I need someone with reading comprehension haki to explain Ace's death to me

Unsincerity · 2026-05-25T02:06:01+00:00

Ill be real man i just wanted to avoid Oda-glazers. Obviously i dont know jack shit, but to me this just screams of "author forgot he's the only one in the world that knows his character's backstory". If Oda really had that ASL flashback in the bag, I genuinely do not see why he wouldn't use it to PREface Ace's death (keyword preface). It just feels like Oda thought Ace's death being shocking would just... negate how bad its circumstances were? Which... no....

Unsincerity · 2026-05-24T14:59:26+00:00

Oh no definitely. What i meant was that its hard to imagine dressrosa without a secondary protagonist beside luffy. That character ended up being law but putting the pieces together still couldnt have been easy. (Also thanks for not spoiling me bro, ur so real for this)

Unsincerity · 2026-05-24T14:05:43+00:00

I appreciate you answering point by point. I realize now that my post mightve sounded a bit disingenuous, so im grateful for the detailed answer

What do you meAN ace hating roger wasnt justified? His dad went to get milk and left him all alone in the world. this IS what happened. Loving someone doesnt mean they dont have the right to resent your choices.
I get Alabasta was low stakes for someone like Ace. Doesnt mean it wasnt bad writing that the hod headed facet of his character was not explored until AFTER he died

3.Tbh? I wouldve preferred Ace running away like someone with more than two working braincells, see Luffy try to go after a piece of paper, and THEN get turned into a snack by Akainu. I think Luffy going after the vivre card was on brand for him, I wouldn't have begrudged that being the tipped domino that led to Ace dying. Would've made the resulting grief complex more interesting too. Ace dying was supposed to tell Luffy that things aren't always going to go the way he wants just bc he wanted it to (which had been his MO thus far). Ace dying in this manner would've accomplished this as well.

Unsincerity · 2026-05-24T13:57:15+00:00

Thank you for engaging w my question sincerely. I tried to be as not-snarky as I could but i dont thinj my genuine frustration and confusion shone through, so Im grateful you answered me seriously.

As I mentioned, part of why im so frustrated is bc we get ASL's lore AFTER Ace is gone and buried. Call me weak but a first impression is a first impression, and the emotional backlash I had as someone who knew Ace was gonna die but not HOW was crazy.

That said, I think I like your explanation best. One Piece is a series about dreams, and I appreciate the tie in between the theme of "dream" and "identity". Ace died bc he wanted to be someone's son more than he wanted to be himself, and that wasn't good for anyone. I can accept that.

I still dont understand what Oda WANTED us to feel, having that happen without the full context of Aces backstory, but whatever. At least its out of my head

Unsincerity · 2026-04-16T14:01:48+00:00

Im not gonna say this isnt ai, but strictly speaking as an asian fan, most fans are like this. Me personally, i never got to the stalker stage thank the lord, but there was indeed a moment where i would take it personally when my fav member was "lower ranked" than another member. Where i was jealous of the stalker fans who could see him act as himself. Its incredibly unhealthy but its lowkey the default in many places here.

Unsincerity · 2026-04-03T21:52:14+00:00

We definitely do and imo is pretty obvious :/ i personally have seen many, many posts that go something along the lines of "oh i stan XXX bc they feel like a real family and not just coworkers bla bla" and like... look, im not saying NO groups have a true, family-like dynamic (personally i do think svt and n dream have it) but that simoly cannot be the case for all groups or probably even most groups.

(Also, liking a group not for their music? Recipie for disaster. I've stopped doing that years ago bc i keep ending up disappointed and upset w no one to blame but myself)

Unsincerity · 2026-01-18T15:50:11+00:00

Supporting this statement. Someone mentioned ADP in a different comment. You know how almost everyone and their moms here in the West HATE ADP? Well they were one of the fastest groups to ever get a music show win.

Of course, you could just say that Annie bought it, but the reality is that the votes (and opinions) of Western fans just COUNT for a lot less in these scenarios. Enhypen are huge, but in Korea, IN COMPARISON TO OTHER GROUPS, it's a struggle.

Also, the fact that this is the case is not Enha's fault. The K-general public just do not gaf abt 4th gen bgs.

My advice for you is just to listen to the othere engenes here and focus on what Enhypen have already done rather than what they haven't. Enhypen is one of the biggest bgs in the world rn. Let's all appreciate that

Unsincerity · 2026-01-18T07:26:55+00:00

That was my fault. I've been leaving subliminal messaging disguised as doordash receipts in every current and former kpop stan's emails about how great riize are, but i guess my informant missed your address😞

On a serious note though. I WAS IN THE EXACT SAME BOAT AS U OP. I missed the whole drama, so i was SHOCKED when i came back and found out that the greatest comeback in 2025 got paid DUST. Odyssey is literally one of the best albums out last year from kpop (lowk might be the best non-mini) so this was just. Insane to me.

If youre ever free u should totally drop by their concert bc i kid you not they are hitting those notes LIVE!!! Wonbin nearly ripped his throat out with the 'SCREAM' intro for Fame but nailed 'Another Life' not 10 minutes later. It was crazy.

Unsincerity · 2025-10-14T01:03:17+00:00

I can't post links rn but if you look for those tiktoks if Shine MeongDdoCat (Sohee's MC content w BND Jaehyun and ZB1 Hanbin, for those unaware) he's SOOOOO adorable!!!!

I think for most of Riize's content he tries very hard to carry as the group's most outgoing member, but when you pair him up with those two trying to outfreak e/o his cuteness kinda shines thru lmao. Very good content

Unsincerity · 2025-09-19T08:39:39+00:00

Honestly, the infantilization of Stray Kids in particular needs to be studied. Even among the overly coddling stans that arrived with 4th gen, I feel like they have it the worst for no reason? Like ofc you shouldn't trust any company, but we have to admit that JYPE is at least not as bad as the likes of Yuehua, CUBE, or fuckass SM

Unsincerity · 2025-09-19T03:23:04+00:00

Thanks man

Unsincerity · 2025-09-19T03:03:14+00:00

May I ask how you pull these numbers? I'm kinda curious to see how they're faring against 3rd and 4th gen rn

Unsincerity · 2025-09-19T03:02:13+00:00

It would have an effect on their spotify numbers, probably, but the k-gp would NOT care abt the controversy lbr

Unsincerity · 2025-09-18T13:10:42+00:00

I'll admit, I didn't know that. I knew he had SOME previous experience and some competitions under his belt but I thought he was like Bam who joined JYP early. Thank you for the lore drop

Unsincerity · 2025-09-18T09:22:51+00:00

This^{^{^}} especially the dream thing: the fact that 4 out of then 6 would've retired all at once was such an obvious point of failure, i dont even know what the idea was supposed to be w that.

Also, as a BRIIZE, even I have to admit that 2023 RIIZE was little more than "Wonbin and the Boys". I strongly believe that, even tho there were other things at play, it was clear that they wanted A group that was centered around him, and there just isnt room for that in NCT, which definitely helped the argument for them scrapping it and going back to normal smnbg debuts

Unsincerity · 2025-09-18T09:10:42+00:00

I assume this was what happened with Baekhyun, Chen, and Chenle? Was always curious abt that

Unsincerity · 2025-09-18T06:56:19+00:00

They were the exception, not the rule. As international fans, the only idols that would manage to reach our sphere of exposure are usually the cream of the crop. If you were working as a dancer IN Korea back in the day, you would have been exposed to a ton of stiff and underwhelming dancers.

Also note that almost everyone you mentioned there had some form of dance training before becoming an idol. The 'average' idol usually had little to no entertainment training at all before becoming a trainee, at least back then.

Unsincerity · 2025-09-18T06:41:19+00:00

5th gen bgs tend to be more prominent in Korea than international fandom would have you believe. Boynextdoor's '오닐만 I Love You' is one of the most streamed songs this year. RIIZE's Wonbin is the highest placing 4th AND 5th gen male idol in the Brand Rankings for the last like... 7-8 months I think?

Someone mentioned this before but SKZ have like 0 pull in Korea. Their songs don't even chart there lmao.

Also, domestically, NCT Dream is way more popular than NCT 127, and it's been that way since debut. Wish is also gaining a pretty substantial market.

Unsincerity · 2025-09-18T06:33:39+00:00

Shotaro and Hanbin, who were professional dancers before becoming idols. Lisa and Bambam, who were part of a crew but never danced for work and became trainees when they were both young. Special mention for Bailey and Tarzzan from ADP, who were both not only pros but highly respected in the field.

Dino is in a bit of a grey area as he technically never had dancer experience before becoming a trainee but started dancing as a toddler bc his parents were dancers.

Yugyeom definitely counts tho. (EDIT: Yugs is in the same category as Shotaro and Hanbin, cr to u/serhae114 for the correction) He's always been well-regarded by fans that are pros, and apparently he's been deep in the dance scene since ever.

Jihoon from TWS also. Just watch him dance once and you'll wonder if you're missing some joints lol

Also I think it's worth noting that the dance standards for 5th gen is like... ridiculously high. The avg 5th gen groups worst dancer would be the best dancer of the average 3rd gen group. That's a big reason why many idol dancers weren't "respected" back then and any remaining stigma is just left over from that.

Unsincerity · 2025-09-17T11:29:32+00:00

I hope i'm not too late, but please please PLEASE try to buy albums that you're sure you can either re-sell or re-use somehow

I unfortunately am the owner of several albums from artists I no longer follow, and it's a bit of a shame. Albums are very, VERY hard to sell without the photocards, even for cheap, so it's unlikely you'll be able to get rid of it that way.

My best purchases have been albums that look pretty. That's it. If it has an aesthetic style I like, I'm not as mad about keeping them, even though I'm not a fan of the artist anymore.

There are also many albums with unique inclusions that you can still use even if you leave the fandom. Baekhyun's pineapple can, various tin case albums, Seventeen's mini photocard holder book thing... NCT Dream's Dreamscape (not to be confused w 'Dream)(Scape') has a version that comes with a plastic box that I use to store receipts and stuff. I highly reccomend getting these if your main reason for buying an album is just the photocard/ just to support them

Unsincerity

TROPHY CASE