My lesson from anime - One Piece, Episode 236: "Luffy vs Usopp! The Spirit of the Clashing Men"
It's been a long time coming, where I've had this idea to start writing about "lessons" that I pick out from the anime episodes that I watch; however, I just never seem to get them to fruition. Alas, here we are!
It would probably make SO much more sense to start from the beginning of an anime, but I started watching One Piece in the winter of 2021 and honestly found it beyond ridiculous and hard to follow that I took a year before jumping back into it. But listen, I didn't start watching any anime until 2021 - 38.5 years old, OK? Had I been a kid sure, I would've watched them all, every episode and wouldn't bat an eyelash.
It ain’t the same as an adult.
But the lessons are! So, let's get to it:
A little background for context for those of you who haven't seen this and those that haven't and don't care to. It's cool, I don't judge. . .
Monkey D. Luffy (Luffy for short) is Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is a super goofy, super ambitious kid that has only 1 dream/goal: "I will become king of the pirates!" The first half of the show starts out with him only being 17 years old. In my opinion, he also looks goofy when you first see him because he's not fully "normal." (Then again, it’s anime so what is that haha)
In One Piece, there are things called "Devil Fruits" and if you eat them, something happens to your body, and you get some sort of power. The caveat to this though, is you don't know what power you will obtain until you eat it; however, everyone who does has 1 commonality - they can't swim aka: they will drown unless saved.
Luffy ate what was revealed as the "gum-gum" fruit, which essentially turned his whole body into rubber. Here you go, you're welcome:
Alright skipping ahead to this episode –
Long story short, the Straw Hats had obtained a ship by ways of Usopp, the 3rd member was to join the crew. By this episode, the ship was falling apart from damage and despite all Usopp’s personal efforts in reparations, Luffy officially made the captain’s decision that they needed to let go of the “Going Merry” and find a new ship.
The captain’s decision brought Usopp to his knees mentally and emotionally as he was sentimentally invested in the Going Merry. It was something from his home village and given to him by someone he really cared for. The other side of the story though, is Usopp had quite the scuffle with Franky’s family during this time and they took a bunch of their money that could have been used in fixing the ship. The scuffle itself made Usopp go down this hole of insecurity regarding whether he was powerful or useful enough to be part of the Straw Hats because it seemed like left and right, the crew had to keep rescuing him. The guilt that swallowed him throughout this whole turn….
What does Usopp decide to do to get through this? He challenged Luffy to a duel even though he knew he wouldn’t win. It was the principle of the matter, something I can respect even though Usopp is one of my least favorite characters.
The duel was something you need to watch for yourself, but yeah, Luffy ended up winning and still let Usopp keep the Going Merry. But Usopp was no longer allowed to be part of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Thems the terms.
Almost the rest of the crew were emotionally dying watching this all unfold, and then seeing Luffy actually stick to the terms of the duel – they keep Going Merry, or the loser leaves the crew. Luffy let Usopp keep the ship, but he also had to go.
This was probably the saddest moment to see Luffy so far because you go from this loud, laughing, always smiling goofy kid, to him crying after fighting one of his best friends.
Alright so what is the lesson already, I’m sure you’re thinking.
We all have that one friend that seems more insecure, maybe more emotional than anyone else in our circle, right?
Listen, there isn’t anything wrong with that as long as you have a genuine friendship that is reciprocal. As you can see from the crew, Usopp appeared way different from Luffy since he didn’t really let anything get to him. And of course, being rubber didn’t mean Luffy couldn’t die, so it’s not like he could do whatever he wanted without consequences. He was just different.
With difference you’re always going to have some sort of push and pull within the group or even between yourself and each other. But that’s what makes friendships interesting – the unique and quirky things that make you – you, but also the commonalities you still find within them.
Friends will challenge each other. Every type of relationship will.
The bottom line is that we need to be secure in what our own values are and stick to them. And then comes boundaries.
In the case of Luffy vs. Usopp, Usopp’s emotions were getting the best of him, causing him to act rashly against his friend. Luffy, as the official captain, had others in the crew to worry about their safety and to obtain a goal – that was the primary reason why Usopp was there to begin with.
Luffy may not have believed Usopp would come back or apologize, but he still cared. And it still hurt him tremendously.
But as Zoro said to him, “This is the burden of a captain, you can't doubt yourself. In times like these if you lose your confidence, then who can we have faith in?” Zoro also taught Luffy that as a captain he deserves respect, but honestly as friends we should too. What is a friend if they don’t respect you and help you keep yourself grounded – especially when times get tough.
And this is why we need more than just one friend. Don’t put all your “eggs” in one basket when it comes to them, but know that the life of friendships can and will change like waves of the ocean.
On the flip side, if you all focus on what is truly important within your friendship(s), have the hard conversations when things get rough, and continue to move forward, you will get to smoother seas and hopefully live out a lifelong friendship.
Bottom line: The Straw Hats sail the world seas, battle the toughest of enemies for not just each other, but anyone being unjustly bullied, and are always willing to die for what they believe and their friends.
So, for you, pick your “crew” carefully and those that respect your values, as you should theirs.
Don’t ever be wishy washy with your circle.
Comments