“One Punch Man” is a superhero anime unlike any other

I cannot believe I haven’t watched One Punch Man sooner; sure, I knew it was good but I didn’t realize how much of a fucking ride it would be.

Seriously.

I thought the show would play Saitama’s power much straighter; like, people knew he was a threat and treated him as such and maybe Saitama was the crazy guy in a serious world. But instead the show recognizes just how ridiculous this power would be and puts him in the perfect world to explore all the possibilities.

For those of you who are unacquainted One Punch Man takes place in a world overrun by monsters and super villains; of course, there are heroes. But none of them are as powerful as Saitama, whose power you might have guessed, is that he can defeat anyone or anything with a single punch.

And he’s bored. He claims he became a hero for fun, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about people or puts them at risk.

But things change, a little, when he meets Genos, a powerful cyborg. Genos has a much better understanding of how the Hero world works, but is impressed with Saitama’s power and decides to become his pupil.

Saitama just goes along with it. Crazy fights and adventures ensure.

Much of the remainder of the series’ conflict is that many of the heroes don’t believe that Saitama, an average looking dude who is only a C-ranked hero can pull of the feats he does.

It’s a really enjoyable show and premise.

Saitama is a fascinating character because while he’s literally the most powerful being on the planet; he’s still very human. And it seems he tends to care more about getting to a sale at the grocery store, or finding a challenging opponent.

That’s relatable.

Like, save the world but make sure it’s on a day when you don’t miss a sale at a grocery store.

He still wants to protect people; but it’s all too easy. Plus, he isn’t stuck-up about it at all; he thinks his power is pretty normal. Or something.

And the funny thing is how Saitama inspires others like Genos to be better, despite obviously not meaning to. It’s kind of parody of all the general shounen-hero tropes, but it’s also played fairly genuinely in some cases.

There are some interesting themes and ideas presented in the show like how many of the more highly ranked heroes care more about their image than protecting people. And those heroes are too happy to take credit for Saitama’s work.

And while Saitama too wants attention, he doesn’t want it for quite the same reasons.

And because he has such a lackadaisical approach to hero work, the fights are kept interesting.

We get to see the other heroes trying to take down the villain or monster, showing just how powerful it is before Saitama arrives, and we’re kept wondering if this will be the one that gets him.

And it’s the other characters; the non assholes like Genos, Bang, and Mumen Rider the latter whom is just a guy on a bike doing his best who really help make the show good.

I’m excited for Season 2

And that’s the scoop!

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Score: 9/10

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Year of release: 2015

Length: 12 episodes; 24 minutes each

Producers: Chinatsu Matsui, Nobuyuki Hosoya, Keita Kodama, Ayuri Taguchi

Director: Shingo Natsume

Writer: Tomohiro Suzuki

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