It’s crazy to me that people STILL don’t understand what the Water 7 conflict was actually about.
I still see people saying, “Usopp betrayed the Straw Hats because he was selfish,” and honestly, that completely misses the point of the conflict.
Usopp’s attachment to the Going Merry was never just about a ship. Back in Skypiea, he experienced Merry’s spirit firsthand. He had already formed an emotional connection with her, and by the time they reached Water 7, he knew deep down that Merry was badly damaged and probably wouldn’t last much longer.
Then Franky’s men confirmed just how serious the damage was.
But to Usopp, Merry wasn’t just a piece of wood that could be replaced with a stronger ship. Merry was an ally. Merry was a member of their journey. Merry had feelings.
So when Luffy decided they had to leave Merry behind and get a new ship, Usopp didn’t process it as:
“Captain is making a practical decision.”
He processed it as:
“We’re abandoning one of our own because she’s no longer useful.”
And that’s where the deeper conflict comes in.
If Luffy could decide that a wounded Merry had to be left behind because she could no longer keep up, then Usopp couldn’t help but wonder:
“What happens when I’m the one who can’t keep up?”
That’s why this conflict hit Usopp so personally. It wasn’t simply about being selfish or wanting to keep a ship. It was about his own insecurities, his fear of being useless to the crew, and the fact that he genuinely believed abandoning Merry meant abandoning someone who had been with them through everything.
Water 7 literally puts these themes right in front of you, yet people reduce the entire conflict to “Usopp was being selfish.”
Bro, you missed the entire point of the arc. 😭
That’s what makes Water 7 so good to me. The argument isn’t supposed to have a simple “Usopp bad, Luffy good” answer. Both characters are hurting, both have valid emotions, and their personal insecurities are what make the conflict hit so hard.
6 years after the Yuzuki Roa incident, the case finally came to a close as the guy who started it all acknowledged that the evidence of Roa bullying Meiro is false, apologized to Roa and reached a settlement
Roa can finally legally clear her name after 6 whole years
If you’re not in Film Circles or whatever, something very funny is happening rn where this movie was cancelled by Evil Film Exec half a decade ago and now every Movie Person (myself included, might I add) has to see this 5 times minimum and pretend it’s the greatest thing ever
@lestbianstatt viewership doesn’t equal endorsement.
you can watch characters or relationships on screen and acknowledge they’re bad. there are so many shows that have bad dynamics or characters present. the show doesn’t expect people to endorse them.