The story of One Punch Man is simply hilarious. It pokes a lot of fun of the traditional tropes of an shonen anime. You know a hero trains to get stronger, loses, finds out there is a big boss, loses, gets stronger, filler, gets stronger, and eventually beating the big boss for the grand happy ending leading to another big boss or season 2. This show does none of that. Instead our protagonist, Saitama, breaks all of those rules. He is a hero for fun who is extremely overpowered to the point he is bored of fighting. For a second, I thought Saitama was struggling with his humanity while exploring deeper ideas besides finding an opponent worthy of fighting.I guess that’s just me. Saitama is joined by a cyborg named Genos who has a very decent story as well. It was quite shonen-ish, but great overall. I’m not gonna go into too many details because who needs a long ass origin story or explanation. Just know when the adventure begins, be prepared to enjoy the journey because I did.
Animation: 10
IT’S A MADHOUSE! MADHOUSE is simply amazing, I don’t know what else to say. I don’t think I have ever seen a bad Madhouse show. The animation is flawless, crisp, and simple. The OK Saitama face is definitely a highlight along with just about every scene Tornado is in. I left it for you to laugh at. LAUGH WITH ME DAMN IT! LOOK IT IS MADHOUSE…MADHOUSE IS NOT GONNA LET YOU DOWN. THE ANIMATION IS VERY PLEASING TO THE EYES BECAUSE IT IS MADHOUSE!
Music: 10One Punch Man 5.jpg
ONE PUNCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Listen, yall this is one of the best opening theme songs I have ever heard in my life. I’m not exaggerating it is as simple as that. “The Hero” will get you so pumped, so hyped, so prepared to take on the world and punch stuff! I scream the One Punch part every time I hear it. Jam Project knocked it out of the park with this theme.
JUST WATCH JAM PROJECT PERFORM IT LIVE! IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
[This is where the youtube link would be to see it live.]
ISN’T THAT AMAZING?! This song alone gives the music score a ten! BTW the ending theme (“Hoshi yori Saki ni Mitsukete Ageru (星より先に見つけてあげる)” by Hiroko Moriguchi) is pretty awesome.
Here is that theme for your listening pleasure.
[This is where the youtube link would be to see it live.]
Characters: 10
MAIN CHARACTERS
Saitama – The strongest hero in the universe point blank, I am declaring Saitama the strongest human in the anime universe. In order to become a hero, Saitama went under an intense training & diet regiment to obtain his goal to the point he went bald. He has acheived that goal and you would think he would be an egomaniac. WRONG. Saitama is a laid back, care free, frugal, hero for fun that world doesn’t seem to notice despite Saitama saving the city frequently. Saitama is the king of training and sales at the supermarket all at the age of 25.
Genos – The lone cyborg willing to get stronger under the training of Saitama. Genos is very loyal, but he is extremely serious like most shonen characters. His origin story created the classic “20 words or less” rule which I find very amusing. I was thinking the show was gonna shift more towards his story at one point. If this show as about Genos, this would have been your typical anime about one character’s journey to retribution.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS -NOW listen I am not gonna name every single supporting character because EVERY SINGLE SUPPORTING CHARACTER IS FREAKING AMAZING! THEY ALL ADD SOMETHING TO EACH EPISODE! IT may be a little moment or a one liner, but damn I gotta admit this show made each one of the supporting characters feel important when they were on the screen. I absolutely loved the way this show treated their supporting cast because each one of them could have an episode or an series or OVA about them. Mumen Rider is hilarious while Handsome Mask the other word for a male rooster! The heroes association alone could have an anime & I WOULD WATCH EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.
Additional Mentions
1. A huge thank you to Shingo Natsume for directing this anime and making One Punch Man everything it is supposed to be.
2. I had thought that left me a tad conflicted. While Saitama is extremely powerful…ok over powered, would I be rooting for him if he was the villain of the anime? I think the answer would still be yes. Saitama is likable and I think that’s what sets him apart from antagonist that are considered cheap (I’m looking at you Aizen). What do you think?
3. Second season please?! PLEASE?!
Conclusion
One Punch Man is simply amazing. It was a wonderful ride that pokes fun at the shonen genre along with tropes of anime. The story isn’t something too memorable, but it is hilarious. Everything else besides that is perfect. I can understand how some people may not like OPM since everything ends in 1 punch & the comedy may get a bit repetitive sometimes due to the punchline is the same despite a different setup. Besides that, One Punch Man is an amazing anime that I highly recommend you to watch!
Saitama can beat just about anyone…yep I said it. GET ON THE SAITAMA TRAIN
Final Score: 9.5
