Ace is my favourite character from One Piece :)
Ace, birth name Gol D. Ace, was born to Gol D. Roger and Portgas D. Rouge, 20 years before the beginning of the story of One Piece. Roger, known by his title "king of the pirates", was the most wanted man in the world by the World Government and was eventually executed for his many crimes. Afterwards, rumours of his child were followerd by the World Government, intending to kill any offspring to snuff out the bloodline. Portgas D. Rouge, pregnant with Roger's child, held him for 20 months through sheer force of will to ward off suspicion that Roger was her lover. Mother of the year!!!! Unfortunately she died in childbirth
Following the death of both his parents, Ace was... "adopted" by Monkey D. Garp. Adopted is used lightly because despite Roger's request for him to take care of his son after his execution, Garp kinda just dropped that baby off with some mountain bandits and called it a day. Ace's lifestyle with the mountain bandits consisted of him fighting in the woods and catching food for his maternal figure Dadan, and the rest of the mountain bandits.
Ace's childhood was plagued with emotional turmoil. Despite being a hero within pirate society, Roger's reputation to the general public was that of a ruthless and detestable criminal. Because of this, Ace was subjected to hatred and scorn toward his father and his rumoured child from those around him, though his identity as Roger's son was known to only a handful of people. His sense of self-worth was warped heavily by this childhood, and before the age of ten he questioned if he even deserved to be alive.
Sometime during his first 10 years of life, Ace encountered another boy, Sabo. Sabo was born to a noble family in the Goa Kingdom, but ran away after he realized he was nothing more than a means for his parents to continue their family name. The two boys quickly became close friends, sharing a dream of one day becoming pirates and stealing valuables from the scrapyard, Grey Terminal, to fund this dream.
At the age of 10, Ace met Garp's grandson and series protagonist,Monkey D. Luffy. Ace did NOT like him at first, rejecting the boy's desire to befriend him and trying in vain to stop Luffy from chasing after him day after day. Despite his efforts and his frustration, Luffy persisted, and after a few months, he stumbled upon Ace and Sabo's pirate savings.
Their secret revealed, Ace and Sabo decided the best course of action was to tie luffy up and kill him. Unfortunately as a pair of ten-year-olds they had never killed before and couldnt do it. A seperate group of pirates, searching for Ace to retrieve money he stole from them, arrived and ended up kidnapping Luffy for interrogation. Assuming Luffy would snitch immediately, the two moved their pirate savings to another location. To their surprise, Luffy didn't say a peep about the other boys' plans, much to Ace's shock, and they ended up rescuing him.
After this incident, the three start becoming closer. They commit to their shared dream of setting off to sea, whether it be together or each on their own. One day, Ace steals a bottle of Sake from Dadan and the three of them become sworn brothers over cups of sake.
i ran out of time to keep typing things i need to actually hand something in for feedback. Sabo died tho :(
| Character | Notes |
|---|---|
| Gol D. Roger | Due to his rocky childhood, Ace hates his father and blames him for the social isolation he experienced as a kid. During Marineford, he completely rejects Roger, as Whitebeard is his real father. |
| Luffy | Despite the rocky start to their relationship, Luffy and Ace are very close. Ace is a protective older brother, telling Luffy's crew that he worries about him when he's away. They have a fond brotherly rivalry, built over years of roughing it in the woods, and they would do anything to make sure the other is safe. Luffy risked his life to save Ace, and in return Ace sacrificed himself to protect Luffy. His final words, "thank you for loving me", tell how Luffy saved Ace from a life of complete isolation and bitterness by showing him unconditional love despite his "tainted blood". |
| Sabo | |
| Spade Pirates | |
| Whitebeard |
One day there will be an in-depth character analysis. He is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time and i think his story is extremely emotionally impactful.