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.
ser valiente no es no sentir miedo, es hacer las cosas con todo y miedo. a muchos fans se les olvida que usopp es un humano entre monstruos que aún así le juega al vergas
@HumanoidFrog I personally give Franky the gap over Sanji and tie him with Robin. They’re smart in different ways but share the same level of intellect
@onepiecedaiIys Usopp is not a useless character, and in fact, he is probably one of the best straw hats. Raw combat doesn’t mean everything, but his courage and dedication for his friends makes him special. He doesn’t need to be removed, maybe a nice power up sure, but he is necessary.
@EzriMuldoon@ManaByte Never called yall small, and it’s a feat sure, but it’s not like he gave yall a good film in return. I personally wouldn’t beg a director or company to release a 4 hour bore fest.
@EzriMuldoon@ManaByte Not to mention, it came at a time where superhero movies weren’t a saturated media. Man of steel isn’t a good movie, it doesn’t understand Superman. I will die on this hill. David Corenswet and Christopher Reeves are the only two actors who have come close to encapsulating him.
@EzriMuldoon@ManaByte Not to mention, it came at a time where superhero movies weren’t a saturated media. Man of steel isn’t a good movie, it doesn’t understand Superman. I will die on this hill. David Corenswet and Christopher Reeves are the only two actors who have come close to encapsulating him.
@EzriMuldoon@ManaByte *taps the sign* man of steel did so much irreparable damage to the Superman mythos that many people stopped caring about Superman all together. I know plenty of people that didn’t watch it because of how bad man of steel was.
Supergirl is easily better than:
- Birds of Prey
- Wonder Woman 1984
- Captain Marvel
- The Marvels
- Madame Web
- Dark Phoenix
And those are just the recent female led movies, not even getting into recent CBMs in general
The point being that the hate is insanely overblown