Picture originally edited by Yen-sama, made into a transparent png by me.
In defence of Kaitou Ace (aka why I ship him with Minako)
It’s no secret that I love Katiou Ace. I think he was a really significant part of Minako’s growth and a super interesting character in general.
I like that they made him an idol, the thing that Minako so desperately wants to be, making him seem simultaneously inaccessible and glamourous, just as Venus must have appeared to Adonis.
I understand that he seems incredibly obsessed over Minako, but I think it’s important to remember that in the manga, Mamoru acts the same way when under the influence of the Dark Kingdom.
We learn in the manga that the Shitennou are likewise being controlled by Queen Metalia’s energy, and in their original, free state they are loyal to Prince Endymion. Why would Adonis’ situation be any different? He, too, was loyal in the past life, and worked under Kunzite, just as he does in the Dark Kingdom.
In the end, he does seem to care for Minako rather than wanting to destroy her as was really his mission. He drove her to awaken as Sailor Venus, to learn the true reason she has these powers— to protect her Princess.
The fortune he gives seems cruel, but it’s actually exactly what Minako needed to hear. And it also shows that at the end, he has finally come to accept that she could never have chosen him.
I think that he didn’t really mean to be cold in what he says— he tells her that she should be happy because she won’t have to feel conflicted between love and duty anymore. He’s helped to make her decision clear (and by Stars we see that she has completely accepted and is content with her choice of duty over love).
This may have been the one time in his life as Kaitou Ace that Adonis was finally able to be completely honest in what he said.
So, I do like the idea of Minako and Ace together. They compliment each other well, and he is to Minako essentially what Tuxedo Mask is to Usagi throughout the first arc, dark side and all. I think if he had the opportunity to break free of Metalia’s control, he would have been very loving toward Minako and they could have been happy together.
Unfortunately, however, that couldn’t happen. His death is integral to Minako’s development, and I don’t think she’d be the same without it.
I also think it’s important to remember Ace’s circumstances. It’s clear that he was deeply in love with Venus/Minako in the beginning of everything.
Adonis (Ace’s real name) was deeply in love with Venus, but she was way out of his league. She was a Sailor Senshi, the Princess of Venus, and the leader of the Guardians of Princess Serenity. Adonis even calls her a goddess (which may not be too far from the truth, considering that it’s repeatedly stated that she’s the avatar of Aphrodite). By contrast, Adonis was a simple foot soldier with no rank or title who came from a remote place.
Adonis thought that, if he could gain power and prestige, he could finally be in the league of the woman he loved and have a chance with her. Unfortunately, he turned to the Dark Kingdom to gain these things and, in the process, was brainwashed and his love for Venus was twisted into a warped obsession.
In the end, Adonis wasn’t able to have a chance with Venus, but he ended up helping her greatly.
