I want to be the strongest hero.
For this week, I’ll looking at the viral web comic turned manga/anime – One Punch Man. It was originally written and illustrated by ONE when first published in 2009. The online web series was then re-adapted into a manga in 2012 illustrated by Yusuke Murata. Later it was released as an anime under VIZ MEDIA.
One Punch Man starts off with a traditional origin story for a simple human named Saitama. He’s a businessman who became bored with his everyday life and trained himself to become a superhero over the span of three years. Because of his training, Saitama achieved unbelievable levels of strength, speed and endurance to the point that superhero work became too easy.
Cities Reduced to Letters and Less Emphasis On Casualties
A popular opinion out there is that this story is a parody of superhero tropes, contemporary rules of justice and the role of superheroes. The setting is a self contained world characterized by huge cities labeled as letters – City A, City B, City C, etc.
When a monster attacks, millions die with very little attention given to how many casualties have actually occurred. Contrast this to a traditional comic book where heroes and heroines struggle to minimize casualties. Additionally, there are internal repercussions for heroes who live with a death toll of civilians on their minds.
Casualties are rarely mentioned and it’s hard to imagine that all of the buildings were empty.
A Lazy Protagonist, a Destructive Android, and a Knight With No Code
Much like eating and restroom breaks, civilian casualties and structural damage are not the focus of One Punch Man. It’s the characters and how they operate in this incredibly distraught world of monsters and heroes.
For instance, Saitama is lazy and unaffected by the destruction and casualties he is unable to prevent. Genos, a super-powered android, destroys anything without a second thought as long as the villain is defeated.
Another hero, Metal Knight, is a robot being controlled off-screen by a pilot. He attempts to stop a meteor with all of his might and firepower, and when that fails, he leaves the scene abandoning several cities and civilians to their doom.
The hierarchy of heroes in the show is based on power levels and popularity among [the surviving] masses with Level C being the lowest rank and Level S being the highest. Due to this power struggle, there is infighting among heroes, and the higher level ones operate almost as contract-heroes who take on threats they feel are worthy of their time and effort. Better to leave small threats to heroes more qualified to deal with them.
Mumen Rider, enhanced strength, enhanced speed, enhanced endurance. Hero Level C, Rank 1.
Mumen Rider, a True Hero
That brings me to one of the only true heroes in the show besides Saitama, Mumen Rider. He is a seemingly normal person with a helmet, glasses and bicycle. As the number one Level C hero, he has no business tangling with monster kings and forces of nature.
I rolled my eyes when this character came onto the scene, figuring this was a nobody who thought he could fight villains with no abilities at all. He unintentionally took the credit for the actions of another hero and that really grinds my gears.
However, he soon gained my respect after taking a beating from a super powered Deep Sea King. This monster would have turned his attention on the civilians if Mumen Rider had not distracted him long enough. This is the traditional hero the story needed to juxtapose the contemptuous attitudes of higher ranking heroes.
Looking Forward to Next Season
With a limit-shattering finish to the first season of One Punch Man, I’m excited to jump into the second season which is already available to stream online. There were many heroes and heroines introduced in the series with very little room for good first impressions.
I’m hoping that the second season can expand on their characters with more amicable sequences and real heroic lessons.
Story: 7/10
Music & Sound: 10/10
Action: 8/10
Voice Acting (Eng Dub): 10/10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alejandro Furnells
Student Author - Fall 2019
