#sogeking

Usopp is surrounded by people who can't help but gain reputations and names for themselves in a dangerous world. He stands by the side of the man who is going to be King of the Pirates. He stands by the side of the famous bounty hunter Rororona Zoro. He stands by the side of Black Leg Sanji who always manages to save the day.

He watches them shine at what they do, and while I think Usopp manages to be fine with this a majority of the time we do see times in the series where this really bothers him and through that betters himself to never be left behind.

He wants to be okay with this. He wants to be okay with letting these other people handle the dangers.

But then we see how much he struggles to live with himself when he fails to do as much as they do or not enough in his own eyes.

We see that almost verbatim in Arlong Park!! He literally is talking through telling himself he's okay not being like them only to come to the realization that no he is going to be like them and then doing just that.

"I can't move the mountains I can't make the flowers bloom"

Poor Usopp is a normal guy in a crew of people who have other worldly powers and abilities.

We see Zoro actually take down a man who is a mountain.

Robin can make her limbs or giant versions of herself bloom thanks to her devil fruit.

Usopp (and Nami as well up until getting Zeus) don't get either the devil fruits powers that people like Robin has or the incredible strength that Zoro or Sanji gets. He is physically incapable of doing what they do. There's no way he can get his body or abilities to where they're at.

He literally has to CREATE what gives him his ability to fight. What makes him special is manmade not inherent or gifted and is still limited by his own knowledge and ability to create.

Usopp is a character that is constantly working between limitations and still finding ways to contribute despite those limitations.

"I can't heal what's broken"

Oh you thought I was going to bring up Chopper here? Oh no people, we're bringing it back to the merry.

Luffy rarely if ever (I actually struggle to find any other moment where he's this harsh to a crew member personally about what they can't do) tells the crew they aren't capable of something directly. But Usopp's biggest failure is highlighted by his captain directly in this moment.

He could not fix the Merry. The ship he was willing to lose everything for, he could not save.

This is his lowest point of the entire series for a reason. He truly is faced with an inescapable reminder of his inadequacy and the person he looks up to the most is the one that tells him that he will never be able to do it.

Oooof. Always heartbreaking to me.

"Can't keep down the unspoken invisible pain"

Sticking with the merry and the fight that comes from that, I think all the crew members have moments of doubt or questioning themselves but it's Usopp that vocalizes it to others the most rather than leaving it to just thought bubbles. He's the one that says it out loud rather than keeping it locked in.

Zoro says he will never lose again and then we see that through his actions. We see him run himself ragged and pull himself up even when it should be impossible because that failure is still silently always weighing on him.

Usopp isn't silent about it. He lays out his insecurity pretty outright during Water 7 and multiple times in his scenes. He's so open about it unlike some of the other characters.

"All I need is a change All I need is a chance"

But you know what? Every time Usopp is given the opportunity he will rise to the challenge. He will pull off his own impossible feats. He will do the spectacular.

We see those countless times throughout the series.

We see it in Enies Lobby and we see it in Dressrosa.

He is literally using Haki without even realizing it.

He constantly amazes people with the things he pulls off. I don't want to hear anybody say that the crew could survive without Usopp because in their own words they can't. The story itself tells us, and more importantly shows us, that they would have lost many times throughout the series without him.

"Who I am inside, so what can I do? I'm sick of waiting on a miracle, so here I go"

Usopp is also a character we get a lot more introspection from on page. We see his inner monologue a lot more than some other characters and through that inner monologue we see how he gets himself to his brave point, how he cheerleads himself, and how he works through in his insecurities.

It's part of what makes his moments so special, we get to see every step of him thinking through and hyping himself up to do it. We see the struggle he faces with each win he gets, and I think that is part of why his character speaks so much to me and others. What is an easy win for someone else is often times like hours of anxiety and inner turmoil for me before I'm able to do it.

I would like to think that isn't a bad thing.

People often claim that Usopp is a passive character, but he is actually a constantly active character. A lot of it is just happening inside him before we see the actions take place.

"I've been patient and steadfast and steady Bless me now as you blessed us all those years ago"

The thing is that Usopp has been a consistently brave character. From Arlong Park to Alabasta to Water Seven to Dressrosa, he has always gotten himself to stand by his friends and to survive no matter the circumstances that come.

He has faced death multiple times and not only survived through all those times but defended his friend's dreams or proven something to himself while doing it. He is a constant and reliable crew member who for all his scaredness or cowardice, will never let that stop him from being the person they need when they need him most.

Put some respect on my man's name. Put some respect on the King and the God. He is a Senior Officer of the Future King of the Pirates and he has earned his spot there through years of good service and effort.

Summary:

In summary, Usopp is a great character and I will be taking no comments, complaints, or concerns about it.

Usopp is an inherently human character both in his actual abilities and in his expression of emotion. His insecurity, his fear, his doubts. They are some of the most human experiences that we see on page.

That is not a weakness. That makes him an incredibly written and complex character that is such an amazing bridge for the readers into this fantastical world and higher stakes than we can relate too (I hope you can't relate to being a God but you can relate to not being good at something that you wanted to be at).

Usopp creates miracles just like everyone else on the crew, they just aren't as flashy as other character's moments are and come after a lot of self-questioning and reflection. The before of his moments often matter so much more than the moment themselves. The miracles he makes are manmade, but that doesn't make them any less special or spectacular.