During the Little Garden Arc, Usopp came to view the giants Dorry and Brogy fighting, and officially decided he wanted to become a “become a brave warrior of the sea” like them. Now that the Straw Hats have been in Elbaph, Dorry and Brogy’s home country, for a number of chapters, fans feel it’s time for Oda to set Usopp on the path everyone has been waiting for.

Usopp Whined, Wheedled, and Lucked His Way Across the Grand Line in One Piece

Despite being the wimpiest of the infamous Weak Trio, Usopp displays courage in many ways. He has defeated villains by combining willpower with intellect, solved problems through sheer determination, and proven his worth as a member of the Straw Hats numerous times. That said, Usopp’s most predominant trait remains his shameless cowardice. Perhaps this is why the One Piece popularity polls consistently rank Usopp in the bottom half of his crew, placing him below side-characters.

As a major source of One Piece‘s comic relief, Usopp’s fears and anxieties are frequently magnified for laughs. Compared to Nami and Chopper’s cowardice, which revolves exclusively around self-preservation, Usopp’s wimpiness comes from his profound insecurity. And his lies are largely used to camouflage these feelings of unease, apprehension, and uncertainty.

Usopp makes a wide range of excuses to justify his refusal to fight or endanger his life in any way, especially before the timeskip. For the longest time, he even called himself Captain Usopp in a self-aggrandizing attempt to minimize his own personal shame. That said, it’s not really surprising why he feels this way — most of the Straw Hats are powerhouses, possessing Haki, Devil Fruits, or both, whereas Usopp can barely use Observation Haki.

And yet, Usopp undoubtedly possesses the skills and qualities to be a member of the Straw Hats. The problem is that he just can’t see himself as the brave warrior he wants to be. Enies Lobby helped change these negative perceptions of himself, but not enough to make him a properly confident hero. For instance, Perona’s Devil Fruit failed to affect Usopp because her negativity-inducing powers couldn’t possibly worsen his personal image.

Pessimism is yet another trait exhibited by Usopp, explaining why he rationalizes running away instead of fighting. He never wanted the Straw Hats to face the Donquixote and Beasts Pirates, claiming that it was unnecessarily dangerous to antagonize overpowered villains like Doflamingo and Kaido. Usopp prefers the easiest path out of any conflict, leading to panic attacks and endless whining when the Straw Hats willingly challenge the status quo.

Usopp is so cowardly that he can’t even derive pleasure from his elevating bounty: while Straw Hats like Zoro and Sanji compete with each other over their bounty values, Usopp helplessly begs the universe to prevent his bounty from increasing further. And the less said about Sogeking, the better. All things considered, however, fans have observed an upward trend in Usopp’s self-improvement.