One Punch Man

Some manga purists thumb their nose at One Punch Man (OPM), the highly popular manga comic that’s been translated into an anime series because it is foolish. What they fail to realize is that that is the whole point of OPM. One Punch Man is full of gags because it is a parody of themes found in the superhero world. The usual manga story follows an arc where the hero transitions from regular guy to savior of the universe. He gets better as the series progresses by fighting several opponents and working with his master.

In One Punch Man however this trope is turned on its head. The main character, Saitama, is only a part-time hero. Get this: saving people is his hobby. Saitama is able to get away with being a part-time hero because he is so powerful that one punch is enough to disable villains. Soon enough he gets so bored that he sets off to gain that most elusive of things, societal recognition. This plot device is what drives the entire story of One Punch Man.

The characters in OPM have some of the wildest origin stories you’ll ever hear. Exhibit A of this idea is the character who became Crabman because he ate too many crabs. Then consider Saitama who trained tirelessly (read ran 10km did 100 push-ups, 100 crunches and 100 sit-ups daily) for 3 years to become the most powerful person in the world, but now guess what, he’s bored and is seeking a new challenge.

You’ll realize in most superhero stories that everyone wants to be on ‘Team Hero’ because the hero is strong, sexy, well-built and an all-round awesome person. You only have to watch twenty minutes of OPM to realize that Saitama is not your dream hero. The guy be bald, no get one sense, always dey try buy discount food, wey he be lazy pass. The only thing that saves him from yawa is that one punch.

When you think critically about it, OPM shouldn’t work yet it does because of the wonderful art direction, the ‘Saitama faces’ and the amazing sound. It doesn’t matter what One Punch Man is about or what lesson(s) the creators are trying to teach you. All that matters is that when the opening theme song comes on you’re gonna be yelling “ONE PUUUUUNCH!”