Ace’s death is one of the saddest and most infuriating moments in all of One Piece, but there’s a level to it that many people are unaware of.

Of all the deaths in One Piece, Ace’s is the one that’s often regarded as both the saddest and the most infuriating. As sad as Ace’s death was due to how hard everyone tried to save him just to ultimately fail, it’s also been criticized due to how Ace essentially brought it upon himself by picking an unnecessary fight with Akainu instead of just continuing to escape Marineford with everyone.

There are many reasons why Ace’s death in One Piece can be seen as infuriating, but it goes even further than what most fans are aware of. While there are plenty of reasons for Ace’s death to be infuriating just from what was presented in the story, various comments from One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda add further context to Ace’s death that makes it even worse from a meta perspective.

In many ways, that only lends itself to how well-crafted of a narrative One Piece has, but it doesn’t make Ace’s death any easier to swallow over a decade after the fact.

There Was Never A Version Of One Piece Where Ace Lived

Produced by Toei Animation, based on the original manga by Eiichiro Oda

The main way in which Ace’s death in One Piece is even worse than people know is that there was never a version of One Piece where Ace lived. According to various comments from series creator Eiichiro Oda, not only did Oda already decide to kill Ace from the moment he was introduced, but his popularity with fans only made Oda waver a little before fully committing to it a year later. That means that any protesting over Ace’s death was always pointless, because as far as Oda was concerned, there was never any other direction for Ace’s character to go in from the moment he was introduced.

All of that, of course, adds an extra level of tragedy and frustration to Ace’s death. His death was already tragic due to how everyone’s efforts to save him were for naught, not to mention frustrating because of how easily it could have been avoided, and if Eiichiro Oda is to be believed, then Ace’s death in One Piece was always inevitable, as it was decided from day one, making it both more tragic and more frustrating from a meta perspective. It all serves to make an already contentious moment in One Piece even more divisive, and that debate is unlikely to stop anytime soon.

Ace Needed To Die So One Piece’s Story Could Advance

As divisive as Ace’s death might be, it still needed to happen, so One Piece‘s story could advance towards what it is now. While the execution could have been better, Ace’s death was necessary for pushing Luffy to become strong enough to survive the New World and for telling the audience that One Piece was capable of killing off characters and having dramatic tension. If Ace didn’t die, then One Piece never would have grown into the sort of story it’s been for over a decade now, so as odd as it might seem, the story ultimately benefited from Ace’s death.

None of that, of course, changes the tragic and frustrating nature of Ace’s death. The sadness behind Ace’s death is contrasted by how easily avoidable it was, something that’s made it one of the most contentious moments in the entire series, and that contention is exacerbated even further by Eiichiro Oda never having any plans to do anything different with him. That being said, Ace’s death was an event that changed One Piece forever and for the better, so in the long run, it’s hard to see his death as anything other than a boon for the series, regardless of how infuriating it might be.