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Usopp
One Piece character
Usopp, from the anime and manga series One Piece.
First appearance	Manga Chapter #23[1] Anime Episode #8
Created by	Eiichiro Oda
Voiced by	Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese) Jason Anthony Griffith (English, 4Kids) Sonny Strait (English, FUNimation)
Profile
Aliases	"King of Snipers" Sogeking
Age	17
Species	Human
Date of birth	April 1
Occupation	Pirate (Straw-Hat Pirates, Marksman)
Known relatives	Yasopp (father), Banchina (mother, deceased)
Bounty	Technically none 30 000 000 Beli (as Sogeking)

Usopp (ウソップ, Usoppu^?) is a fictional character from the anime and manga One Piece. He is the marksman and the third member of Straw Hat Pirates to join the crew.

Contents 1 Usopp the Pirate 2 Personality and relationships 3 History 3.1 The Liar Usopp 3.2 Aftermath and life on the seas 3.3 Little Garden 3.4 Sogeking 4 Powers and abilities 5 References 6 External links

Usopp's name is probably based on "Isoppu", which is the Japanese pronunciation of Aesop, the ancient Greek fabulist. Considering that "uso" means "lie" in Japanese, 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. His nose is nine inches long, and according to Mr. 2 Bon Clay's standards, Usopp possesses the world's weirdest/funniest nose. Oda claims that Usopp is most represented by the armadillo.^[2] Oda has also said that he uses the color yellow to represent Usopp, and he smells of gunpowder. ^[3]

The other aspect of Usopp besides his lying is his cowardice; he is a very timid person, or so he thinks. (He is constantly ailed by illnesses such as I-can't-go-on-that-scary-island disease.) In extremely stressful situations, Usopp has proven to be far more courageous than he believes himself to be. He shows great resolve when his friends are threatened or mocked by outsiders. Even though he is a complete coward in battle (except as his alter ego, Sogeking), he is a useful part to the Straw Hat Pirates. He is extremely handy and can fix almost anything serving as the shipwright prior to Franky joining. He is also a talented artist, a skill he claimed he got drawing on walls as a kid.

Despite his lack of physical strength compared to other members of the crew, Usopp seems to be just as resilient (if not more so) as 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, for the sake of comic relief. (Indeed, he once was hit in the head by Mr 4's 4-ton baseball bat, only to stand up seconds later. An x-ray of his skull showed that it was cracked in many places Miss Merry Christmas commented that he should not even be alive.)

His goal in life is to become a proud and strong pirate like his father Yasopp of the Red Haired Pirate Crew.

According to a recent Japanese fan poll, Usopp is the 6th most popular character; he has the same rank in 4Kids polls.

Usopp is a liar 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 - something he is very adept at, having constructed the ingenious weapon, the Clima Tact (Weather Forcer in the 4Kids Dub).

Usopp is easily scared and always tries to make up excuses so he does not have to go on an island, which are simply ignored by his teammates. Despite his timid 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 and be severely pummelled. Usopp will also stand up and fight for not only the well-being of people, but also the ideals of them - and the ideals of a pirate, which he holds very high. In battle he normally tries to trick his enemies by telling tales or deceiving them. His ability to bear loads and loads of damage is one of his best traits, in addition to his cunning and intelligence which have saved the Straw Hats on many occasions. Also he proved to be very brave during the Enies Lobby arc; he stood up to Jyabura, and later Lucci after he had seemingly beaten Luffy, proving that he was not afraid to die for his crewmates, and it was he who destroyed the World Governments flag and defended Nico Robin on the bridge by acting as sniper.

In the Post-Water 7 Events, Usopp has demonstrated more maturity and the propensity to know when his usual lies and games are no longer appropriate. He remains a coward with a high sense of negativity, which he manages to use to his advantage. In the Thriller Bark arc for example, he's the only Strawhat immune to the negative effects of Perona's Ghosts.

After meeting the giants Dorry and Broggy in the Little Garden arc, Usopp wants to travel to Elbaf one day and meet the proud warriors there. When Usopp meets the giants at Enies Lobby, Oimo and Kaashii, he is again inspired to become a brave warrior of the sea: a dream hindered by his cowardly nature, and his recent feelings of inferiority compared to the other crewmembers.

Usopp called himself a pirate and took in three younger kids, Ninjin (meaning "Carrot" in Japanese. Renamed Carrot in the dub), Tamanegi (meaning Onion in Japanese, Renamed Onion in the dub), and Piiman (meaning Pepper in Japanese. Renamed Pepper in the dub), 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. Yasopp left Usopp and his mother to become a pirate when Usopp was still very young. This caused Usopp to develop a fascination with pirates and high seas adventures.

It is revealed later on by Kaya's butler Merry why Usopp started lying. A couple of years after his father had left them, Usopp's mother became sick and was slowly dying. Usopp begun to lie to keep his mother's spirit up, often saying that Yassop and his pirate crew had come to town to take them with him on his journey. Even after she died Usopp continued to run throughout the town yelling that pirates were coming. Merry believed that there were no cruel intentions in these lies, they were just manifestations of Usopp's own longing for high seas adventure.

Many of the villagers would make a show of chasing him and throwing things at him for his antics but all of them had actually become use to it. Some villagers even use his daily run through town as a sort of alarm clock. He also made up stories about his fake adventures to entertain his best friend, a young girl named Kaya, a rich orphan who was sick and bedridden .

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 the Alabasta arc), and recently facing a cerberus. Perhaps one day he will actually get 8,000 followers and become a captain.

When the Black Cat pirates came to town, Usopp, along with Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Nami, fought the pirates and their leader, Captain Kuro, who had spent three years posing as a caretaker for Kaya.

After Luffy defeats Kuro and the Black Cat Pirates, Usopp disbands "Usopp's Pirates" and leaves them to take his place as the town liars. He was going to set off to sea on his own adventures when Luffy invited him to join his crew on the Going Merry, a ship given to Luffy by Kaya. Luffy later gave him the title of sniper for the crew as he had inherited his father's sharp shooting skills. He was also the one who designed and painted the Straw Hat skull and crossbones on the Going Merry's flag and sail after seeing Luffy's poorly drawn version. Usopp often jokingly tries to claim the position of "Captain", much to Luffy's objection.

Reaching their second island on the Grand Line, Little Garden, meant a somewhat of a change for Usopp. The island's inhabitants, the giants Dorry and Broggy, fascinated Usopp. The giants have been fighting for a century over a matter they had forgotten until the Strawhats helped them remember. The reason never mattered, as this is a battle of pride, more important than their own lives, that continues after the Strawhats depart - a battle of men, as Usopp defined it. Usopp claimed they are exactly what he wants to be, a proud warrior of the seas. He says that one day he will die with pride, and his last words will be "I am Usopp, the great warrior of the sea!". Usopp was moved to rage when he had discovered that the sake from the Strawhat ship, given to Dorry and Broggy, had been rigged by Mr. 3 to explode in Dorry's stomach, putting him at a disadvantage in his fight against Broggy. Because of this, Usopp was moved to fight Mr. 5 despite the risk. This is his second major fight in the series. He still wishes to visit Elbaf the warrior giants' home, as he states after the destruction of Enies Lobby.

After the battle with Aokiji, Usopp became frightened after seeing his friends beaten so easily, which has him question his value to the crew. He was afraid that the crew had begun encountering stronger adversaries and as the Straw Hat's weakest fighter, he started to lose confidence in his abilities. A series of conflicts, particularly Luffy's choice to get a new ship, results in Usopp leaving the crew. In the aftermath of these quarrels, Usopp challenged Luffy to a duel, where Usopp displayed an uncharacteristically vicious and effective fighting style using dials. As a result of the battle, Usopp gained possession of the damaged-beyond-repair Going Merry. Usopp was later detained by CP9 after meeting up with Franky and losing the ship to the cruelty of 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 Pirates and disappears. Yet Usopp came back a minute later in a disguise. He was wearing a mask and a cape, using the alias "Sogeking" (sogeki means sniper, so Sogeking ("そげキング" Sogekingu) is a pun meaning "Sniper King", which is only pushed further when the World Government nicknames him "King of Snipers" Sogeking). 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 theme song for this identity.

All of the Straw Hats (along with Galley-La, Franky Family, and CP9) immediately recognize his true identity except for Luffy and Chopper. For a long time, it was unknown if Usopp was going to rejoin the crew. His motive for wearing the mask and becoming Sogeking was to keep his identity a secret to the crew (even if it only worked on Chopper and Luffy).

Aboard the sea train, he helped Franky and Sanji in attempting to rescue Nico Robin but they fail to do so after Robin refuses to be helped. Sanji and Usopp become separated from Franky when cart 4 and 3 are detached from the train. They were soon picked up by the Franky Family and finally reunited with Luffy. When they confronted CP9, Sogeking unveiled a new weapon, a long staff with a powerful sling attached called "Kabuto". Although he was the only Straw Hat unable to defeat a major CP9 agent, he did burn down the World Government flag on Luffy's command, signifying a declaration of war by the Straw Hats on the World Government. He also prevented the CP9 Chief Spandam from escaping with Nico Robin by sniping him from atop the Tower of Justice.

When first seen on his return to Water 7, Usopp was sitting on Oimo's shoulder, questioning whether or not to follow the giants to Elbaf. When Garp, Luffy's grandfather, paid a visit to his grandson, Usopp was peeking into the room along with Yokuzuna. Usopp, as Sogeking, enjoyed the large party in Water 7 along with everyone else. Under the guise of Sogeking, he gained a bounty of 30 million and the title "Sogeking, King of Snipers". Interestingly, this is Usopp's second time appearing on a wanted poster with someone else's name on it, as he is also on Luffy's (in the background).

While he wanted to rejoin the Straw Hats, he would prefer Luffy to beg him to rejoin. However, Zoro has already advised Luffy not to do so until Usopp apologized. Usopp believes the crew would still come and fetch him, but after Zoro's speech the crew did not seek for him. During the bombardment of Garp on the Straw Hats, Usopp rushed back and saw the ship was leaving him behind. As Usopp tries to call to the Straw Hats, they ignored and continued defending their new ship from Garp's bombardment. Usopp finally realized his wrong, shouting out his apology and taking back his words of leaving his companions. At that note, Luffy heard him and tearfully stretched his arm to get him back on board.

Sogeking reappeared while Usopp was fighting Perona on Thriller Bark. Sogeking now acts as an alternate personality to Usopp which he uses to give him courage and strength that Usopp would not normally show.

Usopp has outstanding marksmanship abilities with his slingshot and is on his way to becoming one of the best snipers in the One Piece world. Usopp's ammunition has great range, from rotten eggs and hot sauce to shuriken and powerful explosives and recently salt. His attacks are named Stars ("Boshi" in the original), e.g. Powder Star. He can also stand unbearable amounts of pain, as he was struck in the face with a 4-ton metal bat but resumed fighting minutes later. To compensate for his physical weakness, Usopp has developed tremendous tactical abilities, such as leading his opponent into explosive gas, throwing a bottle of wine to then burn the opponent and cleverly exploiting Mr. 4's slow intellect. Like Nami, Usopp has defeated enemies far stronger than himself. When defending the Going Merry in Enies Lobby, he joined in with Zoro and Sanji by shooting down an equal share of the cannon balls fired towards the ship, sometimes three simultaneously, demonstrating his level of skill and power has begun to rival the abilities of Luffy, Zoro and Sanji in the earlier part of the series.

Usopp's other weapons are usually only used for humor or bluffing, such as Usopp Noise (scratching a chalkboard, in the English dub it is called "Usopp Nail Scratch") or Usopp 5 Ton Hammer (In truth, 2 kilograms but is built to seem like it weighs 5 tons), but makes good use of improvised weapons. He has also recently started using Skypiean dials for attacks, such as using the Flash Dial to blind his foes and the Impact Dial to absorb and reflect blows. He also is a capable inventor and invented the Clima-Tact for Nami and has over the course of the journey also made other gadgets. He used to act as the crew's carpenter and would patch up the Going Merry every time she was damaged. However, with the events of Water 7, the loss of the Going Merry and the joining of Franky which coincides with them gaining a new ship, Usopp is no longer acting this part.

Usopp, as 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 Government's flag, in a symbolic gesture of defiance after Luffy asked him to. It seems as if "Kabuto" uses several rubber bands attached to the five "prongs" of the weapon, making the shots somewhat faster and stronger. It is powered by dials; Usopp has used them often since Skypiea;The weapon was named "Kabuto" probably because of the shape of the head of the staff resembles the trunk of a kabuto beetle. Usopp is shown using the "Kabuto" again in chapter 457 to rescue Nami from Absalom although he managed to escape. By chapter 465 during the fight with Perona, he said that it is powered by the Breath Dial. The power of the dial can be charged into the bullets, and when it is, the rapid rotation of the bullet can change its shape.

Besides his upgraded weapon, Usopp also uses his new identity as Sogeking as a new skill. In recent chapters, wearing the mask of his alter ego allows him to think like a great warrior and even summon courage to fight. Whether or not Sogeking is becoming an alternate identity is unknown and mere speculation, but more likely, the mask is just an escape mechanism for the normally cowardly Usopp.

Usopp improves his sight with special goggles. He won an upgraded pair in Loguetown (by winning a duel against Daddy the Father), but the actual scene of him obtaining them was cut out in the 4Kids Entertainment dub. The scene was also absent in the original manga, as it was written for the anime as filler (in the manga, he simply purchases the goggles off-panel.)

Another often forgotten ability is the ability to run very fast. He gained this ability naturally from his home town as he ran from the mobs trying to lynch him. This ability is, at times, used seriously in combat. However, it is mostly a gag relating to how cowardly he is and his great experience in running away from danger.

Usopp also has one more hidden talent - he seems to be a fairly competent artist. He painted the Strawhat's Jolly Roger (both the flag and the larger one on the Going Merry's sail) based on a crude design by Luffy which he greatly improved upon. He also designed a rejected Jolly Roger which was based on his likeness, as well as the emblem of the Usopp Pirates (Veggie Pirates in the English dub.) In the manga Usopp is often shown drawing or sketching in several title splash pages, though not in the context of the story. He claims that he honed his talent by painting walls as a kid.

• One Piece Encyclopedia - Usopp

Characters of One Piece

Straw Hat Pirates: Monkey D. Luffy | Roronoa Zoro (Zolo)| Nami | Usopp | Sanji | Tony Tony Chopper | Nico Robin | Franky | Going Merry (Merry Go) | Thousand Sunny Companions: Nefertari Vivi | Portgas D. Ace Main Enemies Buggy the Clown | Baroque Works | Enel (Eneru) | CP9 World Government: Smoker | Aokiji Pirates: Red-Haired Shanks | Blackbeard | Gold Roger Miscellaneous: Minor characters | Filler characters |