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Syrup Island Arc- Part VI
As we examine the ending of Usopp's arc, we discover what makes a hero, talk about good captains, good nakama, touch on Usopp's past, who he has become, and the role he will eventually fulfill.
When we last left off, Luffy had defeated Kuro by giving him a headbutt from hell and declared his own version of piracy.
And Luffy has choices here too. He can kill Kuro. He can beat the crap out of the guys like he said he would… But there’s no point to doing that. Part of having freedom is to change your mind if you want to and he does, chucking Kuro at them and telling them to get out and not come back. And at least these guys care about each other enough to pick up their own guys who can’t otherwise move and haul ass to safety.
Luffy is on the verge of collapse and then does collapse but…
Nami is right there to catch him as he does, acknowledging what he did. The sign of a true nakama whether she really wants to be or not.
She asks him why he got so angry and he says that he doesn’t like them, that they’re wrong.
Nami, of course, just sees them as pirates and pirates are like all pirates. Here I think that while Luffy doesn’t agree with her, he doesn’t see the point in arguing with her either, since Nami can believe what she wants. Also, that little concerned look in the right panel. Like how can you not know what pirates are? And boy you are going to get burned so badly. But also, in the left? While she has her own treasure, she also has his, bringing it back to him because she knows how important it is to him.
Btw, how long has it been since we last admired Zoro. Too long you say? Well then let’s fix that shall we.
So much. No words. Everything is peaceful. Battle over, he slides Wado home, ties the bandanna back around his arm and then just sort of casually walks through the calm forest, his hands in his pockets. How beautiful. Below this Jango is lying unconscious and I could have shown it but fuck that guy, I want me some marimo.
Also let’s just look at this Cute!Sopp. I don’t care what any of ya’ll say, he’s gorgeous in this shot and idek why. Also, look at him being a hero here.
They even say it as the rage for his sake. He could be the town hero! He could have everyone look up to him and accept him which is probably everything he thought he wanted. He should accept his accolades. But Usopp fought for Kaya yeah, but also for the peace of the village and he’s going to preserve that. What would be the point of them knowing that they came so close to all getting killed? It’s over and he’s fine with not taking credit. Giving up his “meat” that is, the acceptance of others, in order that they can sleep soundly in their beds. He says as much and further that pirates normally wouldn’t attack such a peaceful village anyway so why make them worry. He asks them to go along with him, that to say it’s all a lie. But…and most importantly.
Much like Luffy, he’s not going to force them to do anything they don’t want to do. He’s giving him the choice, the freedom, to make up their own minds.
But they agree because they are good boys. They love Usopp enough to protect his dream for the moment, that is , protecting the peace of the village. That is his treasure and they will do their best to uphold it. Kaya as well. He asks if this is going to be hard for her and she says no…and we open back on a peaceful village:
Virtually same scene as when we first saw Usopp.
For the villagers, it’s as if nothing has happened, and nothing has changed. They wonder where Usopp is because he’s not careening through the town screaming about pirates. Oversleeping due to his absence and the day just not seeming the same without him.
That little girl is so cute. There’s a sketch there where Odacchi drew her in armor and I like to think she grows up to become the defender of the village with the other boys. That’s my headcanon and I’m sticking to it. Anyway, everyone misses Usopp not being around and angry guy with the broom who looks like he really needs to vent and is tsun to the extreme wonders if they’ve been too hard on him. A testament to him leaving more of an impact in his absence then he knows.
The boys also accept unfair consequences for their actions in order to uphold the peace of the village. They are heroes, too, and very much a reflection of their captain.
And most importantly:
Gratitude. Yep. Even though it’s just a simple thank you, Usopp has more gratitude than Kuro ever displayed ever. They worked hard for him and he can’t really give them anything for it, because what does he have? Nothing really, but he’s sure going to let them know how much he appreciates it. Also look how happy he is here. X3
Usopp didn’t just rely on them. He fought and put his own life on the line and Zoro and Luffy acknowledge that. Nami does too in her own way. She got her treasure and that’s the only thing that’s important to her just now. Usopp says he’s come to a decision.
Cut to Kaya, back at the house and bandaging Merry, telling him of the situation, because, of course, he’s involved. Merry is pleasantly surprised at what Usopp asked of Kaya and says that he’s a good natured young man. He asks if Kaya wishes to keep the secret and when she says she does, he agrees to go along with it as well.
And now, the heartbreak, if you’re not listening to Mother Sea you should be:
You can tell he’s faking this, even from here. But much like he lies to bolster himself, this is a lie to bolster others. First, of course, he praises them for a good fight because they did fight their hardest for him…and he is so good with words. You can read how uplifting this all is. How dramatic. He raises the battle above something that was blood and sweat and tears and desperation to something magnificent. Something they can be proud about.
Then laughs to show he doesn’t care and says he’s going to be a real pirate and isn’t worried or sad at all, not him. Look at how bold his stance is! How proud his nose!
So much in the stillness. Even the silence has an impact here as they stare at him unbelieving. That he’s really going to go out and leave them. Why? Because he was inspired by Luffy and the others. Strong, yes, but people his own age who are out on the wild seas. Look how tense his smile is though. Though he’s no doubt happy to finally set out, he’s definitely putting on a brave face for their benefit.
Rather than wait for his father to come, he’s going to be proactive and go out and find his own dream. He is going to stop playing around and become a real warrior of the sea because the pirate flag is calling him. Yasopp’d be proud of you bb. T>T He tells them he won’t be saying goodbye to the villagers, and the kids know what is coming and tell him not to say it as he reminiscences. Pepper screaming he doesn’t want to hear that story. Remember they aren’t at all fooled by Usopp and know what it means.
I didn’t want to show all the reminisces, but really, how can I not show young!Sopp? In the far right panel you can see how much they look up to him and how awesome they find him. Though not just through slingshot skill alone. I also love his expression. And… the second panel, well there may be a reason why some of the villagers aren’t too happy. Though I doubt they stole too much for it to be a problem. Again, though, look at the age difference. He is so much bigger than they are.
And the last panel… Usopp is being a true captain, starting to sweat here and trying not to cry—because remember that Usopp, no matter how he tries to hold it back, his honesty through his actions shines through.
And is still fighting it but wants to cry so bad and the kids do too. But a true captain not only considers his own ambitions, but those of the crew as well. Usopp sets them on the same course he’s on because he knows how much they look up to him and he wants to make it easier on them to move past this part. After all, a peaceful village really doesn’t have that much need for pirates, and what are pirates without a captain? As a captain he pushes them toward their dreams. But it’s a hero who does what’s best for them…
They’re all pretty wrecked by it and if you’ve been listening to Mother Sea, you’ll be wrecked too. Also the fact that they’re all trying and really failing not to cry. Also this, letting them go from being pirates means that they no longer really have to worry about holding up the pride of the Usopp Pirate group and defending the village. No doubt they will do it anyway if it comes to it. But they can do it as who they are. There is no pressure to cling to an ideal.
Cut to Nami, Zoro and Luffy who are eating at the Meshi Restaurant.
This because A) Zoro is a moron. Train your throat to handle fishbones. Really, Zoro? REALLY? Don’t look so smug about this it doesn’t work that way.
B) Nami being the sensible one as usual trying to teach Luffy a thing. I love her, “how can you be so stupid”, look.
C) Luffy chewing on the bone again anyway.
Dumbasses. <3
The door opens and Kaya comes in. Nami asks if she should be in bed. Kaya says no.
I think she really was sick, like it wasn’t psychosomatic or anything. Essentially, she wasn’t just sick because she was sad about her parents. But I don’t think she’d get better by staying in bed all the time either. I think this kind of means she’s chosen to step out of mourning, start on the road to getting better by getting out and connecting to the village. Bringing herself out of isolation because she was inspired by Usopp. She goes on to say: That’s why she can’t be weak now… and then says that she heard they needed a ship.
This. Look at how quiet this house is up on the hill…and how kind of lonely it is. He’s not going alone, though, he’s packing all his possessions with him. But just him lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, letting go of his childhood home and just…letting go period, to start a new life, following his dream on the sea. And when he tries to get out, he gets stuck in the door. Its either his entire pack of possessions or his house.
Yep. Can’t really go home again. At least not without some repairing the door. But he values possessions, i.e. mementos and things that are important to him—also things that’ll help him on his journey… over the house. He goes tumbling down the hill, breaking a few trees along the way and ends up knocked around on the ground.
You can already see it though. He’s like crap! But also kind of determined, psyching himself up. Sure I won’t be stopped by this. It’ll be a great adventure. Not the least bit worried at all. He’s determined if nothing else and probably still a little wounded from the fight that happened not too long ago. Maybe even just half a day.
Going Merry with a DON! Kyaa! Hi, Merry. X3
Of course Kaya is giving the ship to them and Merry is surprised that they aren’t a little bigger, considering who they defeated. You and everyone else, Merry. He tries to explain the steering system et. Al. to Luffy who is just like wut? And Nami’s like don’t even bother, talk to me. Kaya even stocked the ship with supplies that they may need on the journey. She’s such a generous person. Even Merry, giving the ship he designed as a present to Kaya… They do their best to show how grateful they are for what Luffy and the others did.
At any rate, Usopp has started rolling again and is careening down the hill, asking for someone to stop him and Zoro says if they don’t, he may hit the ship. So they do, with their feet to his face. Rofl. Kaya asks if he’s going to sea and he says he is and for her to not to try to stop him. Kaya says she won’t, but it makes her sad… and then this:
Aww, baby~~ Look at Usopp’s wide smile. He’s telling the truth here! What he hopes and dreams but also true! He’s going out and he’s going to come back and tell her stories, true ones even! His expression is so open and happy and just so cute. Kaya meanwhile is all poised and refined, but her words are polite and somewhat distant—her smile not as open as we’ve seen in direct contrast to Usopp who is just beaming. Usopp is gaining something, but in Kaya’s perspective, she’s losing. Still, she supports him in the best way she can, by being happy for him.
Awww Zoro. He’s the first one that says it and the first one that realizes. We’ll come back to this much much much much later. But suffice to say, right now? It’s just heartwarming.
Also I’d very much like to point out that Usopp had no idea that he would be invited to go along with them and was about to set out to sea completely by himself. That is brave as balls, man. Especially if you’re just a normal guy aside from being a spectacular marksman. He probably doesn’t have a whole lot in the way of sailing knowledge either. I can see him maybe taking jaunts close to shore but not the wide open sea. Yeah, doubt it. And I really dunno if he knows much beyond rowboat.
And then this. Just this. Usopp is not alone any more. He has friends. Companions. Nakama. People to share his adventures with. People his own age, too. People who he can take care of and who can take care of him. Finally, after a long time all by himself, Usopp has someplace he can belong. And it’s because he stood up to the bully that was Kuro, he didn’t let anyone scare him away from protecting those he loved, he fought his hardest and did his best—And sometimes, yes, sometimes someone can do all that and it doesn’t work out. But Luffy is the game changer. He always is. And no matter what anyone has to say about Usopp that he’s weak (which he isn’t) or useless (which he isn’t) he’s more than good enough for Luffy so none of the rest of that matters.
Also note at no point does Luffy ask him to be nakama. He doesn’t need to. Usopp just is.
Usopp then asks if he can be captain because he’s still got a lot of growing up to do. XD Though Luffy refuses in any case.
Meanwhile, Onion, Pepper and Carrot are watching them sail off. They feel safe to know that Usopp is with those guys because of how strong they are.
And, just like Usopp, though they don’t want to see him go, they nevertheless support his decision to do it. It’s something he wants to do and it’s his dream. They understand how sad the villagers will be, as we’ve seen. Because he was pretty noisy and made sure that they didn’t forget who he was. Now I think it’s going to be very much the case for them (as we’ve seen already) they don’t know what they got ‘til it’s gone.
Pepper says he gets an idea. Before we see what it is, though, we cut to Kaya and Merry, watching them sail off into the wild blue.
You can tell just by her posture that she’s sort of upset about this. She’s closed off, but at the same time, she’s smiling. What she’s referencing, of course, is not stopping Usopp from going when she wanted to. She really cares about him and the stories he tells and how he lifted her spirits. But if we go back three parts ago, remember when she found out what Kuro had done and how Usopp had done his best she said: “What have I ever done for him?” and here she did something for him, sacrificing her own happiness for the sake of his. No doubt if she had tried to stop him, he probably would have, but it would have never been something he wanted.
Also interesting is that you get the sense that whatever Kuro was to her, he’s quickly going to become a non-issue. And partly, I think, because of this:
Merry knows her. He knows her and cares about her—and it’s something he’s done since the moment we’ve met him. He shot at Usopp for her sake, went to the town to get Kuro’s glasses for her sake, is going to cover up the story because she asked him to—and even looking at the Going Merry, it’s the ship he designed for her. A pleasure caravel so she could travel around. Though Khaladore may have been more aggressively caring, Merry is still very much a good man and a good servant and will likely be all that Khaladore was and more.
Also note, that hill. Seem familiar?
Yep. We’re seeing it from a different angle of course, but regardless, there she is, back against a tree, looking out over the ocean, but in this case we are looking back to what and who Usopp is leaving behind.
And as we go into Usopp’s backstory, I have to correct something that I said in the last part. What Merry knows of Usopp is a story he heard from the villagers. That is, the villagers knew about this. They know the hardness of his past, of course they do. As we go into the flashback:
Ban-chan believes in her baby boy. She knows that he’s going to be strong when he grows up. Also, that she is proud of Yasopp, even though she knows he is never going to come back. How can he really, with everyone knowing that he’s a pirate? She also knows that she’s going to die. She’s devastatingly honest. Though Usopp is completely terrified of this, as any kid would be. Also she looks so much better in the manga than she did in the anime.
The medicine? Seems like a common legend. It’s something Hiriluk talked about after all. And who knows? It may be true. In the left panel, Bachina tries to prepare Usopp for the inevitable, but he can’t accept it. He doesn’t care about silly, he says. And that’s one of the cores of his character. A lie, even a stupid lie, sounds good, doesn’t it? It’s much better to hope in something that’s completely ridiculous or say something that’s completely ridiculous rather than acknowledge the hard truths about life. And though this makes him idealistic, he’s also running away from the hard truths—too afraid to face them and face the hardness. We’ll explore this as we go on, too.
And, aww, baby. Despite his crying, he’s smiling for his mother’s sake, but also for his own—to show that he really believes this, no lie! That there is a medicine. That she’ll get better. Even if it is a silly dream, he believes it and if he believes in it enough it’ll come true.
Ouch. That’s gotta be a huge blow. And think about Kaya hearing about this after so recently lost both her parents. It really must have a huge impact on her.
Firstly, doctor, his mother is dying, let the kid scream if he wants. Though of course he couldn’t know she was going to die the next day. But can you imagine the sequence of events that lead up to this? He was sitting in his special spot, looking out over the sea and hoping hoping that his dad would come back—and then realizes something he can do. Even if it’s a lie and he tells her that and the village that, something he hopes will come true, she’ll have to get better to see that he’s lying, right? So she has to get better. And then they can go along with Dad.
/blows nose/
/coff/
Anyway, also note that he’s since changed it from the pirates are here, to the pirates are attacking. Like somewhere along the line he kind of gave up on his father ever coming back and just said that to get everyone riled up and noticing him because making people chase after you, so long as they are not truly angry, is hilarious.
Merry goes on to say that the villagers said he continued to lie in hopes that his father would come back one day. That was the reason for his lying.
He says that she needs to become stronger, but as we’ve seen she’s already made that decision to become stronger because of him.
And Kaya is really moved by Usopp’s story. That’s the kind of person she is. Understanding his pain and what he must have been going through. Caring for him. And that smile below, and Merry’s smile, such a quiet moment, not happy, not yet, but the part of the day where the sun just begins to rise. You know it’s going to be there and you’ll be strong enough to see it so you wait in quiet anticipation.
But remember what I said about this was Usopp leaving the village behind?
The village still goes on, even after he’s left, and he’s left a mark on it. The now disbanded Usopp Pirates are nevertheless carrying on his will. What will was that? To keep the village peaceful. And this way, though they may miss Usopp’s voice, they can hear the others, echoes of him every morning. And they’re not just going to watch the sea alone but follow their own dreams. If they do watch the sea it’ll be together, thinking of all the great stuff Usopp is up to.
Also note Kaya being proactive. She’s not just going to sit around. Spurred on perhaps by the nature of her own parents’ deaths, but maybe Usopp’s mother’s as well. She’s going to learn to be a doctor so she can take care of people and make them better. Also, note, she’s not becoming a nurse. She’s becoming a full on doctor. Nothing wrong with nursing, of course, but it’s still a pretty huge statement considering the audience the manga was intended for. All Merry says? That’s a good goal! So much faith.
As for Usopp? Well…
He’ll be alright.
How much do you wanna bet Usopp said he could drink both of those all by himself, got drunk off his butt and then got a Laboon sized hangover?
And with that, the Syrup Island Arc is concluded.
Themes
Good Captains: To start off, let’s first once again compare Marines v. Pirates. For Marines, they can love and respect their captains and commanding officers, sure, but even if they don’t, they are relegated to following them. That is the consequence to being a Marine and choosing the way of rules and Justice. For Pirates? Not so much. They don’t have to stay with their captains—though they may out of want for treasure or fear—but should the captain prove against their liking, they can, and will, switch sides. For the most part, pirates are a fairly selfish bunch. That applies to Kuro just as much as it applies to Luffy.
So what is a good captain? And why does Usopp have potential to be one? To answer that, let’s look at action=consequence.
Action: Though the way Usopp formed his pirate crew was very much what it was, that is, kids playing a game (as he was 12ish at the time):
I.e. He didn’t give them much of a choice (though about as much of one as Luffy does), he nevertheless treated them with respect and as people, cohorts and friends.
Consequence: Honestly, if he didn’t treat them this way, they would have no cause to follow him because he had nothing else to offer them. Though they do like him, and know him, and know what he really wants enough to follow his will even when he’s not in the picture. Because he cared for them, they cared for him.
Other Examples: Looking at just pirates, Alvida (from what we’ve seen so far) falls way too short of this. Jango succeeds because while we weren’t shown their relationship entirely, the lack of disrespect implies some respect. And Buggy fits this role as well. Hell, he’s the only one other than Shanks we’ve seen party with his crew. He also is fairly close to Cabaji, enough to shout out his name and try to help him out of the pickle. Friends? Maybe not. But respect as a person definitely.
In Comparison: As Kuro cared nothing for them, the KuroNeko pirates could not stay loyal to him out of anything other than fear. I mean yeah they were still rooting for him when it looked like he was losing, because they are pretty arrogant themselves, and are sure Kuro would win against the rubber brat that had kicked their asses… But even before we see them call him captain, we saw them call Jango captain. And even before they were rooting for him, they got pissed off at him and would have at least given him a good maiming if he hadn’t reasserted his dominance. With that type of system, Kuro is absolutely unallowed to show weakness, because, when he does, they will pounce.
Usopp shows weakness all over the damn place, but they love him weakness and all so it doesn’t matter.
Action: When things got tense, Usopp (after showing concern for their wellbeing) gave the Usopp Pirates a means by which they could feel useful. He gave them a way to help him and feel strong. He also fought his hardest for their safety and the thing that they jointly loved, that is, the village. Though I will note, this marks the start of the transition from play to real pirate. In a kid’s world, he directs them how to help, in the adult world of real pirates, and looking at Luffy, he relies on the strength of his nakama to know, or figure out what they need to do and then to do it with the best of their ability. It’s the ultimate trust fall.
Consequence: Regardless of whether or not Usopp actually intended for them to fight, they nevertheless felt empowered to do so out of respect for his pride and how he hard he had fought for them. They fought their hardest, continually getting back up and flinging themselves at Jango because Usopp did the same, and he put his trust in them. Trust can be a damn powerful thing. In the adult world, it’s more subtle only because we’re used to it. Zoro is where he needs to be to support his captain’s goals, Luffy trusts him to be there. End of story.
Other Examples: Buggy very much trusts in his crew’s strength, though not necessarily their respect. Jango trusts in his crew’s strength, though by the same token, he’s aware of their limitations and adjusts accordingly (calling down the Nyaban, hypnotizing them, etc), Shanks definitely relies on his crew’s strength and of course forms the (likely subconscious) model for Luffy. Remember when a mountain bandit was going to shoot him in the head, he didn’t flinch, but warned the guy who was subsequently shot by Lucky Roo. Luffy, of course, relies on Zoro’s strength. And since the captain relies on that strength and the crew like and/or have pride (and are sometimes terrified) they are right where they need to be.
In Comparison: Kuro barely trusts in his crew’s strength, let alone their ability to do anything that hasn’t been nailed down in a plan before then. Because of this, he doesn’t allow them to help or even root for him outside the confines of his plans, and because of that, they don’t. As I said, if they had rushed to help their captain, Luffy would have been in a hell of a lot of trouble. Because Kuro was so arrogant thinking himself the biggest smartest badass on the seas (though I’m pretty damn sure Buggy could have toasted him easily) he had to, and chose to, do it all himself. In the end he was defeated by his own hubris. (right in the head, too, and if that isn’t poetic justice I don’t know what is)
Action: Usopp took the biggest hits himself. He fought the hardest, he suffered the most. Though a captain doesn’t always have to, they should always expect to. There’s a reason for the saying: The captain goes down with the ship. Mostly because it was their judgment/decision that got everyone into the situation in the first place so it’s their responsibility to fight their hardest to make sure it’s successful.
Consequence: Because Usopp fought his hardest, the boys and Kaya fought their hardest. His strength inspired their strength. His sacrifice of lying to the village inspired the boy’s sacrifice in lying to the village… and his overall strength of character inspired Kaya to build her own strength and to go for something she wants to do. His strength and determination was the reason why Luffy and Zoro fought so hard for him. I think Zoro especially, as I believe Luffy would have wanted to hit him just for attacking Kaya.
Other Examples: Buggy comes the closest we’ve seen since he was ready to throw down (though Cabaji stepped in to fight Zoro) and eventually fought with Luffy, though more for his own pride’s sake than wanting to do so for the sake of the crew. Luffy, however, does this consistently. He takes the hardest fights. The longest fights. The strongest fights. I mean granted, he’s the ‘hero’ so of course he’d take the pivotal fights, but note most of the people he fights are the captains themselves.
In Comparison: If Kuro takes the hardest fight, it’s only because he doesn’t trust any of his crew to be able to get it done—moreover, it is entirely for his benefit. But when it comes to the captain’s primary job, that is, taking responsibility for the situation they directed the crew into, it can’t even be said Kuro fails because that would imply he actively tries. The men follow him because of the benefits, but in the end, who Kuro hurts most is Kuro. They will fight their hardest for fear of death, but not necessarily out of any kind of personal pride.
So to sum up: A good captain understands the strengths and weaknesses of his own crew, trusts in their strength and ability to be where he needs them, empowers them through example, and another key component.
Mutual benefits. The Captain cannot be the only one who prospers. For the Usopp pirates, play pirates though they were, they benefitted from Usopp’s friendship and stories. For the Buggy Pirates, there’s no doubt that they benefit at least a little from the treasure (in the form of parties). And of course, with Luffy and the soon to be Straw Hats, they benefit because he fights for their dreams as readily as he fights for his own.
The importance lies in this, Luffy learned a lot about being a captain both from what Usopp did and what Kuro didn’t do. Yes, granted he learned some from Shanks, too, but there’s a difference between looking up to someone when you are seven as something you want to do in the future—and looking at your peers (both in terms of age and piracy) and seeing how you want to shape yourself now. This is what laid the foundations of captaincy. Inasmuch as Zoro was the first mate, he is pretty self sufficient and doesn’t require much ‘captaining’, but as they get more crew and in new, more difficult situations, Luffy will make decisions based on what he’s discovered for himself here.
So, to draw this back to Usopp’s potential—he displayed all the traits of being a good captain and only needs one or two or three extra steps to achieving that goal. Those steps are going to be the hardest, though, since he has to overcome the greatest obstacle anyone can face, ie themselves.
What are nakama?
At its most basic, nakama are simply crew. Crew are people who work together and are mutually responsible for each other. In essence, to translate Luffy’s: “What do you think nakama are?!” would be to say: “these people worked really hard to give you what you wanted and now you’re just going to kill them anyway? What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t you have any gratitude, you stupid evil butler?”
But much like there are ‘traditional pirates’ and ‘ideological pirates’. There are ‘traditional nakama’ and ‘ideological nakama’.
For traditional nakama, it’s a quid pro quo, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. And you can run a ship very well on this. The Marines being the prime example though they are ‘scratching the collective Navy’s back’ and the Navy is scratching theirs in terms of pay, pension and penchant for Justice. Buggy’s Pirates, too, are traditional nakama, as are the KuroNeko pirates, specifically under Jango, but also under Kuro. In fact, any crew of any kind are traditional nakama as long as they remain a crew.
What divides ‘traditional’ from ‘ideological’ is level of psychological distance. In other words, how much they care about each other. Or another way to look at it is traditional pirates are much more of a relationship between adults. It can run the gamut of caring. You can care for someone like a brother, or you can care for someone like a classmate you lift notes from.
Ideological nakama are more closely related to family and are probably a great deal harder for most pirates to maintain, and probably most anyone, since it requires two things.
(Acknowledged) vulnerability and trust.
Luffy is as vulnerable as hell. He hates being lonely. He’s not book smart, world smart, word smart and is entirely too reckless. He can’t navigate to save his life, probably doesn’t even know much about being on a ship at first other than the basics, and eats enough to make an elephant go: “woah, dude, slow down.”
Zoro’s acknowledged vulnerability is interesting, because so long as Luffy doesn’t get in his way to becoming a master swordsman, anyone else is welcome to try. In otherwords, he will put his life in Luffy’s hands and fight for the causes he believes in. Even if Zoro is eventually driven by the causes, too, we’ve yet to see him get involved with something or someone that wasn’t dealing with either swords or Luffy.
Usopp is full of acknowledged vulnerability and probably more than his fair share of it. And it was this vulnerability that probably helped the kids stay with him, and made him feel stronger besides.
Nami does not have acknowledged vulnerability. She can’t allow herself to, and though Luffy wants her to be his navigator, she cannot be nakama yet. You could almost say she’s almost only very tenuously in the ‘traditional nakama’ camp—except for one factor.
Trust.
Not that Nami particularly trusts Luffy, she also doesn’t distrust him either—half the time she doesn’t know what to make of him. But, when things get down to the wire, they can trust her. She’s shown this by helping Luffy out of the cage, by saving Usopp, by kicking Zoro’s swords up to him and by catching Luffy as he is about to fall. It’s almost as if a part of her wants to belong, to do these things, but until she acknowledges vulnerability, she will sit on the outside. Though we’ll definitely come to this when we get there.
Luffy trusts his nakama implicitly, to fight their hardest, to help each other, to help him when he needs it, to be there, to be his. He can’t help but trust them with his whole being, and trust them to trust him. That trust is (eventually) returned by them all as they get to know him, but it’s first seen the strongest in Zoro.
Zoro trusts Luffy. Trusts in his ambition. Trusts in his dream. When Luffy says duck, Zoro doesn’t hesitate. When Luffy says, let’s do this thing, Zoro goes to do this thing with him. And, much like the acknowledged weakness, this trust is an active choice he makes. He doesn’t need evidence that Luffy will do as he says. He just trusts him to do so and Luffy does so. Zoro trusts Luffy to be great in the best capacity Luffy can, and so he is.
Usopp, right now, doesn’t really trust anyone. I mean, how can he? It’s something that he’ll develop and I won’t get too much into it here… but it takes him a long time to truly trust them with his most sensitive vulnerabilities, because he doesn’t fully trust himself. Though (and not so much in this arc but directly after) he’s certainly trusting their strength and that they’ll save his ass. Not that he needs it, brave warrior of the sea that he is, but he’s a sniper and not a brawler so—you know—help?
And we’ll further explore the concept of ideological nakama as we go, but first to lay the groundwork for much that is to come—let me reiterate that ideological nakama are family. Family are the people you can truly be yourself with. This runs the gamut from laughing together to farting heinously and not even caring they’re in the room. From loving and supporting one another to thinking they are irritating, flawed, pains in the necks and still supporting them because they would do the same for you.
(And it’s sort of sad to think that that is a luxury Kaya doesn’t necessarily have. Yes, Merry will support her and be there for her but I very much doubt she’d be comfortable even to burp in his presence)
Bravery: While it can’t be said that Kuro is a complete coward, there’s no doubt that Usopp is far braver than he is by any stretch of the imagination. Kuro shows little in the way of bravery. He’s a consummate conartist, so there was no risk in getting the parents or Kaya to believe him. He’s stronger than anyone in the village so he could kill them without problem. He can kill his men without problem. There is nothing to worry him and he had nothing to lose. Even if his plan failed, the worst that could (and does) happen to him is he goes back out to sea and into the life he hates. It’s like seeing a kid who is good with math ace the math test. Yes, he may have worked hard on it, but it’s no big surprise.
Usopp, in contrast, had everything to lose and nearly did lose it. In standing up to Kuro, his own village turned against him, he nearly lost the respect of Kaya and he actively tried to lose the respect of the kids for their own safety. For someone as lonely as he is, it’s a pretty big damn deal. He continued to fight against Kuro, outclassed, outnumbered, not expecting help, and even when he had it and it wasn’t showing up on time, he fought as hard as he damn well could anyway to save the people that he loved –even when he had no guarantee they would even like him should he succeed. He is brave enough to continue to sacrifice himself for the village to let them live in peace when the crises is over (letting the villagers having the peace of mind that Kuro craved) and he was brave enough to start to set out to sea on his own.
Kaya and the kids were also brave, fighting for Usopp’s sake in the best way they could, and the sake of the village and each other—standing up to certain death and just doing their damndest to prevent it. As the statement goes, bravery isn’t the absence of fear, but the facing of it.
What this does, though, in the overall theme of the manga as a whole, says that you don’t have to have gum gum powers or swordsmanship abilities to stand up and fight for what you believe in. It’s not a guarantee you’ll win, but you can never regret not trying. Thus Kaya doing the most she could, the best she could, and almost dying with a smile. Luffy is the game changer, but he only acts as the final act of the battle, it’s the will of the people to fight, the choice to stand up, the strength of banding together against someone bigger, tougher, stronger, which gets Luffy to that final act. He is the literal bell ringer with the cold clocked rubber fist to the face.
Characters:
Usopp: On the whole, Usopp is an honest liar and a brave coward. The Great Captain with little self esteem. His actions are the truth, but his lies are his dreams and the dreams that he gives to others. Even if it’s just a day dream or a silly story. He doesn’t mind looking a little ridiculous if it can cheer someone up. But he also lies for attention, because he doesn’t want people to forget who he is. That’s why, I believe, all the lies involve himself to some capacity. But it’s also something he wants to be. He wants to be a hero. He wants to be the brave warrior of the sea. He wants to be everything he thinks his father is. He’s emotionally vulnerable at times, but fights against the hard parts of it, the crying, the missing, the longing, the inevitable, and can’t fight against the hot angry parts that give him his drive in the end. Usopp is a character who rises and falls by the choices he makes, since, unlike Zoro, he equivocates based on what he thinks he can do. He’s not afraid at all to be kind to just about anyone, even if he may be a bit anxious about the stronger seeming people at first. He’s not afraid to brag to just about anyone, but not afraid to backpeddle either when he gets in over his head. He’s steadfastly loyal, but can be petulant and expect people to come after him and apologize when he’s hurt. He’s essentially a mash of squishy contradictions, has the most growing up to do out of them all, and does so spectacularly, but not without some pretty nasty bumps and bruises along the way.
Usopp is probably the only Straw Hat who will not get a flashback special (unless Oda surprises us in chapter #3049) because the entire context of who he was and who he is now is wrapped up in Syrup Island. You could even say that this story was his flashback, because unlike almost every other Straw Hat who was already out on the sea to one degree or another, Usopp spent his entire life up until that point on one island in one house. He is the normal character, skilled, but not monstrously strong, with a hard past that effects him, but not as damaged as Nami is. He is also the only one who was able to hold onto his childhood the longest, beset with hardships but not horrors. (You could argue that Zoro didn’t have a particularly hard childhood, but we don’t know what happened to him pre-dojo). This makes Usopp the emotional core of the group. As we’ll see, he is the one that softens the harsher edges of Luffy and Zoro traveling around and makes a space that is more homey because he understands what homey means and naturally wants to recreate it as much as possible. We’ll explore how and why further down the line, suffice to say, it’s something to keep in mind.
Luffy: Luffy doesn’t experience much change in Syrup, other than deciding what he thinks a captain is and what nakama are. Rather, the arc shows the more playful, childlike side to Luffy that isn’t all being dumb and punching people in the face. (Much like the Alvida Arc showed strong blunt side, the Morgan arc his compassionate side, the Buggy arc his determined side and what he thought of treasure.) Sure he fights, but he hangs out in restaurants, hangs upside down on trees, sips tea, chokes on fishbones, gets carried away by Usopp’s surge in emotion so much that Zoro has to hold him back from clobbering Khaladore just on empathy alone, and just sort of sits with Usopp, watching the sea. This is the first time we see someone catch him when he falls.
Zoro: Zoro experiences some shift in Syrup, that’s difficult to spot because it’s an extension of his natural personality. Though what was already there, of course, is his suicidaly protective side that we saw with Rika. (Though calling it suicide is a bit of a misnomer because he fully expects to be strong enough to walk away from it, thank you.) But in this arc he learns how to be protective of someone’s pride, too. It’s probably the first time he’s had the opportunity to help someone out like he does, hoisting Usopp over his shoulder and running off into the woods. It’s not so much change, however, as progression. Like Luffy, we also see a goofier side to him than we have before. Sure he laughed at Luffy’s stupidity, but here’s he’s actively trolling the kids by saying they ate Usopp and just being generally more relaxed all around in that environment. Also, note, he recognized Usopp as nakama without Luffy even having to say anything.
Nami: While we saw glimpses of Nami not being able to stand idly by when weaker people were in trouble in the Buggy Arc (since she made sure Luffy got out of the cage and all of that) we really see that here. Despite what she says, her actions prove her true intent. She can’t just stand there while Usopp fights alone. Though she wants to go back, she nevertheless goes all out and reckless to stop him from getting killed, even if she pays for it. Likewise, she takes a huge gamble in getting Zoro his swords and waking Luffy up. When she absolutely positively has no other recourse but to do something or see innocent/weaker people get hurt, she will do something even if it means pitting herself against insurmountable odds. Here, we see her even more comfortable with the boys, even if she might not even be aware of it, slowly and steadily falling into their pace. Though she didn’t claim Usopp as nakama, since she still doesn’t see herself in that role, she nevertheless celebrates with them. Her outer armor is melting bit by bit.
Kaya: A little sheltered, but just as brave and strong as Usopp is. Just to reiterate, it takes a lot of strength to stand up to one she cared for, to accept the hard cold truth of it, to put her life on the line and, at the end of the day, to not end up wrapped up in depression—but to move onward just to honor the memory of another. I dunno about you, but if my parents had died and my bff butler had turned out to want to kill me, and the bff I didn’t know I had went off to become a pirate leaving me more or less alone in that big house, I wouldn’t take it quite so well. Granted she does have Merry who cares for her and does have money which means she won’t be on the streets and will be granted of respect and respectability just because of that, but she can still end up in a sink of depression. However she doesn’t. She’s going to become a doctor. She’s going to do something and make herself useful. Be proactive about her own life. And I sincerely hope we see her again.
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But Luffy is the game changer. He always is.
Yesss.
And no matter what anyone has to say about Usopp that he’s weak (which he isn’t) or useless (which he isn’t) he’s more than good enough for Luffy so none of the rest of that matters.
Also note at no point does Luffy ask him to be comrade. He doesn’t need to. Usopp just is.
Yepp! And I both really like that and simultaneously half wish it was different, half not. Because he asks everyone else... (even Robin, in a way), and it makes sense that he wouldn't with Usopp, but... sometimes I wonder if deep down later on, Usopp would have liked to be asked. Or will feel so later on after seeing later crew members join. Though at this point, I think he's actually even happier for the completely confident assumption that "of course you're one of us!!"
I love this very thorough comparison between Kuro, Usopp and Luffy in terms of what being a captain means. Although the theme itself is quite overt in the arc, I'd never really thought before that Luffy's own opinions on the matter are likely clarified here, with the contrast between Kuro and Usopp. That makes sense! And it's no coincidence that this is where they gain a real ship. This is where they truly become a crew - a small crew, too small for the Grand Line, still missing a vital part; but still, enough to man a small ship on the relatively calm seas of East Blue, at least. Before this arc, Luffy was the leader of a trio with two tiny boats, and only one of his followers was truly committed to him: apart from himself, it was really only Zoro who thought of him as "captain". But now, Luffy is the captain of a crew.
As I said on Plurk, I really appreciate that you point out Usopp as the emotional core of the group. I could not agree more.
And you're right regarding the lack of flashback! While I would still have loved to see more of Usopp's backstory, we do get all the essential facts about where he comes from and what has shaped him right here, in the present - with just those few flashback panels towards the end, retold by Merry.
Amazing work!!
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