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C'mon, Deuce!

[ prints available here! ]

#one piece #masked deuce #portgas d ace #kotatsu #mihar #skull #isuka #I wanna make him my housewife an*naked goblin runs past* Guys what the fuck was that like legit what

Out of context things I've said but it's One Piece this time

Pt. 1

Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4

it's Fire Fist !

#one piece #one piece gakuen #portgas d ace #tashigi #isuka #opedit #opdaily #mangacaps #shounen manga #my edit #eichiro oda #sohei koji

I just finished the first volume of the One Piece Ace novel, and while it was enjoyable... The pace felt uneven. I'm not sure how to describe it in other words. I guess I expected more expansion on the Spade's formation

But as far as Ace's character is concerned, I think it really did the job it intended to. I've seen people say the novel doesn't add anything to Ace's character and I have to disagree. Short of new info, this first volume deepened what was implied by the manga.

Although they are not *friends* yet, and Ace is more friendly to Deuce than Deuce is to Ace, within the first chapter Deuce kinda randomly finds out about Ace being Roger's son (Ace told him his father was a criminal, Deuce says something like 'hey at least he wasn't Gold Roger'. Ace's reaction gave him away *immediately*). At this point Ace has been nothing but friendly to Deuce yet this info is enough for Deuce's opinion of Ace to darken considerably, to the point where upon seeing him hold a fruit, Deuce's (admittedly starved) mind rationalises killing Ace because he's Roger's son. He fails obviously and Ace is allegedly none the wiser as he doesn't hesitate to share the fruit with Deuce. Who immediately feels horrible about what he was thinking.

So essentially, someone Ace wanted to befriend immediately turned on him (or tried to) the second they found out who his father was. This is a reminder of the manga, where Ace is told by strangers that Gol D. Roger's child should be tortured and killed. So he has been exposed to this hatred surrounding being the child of the Pirate King both directly (Deuce immediately wanting nothing to do with him upon finding out) and indirectly (Strangers telling him what should happen to Roger's child without knowing he is said child).

It's worth noting that Deuce is effectively the only Spade member who knew about Ace's lineage. Not that many Spade members were named, besides Mihal, Skull and Kotatsu. But despite a rocky start, Deuce very quickly grows fond of Ace, comparing him to a sun that illuminates darkness. That comparison is made several times.

Another thing that is often lampshaded is the trauma Ace had from knowing his existence was unwanted by the world. Despite building a crew that included mostly outcasts (like Whitebeard, ironically), this doesn't always suffice to fill the loneliness he feels. Because he feels like he doesn't deserve to be loved, and believes everyone else is more important than him.

And on a lighter note, despite not being blood related... I feel like Ace and Luffy shared one brain cell for most of their childhood. Besides Ace, only Luffy would hear a Marine's name and compare it to a bird's name (I mean he compared Marco's head to a pineapple). And their food obsession in general (though Ace didn't hesitate to give his food to the kids living in the slums).

Iska was a nice character but because of the rushy feeling the book gave me, it was hard to connect with her seeing as I feel like she was only in like 3 different scenes. Oh I definitely saw the ship tease and thought it was definitely a shame not to see more interactions between Ace and her. And like Deuce, she saw worth in Ace that Ace himself didn't see.

Unfortunately, again because of the shortness of the volume, Draw/Dorrow being an antagonist came out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong I definitely wanted to punch his teeth out (For his pyromania unrepentance under the guise of justice and what he said to Ace about Ace not deserving to exist (which felt oddly specific for a pirate he just met but that's another story that is probably just me having headcanons) and involving innocent children in his fight).

This probably feels like a ramble but I've been trying to organise my thoughts since finishing the novel and it's a struggle lmao. I'll probably struggle less with volume 2 seeing as the chapters feel less fast paced.

#one piece #portgas d ace #ace novel #masked deuce #isuka