So, when a show comes out that goes completely against the norm, and showcases a new ingenious idea, that is actually entertaining and can be analysed with more praise than critique, do we automatically start calling it the greatest of all time? Start giving it perfect scores? "Saviour of Anime"? Don't we all rank this show on the same list that we ranked the best of the best. The same list on which we ranked Gintama, Full Metal, Steins;Gate? Is this show really worth a 10/10 on that same list ?
Unarguably not. One Punch Man was unique, it had an amazing production value, the characters were brilliant, but it is nowhere near a perfect score, not even a strong 80%. For a few reasons. It has major story flaws, major pacing problems, major character development problems, etc. All of which should be avoided when thinking about 'the best' show.
The One Punch Man anime aired for 12 episodes and the manga is still going with multiple volumes, yet the show doesn't sway away from the one same joke it always uses. Which in itself makes this no different than the close minded anime about a dense dude and his harem. That being said, the joke itself is a creative one and enjoyable, if it didn't occur in every single episode.
But if that's all that One Punch Man was, it would be worth of a <5 score, however One Punch Man doesn't only use the idea of the One Punch as a joke but also adds some depth and a tremendous amount of epicness. With the beautiful animation, amazing soundtrack and outstanding cinematography it makes the One Punch better than any other multi episode fight.
Now many people like to claim that One Punch Man isn't meant to be analysed critically because it is a show that doesn't try to be in detail or in depth. I would argue against that. I think that One Punch Man was intended to do just that but in an unorthodox way. And I am fully aware that the original author didn't have big plans for it, but is clear from the mood it sets that it does take itself and the plot it contains very seriously. You can tell this by looking at how it never jeopardizes certain story lines for cheap comedy or for the sake of temporary sub plots. Not to mention it also has scenes where the characters are actually trying to be politically and morally correct. Though, it's as about as serious as an anime can get.
Story: 6/10
In a fools point of view, One Punch Man's story only revolves around finding new villains and waiting for our hero to come and save them. This of course kills all suspense that can be created with hyped up villains or their feats. It does in the first few times add a sense of suspense on whether the enemy is going to get One Punched or not, that perhaps has our main character met his match. For this 12 episode run, that can only be said about 1 or 2 villains out of the many many.
This point of view is foolish because it doesn't see the new major plotlines that each story arc unveils. From the time the main characters become official heroes, to the time of them ranking up, or meeting other strong and relevant super heroes. This sense of new things happening can and does make One Punch Man an engaging show. Except for one problem. The pacing. In the 12 episode run we got introduced to tons of interesting characters. Characters that could have a successful anime of their own, but One Punch Man only goes as far as introducing them. Hyping them up, but never doing anything significant with them. This I also felt was a problem in one of the greatest anime of all time, Hunter x Hunter, but because of the simple difference in run time even Hunter x Hunter eventually reached a point where it had to climax the hype it had built up. One Punch Man never did. It can actually be said that it started downplaying the hype near the end, where some of the more relevant characters get reduced to doing inferior tasks.
It has a common discussion among the internet that One Punch Man is a parody of all shonen anime as it attempts to do the exact opposite of the typical 'never give up' scenario. I can neither agree nor disagree to this statement because I think that the authors original intent is a determining factor. Though I can say that it did not appeal to me as such. It was more of a show that is trying to convey something simple while doing it in an exaggerated method. Perhaps the trait of never being satisfied with what you have or not worrying about how others view your actions only how you do? To each their own I suppose, but those things are clear themes in the One Punch Anime. Which is another reason I would argue that One Punch Man is not a 'turn your brain off' anime. This and also because, if you do decide to pay attention to detail you will slowly loose track of the story, with the vast amounts of characters being introduced every now and then, with each having a role in the bigger picture. Lagging attention will prevent you from keeping up with most of them.
Characters: 8/10
There are a few character names in One Punch Man that a viewer will actually remember. The important main characters, the characters who have obvious names relating to their superpowers or your random favourite character. That limits the number of memorable characters to extremely little compared to the amount of potentially good characters in the show. The show introduces a massive amount of characters, each with their own names, super powers and unique design. Each with their own allegiances, roles and enemies. Yet more than half, or rather 90% of these characters appear for a fraction of episodes. Even some of the important, high ranked individuals only appeared for a maximum of 10 minutes in the entire show.
The main characters however also get less screen time than usual. This is because though the side character get little to no appearances, there are so many that it adds up and cuts away from the main characters time to shine. The main character usually appears at the end of an episode to finish off the bad guy while his side kick come during the middle and attempts at fighting the villain.
Talking about the side kick. One of the most interesting characters in the show, who had a flashback that was only teased in the anime, and has only been mention once or twice in the Jump manga, is treated far too unjustly. He has lots of potential to become one of the leading stars of the show yet is turned into a ploy for the animators to animate an actual fight, as he gets utterly destroyed by almost all bad guys.
Also the use of anime tropes to quickly develop a certain character in One Punch Man is not a rarity. From overpowered old dudes, to loyal samurai, to whiny lolis and everything else, One Punch Man uses the fact that we know the character traits of certain types of character tropes in anime, to not develop the character as an individual. This is not always a bad strategy, as it is effective, but it takes so much away from the character that I would want to see be important one day, if madhouse ever makes a sequel.
Like I mentioned before, the music in One Punch Man really does build up tense moments in which failure seems inevitable, but that feeling can only last for the first few episodes, until you realize that the main character will literally One Punch, anything and everything. But the interesting thing about this is that, One Punch Man actually does go out of its way in letting us know that he actually can't One Punch all his problems away, that sometimes he needs to use his wit for situations that can't be solved with strength. But that aspect was visited once briefly and never again, but nonetheless did help with some great character development.
The characters in One Punch Man can at most times be flat characters because of how little we see of most of them. The main character I can safely say for sure is a flat character, but soo much potential to change. If he ever goes through something that can change him as a person, and it is legitimate, it could make for one of the best anime moments of all time, but that's just my wishful thinking.
Production: 10/10
Everyone's favourite, Madhouse delivers yet again. With some of the best animation in anime existence and an amazing sound track, One Punch Man has one of the highest production values of all time. It makes watching the show exponentially more entertaining. The way each keyframe is animated for big moments, is so smooth and done without much help from CGI effects resulting in a beautiful motion picture. Most of the fights that actually take place, are animated beautifully with much thought put into each movement to make it as dynamic as possible.
There are some scenes with some of the best cinematography I have ever scene in anime. The usage of lighting and still images along side of battle effects and sparky anime colours was done so well, that you can't even complain about the characters being too colourful.
All in all, I have no complaints with how Madhouse handled the production of this show, with the exception of how the transferred it from the original source material. But it's unfair to judge a show based on how it compares to the source material, so lets leave it at that.
Enjoyment and Overall Score: 8/10
One Punch Man is a nice breather from the below average shows we get in anime lately, but it is no where near the best show to ever exist or even the top 20 or 30. It was entertaining. It wasn't a show that I would go out of my to watch again nor was it a show that I really looked forward to all that much, other than waiting for the manga scenes to be animated. The anime community rode it's hype train because it has a large manga fanbase, it was leaps and bounds above average animation and sound, which leads to any onlooker being interested in it. That being said, I think it was overhyped, but I have no problem with that. It's nice to see people enjoy something that much every now and then, especially if that something is not Sword Art Online, but rather a relatively good show. I do however have a problem with it being so high in the Top Anime of this website, beating anime that are far better than it, when I know that most of the high scores are given with only hype in mind.
I watched the show, I liked it, I would recommend it to anyone if they specifically asked for it but never as a must watch.
