Saitama is the main protagonist of One-Punch Man and the most powerful character in the series. Saitama’s a joke character and his shtick is he finishes almost every fight with one punch. While Saitama is known for his outrageous feats, fans also love him for personality. He’s calm, humble, and good natured, and because of it, he’s proven to be an inspirational figure to heroes and villains alike. One of his most notable features is how calm he is about everything. Nothing seems to bother him and if you’re anything like me or most other people. Sometimes you care a little too much about what other people think, things get to you and you wish you could care less and just be one of those people who simply don’t give a fuck. So today we’re going to look at the qualities that help Saitama stay calm, cool and collected and go through some practical ways you can do the same.
When One Punch Man creator ‘ONE’ created Saitama, he wanted to differentiate him from other heroes by making him strong from the start. He said “There are manga protagonists that overcome hardships and complications using their knowledge and experiences but I couldn’t write that sort of character”. Instead, he decided to have Saitama solve problems by punching things (Seems legit). ONE made Saitama as simple as he sounds, he’s an ordinary guy with Godlike power, that struggles with mundane aspects of everyday life e.g. Like running out of money.
Much like ONE himself, at a young age, Saitama realized he wasn’t cut out for regular society and years later, after his encounter with ‘Crablante’, he decided to drop everything and become a hero. Saitama has a simple life philosophy, it’s “Do what you want”. In the side story chapter ‘200 Yen’ Saitama explained “There’s no such thing as living well in this world. I used to be scared of the world too and even now, life hasn’t gotten any easier for me. It doesn’t matter whether you’re strong or weak, do whatever you want”.
Saitama’s an indifferent person and always has been. To him, everyday life is boring and the only thing he’s ever wanted to do was be a hero. But gaining overwhelming power only exasperated his boredom because he got so strong that nothing challenges him anymore. In episode 1 Saitama mentions he rarely feels anything anymore, and in exchange for power, perhaps he’d lost something essential to being human. Despite that, watching the series, we learn even though Saitama’s bored, he does care, but he only cares about five things:
- Being a hero (For fun)
- His friends
- His house
- Bargain deals at the Supermarket
- People making fun of him for being bald
It’s a small list, but to Saitama everything else is part of the boring, ordinary life he’s always hated.
So, how does this play into Saitama’s ability to stay calm, cool and collected in most situations? Well for one, Saitama doesn’t pay attention to anything that doesn’t interest him. It’s played for laughs because most characters Saitama meets are the complete opposite. While Saitama’s bored, detached and lazy. The heroes and villains are narcissistic, self centred and wildly ambitious. This makes for hilarious exchanges where someone flashy appears, boasts of their name and origins, express their discontent with the ways things are, only to be punched and die or realize Saitama wasn’t listening the entire time.
Another running gag is Saitama doesn’t remember people’s names or faces or more accurately, Saitama only remembers people he likes. He usually forgets who people are, mispronounces their names, or makes up completely random ones. He forgot who Snek and Tanktop Tiger were and called Speed-o’-Sound Sonic ‘Jack-o’-Lantern Panic’ in episode 6. The funny thing is Saitama doesn’t do it on purpose, but it works in his favor because he never remembers anything or anyone he doesn’t need to. Which means, he hardly worries about things because his head is clear. Despite that, Saitama had no trouble remembering Genos or Bang after their first meeting and he remembered Mumen Rider because he respected his dedication to being a hero and his self sacrifice holding off the Deep Sea King.
Saitama also flat out ignores anyone or anything or anyone negative, annoying or arrogant. While he isn’t immune to people making fun of him i.e. he gets mad when people make fun of him for being bald. He usually spaces out or ignores people that confront or abuse him. For example:
- He ignored Snek when he bragged about his influence in the association and threatened to deduct his points.
- Ignored Tank Top Tiger and Tank Top Black Hole when they tried to blame and shame him for destroying the city.
- Walked past Sonic when he confronted him for a rematch.
- Ignored a hate letter that said “No one cares about you, you cowardly cheating bastard” after he pretended to steal the glory for defeating the Deep Sea King.
- And ignored Tatsumaki when she ranted at him and replied “What’s with this Sassy lost child?”.
One reason Saitama can ignore people so effortlessly is because he’s so powerful that he isn’t afraid of anyone hurting him physically. Another reason is because his life philosophy involves not worrying about people or things that don’t matter to him. For example, in episode 6 Saitama realised he needed to meet a weekly hero quota to stay in the Hero Association. He had one day left, so he ran all over town looking for someone to save. When he realised no one needed saving, rather than worry about it (Despite, having every reason to) Saitama said “Guess I’ll head home, I’ll leave tomorrow’s problems to tommorow’s me”. While not everyone can ignore life’s problems so easily, Saitama can because he has a small list of priorities and doesn’t worry about the other stuff life throws at him. So while I’m not saying, Hakuna Matata, don’t think about money or ignore all life’s problems. All I’m saying is pick your priorities and ignore things that doesn’t deserve your attention. Ignore the trolls on social media, ignore the friend that put you down, ignore the people living their best lives on Instagram, and ignore all the distractions and unnecessary negativity in your life. Saitama knows that his time is far too precious to be wasted on anything that isn’t doing what he loves. And if it’s good enough for the world’s greatest hero, it’s good enough for you.
Another reason why Saitama’s doesn’t give a fuck is because he’s humble. While he does have his pride, because he isn’t too invested in his image, he doesn’t care what people think about him. He’s a simple guy with a simple code “Do what you want”. Saitama’s also humble because he knows what it’s like to be weak, frustrated and mad at the world. In episode 4, he even notes that with a wrong step he could have easily ended up like Hammerhead and the Paradisers. Being humble also means Saitama rarely gets flustered because he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Rather than worry, Saitama’s playful and likes to make light of situations. He also praises and encourages people for their strength and unique qualities. More than fame, power or prestige, it’s clear Saitama & One Punch Man creator ‘ONE’, admire the strength of the human spirit more than anything else. Guts, hard work and humility are the heart of the show and while Saitama is searching for the moment when he can show some guts, for now he’ll have to wait until a worthy foe to arrives.
The third and final reason why Saitama doesn’t give a fuck is because he’s honest. Saitama doesn’t lie to himself or anyone else. He says whatever comes to mind and doesn’t overthink things. This gets him into trouble because heroes and villains are usually shocked or downright pissed at how honest he is. Saitama doesn’t mince words, and he doesn’t need to. He’s strong enough that he isn’t afraid of a physical confrontation and so self assured that he doesn’t mind criticism. It’s not like he goes around offending people just to offend them. His honesty offends them because it shatters any illusions they had about themselves. To him lying is a waste of time, it’s more trouble than it’s worth and it’s way too much work. Saitama hates doing unnecessary work or dealing with complicated things and being honest is part of what keeps his life simple. Being honest helps Saitama’s effectively not give a fuck because seeing things as they are means that very little surprises him and as a result people can’t hurt his feelings. He deals with things as they come and believes life’s struggles are often what gives it meaning. By being honest with yourself and others you’ll find that while not everyone will ‘like you’ you’ll find a few amazing nakama that love you.
So there you go, that’s how Saitama manages to not give a fuck. He may be emotionally numb and overwhelmingly powerful but at his core Saitama’s still human. He used to get mad, sad and question why his life was so bad but all that stopped once he stopped doing what he was told to do and started doing what he wanted to. I hope the show serves as a little reminder to do what you love, focus on what’s important and ignore anything that could hold you back. There’s a little Saitama in all of us and I hope by reading this and watching the show you can find your inner hero. If you want to learn more about how to care less, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is a great book to get started with. Thanks for reading and remember, you’re the Main Character and everyday is a new training arc.
