One Punch Man (Review)
One Punch Man Packs Quite A… Punch (Sorry, Not Sorry).
One Punch Man is easily one of the biggest things to happen to anime in decades. It’s a loving homage poking fun at all the greatest cliches and tropes featured throughout action series such as Dragon Ball Z. It’s a pretty blatant and at times even brutal satire, but it’s never malicious in its mockery. Instead, it’s more of a love letter to all the reasons fans love anime in the first place. Because of this, it’s been one of the best-received series I’ve seen in years and one that people seem to universally love. But it is really as good as everyone says it is?
We’ve all seen the dreaded overpowered (OP) hero in action. No matter how strong the villain might seem they’re always just a little bit stronger. Whether it’s Goku, Superman, and even more recently, All Might from My Hero Academia constantly coming out on top because they’re just too dang strong to beat. It’s almost boring watching these heroes in action, because when are they ever going to lose? And even if they do, they’re never down for long. One Punch Man though takes this concept and turns it on its head.
At the core of the series is Saitama who lives in an odd world filled with superheroes. For the most part, these heroes are just people in costumes fighting to save the day. Some have special abilities and powers, but few are what one might consider “super.” Saitama is different though because he’s the undefeatable One Punch Man. A hero so powerful his fights never take more than one punch to win. The thing is that no one really knows about him because he’s a bit of an idiot who has no idea how to be a hero. Luckily, he runs into a cyborg who is so impressed with his power he demands to train under him in order to become stronger and in turn helps Saitama to become the hero he’s destined to be and finally find an opponent that will be a match for him.
The creator of One Punch Man is manga artist ONE who originally published online in a very… unique style. Shortly after it went viral because it’s just such an incredible parody. At its core it’s about a hero who is so powerful it’s boring, something that I’m sure the audience can relate to. After all, how many times are we going to watch OP heroes go into battle when we all know what the outcome will be. In that way, it makes Saitama probably the most human of any hero I’ve seen in a long time. Best of all though is that he’s absolutely clueless how to go about being a hero. The series dives into the bureaucracy that comes with being an official hero in the world he inhabits, but initially, he doesn’t even know that he needs to register. It’s this obliviousness that makes him so endearing.
The real appeal to One Punch Man is the animation. While the characters might be the meat of the series, Madhouse made sure that the quality of animation was the desert. Saitama is a character whose style switches between humerus dolt to sleek musclebound hero. These tonal shifts only add to the absurdity of his character though as we see him almost transform as he gets serious. It’s yet another nod to the ever famous anime cliche “this isn’t even my final form!” Not only that, but the studio takes great care to keep the overall tone of the serious humorous even as epic battles wage on. Director Shingo Natsume gives the audience a keen blend of humor and jaw-dropping fight sequences that suck the audience in and refuses to let them go. In this way, it’s reminiscent of such anime as Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill. However, neither of those series is as good of a parody as One Punch Man.
The secret to One Punch Man’s popularity lies in the fact that people who are and aren’t anime fans will enjoy it. It’s far from the best anime of all time, but it casts such a wide net in its appeal that there’s no arguing that it’s exactly what it sets out to be, which is just good old fashioned fun. Like it’s hero there’s no air of superiority to it, no pretentious themes or attempts to be overly cerebral. Instead, One Punch Man sticks to the basics. There are good guys and there are bad guys. Most of the characters wear their motives on the sleeves of their ridiculous costumes. But don’t mistake it’s simplicity for stupidity, because, in order to pull off everything it does, One Punch Man can’t afford to be anything less than brilliant.
Even with how easy it is to love One Punch Man it’s not without its fair share of problems. Most of these are a matter of taste rather than execution. Since a great deal of the characters are caricatures of anime tropes a slippery slope develops early on. At certain points, it’s hard to tell if One Punch Man is just making fun of the insensitive nature of so many series or if it is just completely oblivious to how a number of its characters come across. A perfect example of this is Puri-Puri Prisoner, a superhero who is a gross exaggeration of pretty much every homosexual cliche possible. Not only does he serve to make every other (male) character in the series but also the audience as well. Of course, this could all just be in “good fun,” but in today’s more socially conscious climate, it’s a bit hard to swallow some of these aspects of One Punch Man.
While it might not be the best anime of all time, One Punch Man is one that I can confidently recommend to everyone. It’s action-packed, hilarious, and fully self-aware. I’m ecstatic that a second season will be rolling out in 2019 because if it’s anything like the first then we are all in for a treat. Until then go and check out the first season. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.
