The way the story’s written, we’ve come to have great respect for the pirate’s way of life. It’s important still to remember that being a pirate is what you make it to be, which means being a pirate doesn’t automatically equate living an honorable life. Here though, we are faced with the negation of the pirate life, which is much worse than what the previous captain had going on— sure, Buggy is greedy, deceitful and weak, but he understands the honor of calling yourself a pirate and facing the consequences. Much like when Luffy told Nami that she’d have to be ready to put her life on the line when dealing with pirates, it’s important to be ready to face the consequences of choosing this way of life. In that sense, captain Kuro is a bigger coward than both Buggy and Usopp (parallel again!), since he looks down on pirates, including his old life and his crew.
I wanna point out here that we still don’t know of Zoro’s awful tendency to get lost, and I’m surprised that he used to be at least clever enough to ask for someone to guide him to his destination.
When I first started watching One Piece, as a pre-teen, I used to be endlessly frustrated with many things in the anime. Usopp’s fighting style was never a source for frustration though! I’ve always loved the way he fought, and I know his character brings up a lot of controversy in recent chapters, particularly since we’ve reached a time that is crucial in his character development, but I don’t think Usopp needs a big power-up (despite maybe honing the skill obtained during Dressrosa, which I find super fitting) or a major change in his way of fighting at all. In fact, I’d love it if he kept fighting the same way he always has: by using clever tactics and projectiles.
I love Zoro’s line here soooo so much. Especially after the story evolves and Zoro’s character is revealed more and more, we understand that here, he’s praising Usopp for something he himself would do! I think one of the most important traits in Zoro, besides his unwavering loyalty, is the rigid stance he adopts when faced with a challenge. He’s often, if not almost always, the one who voices the need to make a tough decision. I think this selfless, self-sacrificing decision Usopp just took resonates with Zoro’s way of thinking.
