on ideas that Togashi would later expand on

[@imranahmad-uh9fi]

Amazing channel. I am so glad i found this gem. What a content creator!

[@Austib_]

So you’re saying Morena is a Chrollo-Meruem hybrid? Cool that totally bodes well for Kurapika

[@yuvilatel]

It's really stacking against him unfortunately, that baby better pulls its weight or else.

[@laquanlucas6953]

Fake Morena could never fill the same shoes as Meruem that kind of a reach.

[@Christopher-vh7lk]

The distinction between "true morena" and "current morena" seems to be metaphorical, she saw the evil of humanity and became a different person leaving the person she used to be in the ground

[@armstrongQB1]

I think it’s quite literal. The real Morena died. This new Morena doesn’t even have a name. She was meat and will die as meat. A “fake second track faker”. The flashback of young Morena shows the reality. She looked scarred, abused and unkempt. This wouldn’t be the reality of a second track faker. Second tracker fakers don’t get human trafficked and used as meat for 20 years. They seem to live alright lives as long as they bend the knee to Kakin royalty.

[@lacteor]

I don't think so, since there was an institutional difference between "official second track royal family" and plain "flesh", even though both types are royal descendents. She says she was flesh, the lowest of the low, and with no official ties to royalty. But we know that the real Morena Prudo is a boss of the mafia because she was categorized as second track royal family, specifically daughter of the king. So she had to literally take her place to become the Hei Ly boss.

[@Christopher-vh7lk]

​@@lacteor isn't it possible they let her "graduate" out of being meat after she awakened nen?

[@lacteor]

​@@Christopher-vh7lk Hmm nothing of the sort was mentioned and that kind of meritocracy would be unexpected on a system that was depicted to be so unfair and classist? Also, the fact that this is not the real Morena follows up on the topic the Nobunaga brought some chapters ago about the Hei-Ly being all fake, so with the info we have I think it's more reasonable to interpret it literally?

[@Christopher-vh7lk]

@@lacteor I think the idea of Morena only being allowed to live as a person when she has something to offer is an interesting premise, Kakin only views her and the other bastard children as tools, whether thats as meat for their enjoyment or to serve a more specific purpose. But you're probably right and I'm just reading into things too much, we'll have to wait and see.

[@thedrift3r310]

I remember Morena talking about how she loved her scar (singular) while tracing one of them with her finger and saying something along the lines of it representing her taking control of her destiny. It makes me think maybe "meat" have one scar and second track fakers have two, so Morena had to give herself a second scar to pass as the real Morena. Only problem with this theory is that panel of young Morena with two scars and visible signs of what happens to "meat" on her arms, but I think it could still work somehow if we learn a bit more about the timing of the swap.

[@012vinc]

One possible reason that time is critical in the card game could be that they have found the tracking device. As a consequence, they could anticipate that someone may arrive at their hideout at any time. The lawyer guy in the room could then act as defence against the intruders.

[@Patowo]

Thank you for doing an analysis and not a recap!

[@SonicGintoki]

First of all I grew up by an aquarium that had otters, and I love otters! Second of all, this is an excellent channel and video. Wouldn’t be surprised if this channel blows up soon! One thing I often find myself pondering in this giant confusing arc that I mainly consume through KZbin is what will be the fate of The Phantom Troupe, Hisoka, and Kurapika.

[@lacteor]

The third reason for a Martial Law enforcement was a murder being registered as "Mafia member murdering a civilian", which still hasn't happened as Hei-ly are civilians on paper. It's weird that so many possible motives were given and that all of them are lining up on the same timeframes

[@brandonjslea1562]

I can't understand this being an alarm specifically for the heil-ly. They're a small rogue group, surely a direct message to Morena or a close subordinate would make sense. An alarm is for something everyone would need to know, eg the public. Not to mention the last panel implies this to be a wider incident.

[@ExtraOtter]

I suppose, but what does alerting the public accomplish for Kaiser? What're they gonna do about Ben?

[@thedrift3r310]

To be fair this 0.01% statistic (5:51) is about the real world. We are talking Hunter x Hunter verse here, probably 1 out of 5 pedestrians is a serial killer 😄

[@evanpereira3555]

Also it includes potential killer which only needs to be enable. More people would kill if they could get away easly and get cool superpower.

[@a77725]

we’re just overexposed to the killers due to the nature of the manga… hxh world is large and id imagine 0.01% makes sense for the masses of civilians on the ship. i think otter is right that borksen is not replaceable to morena though

[@thedrift3r310]

@@a77725 I know that I'm just kidding, it's just funny to think about how most of everyone we know in this world would kill if the circumstances were just right. Also like @evanpereira3555 mentioned is more about the potential killers when offered power and impunity, we know how pessimistic Togashi can be about human nature.

[@Nikkio722]

We actually kind of do know when Borksen went missing. In chapter 407 Borksens friends notice her missing at 1 pm

[@ExtraOtter]

True! But we didn't know when she woke up. (Except that the final panel shows sunlight, as I now realize.)

[@fakesmile172]

When I read "the real Morena is in my grave" my jaw dropped I preferred the fan translation calling them "meat" while the official translation calls them "flesh". Of course, the volume release could be different.

[@TheJinzoSpoon]

More people pretending to be other people!

[@UltimatePower01]

Flesh is more associated with humans than meat, which is so generic it can apply to any animal. I prefer the official.

[@armstrongQB1]

@@UltimatePower01 meat is more effective BECAUSE it’s dehumanizing. In fact, as you are well aware, there’s an actual image of a steak and it being cut into. Morena wasn’t considered human. If she was she’d be a second track faker. Instead, she’s lower than that. A clump of meat they could do with as they pleased.

[@ExtraOtter]

Yeah I'm with you. "Meat" is less human and more brutal and that fits perfectly.

[@armstrongQB1]

@@ExtraOtter yay, we agree on something. We actually agree on a lot, but I like to bring up the differences 😇

[@m0ockz342]

Calling it, Morena wants a specialist ability that can cheat the rules of Contagion. This fits Morena "power gamer" theme, her ability is already a cheat that by-passes the need for years of nen training so why not create another ability that could min-max it even further. This would absolutely spell the end if they could rapidly level and create more member zeroes. A vague ability idea that could fit is one where Bork can create not just a nen beast but actual life from herself that counts as a kill of a nen-user (since 401 confirms nen at birth). Being the "organ donor" would fit this type of ability and if my theory of the "Organ" being a bill-type growth accelerater comes to fruition then this combo would be an infinite risk-free leveling glitch. This would also coincide with the Morena's backstory of offspring being used as nothing but meat as where she would get inspiration for such an abilty.

[@ExtraOtter]

I like the general idea, but "generally helping everyone in the Heil-Ly farm more levels" doesn't quite feel specific enough to be "beginning of the end" stuff to me. They're not exactly struggling to find victims as it is.

[@m0ockz342]

@ExtraOtter That's fair, honestly I'm hinging my theory that they will be stopped before their plan reaches full fruition (like the sorting from CA) but if Morena and crew actually end up being main villains of arc that would be a pretty anticlimactic reveal

[@MarkosR21]

Question: Isn't Kurapika's lesson happening simultaneously with the funeral? Maybe the have-not attacked Wobble? Wouldn't this be a reason for Martial Law? We know we will see Cammy soon, thanks to Togashi's tweets.

[@heitorsantoslima9289]

Nothing to add, except Morena in this chapter looks like a deranged Maetel from Galaxy Express 999 in some panels. Togashi panelling is also top notch as always.

[@fakesmile172]

But who will be the young boy she interacts with?

[@ExtraOtter]

I absolutely love the Morena faces. This is the kind of thing we wouldn't get if Togashi just wrote this out as a novel! Trust the process!

[@fakesmile172]

@@heitorsantoslima9289 Yeah his paneling is amazing, yet it also doesn't completely follow the usual examples of excellent paneling (eg. Dragon Ball, Bleach). I chalk it up to the old artistic adage of "you have to learn the rules before you can break them (and still be quality)." Togashi learned the rules with Yu Yu Hakusho and is breaking them in Hunter X Hunter, in more ways than one.

[@heitorsantoslima9289]

@@fakesmile172 he is also fan of experimental manga in magazines like Garo and authors of shoujo like Maya Mineo. Since the 24 group, shojo has a tradition of wild panelling and authors like Kazuo Umezz inform very much of his work as much as the battle shonen tradition. He even said that Atsushi Kamijo was one of his inspirations for Killua and Kamijo used to do some wild stuff with panelling and transitions.

[@s3b714]

Statistician here, just wanted to point out that finding a killer specialist is only that unlikely if you consider the two events to be independent. I actually think that, considering the specialists we've seen thusfar, with their captivating but absolutely ruthless and unforgiving nature, you'd probably have a 1 in 2 shot of a specialist candidate also being inclined to some kind of violence, meaning there should still be someone on bord probably

[@ExtraOtter]

I don't think that's a crazy assumption from the story so far, but Borksen certainly provides a counterexample, right? She has Specialist potential and doesn't want to murder anyone. So as far as we know, they could still be independent variables. (And it's hardly quick or easy to have Dogman sniff 200,000 people, anyway.)

[@jimihendrix23456]

I like that you focus on character. I'm less interested in the rules of the game, more in how it lets us know about Morena's worldview and goals. Her ability makes an RPG out of human extinction, using conditions and restrictions as the game rules. The Heil-Ly kidnap people and coerce them into gambling for their lives. She jokes around and even flirts right after trauma-dumping on Borksen. Morena's gleefully unhinged, and cultivated a group of like-minded lunatics. She forces people to choose between joining the slaughter or being meat. Many don't even get to choose at all. How is she really different from the royals? Perhaps it's in her insistence on the "Parents" being forced to follow rules as well as the "Children".

[@luizrafael7939]

It is a shipwide alarm meant to us the audience know what is happening.

[@uuh4yj43]

i keep thinking about this arc, and morena's motivation. there is nothing for hisoka, the phantom troupe or the princes in the dark continent. but for morena, her goal being to wipe out humanity, her managing to bring back a calamity from the dark continent would be the ultimate weapon to enact her will. so idk if she will be shelved after this arc, at least i hope not. she would be a great dark continent villain, i actually hope she finds out about it(maybe by the v5 book-glasses guy) and accompanies us to the dark continent(unless no one on the black whale 1 gets there and its the pariston-ging show)

[@madgodprince]

It would be funny if Chrollo eventually ends up stealing Morena's ability, to then start helping others develop their abilities and stealing from them, like a farm. While I was reading this chapter I couldn't help but think that Chrollo playing her card game would be the perfect opportunity to fulfill skill hunter's conditions by picking the power card to hear her explain her ability and ending on the yes card so he can see the ability in action. Setting up this game as being a trap and having Borksen "lose" the game could be subverted later when someone far smarter than her "wins" at the game. But as much fun as this scenario would be, I doubt this would ever happen given Chrollo's current trajectory heading for higher tiers looking for treasure and Morena being set up as a longer lasting villain so it would be narratively wasteful to set her up so much just to have her ability get stolen by Chrollo. Although maybe she could stay relevant to the plot if she just has one of her minions reach lvl 100 so she can command them to infect ppl or she could have a lvl 100 minion kiss her again so that she regains contagion right after its stolen from her lol

[@ZzigZaG00NIN]

I didn't think about how low the Murder specialist combination was But maybe it's easier for her to get regular people to her mindset She has a way with words

[@teddy1721q1]

A specialist ability is a really hard one to guess to say what morena is looking for, maybe she’s looking for some sorta exorcist to destroy parasitic Nen beasts?

[@armstrongQB1]

I think the “why was martial law announced” point was a bad one. It’s fairly obvious why it was announced. Martial law has to be legitimate. There’s no such thing as Martial Law being a secret. It has to be enacted through a “legitimate” verifiable reason that can be justified in court (insurrections, coup d’état, civil unrest and so on). Martial Law also affects civilians and they must be informed of Marital Law being enacted since it suspends the general civil rights that are usually enjoyed by the populace. Then when it has been enacted, the parameters, duration, etc. are governed through legislation, the constitution of Kakin etc. You can’t sneak around and do Martial Law covertly because you lose all authority and justification. It isn’t even in line with what the very definition of what Martial Law is.

[@ExtraOtter]

If Ben were going to sound the "martial law active now!" alarm before doing anything or seizing anyone, there wouldn't be any need for Kaiser to give Steiner that alarm to push. Kaiser thinks a warning is necessary, so he certainly doesn't believe Ben will give everyone the warning on his own.

[@WyllBG3]

One theory that i have: Kaiser is one of the few, if not the only one, people to walk away from Morena's card game withouth joining her team(or being killed of course haha). For me this is the connection between the two.

[@ExtraOtter]

Fair, but what's with his heartbeat then?

[@ivanbluecool]

Morena basically doing what gyro wanted to do but togashi knows he won't get that far with it

[@SabertenthGurstu]

I love the parallels mentioned in this video, a fun way to examine the whole manga retrospectively and compare it with the current arc. The meat bits are gross both ways, Togashi not shying away from these horrendous themes. Do you think Volkson might be convinced regardless of her current thoughts about it right now, it might not matter even if the probability of a murderer and specialist combined are astronomically low to find, if you can persuade the person to justify murder for their goals ("if you start killing you get to live that sweet mundane life you always wanted, Volkson dear")

[@ExtraOtter]

Haters will say I'm coping but I want something about this interruption to persuade her it's worth it. Like, maybe illustrate how bad things can get as a result of Special Martial Law and convince her that by awakening her Nen ability, she'll at least be able to fight back and protect her friends. Whatever it takes for Borksen not to die! I'm attached

[@SabertenthGurstu]

@ExtraOtter I like that, and I want to see her one day invite Ming Jol-ik for potluck and share anecdotes about their lives

[@Bulletproof208]

It could be that hisoka vs bonolenove happened and that's what caused the military takeover. If they were to fight there would be a lot of casualties especially given the nature of bonolenove's ability

[@rikley8153]

Morena became so interesting in this few chapters.

[@dan7799]

What a great chapter, your comparison of Morena to Chrollo and Meruem was spot on

[@mattb.7079]

7:20 the effort might just be the emphasis she put on that countdown and threat of replacing Volksen

[@Rodiacreed]

The Meruem parallels were on point and I love that carnaval has a meat meaning in it even in JP. It shows Togashi is familiar with latin words too. The man is a genius through and through. I don't think its that hard to find a specialist who can be convinced to be a killer, Kakin is a very classist country and its enough to want to kill a couple of people to be onboard on Morena's gang. I don't think Morena is planning something for Tserri specifically, I think Togashi chose to get Borksen involved because she was a familiar character to us, it would make the stakes pretty low if Dogman picked up a random character from the crowd that we have never seen before.

[@ExtraOtter]

I dunno. Kakin sucks, but a random civilian in any country is probably just trying to get by; they're not going to be more inherently murderous than anyone else on average. You really think it's likely for there to be 1 in 50?? If anything, Borksen's been in military training most of her life, so she should be far more mentally prepared than the average schmuck to handle her problems with violence.

[@Rodiacreed]

@@ExtraOtter Have you seen how bad things are in tier 5? You can't even walk in a corridor without paying the mafia. They even gave the mafia the right to run the place. A person suffering from destitution, debt and maybe a drug problem who has been oppressed their whole life is given agency, superpower and a place to belong and is asked only to kill some people who he despises. Do you really think they will say no? Morena said they don't need to share her goal of killing all humans. Its okay to have a smaller goal. Like killing a few rich folk who had it good their whole life at your expense.

[@Nedw]

Not only is Borksen more familiar to readers, she was discussing what would happen if "one of them" (her and her friends) is captured by Hei-ly. She is also aware of nen as she was there when Tserridnisch awakened and noticed Theta's tensing up (when she was stared down by Tserri's beast). If Borksen is granted n'en abilities, it will be interesting to see her reaction to Tserri's monstrous beasts. She and her other friends seem to see him as a tragic figure prone to some violence, but don't seem to know he's a serial killer, *live* body parts collector and total psychopath.

[@korakys]

When you need a Hunter Hunter chapter theory: Otter (2)

[@WyllBG3]

Great video: Just a comment, i think the part were Morena says that "Sometimes, a specialist ends up training most of his life in another nen category" is kinda of a foreshadow.

[@yuvilatel]

Do you happen to guess what this is foreshadowing ?

[@McChickenJOI]

@@yuvilatel i mean my immediate thought was gon, but idk if we're ever getting back to him at this point hahah

[@yuvilatel]

@@McChickenJOI But it was proven that he was an enhancer unless the water divination thing is not accurate (his glass of water broke but still showed signs of an enhancer)

[@vanatos8989]

Morena is not only a parallel to Chrollo and the Troupe but a persistent theme of the cycles of abuse seen throughout the series. Your take with the Morena/Chrollo/Meruem comparison is pretty poignant. Dehumanization is often behavior learned throughout one's life, usually through experience: cycles of violence, tribalism and the refusal or inability to empathize from another's perspective all are stepping stones to that process. Morena's hate for humanity and their actions has thus led her to view them as nothing more than fodder. Meat for EXP. Because for all of her life, that all she was to others.

[@connorjames94]

Oh 🦦 my 🦦 🫡

[@caelrooney4021]

so I'm wondering whether the alert is to do with bork being missing. we saw kenni wang at the beginning of 384 predict that the mafia would end up being held responsible for the hei-ly murders and missing people (and even missing hei-ly) - which works out great for morena since her 23 are all registered civilians and the hei-ly as a mafia family doesn't really exist anymore. now that a soldier has been abducted (I wonder if that was the real reason for their limited time risk) the military might be starting their mafia crackdown. we've seen bork present in meetings with the mafia underbosses so the military knows she liaises with the mafia but also she's an important solider and close to one of the princes.

[@michelelonghi7985]

-The martial law announcement panel’s point of view being outside the black whale makes me think it’s actually heard throughout the ship and not only Tier 1. -About the panel of Borksen and Morena right before Martial Law: Morena actually looks surprised, Are they reacting to the announcement or something else caught their attention? Phinks and Feitan barging in?

[@smokeylonesome4328]

Another connection between Meruem and Morena would be that both had their lives planned out for them, but ultimately took their destiny into their own hands. Or rather, Meruem would have if it hadn’t been for, well, you know.

[@bzukofsky]

great vid would love to make a vid too of the possibility of how deep morenas claws goes. I think it may even be safe to assume she has someone on the 1st floor giving intel

[@kiki-quest]

Bit of a tangent, but imo Kurapika's quest for the PT & the scarlet eyes has always had the subtext of a rape revenge story. We're dealing with literal body parts & stolen innocence - Kurapika's androgyny/beauty & the fact that he disguises himself as a woman during Yorknew reinforces this. Chrollo & the PT's backstory makes all of this explicit, and Morena I think completes a triad between them. Sexual violence, dehumanization of the powerless (the poor, the weak, children), & the commodification of bodies are laid in the foundations of this world. I'm fascinated to see where all this takes us. Thank you for your thoughtful videos as always!

[@ExtraOtter]

Yes, great observation. The Kurta being objectified and commodified for their beautiful body parts is suggestive, and I think the stereotypes about the Kurta's "uncontrollable, dangerous emotions" support the reading that they're feminized within the HxH world. I don't think I have quite enough of an angle to explore this in its own theory video yet, but I've got my eye on it.

[@pristinedecision1877]

Shots at quite a few of the HxH low level slop KZbin channels here. 10:46

[@AnimeLuffyFan]

As long as they are respecting the fan base, I’m fine with it Mostly because I’m mainly forgotten most of nen but it’s whatever this recent chapter was pretty awesome

[@fromrawn9303]

Slop is right, this dude here is easy one of the best already and he has like 8 videos.

[@BlahBlah-zb7es]

these vids are nice but I love the slop too

[@Tupadre97]

U mean like this one?

[@MK-vi2cm]

UFO 50 is a sick game/collection of games.

[@ExtraOtter]

It's great, maybe my game(s) of the year

[@MarlKitsune]

I had an odd thought, what if the alarm is because of Nobunaga/what's happening where he's headed getting found out.

[@ryandecraene6432]

incredible video. I was giggling at the vin diesel moment

[@khrisviva2136]

Some pointed out that it about this chapter that it may be the case that the r- word didn't really happened. There are a number of things in Morena story which not really make sense. And 'meat' can have multiple meanings. So I would wait before say that it really happened. (After all this Kakin tradition was once an 'out of there' theory yet it become true same as lot of other strange theories in this new batch.)

[@ExtraOtter]

I don't think the imagery is that subtle, man.

[@armstrongQB1]

I wonder why some people are resistant to the rape angle? Does it need to be literally spelled out that rape and sexual abuse happened for people to believe it occurred? I thought the clear statement that the Heily were operating a human trafficking side gig with Carnaval children would have made it clear. Or Morena’s actual mom…giving birth. How did she give birth? From magic? Or was she raped repeatedly to the point where she was catatonic? Or Morena herself being meat for 20 years. What do you think it implies when a young woman from birth was designated as meat? I’m actually confused what kind of “reveal” you guys are expecting.

[@kylonbell123]

See you next time👏👏👏

[@pianotensai2492]

Did i miss something or did morena's power change ? wasn't it confirmed that the Ability the child receives once they reach level 21 is random ? now she's talking like Borksen can choose the ability

[@ExtraOtter]

She's already offered consultation for followers who aspire to specific abilities. It seems like she can at least steer you towards something that suits you, and in the case of a Specialist, she has more leeway to steer (because Specialists are so flexible).

[@TheJinzoSpoon]

This has nothing to do with the chapter but I just thought about something. Hisoka knows that there's someone posing as him, right? but how? I mean, he definitely can sense if someone is watching him so that's why he thought that "I don't mind playing with myself" line, he's shown that ability a couple of times now, but he can't know how that person looks like just through intuition, someone must have told him that there was a fake Hisoka going to tier 1. My guess is that someone who saw the fake Hisoka going up is working for the same prince that Hisoka is working for. They informed the prince and the prince informed Hisoka. Or maybe Hisoka is Ging/Netero-level smart and deduced that someone from the Spider would use that strategy to get to tier 1, but I doubt it. If we take into account that Hisoka's pretty famous it's not crazy at all to think that at least a couple of guards must have recognized him and then the rumor got up. It's actually surprising that Kurapika doesn't know by this point, as rumors travel faster than the speed of light, he should know about the Spider too, a lot of people have seen them

[@theoreticaltrap992]

Yep. Borksen can play cool. Morena is far more time pressed than Borksen, and has the opportunity to ask as many questions as she wants until she’s satisfied. Morena wants a “yes” through the game, but so long as it’s in play and Yes is a possibility Morena’s actually the one on the back foot despite Borksen having lower odds of getting the X card she wants. There’s no turn timer, and absolutely, finding the intersection of “Unawakened Specialist”, “Willing to Murder for the Hei-Ly without coercion” is astronomical odds. Heck, the fact that the Hei-Ly are out murdering randos and setting the mafia equilibrium into war is enough instability that either the Hei-Ly kill everyone or die.

[@MOm4r]

Morena was probably a twin

[@ericwang5462]

THAT'S MY GOAT

[@Tupadre97]

Morena is not trying to avoid a no this chapter specifically proves that can't be the case when x is a far worse answer than no and while borksen is likely her best choice for being her extra specialist if she ends up dying from picking no they'll just have to find another one which isn't ideal but it's far better to just kill her and start again that letting her get the x and be free to warn everyone about morena's abilities.

[@ExtraOtter]

She did literally say she'd do her best to avoid a "No" in Chapter 405. Not that she'd do her best to get a "Yes."

[@Tupadre97]

@@ExtraOtter in the official she says she'd made sure to get a yes which is clearly the outcome she wants. getting a no would be preferable to getting an X so why would she be against getting a no if its not even the worst outcome?

[@ExtraOtter]

@@Tupadre97 The official translation's not precisely right. Other Japanese speakers have confirmed she says she'll try "not to get a no." It's understandable cuz when that chapter was translated, nobody knew about the game yet.

[@micahmcfadden8082]

I wasnt expecting hunterxhunter diddy parties

[@xavy31prietoprieto98]

Thank you!!! Love ya

[@machberet4884]

Great video, as always. I haven't watched it yet though

[@anonymousgmo1]

Morena-Chrollo-(Blasphemy) Tserriednich-Hisoka-(Carnival) Gonna be spicy if the lines are drawn this way, I think I can actually see it happening and I do think Tserriednich is likely to be Hisoka's sponsor, idkfs. Martial Law RN is pretty neat from Togashi, looking forward to upcoming chapters quite a bit.

[@laquanlucas6953]

Hisoka wants to have a thrilling fight to the death. A prince did let Hisoka on the tier floor we don't know which one. Hisoka is looking for some troupe members in the mist

[@micahmcfadden8082]

9:05 i think you have to do an announcement like that for martial law so citizens kno to get back to their quarters also the black whale is a 5 tier city basically all the soldiers probably wouldn’t get radios messages in a timely manor

[@TheJinzoSpoon]

What if all this emphasis on meat and using other's bodies is because Morena doesn't really want Borksen to join them but she wants to just *use her body*. I mean, the first thing she said is that Borksen is "a matching organ donor", for whom?. And Morena is 100% sure Borksen is essential to her plans, despite Borksen pointing out the obvious contradiction in that she doesn't really know her nor what ability would she develop (Yeah, all that "I'll help you develop an ability" is bs. She can help her followers, yes, but she can't create their abilities for them). So, I think Borksen was chosen because she's *the perfect body for another Heil-ly member: Morena*. I think Morena wants to steal her body and identity and infiltrate Tier 1!! (Yes, another body-swapping theory lol) Evidence: - Morena just told us that she is impersonating someone else. - Her parallels to Chrollo and Chrollo being an expert impersonator. -This arc has many people pretending to be other people (Hisoka, Bonolenov, Halkenburg and now Morena). Problems with the theory: -Why does she need for her to join the though?, couldn't she just _take_ her body? A: Yeah, but that's probably the reason. She can't. The body swapping ability might have a restriction that only works on Heil-ly members. -Why create a body swapping ability that only works on members of your own team? A: Limitations make abilities stronger. (Yeah, I don't have a good defense for this lol) -Why does she need someone with Specialization nen type? A: My guess is that nen type is determined by the body of the user and not the soul. So, if Morena would swap bodies with someone that's a Enforcer for example, maybe she wouldn't be able to keep her Contagion ability. Wouldn't be interesting if we find out about this because Halkenburg tries to use his arrow nen and he can't??

[@yuvilatel]

I think Balsaberg can still use his bow and arrow because the nen beast is probably tied to the soul rather than the body.

[@TheJinzoSpoon]

@@yuvilatel We're yet to see that though. If he's actually shown using that ability then my theory would be disproven. We'll have to wait

[@superbro6413]

Absolutely throwing spaghetti at the wall here, but if "Morena" was able to successfully bodyswap (however she did it) with True Morena, maybe she needs Borksen on her team in order to hatch a plot that somehow gets Tserri bodyswapped? He is not only the benefactor of the Hei-Ly, and the 4th Kakin prince himself, his mother is 1st Queen Unma. "Morena" is probably anticipating Tserri coming down to do some housekeeping eventually (read: When he's done training up his nen), so having him under her thumb, however she actually plans to have that work out, will probably have her upgrade into the Final Boss of the Black Whale One arc Thanks for the excellent analysis as usual Otter

[@ExtraOtter]

No joke, I thought about "what if Morena wants to bodyswap into Borksen and that's why her guard status matters??" but I hit the brakes because there's no way we're stepping on Halk's toes with another bodyswap power (right???).

[@sapomen1352]

​@@ExtraOtter Just saying The First thing that came to my Mind but halk swap is like a soul/Mind swap so maybe morena would have like a swap involving like flesh n blood n stuff? It would kinda Work with the meat stuff with This chap and It would be diff than halks to Not make It Just another swap ability idk

[@MasterCylinder42]

Otter upload !!

[@marcomonti5758]

great video!

[@alpguy4865]

You didn't bring it in the video, but it's kinda funny that based on Kakin's calendar, the current Succession war event is happening in 2020-ish, lol

[@Tupadre97]

Explains why they went from flip phones and email in yorknew to smartphones and "facebox" 2 years later

[@someguy4405]

MARTIAL LAW HAS BEEN DECLARED, UNLEASH THE NEWWORLDREVIEW THUMBNAILS

[@josh-ed7je]

I’m feeling sad cause we got two more chapters to go until another almost two year hiatus again

[@armstrongQB1]

What makes you say that? You do know Togashi is currently on 424, and is finishing up Chapters 411+ for publication? Cmon man.

[@josh-ed7je]

@@armstrongQB1hate to be the i told you so guy. But it is now officially confirmed it’s going on hiatus exactly like I said 410 is the last chapter we get for at least a bit

[@armstrongQB1]

@@josh-ed7je Yes it’s going on a two year hiatus just like you said 🙄. You don’t sound very intelligent. One, what’s your source for it being 2 years? My point was, that due to his current production and writing pace, it’s likely not going to be long 2 or whatever year hiatus.

[@josh-ed7je]

@@armstrongQB1 The two years was an exaggeration but don't be surprised if the hiatus is still long. A potential late 2025 wait is still on the table He was teasing up to 405 I believe during the last batch. So knowing what his production looks like doesn't really mean much at all imo. But hope Im wrong as this is by far my favorite hxh arc and would like to finish it before I turn 40

[@armstrongQB1]

@@josh-ed7je well, I hope it’s like a 3 month hiatus or something. 🤣

[@laquanlucas6953]

Kurapkia is conjure/ slash specialist i hope no Heily members cross path with him.

[@teamrocket5704]

loved 408. some really excellent setup chapters in this set. so I wonder- 1) will we get any payoff in the two remaining chapters in this set, or will it be all setup 2) the state of play as I understand it is- ready for print to 410, background specification done to 412, text entry done to 413, characters inked to 424, storyboards written to 434. what kind of time is needed to have up to 420 ready for print? i.e. minimal hiatus? 1 year? …4 years? 😅 and I don’t know how Morena, the HeiLi, Tseri, Chrollo and the spiders, and Kurapika will intertwine but I can’t wait to see it unfold. definitely some major back story we aren’t privy to yet that should be coming sooner or later

[@ExtraOtter]

I'm not as optimistic as the people who were saying "401-420 will all drop together!" but I'm pretty optimistic. I think 411-420 are well on their way and we could see them coming very soon! A couple months seems totally plausible to me.

[@teamrocket5704]

from what I can tell once he gets to “background specs done” the remaining work is carried out by other people (presumably with a normal capacity/tolerance for work) so.. hopefully the 7 chapters that aren’t there yet can be pushed to that stage soon. also presumably there will be a color page on 411 which seems to be the biggest aggravator of his chronic back issues so that’s a hurdle to clear still I think 😓

[@lourdf0x]

I really like your analysis. I hope Togashi will continue to be healthy and produce more chapters so that we can have these kinds of analysis.

[@thebackrow4247]

I do buy it being the Luzurus death. I feel like while he definitely is smarter than he lets on, he’s been woefully inactive trying to uphold that persona at a time where other princes are getting ready for large scale plans. You don’t want to reveal your hand, but you also have to play it sometime

[@DietDrBass]

Okay theory time: what if a Patient Zero ends up on the mainland to meet Gyro?

[@xyznihall]

great video

[@pree5888]

I wonder why Morena and her group don't unlock the nen out of regular humans via nodes so instead of them being worth 1 level they are worth 10 when killed? Each Heily could reach level 100 very quickly after taking 10 regular humans unlocking their nen and then killing them.

[@ExtraOtter]

I don't think just-awakened normies would count as "those with abilities." And the Heil-Ly probably don't have the skill to deliver an aura attack that wouldn't kill a normie anyway.

[@yggdrasil2]

"Carnival" comes from the Latin "Carne Vale", meaning "farewell to meat/flesh". EDIT: Oh nevermind lol

[@thewatcher2538]

for the algorithm

[@yuvilatel]

What if this button's whole purpose is to stop a special martial law which will be conducted only by First Prince Benjamin and him alone. This button is created by a nen ability belonging to Kaiser or Kaiser's controller. It doesn't make sense why Kaiser has to have the button for something preventive in an emergency and not someone higher up or a job holder suited for this task. Why hand it to Steiner of all people ? Does this ability work much better if people are aware of the dangers of not pressing the button therefore more likely to press the button ? or the effectiveness is increased depending on whether the person is aware of nen or not ? or the button is a one and done conjured object that anyone can use sort of like Hinrigh's ability (the Oyster --> GPS ?) As for why the nen user (controller or Kaiser) would predict such a situation would unfold, If Kaiser is not privy to all information relating to First Prince Benjamin then someone closer surely must know a lot more. Someone like First Queen Unma. She probably has seen his growth even with the servants helping him. And is more likely to help Halkenberg achieve his goals as she clearly dotes on him more than Benjamin. It feels cheap to tie it with a nen ability rather than some non-nen preventive measures employed by the justice bureau but I think it is negligence on their part if they can't prevent a martial law from taking place if the opposition uses nen to bypass it.

[@CoolNixto]

Any plans for the channel to cover older hxh material? I'd rather see coverage of the current arc but given the length of some of these hiatuses do you see yourself running out of succession war content?

[@ExtraOtter]

I do plan to cover previous arcs! I have a lot of vids in the "idea" stage, but I'm struggling to produce those at the same time as the weekly chapter videos. So ideally I find more time and energy to make multiple vids a week, but at worst, all that stuff goes in the queue for the hiatus!

[@meir2161]

don't you legally need to make clear to citizens when martial law has been declared?

[@ExtraOtter]

Kaiser, at least, doesn't expect Benjamin to sound the alarm about himself, cuz he told Steiner to sound the alarm instead.

[@JimboS1ice999]

I love how you call out newworldreviews in like every video, and it's great. I got banned from his discord because I told them 9 years ago that luffy's devil fruit wasn't a paramecia. He makes clickbait. I love the back and forth, he sometimes makes off handed comments about this sort of channel too. it's great. I love it.

[@KanderUdon]

The meruem parallel is interesting i never thought of that. Also i cant believe that camilla is probably the best of the first four princes thats crazy

[@manumaster1990]

nice

[@ilovehelldivers5317]

When did this chapter come out? D:

[@armstrongQB1]

Well it came out officially this morning. But I read it Saturday through TT

[@LongLiveChowder]

🦦🦦🦦

[@prozac4exxon]