Usopp
Template:Infobox OPchara/Header Template:Infobox OPchara/Footer Usopp is a fictional character from the anime and manga One Piece.
Usopp was the local liar in his hometown of Syrup Village. Usopp's name is probably based on "Isoppu", which is the Japanese pronunciation of Aesop, the ancient Greek fabulist. Considering that "lie" in Japanese is pronounced "uso", the name Usopp can (and is most likely meant to) be taken as a portmanteau name between uso and Isopp, both defining a liar or teller of tall tales (for example, when introducing himself, Usopp is known to say "Ore wa Usopp!" which can mean either "I am Usopp!" or "I am a liar!"). Usopp's long nose is an allusion to Pinocchio, a wooden boy who possessed a nose that would stretch after he lied.
The other aspect of Usopp besides his lying is his cowardice; he is a very timid person, or so he thinks. In extremely stressful situations, Usopp has proven to be far more courageous than he believes himself to be. He may display cowardice, but shows great resolve when his friends are threatened or mocked by outsiders.
Despite his lack of physical strength compared to other members of the crew, Usopp seems to be much more resilient than his comrades. He suffers injuries in almost every fight he participates in, but shrugs them off after a very short period of time. Part of this is the result of care by the Straw Hats' very capable doctor, yet some of this appears to be a natural ability to absorb punishment.
Also, Usopp possesses a genius for invention, practical engineering, and strategy. Amongst his many contraptions is the Clima-Tact, a staff that can generate rain and lightning storms, which he built for Nami and the Kabuto, a combination staff and slingshot type weapon, which he built for his alternate alias, Sogeking. He is also very artistic, and drew the Straw Hat Pirates Jolly Roger.
History
Usopp calls himself a pirate and takes in three kids, Carrot (Ninjin, meaning "Carrot", in the original Japanese), Onion (Tamanegi, meaning Onion), and Pepper (Piiman, meaning Pepper), as his "crew"; he dubs the groups "Usopp's Pirates", or in the American version by 4kids, the "Veggie Pirates".
Usopp is the son of Yasopp, a pirate who is part of Red-Haired Shanks' crew. He lies to relieve himself of the pain of having his father not coming back in time to save his mother from dying from an illness. He first began this practice when he started yelling to his mother that pirates were coming in the hopes that it would strengthen her spirits enough to keep her alive. After he started doing so, he just continued to do so. Many of the villagers make a show of chasing him and throwing things at him for running through the town, but they are used to his antics. Some villagers even use his daily run through town as a sort of alarm clock. He also makes up stories about adventures to entertain Kaya, who is sick and has to stay in bed all day.
When the Black Cat Pirates came to town, Usopp, along with Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro (Roronoa Zolo in North America), and Nami, fight the pirates and their leader, Captain Kuro, who has been spending three years posing as a butler for Kaya so he can inherit her fortune when they kill her.
After Luffy takes care of the Black Cat Pirates, Usopp disbands "Usopp's Pirates" and leaves them to become the local liars. He was going on his own way, but Luffy invited him on board. Luffy named him sniper for the crew as he has inherited his father's sharp shooting skills. After joining, he creates the flag for the Straw Hat Pirate Crew after Luffy proves unable to draw, and he also paints it on the sail of Going Merry. Usopp also tried to claim the position of "Captain" several times, much to Luffy's objection.
Several times throughout One Piece, Usopp's courage is put to the test as he is forced to fight to help out his crewmates. He manages a lot more than he would ever believe of himself, defeating Chuu, a Merman, and the team of Mr. 4 & Miss Merry Christmas.
Though all the Straw Hat Pirates are very fond of their ship, the Merry Go, Usopp feels the most for it, as it was given to them by Kaya. Because of this he does a lot of the repairs on it until Luffy decides they need a professional shipwright.
Sogeking
After the battle with Aokiji, Usopp watched his friends easily beaten which scares him and makes him question his belonging in the crew. He was afraid that the crew is encountering stronger adversaries and since he was the weakest crewmember he started to lose confidence. A series of conflicts result in Usopp leaving the crew and, eventually, gaining the now terminally-damaged Going Merry. Usopp was later detained by CP9.
After being freed from CP9 captivity by Sanji during the Sea train chase, Usopp announced that he has no business with the Straw Hat Crew and disappears. Yet Usopp came back a minute later dressed up as the Sogeking. He was wearing a mask and a cape, using the alias "Sogeking" (sogeki means sniper, so Sogeking is a pun meaning "Sniper King"). According to his stories, Sogeking is from an island of snipers, Sharpshooter Island, that can be found in your heart, and Usopp has even written a themesong for this identity.
He helped Franky and Sanji in order to rescue Nico Robin but they fail to do so. After being in the detached cart 4 and 3 with Sanji, they were found by the Franky Family and finally reunited with Luffy. When they confronted CP9, Sogeking unveiled a new weapon, a long staff with a more powerful slingshot attached called "Kabuto".
All of the Straw Hats realize who he really is except for Luffy and Chopper. It is unknown if Usopp is going to rejoin the crew.
Powers and abilities
Usopp is an expert marksman with his slingshot and prefers to use rapid attacks against multiple opponents; his long nose acts as crosshairs to help him efficiently aim at his targets. His slingshot being his prime form of combat, he has a few different types of ammunition. He is also not adverse to using anything around him as a weapon. He uses eggs to blind opponents and rocks in the slingshot when out of ammunition.
Usopp's greatest ability is his penchant to outrun just about anybody and anything. He utilizes hit and run tactics, provoking an enemy while his teammates attack or waiting for a sufficient opprotunity himself. This most likely will continue until he runs out of ammunition or he tires out.
His ammunition has great range, from rotten eggs and hot sauce to shurikens and powerful explosives. Usopp has other attacks unrelated to projectiles, though they are mainly jokes. These include the 5 Ton Hammer (which is actually only about 2 kilograms) and Usopp Noise, where he plugs his ears and scratches a chalkboard. He has also recently started using Skypiean dials for attacks, such as using the Breath Dial to house explosive gas, using the Lamp Dial to blind his foes, and using the Impact Dial to absorb and reflect blows.
Sogeking has recently introduced a new weapon - "Kabuto" - a slingshot connected to a long staff. The exact properties of the "kabuto" are unknown, but he used it to launch a bird shaped flame at the World Governments flag, in a symbolic gesture of defiance after Luffy asked him to. It seems as if "Kabuto" uses several rubberbands, making the shots somewhat faster and stronger. The weapon was named "Kabuto" probably because of the shape of the head of the staff resembles the trunk of a kabuto beetle.
Personality and Relationships
Usopp is a joker and likes to play pranks on his crew members or just goof off with Luffy and Chopper. He also likes to tell tall tales with Chopper (or Kaya when he started with it) as thankful listeners. He sometimes sees a role model in Zoro who never seems afraid but always proud. Usopp lacks a bit of self esteem and is often taken advantage of by Nami to make her weapons or repair and improve them.
Usopp is easily scared and always tries to make up an excuse so he does not have to go on an island, which is normally simply ignored by his teammates. Despite his frightful nature, he realizes when his friends need him and will do anything to help them, even if it means to stand up to a disproportionately more powerful enemy. In battle he normally tries to trick his enemy by telling tales or deceiving the enemy. His ability to bear loads and loads of damage is one of his best traits, in addition to his cunning and intelligence, saving the Straw Hats on many occasions.
Villains defeated
Recent Chapters
Template:Spoiler During the Enies Lobby battle, Sogeking hid away and planned on fleeing but quickly changed his mind, and tried to conceal himself. He soon noticed that he was hiding behind the giants Oimo and Kaashi. After hearing their story, he told them the truth and convinced them to turn against the World Government.
Later, he was tossed up to the courthouse and stood on the same steeple Luffy was standing on. By this time his 'Sogeking' mask had suffered a crack. He bravely joined the others for the final showdown with the CP9.
Usopp was prepared to fight Jyabura, one of the CP9, but was interrupted by Zoro falling through the roof along with Kaku, another CP9 member, in a full Giraffe mode. Usopp and Zoro got handcuffed together (Thanks to a mistake of Usopp due to the humorous appearance of Kaku in his devil fruit form) and tried to run away from both Jyabura and Kaku. They asked Chopper to find the key for their handcuffs (the number 2 key), and continued to flee from Kaku and Jyabura. Zoro finally decided to fight, using Usopp as a meito (named sword) called "Hana Arashi", -- translated as Nose Storm. Nami frees them with the key from Kalifa and Usopp continued to face Jyabrua. However the CP9 member is too powerful for him, wounding Usopp with his ten-finger shigan and tekki kempo techniques. However, he and Nami are saved by a newly recovered Sanji, who faced Jyabura in Usopp's place. But not before Sanji reassured him that everyone in the crew had things that they can and can not do to in certain situations and that Usopp had to find how he could contribute to the cause of rescuing Robin (It should be noted this also the first time Sanji called Usopp by his name rather then SogeKing since the Sea Train rescue). With this new revelation, Usopp suddenly figured out what he could do to help as he and Nami rush for the Gate of Justice.
Trivia
- Usopp is 17 years old, 5'9 1/2" and born on April 1st (April Fool's day), and is an Aries.
- Usopp uses a slingshot as his weapon and shoots Pachinko, small steel balls used in gambling. He also has a variety of special attacks, including rotten eggs, lead, exploding stars, caltrops and many others (including Skypiean dials). Recently in the manga, in Usopp's role as Sogeking, he is seen armed with a combination slingshot/staff called the Kabuto.
- Ussop's 5 ton hammer is not exactly 5 tons in weight. Ussop simply put together two pans with other items to make an item that looks like a 5 ton hammer. It is used in Ussop's ultimate move in One Piece: Grand Battle
- According to a recent Japanese fan poll, Usopp is currently the sixth most popular character. [citation needed]
- The back of Usopp's head can be seen on Luffy's wanted poster.
- According to Oda, Usopp is most like an armadillo.
- Also according to Oda, Usopp's nose is nine inches long.
- Usopp increases his sight with special goggles. He purchased an upgraded pair in Rogue Town, but the actual scene of him purchasing them was cut out in the 4Kids Entertainment dub.
- Usopp will often tell enemies that he is "The Great Captain Usopp" and commands 8,000 men or some other absurdly high number that changes every time. Some people actually believe this lie, like the people from Cocoyashi Village during the Arlong arc.
- Ironically, most of the tall tales he told Kaya have came true at some point during the Straw Hats voyage. These include meeting a Giant Goldfish (as the crew was leaving Little Garden) and fighting against a giant mole (against Ms. Merry Christmas during the climax in Alabasta). Perhaps one day he will actually get 8,000 followers and become a captain.
- By Bon Clay's standards, Usopp possesses the world's weirdest/funniest nose.
