Eiichiro Oda’s magnum opus One Piece’s ability to make fans emotional without killing off a character in the series is why it is one of the biggest anime franchises in the world. Oda has openly talked about not wanting to kill a character in the series because he wants a happy ending after each arc of the series.
However, there was one death in the series that made a huge impact on the story as well as the One Piece fans all over the world. This death was of Luffy’s elder brother Portgas D. Ace, who although had limited screen time, managed to become a crucial character in One Piece amassing a huge fan following.
The fans were devastated when they witnessed Ace’s death during the Marineford arc and it took a lot of time to get over his demise. However, the fans were not the only ones who were depressed by Ace’s death. Ace’s voice actor Toshio Furukawa was also saddened by his character’s death to the point where he did not want to go to the studio for the final episode involving the character.
Ace’s Death in One Piece Shocked The Entire One Piece Fandom
When he was originally featured in the novel, Luffy’s older brother, known throughout the world as Fire Fist Ace was avidly seeking Blackbeard. When Ace finally saw Blackbeard, he revealed that he was out to capture Ace’s younger brother Luffy. It resulted in a ferocious confrontation in which Ace faced the Blackbeard Pirates alone.
Unfortunately, Blackbeard was too powerful for Ace, but instead of killing him, he handed him up to the Marines, who declared his execution, kicking off the Summit War, one of One Piece’s most memorable arcs. Almost everyone who loved Ace showed up to save him, including Luffy and they even managed to free him but not for long.
Ace was webbed into Akainu’s plan who then tried to kill Luffy, but Ace intervened and sacrificed himself for his little brother. Ace passed away in Episode 483 during the Marineford Arc’s finale. In addition to being tragic, his passing marked a significant turning point in the plot of the show. Ace’s death not only shocked One Piece fans but it changed a lot of things in the series.
Ace’s Voice Actor Did Not Want To Go To The Studio For Ace’s Death
A few months back, Ace’s voice actor Toshio Furukawa reminisced about the death of his character on his official account on X(Formerly Twitter). He stated that he did not want to go to the studio because of Ace’s death. However, Mayumi Tanaka’s Luffy’s voice actor’s performance motivated him.
Furukawa Stated:
“Ace’s death… The morning of the recording, I didn’t want to go to the studio… Luffy breaking down over Ace’s death…I have never seen a crying performance better than that one… Just seeing that crying performance, the tears from a Hall of Famer [Mayumi Tanaka (Luffy)], made me accept Ace’s death.”
According to Furukawa, Luffy’s VA Tanaka’s crying performance during Ace’s death was the best performance he had ever seen. The performance was so good that it made him accept Ace’s death and portray the role for supposedly the last time for the character.
Although he did make a return as Ace during the Wano arc when a flashback of Ace going to Wano was seen, it was for a short time. Fans to this day miss the character and get excited whenever he is mentioned in the story.
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