Highlights
- Usopp’s insecurities led him to create the alter ego Sogeking, a confident facade to hide behind and overcome his shortcomings.
- Sogeking represented Usopp’s desire to be a great warrior, serving as a transitional phase until he could face his mistakes and insecurities.
- Shedding the mask of Sogeking symbolized Usopp’s growth and acceptance of his place within the Straw Hat Pirates, embracing his true self.
One Piece is a story where even the most simple of arc-exclusive identities can make an impact, and nowhere is that more true when you see Usopp’s arc in Water 7. The sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates also started off as a relatively weak liar, and even after joining he realized that his place in the crew could very well be invalidated due to his insecurities and weakness. Which is why when that came to a boil against Luffy, he not only disrespected his captain, but left the crew for a while. One Piece isn’t shy about showing why Usopp’s insecurities prevented him from returning and properly facing his mistakes.
However, a major identity that made an appearance in that very same arc happened to be Sogeking, who is really just Usopp with a mask hiding his identity. Why did he don such an identity, and more importantly, what does it mean to Usopp?
Where It All Started
Usopp’s Departure
To many fans, Usopp’s arc has always been about him trying to find a place in the Straw Hat Pirates, and especially trying to justify a reason that he was useful and worthy of staying with them. However, the Going Mary, a ship that is tied to his humble beginnings as a gift from one of his first friends, represented his own self-worth and struggle to hold himself together. Which is why when the idea of the Going Mary not being able to hold up as a ship started rearing its head, Usopp began to let his insecurities out, and it lashed out at Luffy, and eventually resulted in his departure from the Straw Hat Pirates. Usopp didn’t leave for long, however, as when the chips were down and Robin left the Straw Hats as well, he came back under a different name, moniker, and a mask to hide; the Sogeking.
Sogeking as Usopp’s alternate identity represented not just what Usopp wants to be, confident, and willing to do what was necessary at the time; Sogeking represented the lingering insecurities that Usopp had to overcome before he could truthfully apologize to Luffy and return to the Straw Hat Pirates. While in this identity, everybody except for Luffy already knew it was Usopp, but Sogeking remained the majority of the story consistent as well as in effect. When Sogeking sniped the World Government’s Flag and the Straw Hats declared war on the World Government, this marked a small but important step for Usopp to improve himself as a person and to dedicate himself to being much more than he used to be.
Shedding The Mask
Why We Haven’t Seen Sogeking
Sogeking’s mask represented everything that Usopp was trying to hide, a facade in which he could hide himself and provide a delusion of confidence and grandeur at the time. However, Usopp in future arcs, more specifically during the Thriller Bark arc, has shed the mask of Sogeking. However, why exactly is that what happened, and what does it even mean for the story as a result? That’s because Sogeking wasn’t meant to be an alter ego to be used for when Usopp needed to hide his identity, but rather, it was meant to be a self-defense mechanism for Usopp until he was ready to apologize and join the Straw Hat Pirates again as himself. After all, Usopp had made a lot of mistakes, and his own insecurities carved a rift between him and Luffy at the time. Even so, as fans can reliably see, Usopp eventually shed the mask of Sogeking and returned to being Usopp. This time, he embraced his position in the Straw hat Pirates.
Overall, there are a lot of things that can be said about Sogeking and Usopp as both identities of the same person. Usopp had always been a liar, but he also wanted to be a great warrior of the sea, which Sogeking represented in his own head. Of course, when Usopp had to come face to face with his own mistakes and insecurities, Sogeking took center stage so that Usopp could mentally prepare himself for when the time was right. Eventually, in the face of all this, Usopp shed the mask and became himself again. For good, Sogeking would most likely never come back. However, it’s always impressive to look back and think that this very brief identity had such an effect on fans. One Piece‘s Sogeking left an impression on many, and to Usopp served as a transition into a mature self.
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