Dec 28, 2015 11:20 PM
Fall 2015 impressions - 4. One Punch Man
Anime Relations:
One Punch Man, One Punch Man: Road to Hero
Without a doubt the most hyped series of this season. As the season progressed, I was surprised at how popular it was, appearing even on my facebook feeds in 9gag, amongst others. The likes of anime to appear in such forms of social media are usually restricted to Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Shingeki no Kyojin... One Punch Man has itself taken a place amongst those other series of late, and it probably will for a while.
What makes One Punch Man so popular then? I knew that it was popular even before the anime came out. i had seen certain panels of the manga, and the manga itself was noteworthy, especially in its proper incarnation with an excellent artist. One can only point to the entire premise of the show: a man who defeats anything with a single punch. We have seen similar 'invincible type heroes' before, but none of them are as convincing or frank as this - and certainly satirical, even. I used to frequently argue with a friend of mine of who was stronger: Goku or Superman. This argument, I thought, would never end. But with Saitama we have a hero who puts an end to all these sorts of now-invalid questions.
Art and sound wise, we are talking Madhouse, so we do get some good quality art. I have however, noted that Madhouse essentially replicated the manga's art (as seen from comparisons made by various websites). Nevertheless, it is still a good job. I was initially not so thrilled with the OP, but as I listened more, I grew to like it better. In the OST, one of the battle BGMs reminded me of Slayer, so many plus points for that. That ED however, totally didn't work for me in the least. That was one of the disappointing parts of the show.
It is ultimately in the comedy of this show that its premise survives. We already know the outcome - Saitama would just bash the guy in one shot. The question then is how the lead up is to be performed. Which dumb creature is going to try and conquer Earth next? This is One Punch Man's first flaw: Monster of the Week (MotW). MotW is a sign that there has not been much thought put into the structure of the series: it is a sign of laziness. i can understand how the manga's plot forces this upon the studio, and structurally it is sound - but for anyone who is looking for more than cheap entertainment, MotW will not suffice.
Yet this MotW thing is inevitable. Since we all know the outcome, it makes one even wonder what there is a series to make out of. Thankfully Saitama is a really cool and chill guy - and that is part of what makes the series popular, I believe. As I just saw on 9gag today: "If Saitama wanted to be the Pirate King, One Punch Man would only run for 12 episodes." If there is a story at all, it revolves around everyone that is not Saitama, the most noteworthy being Genos, and all these other heroes.
Yet, as funny as One Punch Man is, it has unfortunately been overhyped, for the above reasons and others. Perhaps it is the case that the English-speaking-Anime-watching world has never encountered a hero quite like Saitama - and perhaps even other places never before as well. Is there anything that is genuinely impressive about One Punch Man that sets it apart besides this premise? Not really. Its predictability goes against it, and what makes it seem a little better than RosaVam S1 is that there is some good humour and no harem. One Punch Man is forged as a double edged sword - but most don't seem to see that. It is better than the average series in its execution for certain, and it is an interesting premise - but it leads one to question: when will Saitama actually have trouble? Perhaps the manga readers will be able to answer this better. At least we see that in the last episode, the opponent doesn't die in one 'casual' punch, and Saitama actually has to get serious - a nice change, really.
All in all, One Punch Man is meant to be fun. Perhaps this is why it is popular, for it doesn't take itself seriously. Yet if anyone does, they'll find many flaws with the show, and questions will begin to be raised about whether it really deserves to be lauded as it has been. Can we call One Punch Man a masterpiece? Most definitely not. It is better than the average anime, but it does not step very far into the bounds of an 'excellent' anime. Such is the power of hype, and the big question for One Punch Man is about where it can go, rather than where it will go. The premise is entirely based on a joke, so will it continue as a joke?
It is almost inevitable that a second season will be produced at some point, and while I have not observed One Punch Man's manga sales, they would have skyrocketed. How then, will it conclude, when it has to? The author has had no choice but to develop everything that is Saitama's periphery, and while this will come as a commendable approach for other series, for One Punch Man, since it comes as a result of having no choice in adherence to the premise, it can lead into many directions, many of which I can only foresee as being wholly unsatisfying. But as Saitama wisely said, "That is a problem for tomorrow's me." (How did Genos not note this lesson? It's the most important one!). Likewise, that is a problem for the author's future self. The money and fame for his series is piling in, and he only wins. In my opinion, the series has not lived up to the hype, but it is still a good series nonetheless.
What makes One Punch Man so popular then? I knew that it was popular even before the anime came out. i had seen certain panels of the manga, and the manga itself was noteworthy, especially in its proper incarnation with an excellent artist. One can only point to the entire premise of the show: a man who defeats anything with a single punch. We have seen similar 'invincible type heroes' before, but none of them are as convincing or frank as this - and certainly satirical, even. I used to frequently argue with a friend of mine of who was stronger: Goku or Superman. This argument, I thought, would never end. But with Saitama we have a hero who puts an end to all these sorts of now-invalid questions.
Art and sound wise, we are talking Madhouse, so we do get some good quality art. I have however, noted that Madhouse essentially replicated the manga's art (as seen from comparisons made by various websites). Nevertheless, it is still a good job. I was initially not so thrilled with the OP, but as I listened more, I grew to like it better. In the OST, one of the battle BGMs reminded me of Slayer, so many plus points for that. That ED however, totally didn't work for me in the least. That was one of the disappointing parts of the show.
It is ultimately in the comedy of this show that its premise survives. We already know the outcome - Saitama would just bash the guy in one shot. The question then is how the lead up is to be performed. Which dumb creature is going to try and conquer Earth next? This is One Punch Man's first flaw: Monster of the Week (MotW). MotW is a sign that there has not been much thought put into the structure of the series: it is a sign of laziness. i can understand how the manga's plot forces this upon the studio, and structurally it is sound - but for anyone who is looking for more than cheap entertainment, MotW will not suffice.
Yet this MotW thing is inevitable. Since we all know the outcome, it makes one even wonder what there is a series to make out of. Thankfully Saitama is a really cool and chill guy - and that is part of what makes the series popular, I believe. As I just saw on 9gag today: "If Saitama wanted to be the Pirate King, One Punch Man would only run for 12 episodes." If there is a story at all, it revolves around everyone that is not Saitama, the most noteworthy being Genos, and all these other heroes.
Yet, as funny as One Punch Man is, it has unfortunately been overhyped, for the above reasons and others. Perhaps it is the case that the English-speaking-Anime-watching world has never encountered a hero quite like Saitama - and perhaps even other places never before as well. Is there anything that is genuinely impressive about One Punch Man that sets it apart besides this premise? Not really. Its predictability goes against it, and what makes it seem a little better than RosaVam S1 is that there is some good humour and no harem. One Punch Man is forged as a double edged sword - but most don't seem to see that. It is better than the average series in its execution for certain, and it is an interesting premise - but it leads one to question: when will Saitama actually have trouble? Perhaps the manga readers will be able to answer this better. At least we see that in the last episode, the opponent doesn't die in one 'casual' punch, and Saitama actually has to get serious - a nice change, really.
All in all, One Punch Man is meant to be fun. Perhaps this is why it is popular, for it doesn't take itself seriously. Yet if anyone does, they'll find many flaws with the show, and questions will begin to be raised about whether it really deserves to be lauded as it has been. Can we call One Punch Man a masterpiece? Most definitely not. It is better than the average anime, but it does not step very far into the bounds of an 'excellent' anime. Such is the power of hype, and the big question for One Punch Man is about where it can go, rather than where it will go. The premise is entirely based on a joke, so will it continue as a joke?
It is almost inevitable that a second season will be produced at some point, and while I have not observed One Punch Man's manga sales, they would have skyrocketed. How then, will it conclude, when it has to? The author has had no choice but to develop everything that is Saitama's periphery, and while this will come as a commendable approach for other series, for One Punch Man, since it comes as a result of having no choice in adherence to the premise, it can lead into many directions, many of which I can only foresee as being wholly unsatisfying. But as Saitama wisely said, "That is a problem for tomorrow's me." (How did Genos not note this lesson? It's the most important one!). Likewise, that is a problem for the author's future self. The money and fame for his series is piling in, and he only wins. In my opinion, the series has not lived up to the hype, but it is still a good series nonetheless.
Posted by
Divin3Wind_
| Dec 28, 2015 11:20 PM |
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