Clearly the Whitebeard pirates have gotten complacent with living off of the fame of Whitebeard's reputation. As long as no one was willing to stand up to them, they couldn't get any better at combat and thus their fighting skills (and intelligence, apparently) have atrophied. Ace is hardly the only Whitebeard pirate to do something stupid: look at Marco getting caught with the cuffs. Look at Joz getting frozen by Aokiji.

@Zirror:

And about the 'not dieing' thing, even though I am pretty annoyed by that as well (Pell :() it is Oda's stylistic choice and I guess it makes an actual real death of a main character (e.g. Merry) and especially of Whitebeard now that much more dramatic.

I don't agree here, unfortunately. All of this chronic unrealistic survivability will merely make an actual death (if it even occurs) motivate a response of 'Finally!' rather than 'Oh, sob sob! He died! Nooooo!' It's pretty much killed any dramatic tension for the rest of the story. If someone does actually die, people will be more surprised than saddened at this point.

@Kudo29:

Hmm now really wonder in which direction Oda is taking the story to, now that Ace isn't dead..

Are you one of those foolish people that honestly thought Ace was going to die?

@mooseisrichie:

Honestly, I don't understand how anyone can truly believe that Ace will die. I'm ready to see him freed from his chains and go buck wild on everyone with his ability.

I used to think that's what would happen but bear in mind that the man has been a prisoner for well over a week. He's likely suffered beatings and torture, not to mention the emotional shit kicking he's been taking over the last day. I honestly wonder if he'll have anything left in him to do anything once his cuffs are taken off.

@Greg:

New system in place for movies. At least that's what Oda is trying to set up. Even if he doesn't participate again, he's suggesting that a new film come out once every two years so they can put the same amount of work into it as SW.

He mentioned this in the Movie 10 Program which HAS YET ANOTHER ODA INTERVIEW.

You heard it (in English) here first.

Noooooooooooooo! No more Oda-sponsored movies! The chronic breaks and shorter chapters were hellish enough as it is! I don't care if Strong World is the cinematic version of an orgasm on film, just get the manga back up to the standards it was at before all this move 10 shit started and keep it that way!

And holy shit, if I have to deal with yet another marketing blitz like I had to with movie 10, I might just be weaned off of the series for good. Oversaturization anyone?

@Teclo:

Had she died, her existence would just say something very against Oda's shounen values; nakama can't save you, even when you do find true friends, you will still die. That isn't part of Ace's character concept.

Yes it is; the Whitebeard pirates feel exactly the same way about Ace as the Straw Hat pirates do for Robin (or any of them). And Ace's death would mean the exact same thing that Robin's death would have to both his crew and to Luffy: nakama or family can't save you, even when you do find true friends and discover the value of your own life, you will still die.

To be honest, I'm of the opinion that most of the people that are trying to convince people that Ace is destined to die here are really just attempting to inject a little uncertainty into an event where the outcome is extremely obvious (no offense intended).

@AdmiralYonkouMt.Bandit:

Suggesting some stupid bad cop out that won't happen to make your alternative equally as bad suggestion seem more probable isn't how this works.

You don't think the good cop out/bad cop out routine will work?

@KiShiDo:

Ace should finally got pissed of and stop the crying… Even his brother has more balls...

Oh really? cough No, really… coughcough

Seriously, if you want to get down on someone for crying when their loved ones are being mercilessly slaughtered in front of their very eyes due to a situation they caused, you might want to pick someone other than Luffy to compare him to. Showing grief and pain when people you care about are suffering isn't a bad thing; it's something kind people do.

@KaizokuFan22:

Sorry to ask .but is there 570 this week?

Not until January 14th.

@Teclo:

Ace's death actually seems to serve more plot purposes than his survival.

Can't agree with you here. Using your own arguments earlier in your post, Ace's death would render the Impel Down and Marineford arcs utterly pointless. See the following points:

• Luffy lost 10 years of his life…
• ...suffered agony beyond what most people could even survive and (until proven otherwise)...
• ...witnessed the death of a friend who died solely so Luffy could rescue Ace.
• We've seen how determined the Whitebeard Pirates are to save one of their own.
• We've seen Jimbei's friendship with the Whitebeard Pirates that is based on a gratitude so deep that he's willing to die to help save one of them.
• Ace himself has finally realized that maybe he's worth saving after all.

Ace's death would completely nullify all of these plot elements and motivations.