In a discussion between One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda and music producer Yasutaka Nakata (Perfume, Capsule) in the April issue of the Shueisha-published Men's No-no fashion magazine, the manga creator described the experience of writing a major turning point in the manga involving the character Ace, the main protagonist Luffy's brother.

At one point in the discussion, Nakata describes himself as someone who reads Weekly Shonen Jump as it comes out in order to keep up with the series, and states that Ace is his favorite character from the series.

Spoiler (highlight the following white text to read) This prompted Oda to state that Ace's death had been planned for a very long time, causing his "senses to feel numb" when actually drew the scene.

Nakata is also the creator of "Panoramic Experience," the theme song for the One Piece Exhibit. The exhibit is to run from March 20 to June 17 at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo's Roppongi district.

Source: Comic Natalie