One Piece Is Awesome, Example #39

Throughout the Water Seven arc of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, Usopp has been having a sort of crisis of confidence, due to having been beaten mercilessly by the Franky Family, which led to him challenging Luffy to a fight over the fate of the Merry Go. He even went so far as to quit the crew, but when he was put into a position where his help was needed, he donned a mask and took on the identity of Sniper King, pretending to be a stronger, braver, and more confident person than he felt like he actually was. But, like everyone on the crew, he has his strengths and talents, and when it comes time for him to step up and save the day, he does so as thrillingly as anyone, as can be seen in this sequence from volume 43, in which the evil, power-hungry Spandam is about to drag Robin away, only to feel the brunt of a sudden, unexpected barrage:







Oda fills this series with moments like this, last-second saves or triumphs where a character steps up and delivers when it counts, but he somehow keeps it from ever feeling contrived. It would be something to marvel at, if I wasn't so busy cheering in excitement along with the characters.