The death of Luffy’s foster brother Ace is one of the saddest in One Piece. But his fate was already sealed a long time ago.
Again and again it happens that individual characters in One Piece die. By far the saddest death, however, may have been that of Puma D. Ace, who died in the arms of his foster brother Luffy. As series creator Eiichiro Oda revealed in an interview a few years ago, his death had been planned for some time.
One Piece: Ace’s fate was sealed long ago
According to a post by Twitter user sandman_AP, Oda wanted the fan favorite to die within a year of his first appearance in the manga*. The series creator is said to have revealed this in a magazine in 2012. Why he then delayed the death of Ace until shortly before the timeskip, after all, is unclear.
With the introduction of Ace was sealed on the part of Oda also his fate. However, his editor Akira Hattori is said to have been unconvinced by the idea of letting him die. Even Oda was said to have become angry when he saw the pirate’s death in the anime: “I wonder why Ace had to be killed in such a harsh way.”
Despite being long gone from the living, Ace remains one of the most popular characters in all of One Piece. In the latest popularity poll, in which millions of fans from all over the world participated, he ranked ninth, ahead of Sabo, Lysop and Shanks.
