Usopp

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Character
Name: Usopp
Occupation: pirate, sniper
Relationships: Yasopp (father), Banchina (mother, deceased), Kaya (childhood friend), Luffy (captain)
Fandom: One Piece
Other:
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Usopp is a supporting character in One Piece.

Canon

Usopp is the sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates and one of the senior officers of the Straw Hat Fleet. He was the third member of Luffy's crew to join. He is a self-described liar and coward who nonetheless wishes to become a "brave hero of the sea" while helping Luffy realize his dream of being Pirate King. He often acts as a voice of caution among the crew, and frequently claims he has hyper-specific diseases (such as "can't-get-on-this-island disease") when he is reluctant to perform an activity.

Usopp is the son of Yasopp of the Red Hair Pirates, and his mother, Banchina, died when Yasopp was at sea. With the help of the Straw Hats, he saved his childhood friend, Kaya, from Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates. Kaya's butler, Merry, then presented them with their first ship, the Going Merry. When the Merry had to be replaced, Usopp fought with Luffy over replacing it, going so far as to fight with Luffy and leave the crew. He later used the alias "Sogeking" to assist the Straw Hats in rescuing Nico Robin before finally rejoining the crew. During the timeskip, when the Straw Hats are separated, Usopp helps liberate a group of people on Dressrossa who have been turned into toys and enslaved, earning the nickname "God Usopp" and becoming a catalyst for a rebellion against Doflamingo. [1][2]

Fandom

As a prominent character in One Piece, Usopp has garnered a big variety of fan reactions:

I like how Usopp remains afraid. If everyone was the Luffy/Zoro type where you run straight into every situation, the story would get boring. Usopp gives us different situations and reactions. Who cares if he can't fight like everyone else. Plus there's always the argument that he's the bravest of the crew. Of course Luffy takes on the enemy head first, but Luffy is also a monster with a devil fruit. Usopp is a normal guy following a monster, who keeps getting into situations way over his head. And yet he's still with the crew, plugging away. - milkyjoe241[3]

Okay, okay, I'm sure other people have said this a thousand times, but bear with me. I'm watching for the first time, and the Water 7 arc is making me want to scream. I mean, I've never liked Usopp, to be honest, but he acts like a freaking toddler in the Water 7 arc. I read someone saying somewhere "Usopp is supposed to be us. Usopp is brave. Usopp overcomes his fears." No. That's rubbish. Usopp cries about everything. Usopp clings to a ship like it's a security blanket. Usopp can't think about anyone's feelings but his own. Usopp can't take an ugly truth unless it's glued to a stick and shoved down his throat. I'm sorry. That is NOT relatable. Usopp is a freaking moron who I wouldn't want to be in the same room with for more than 5 seconds. - anonymous redditor[4]

Usopp is legit one of the best characters in One Piece imo. The amount of character development he has is almost overshadowing anyone else. He's legit funny and anytime he steps up and drops the fear he is a force to be reckoned with. - Vulture_Club[5]

I don’t see why people like him he is a coward who has one good moment every 2-3 arcs while all the other straw hats do their absolute best to make sure luffy is the pirate king if you apply enough pressure on usopp he folds like he did when ulti threatened nami and like when they were going to get a new ship when the merry was damaged - u/AnimeFan042597[6]

What I love about Usopp is how he uses his lies (or stories) to have a positive influence. And I'm just, yeah, I relate to that. Second, the way Usopp's not particularly strong or a powerhouse or anything. At the time, he was the most like me: ordinary but still with a lot of love and a desire to protect what and who he cared for. I always remember the scene when he says he's going to fight, but his legs are still shaking, and I'm just -- yeah, that'd be me, terrified but still doing it, even if I know I'm not the strongest or best person for some things. Additionally, I love how the narrative doesn't turn Usopp into a joke; it assigns him respect for his bravery and his feelings. Even when he can't move with his rear end in the air, the story (through Luffy) actively argues against seeing Usopp as comedic in the situation. And I just...love that? - @writesailingdreams[7]


There is also a significant amount of conflict in fandom about Usopp's design, particularly in the context of racism. Usopp is a character who Oda has stated would be from the African continent in the real world[8], but he is portrayed with the round lips typical of portrayals of African-Americans in early animation, which in turn drew heavily on racist stereotypes from minstrel shows. [9]

I will also add that the way Usopp's lips are drawn as a uniformly thick loop is racist, reminiscent of minstrel cartoons from the 30s. There are multiple black One Piece fans who have criticized this. - valonianfool[10]

I'm assuming this is about his lips, and like, yeah, I can see how people from outside of Japan might be a bit uncomfortable with that aspect of Usopp's design, especially if they aren't familiar with anime and manga. He's a character who reads as being black-passing to a lot of fans and he's got lips that resemble a watered-down version of what you'd see on a "golliwog" or minstrel-show performer. It isn't something I personally think is horribly offensive in the grand scheme of things since as far as I'm aware that's sort of where the comparisons between Usopp and negative depictions of black people begin and end (and a lot of his behavior could be argued to blatantly go against historic stereotypes; he's constantly highlighted as an extremely clever character who fights using strategy and tricks.) I guess you could say it's what people in some left-leaning circles might refer to as a micro-agression. It's a small thing that isn't mean-spirited or done with bad intent, but it's got the potential to bug some people, and that's fine. I've never really seen anyone get legitimately outraged over Usopp's design, the sentiment is more like "I wish this character was drawn a little differently, I otherwise really like him" from my experience. - JoeyJoJoHQ[11]

I have kind of addressed this point before, but there are some aspects of Oda’s character designs that are at best racially insensitive, Usopp’s lips being the big one that stands out. I’ve also heard people get mad about the SBS where Oda said that Usopp would be “African” in the real world when the rest of the crew got specific countries. - @opbackgrounds[12]

Real One Piece fans lay awake at night thinking about the world if Usopp wasn't drawn as a racist caricature and was treated with the same amount of respect as at least Nami, if not Sanji. - @dodgedriftdietrying[13]

Pairings

While Usopp is not popular among shippers, he is involved in a few ships. Some of the most popular are:

Fanon and Common Tropes

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

Meta

Vids

  • "Dedicated to Usopp" - AMV by Tracy (The Offspring, "Original Prankster") - posted 2007
  • Four Strawhats and a Big Family - Animation by ama (Chata, "Dango Daikazoku") - posted 2010
  • One Piece ASMV/AMV - Usopp - Becoming a Legend [HD] - AMV by Aoomi (John Dreamer, "Becoming a Legend") - posted 2016
  • Usopp - AMV & Song Edit by 岩鉄ハガネール (balloon feat. flower, "Charles") - posted 2022

Cosplay

Doujinshi


Links & Resources

References

  1. ^ One Piece Wiki: Usopp at Fanlore
  2. ^ Usopp at Wikipedia
  3. ^ Reply to "My Opinion on Usopp" on r/onepiece by milkyjoe241
  4. ^ r/OnePiece: "I hate Usopp" by u/[deleted]
  5. ^ Reply to "Usopp Opinions?? No Spoilers" on r/OnePiece by Vulture_Club
  6. ^ r/OnePiece: "I really dislike usopp" by u/AnimeFan042597
  7. ^ "Relatability and Storytelling" by @writesailingdreams
  8. ^ Kotaku: "The Real-World Nationalities of One Piece Characters" by Brian Ashcraft
  9. ^ Unwinnable: "Cuphead and the Racist Spectre of Fleisher Animation" by Yussef Cole
  10. ^ u/OnePiece: "Represention of black and dark-skinned characters in One Piece" by valonianfool
  11. ^ Reply to "Is usopps character design racist/problematic?" on r/OnePiece by JoeyJoJoHQ
  12. ^ Reply to "Hi! I am sorry to bother you..." by @opbackgrounds
  13. ^ "Real One Piece fans...." by @dodgedriftdietrying
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