It goes without saying that Ace and his role in the story of One Piece, have been a wildly
controversial topic.
Many adore his character for its cool and charming design, while many others criticise
it for its lack of character development and impulsive behaviour.
And at the height of this debate stands of course the CLIMAX of Ace´s tragic story arc:
his defeat by Blackbeard, his capture by the Marines, his liberation by Luffy and finally,
his sacrifice for his younger brother.
A common point of criticism regarding Ace´s death, is that Ace did not have enough character
development to make his death feel impactful enough.
And while emotional connection to a character is, and always WILL be, a subjective experience
for EVERY one of us, I find that this argument is somewhat missing the point of Ace´s role
in the story.
Because not every character in a story can, or even SHOULD undergo character development.
In fact there are three types of character arcs that a character can go through: Positive
change, negative change or, no change at all.
Ace, just as many other important side characters in the story, has a FLAT character arc; meaning
he doesn’t change his view on the world, but stays a constant throughout his appearances
in the story.
His entire life, Ace is struggling with the legacy of his fathers name, having to suffer
under both the burning hatred as well as the flaming admiration people had for Roger.
Being born as the son of the WORST criminal of his age, until his very last moment, Ace
is struggling to find meaning in his life and whether he ever deserved to live in the
first place.
The ONE thing he can cling on to is his burning will to protect his friends and family from
any harm.
His death therefore, was one of the most SHOCKING events in the entirety of One Piece.
Especially so, since Oda is very careful and averse when it comes to killing off characters.
And most importantly, Ace´s death was not a Disney death, where the person comes back
to life in the end.
No, what makes this moment so INCREDIBLY powerful is that it is FINAL, and has real consequences.
And therefore, in this video, I want to talk about the tragedy of Portages D. Ace, and
why his death is one of THE fundamental cornerstones of the One Piece story.
Because Luffy loosing his beloved older brother not only deepens our protagonist´s character,
but it ALSO advances the plot in a crucial way, and of course also impacts US, the readers,
emotionally.
When I talk about how Ace´s death has deepened Luffy´s character, I believe it goes MUCH
deeper than simply showing Luffy that he has to become stronger.
In fact, Luffy already was aware of this back on Water 7, when he talks to Bruno about his
devastating defeat by Aokiji.
And of course, loosing his crew to Kizaru and Kuma, against both of whom he stood not
the slightest chance, also made Luffy realise that he had to become much more powerful.
So no; Ace´s death was NOT simply a way for Luffy to become stronger.
Loosing his treasured older brother, whom he had shared such a happy and adventurous
childhood with, shook Luffy to his core and from there developed his character fundamentally.
Having the loving bond with his brother cut, JUST when he had managed to finally do the
impossible and save him from the marines, threw Luffy into deep distress and despair.
Being characterised by his positive, easy-going and at times naive nature, Luffy has to learn
that not every obstacle can be overcome through determination alone.
For the FIRST time EVER, he was not able to fulfil a goal he set himself.
He gave EVERYTHING he had to save his brother, and still he failed.
He realises that loss and failure are things that can actually happen to him if he is not
willing to take things seriously.
But it goes even further than this.
It makes Luffy question his entire purpose for setting out to sea.
Loosing BOTH, his crew AND Ace, it is an absolute low point in his adventure.
However, the experience allows him to realise that his crew are not only his friends, but
his FAMILY, and that he has to grow significantly in order to be able to protect them from Ace´s
fate.
Thus, he literally inherits Ace´s will to protect those he holds dear at any cost.
It is the decicive trigger for Luffy, to become the powerful and more mature captain he is
today.
And finally, seeing his brother murdered in front of his eyes also gave Luffy his first
ever antagonist, that he resents on a PERSONAL level.
Killing Ace and literally BURNING the mark of his death into Luffy´s chest, is a permanent
visual reminder of what the Admiral did to our protagonist.
In the end, Luffy comes out of his grieve as a stronger, wiser and overall more mature
captain, facing a strong antagonist that he truly resents with ALL his heart.
But Ace´s tragic character arc does even MORE for the story than developing Luffy.
It advances the plot line SIGNIFICANTLY and sets the stage for the second half of the
story.
While some people disliked Ace´s defeat by Blackbeard and his subsequent capture by the
world government, these events not only introduced Blackbeard as Luffy´s biggest rival for the
story, but it placed Luffy, as Ace´s little brother, right at the CENTER of the Impel
Down and Marineford arcs.
This was crucial, since both arcs did not only introduce a ton of important new characters,
but also rang in the end of Roger´s and Whitebeard´s era and the beginning of a new age.
Since ACE wanted to make WHITEBEARD King of the pirates, and WHITEBEARD in turn to make
ACE pirate King, there was little room for Luffy to come closer to his goal.
The new power vacuum created by Whitebeard´s death was not only convenient, but NECESSARY
for BOTH Luffy AND Blackbeard to have a realistic shot at finding the One Piece.
And this war taking place and Luffy being able to be present there, was only possible,
because his adopted brother, the son of the former pirate King himself, was to be publicly
executed and politicised by the world government.
And beside that, the war AND Luffy´s tragic loss also served as a midpoint climax to the
entire series, which gave the adventure a fresh start after the time skip and better
pacing overall.
In this context it also allowed us to see Luffy reflect upon his childhood with Ace
and Sabo, and thus gave us a much deeper look into the development and history of his character.
So to put it shortly: Ace´s character was designed to enable CRUCIAL plot development
for the one piece story that resulted in one of the most POPULAR arcs of the series AND
set the stage for the second half of the adventure in the new world.
Now, It would be quite heartless of me of course, to say that Ace´s character was simply
an elegant tool, smartly fit into the story to develop Luffy and the plot.
Because, as I said in the beginning, for many, Ace was a DEEPLY likeable character.
Thus, his death obviously had a strong emotional impact on us readers as well.
However, even if you did not like or care for Ace TOO much before his execution, I think
that the moment he died was nonetheless powerful for pretty much any reader.
Because not only did Ace sacrifice his just regained life for his little brother Luffy,
but Oda also found a quite emotional, and yet weirdly satisfying end to his character
arc.
Firstly, the true MAGNITUDE of a minor characters death is ALWAYS defined by the reaction of
the hero, who we all emphasise with.
And Luffy´s reaction to Ace´s death might very well be the most POWERFUL and HEARTBREAKING
thing we have had to witness in the entire series so far.
This fact alone gave this moment, and thus Ace´s character, a lot of meaning; actually
making him even MORE popular after his death.
And secondly, Ace finally managed to find an answer to the question that has haunted
him his entire life: Why do I live?
All his life Ace was known for never turning his back on an enemy, no matter HOW strong
they were.
And when he finally accepts WHITEBEARD and his men as his new family, he proudly wears
his mark on his back, where it could never be harmed.
Because Ace was known for never turning his back on an enemy.
And yet, DESPITE his pride, the LAST thing he does is turning his back on Akainu in order
to protect his family.
Having Luffy and Whitebeard taking on the world government for his sake shows him that
people actually do care whether he lives or not.
He actually deserves to live.
And so just having found his answer, he chooses to protect his family over all else.
And this will, he then inherits to Luffy.
What we can take away from all this, is that Ace´s character is much more than a cool
older brother who’s death motivated Luffy to train for two years and get stronger.
The hardship and doubt that he carried in his heart his entire life, as well as the
love he felt for his family, lead to the most IMPACTFUL event in the story up to this point.
Not only did he give significant character development to Luffy, but he also shaped and
developed the plot of the story in a number of crucial ways.
And in the end, his death drove home one of the most, if not THE most, important theme
in One Piece: Following your dreams.
Because, with Ace dying in the end with a smile on his face, just as his father did,
Oda tells us that if you pursue your dream and strive for what you really wanted in life,
you will have a happy ending.
Hey everyone, thank you so much for watching.
What are your thoughts on Ace and his story?
And what character would you like to see me discuss next?
Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.
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I hope to see you around next time.
And.
Until then.
Stay safe and have a wonderful week.