The great Usopp is actually one of the most recognizable One Piece characters and certainly one of the most popular in the series. Thanks to his lies and deception skills, Usopp has managed to build a weak reputation in the series, but in practice, he hasn't proven himself to be very capable, at least at the beginning of the series. In this article, we'll actually address this issue and reveal why Usopp seems to be the most useless member of the crew.

Usopp's extreme cowardice and inability to fight properly made him seem like a rather useless member of the team, but Usopp is far from useless. He's a technical genius who has designed various inventions and upgrades for his teammates. On top of that, he's an exceptionally talented marksman, which has proven useful several times throughout the series, and recently, he's also mustered the courage to increasingly participate in battles himself.

The rest of this article will tell you more about Usopp and his personality, as well as how this is reflected in how fans perceive him throughout the series. We'll provide you with all the details you need to know and explain all the necessary phenomena so that you have all the answers you need when you read this article. Of course, some spoilers may be present, but we must emphasize that the article will not be heavy on spoilers, so you can relax about that.

Usopp is far from useless, but due to his cowardly behavior, he is generally perceived as useless.

To properly explain this issue, we actually have to talk a bit about Usopp first. We know that he is the son of Shank's crewmember Yasopp and Banchina, who died when Usopp was a child because she was very ill. As a child, Usopp developed a habit of warning Syrup Village about pirates coming to attack them, but since he was always lying, people stopped believing him.

So he was left to his own devices and learned to navigate life by lying, tricking, and using his own wit. Over time, he invented many false stories about his adventures, some of them to entertain Kaya. This is how he met the Straw Hats and eventually joined them.

But Usopp didn't seem like much help at first, and this was entirely due to his personality. Namely, Usopp is quite cowardly and fearful. In his home village, he was known to be a liar, having repeatedly told fabricated stories and passed them off as the truth.

Despite his lack of courage, he has always shown himself to be available to the crew, also proving very altruistic. In fact, even though he has a habit of crying or losing his temper in critical moments, for the sake of his companions, he is willing to sacrifice himself, as demonstrated when, after losing the suitcases containing the crew's money in Water Seven, he faced the Franky Family alone to recover them.

His lies are usually intended to trick his companions into flattering him or intimidating his opponents, whom he is usually very afraid of. While these lies usually don't affect his enemies, some of his allies blindly believe what he says. Sometimes, even some opponents, like Jango, believe his lies.

Moreover, he finds many excuses to avoid danger. Despite this, his dream remains to one day become a brave pirate.

Despite these aspects of his character, Usopp has also proven to be a very stubborn and determined person, so much so that he fought his own captain and even left the crew to guard and save the Going Merry. Usopp greatly doubted his potential until the events of Enies Lobby.

In fact, here, in the guise of Sogeking, he discovered, also thanks to Sanji's words, that as a sniper he was fundamental to the crew. He has a strong attachment to life, so much so that he admits to not understanding the samurai's code of honor, who desire death, because one must continue living even if one has fallen from grace.

As you can see, the main reason many fans (and in-universe characters) consider Usopp useless is his personality. He openly admits that he's a coward and will do anything to avoid danger, which has become his trademark, so to speak. Usopp's general lack of fighting skills at the time seemed like a perfectly valid reason for the sharpshooter to avoid fighting, but his cowardly nature persisted even after he joined the crew, although things improved.

Namely, as Usopp realized how important he was to his teammates, he also began to become braver. His teammates accepted him for who he was and supported him throughout, regardless of his cowardice, which gave him the strength to become stronger and better. His inventions have helped the crew on several occasions. He has also used his marksmanship skills, and he can also use Observation Haki, which has also been useful.

That's the main story; now we'll answer two more questions about it, which will delve into the topic further.

Is Usopp the weakest Straw Hat?

In terms of sheer physical strength and fighting skills, he is. Everyone else is exceptionally strong (Luffy, Zoro, Jinbe, Franky), possesses special powers (Nico Robin, Chopper, Brook), or is a skilled fighter (Nami, Sanji). Usopp isn't useless because of this, as he possesses unique skills that the others don't, making him an invaluable crew member.

This has been proven multiple times, so we can't really say he's useless. He's not as strong as the others because he has unique skills that others don't, making him not only useful but completely invaluable.

Is Usopp the least loyal?

Considering his cowardice, you might think that Usopp wouldn't be too loyal, as he only cares about himself and doesn't care about the other crew members, but you would be wrong.

Usopp has found a family in the crew, and despite his cowardice and desire to stay alive, he will still put the crew's interests before his own and, in that sense, even put his own life at risk to save them. So no, Usopp isn't the least loyal member of the crew, and he's actually just as loyal as the others.