User blog comment:Monkey.D.Me/WAS HE NEEDED??/@comment-4493594-20111211105849

I never thought I'd ever do this... *takes out a giant stamp*: (((This blog was approved by Neo)))

Neither Ace nor Luffy would have become that strong without someone important to them dying in the past. (Law of OP; I forgot which §) And looking at their respective backgrounds it had to be someone "like them", a friend, a brother of sorts. If it had been an adult it would have had a taste of "His death was unavoidable and they are just denying reality."; plus, Ace's lack of a proper parent figure was the reason he joined WB. So it had to be a kid. (And a boy to prevent fans from shipping, not that it actually did... *coughyaoifanscough*)

Giving Sabo a different background than the other two was a good idea and making a World Noble kill him confirmed those guys' incredible influence. So no matter how I look at it, it was meaningful.

However, I do not like how you present Ace's death as something random. I'm convinced that the moment Ace appeared for the first time Oda had already decided for him to die. Otherwise there would have been no need for the Vivre Card.