I Hope One Piece Fixes Its Big Usopp Mistake Before The Anime’s Best Arc Comes To Live-Action (2024)

It should not be too long before Netflix’s One Piece gets to one of the anime’s greatest arcs, but I hope the live-action series fixes its Usopp mistake before that. One Piece, like most shonen anime, can be divided into arcs and sagas. This makes it easier to predict what One Piece season 2 and potential future seasons will be about. For example, now that the East Blue saga has been covered, One Piece will adapt the Arabasta saga. With over 1000 anime episodes left to be covered, the Netflix live-action show has more than enough material for dozens of seasons.

Luffy’s pirate crew will get bigger in season 2 according to the manga. Tony Tony Chopper and Nico Robin will soon make their live-action debuts, and they won’t be the final additions to the team. While Luffy’s crew only gets bigger as the show goes on, One Piece’s main characters were and always will be the original Straw Hat pirates from East Blue. The live-action series has offered pitch-perfect versions of each of them, but I would have liked to see more of Usopp in season 1.

Live-Action Usopp Was Underused In One Piece Season 1

Usopp Wasn’t Given Much Time To Shine In One Piece

Jacob Romero Gibson played a fantastic Usopp in One Piece live-action, but the character was underused in season 1. One of the most fascinating characters in One Piece, Usopp is more than just the “coward who becomes a hero” trope. There is a level of complexity to Usopp that only becomes obvious later in the story but was already present as early as in the Syrup Village arc. One Piece season 1 dedicated two episodes to Usopp’s origin story, and while they were great, I feel like the show only scratched the potential of his character.

Additionally, One Piece made a couple of changes to the Syrup Village arc that played against Usopp. This includes the exclusion of the “Usopp Pirates,” a group of kids who were inspired by Usopp’s stories and wanted to become pirates like the one he claimed to be. Once Usopp joins Luffy in the live-action show, he becomes just another member of the crew and does not shine too much. Balancing the screen time for all five Straw Hats plus the villains having only eight episodes is not easy, but I wish Usopp had been given more to do.

Netflix’s One Piece Needs To Get Usopp Right As Soon As Possible

Usopp’s Character Arc Is Essential To One Of The Anime’s Best Sagas

One Piece has no time to spare regarding Usopp’s character development, particularly because he will soon be a central character in one of the show’s best arcs. Assuming One Piece will continue for at least a few more seasons, which seems reasonable considering the success of season 1, the live-action series will get to cover Water 7. One of the best sagas in the entire anime, the events of Water 7 tested the spirit of the Straw Hat pirates in a way that none of the previous sagas had done. I assume Water 7 will happen in season 4.

While Nico Robin’s backstory is the heart of the Water 7 and Ennies Lobby arcs, it all starts with Usopp leaving the crew after a disagreement with Luffy over the fate of the Going Merry. The captain of the Straw Hat pirates had accepted that Merry was dying and that the crew needed a new ship. However, having bonded with the ship since before he met Luffy, Usopp was against abandoning the Going Merry. Usopp and Luffy’s argument got so ugly that they ended up fighting each other. It was one of the most heartbreaking moments in the series.

One Piece Live-Action Cannot Fail Water 7 & Enies Lobby

Such A Fan Favorite Arc Needs A Proper Live-Action Adaptation

One Piece’s story becomes more complex and elaborated as the series goes on, with more characters, locations, and storylines being introduced. Arabasta should already be very different from East Blue, and so will the Sky Island saga. Netflix’s One Piece has the chance to reinvent itself with each season, as each of the anime’s sagas has its own tone and aesthetic. That said, the biggest test for the live-action adaptation will arguably be Water 7. For this saga to work, audiences will have to care about all the Straw Hat pirates.

The clash between Luffy and Usopp should be the culmination of everything they feel regarding the Going Merry and the future of the crew as a whole. Additionally, Usopp questioning his value and place in the crew is massively important for his character and must not be forgotten. Despite not giving Usopp much to do in the first season, One Piece has nailed the emotional arcs of characters like Sanji and Nami. Therefore, I’m confident that the show will deliver a great take on not only Water 7 but all the other sagas it covers.

One Piece (Live-Action)

3.5

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Comedy

Fantasy

Based on the popular manga/anime series, One Piece is a live-action Netflix adaptation of the story from Eiichiro Oda. The show follows the exploits of a band of pirates, the Straw Hats, led by the energetic and adventure-loving Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is a young man cursed with strange powers after accidentally eating a mysterious fruit. With his friends Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, Luffy will head across the vast ocean to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece.

Cast

Iñaki Godoy , Mackenyu , Emily Rudd , Jacob Romero Gibson , Taz Skylar

Release Date

August 31, 2023

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

Franchise(s)

One Piece