One opportunity afforded to Netflix’s One Piece adaptation is the chance to fix the original show’s problem with Luffy’s brothers, Ace and Sabo. In the anime series the Netflix anime is based on, Ace and Sabo weren’t part of the story from the beginning. Luffy had already enjoyed a long list of adventures before either made an appearance.
One Piece
One Piece‘s cast follows Monkey D. Luffy on his quest to find the fabled One Piece treasure of the notorious pirate Gol D. Roger and become the Pirate King. While he does not initially speak of them, both Luffy and his sworn brothers, Ace and Sabo, all wanted to become pirates from a young age, where they bonded over their desire for adventure, mutual respect, and loyalty. Their childhood was not always easy, as Ace and Luffy thought that Sabo had been killed in their youth, leading the former two to promise that they would get stronger and become the pirates they dreamed of to honor their fallen brother.
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Luffy Should Mention Ace & Sabo In Netflix’s One Piece
Despite the clear importance of Sabo and Ace to Luffy’s backstory and motivations, Luffy doesn’t mention Ace or Sabo for an incredibly protracted period in Eiichiro Oda’s original One Piece series. While Luffy is notorious for not speaking about his family, such as his father and grandfather, Monkey D. Dragon and Monkey D. Garp, he surely should have mentioned Ace and Sabo because he was truly close with them, while Luffy’s relationship with his parental figures is more complicated. But regarding his beloved brothers, there’s no reason for Luffy to omit them – or at least, no narrative reason.
However, Luffy does not avoid speaking of Sabo and Ace in One Piece for story reasons, but production ones. While Sabo and Ace were intended to be critical characters for One Piece, they were not initially written or conceived for the series, but became a part of it as the series creators wrote more episodes. Netflix’s update to Oda’s One Piece, on the other hand, can avoid this problem altogether, as it has the benefit of its primary source material already being fleshed out. This will allow Ace and Sabo to serve as key figures in his backstory, as opposed to being added later. This way, they’ll fit into the story more organically than their anime counterparts.
Netflix’s One Piece Can Show Luffy’s Trauma Over Sabo’s Death
Discussion of these characters in Netflix’s One Piece series is needed due to the influence Sabo’s death had on Luffy’s motivations. After all, what happened to Sabo in Luffy’s youth was a major turning point for his development, as it was the event that instilled in him the drive and motivation to become stronger and protect his friends and crew. With Netflix’s version of the story, the trauma Luffy suffered on account of this can be incorporated into Luffy’s early characterization, even though this was not evident in the original story due to Sabo and Ace’s late arrival.
Since the Netflix version will be able to introduce this integral part of Luffy and Sabo’s story early on, new audiences to the world of One Piece will be able to sympathize with Luffy quickly and easily. Understanding some of Luffy’s backstory and motivations will also help depict Luffy’s development over time, and also explain how he’s the captain and one of the Straw Hat Pirates’ strongest fighters despite his young age. Additionally, with the Netflix version knowing it has Sabo’s eventual return in its back pocket, it can foreshadow Sabo and Luffy’s reunion to create a beautiful scene for the series.
Can Live-Action Ace & Sabo Appear In One Piece?
While it could make for a beautiful moment to have Sabo and Ace in One Piece, the compressed number of episodes for season 1 of the adaptation is working against the appearance of both brothers. After all, season 1 has a lot of storylines to establish between Luffy’s quest and getting his original crew together without getting into his backstory, making Ace a potential candidate for a season 2 appearance and maybe a cameo in season 1. But for Sabo, Netflix may choose not to delve into his disappearance and subsequent memory loss at all, but keep him as a tragic motivation for Luffy.
