In One Piece, most fathers do not play a significant role. However, a deceased father reveals another connection to his son.
Attention, spoiler: Here there are spoilers for Chapter 1165 of the One Piece manga, concerning Ace and his father.
What is this detail? In Chapter 1165 of the One Piece manga, Luffy’s grandfather, Monkey D. Garp, and the King of Pirates, Gol D. Roger, fight against Rocks D. Xebec in a flashback. The pirate was attacked by Imu and can no longer act of his own free will.
Garp uses his “Infinitum Explosion” attack, while Roger uses the attack “God of Fire: Ace,” at least in the English manga. The attack was named after his sword, which is also named Ace. Roger was known for being an exceptionally skilled swordsman.
And just by the name of the attack and the sword, it becomes clear where his son Ace got his name from. This is especially touching because Roger had already passed away when Luffy’s “brother” was born, and as a swordsman, his sword was probably very important to him. Luffy’s father rarely shows up either, but he is actually a great dad.
Ace at least has the certainty that his father chose his name. However, readers of the German manga miss this detail.
Other translation in the German manga
Why is it missed in German? In the German version of the scene, it was decided to stay closer to the Japanese original. Roger’s attack is called “Hi-No-Kagutsuchi-Ace” in Germany. Literally translated, it means something like “The God of Fire: The Wise Scholar”.
In Japan, Ace is pronounced “Eisu.” There, readers also understand what the attack refers to. In the German manga, however, this meaning is lost, as the name is spelled and pronounced differently here.
Moreover, readers need to understand Japanese to translate the “Hi-No-Kagutsuchi” before it. Therefore, anyone reading only in German misses the emotional detail connecting Roger and Ace.
The design of Gol D. Roger has changed over the years. For many fans, the transformation is a true glow-up, making Roger look more like Ace. They found him ugly before: “From the homeless bum to the Pirate King”: One Piece fans reveal which design of Gol D. Roger they prefer
