As children, we used to get excitment tingling all over when we hear the names Dragon Ball or Pokémon. We wouldn’t dare miss an episode for the sake of the enjoyment of the anime. Now, we’re met by another anime as epic as those called One Punch Man. This anime was a hit series last year despite being so short. One Punch Man certainly is one of the anime that would make you fired up and waiting impatiently for the next episode.
Basic Information
One Punch Man was first a huge hit manga series written by ONE. It’s a remake of the original web comic by ONE. In 2014, the series was nominated for the 7th annual Manga Taishou Award and ranked 7th place.
Despite it being labeled as an Action-Comedy, it’s not just that as it combines plenty of other genres. One Punch Man got an adaptation into an anime in 2015, in which it started airing on Oct 5th. Concerning producers, OPM has plenty of those. Nevertheless, it was made by the studio Madhouse, which is known to make masterpieces but just one season.
Plot
The plot of One Punch Man is pretty simple. An average looking guy who wants to be recognized as a hero and he does it just for fun. Now, what makes this anime special in particular is that it uses parody to convey comedy. That is certainly known as an ace in any anime or manga, especially in Gintama. Parodies are basically an imitation of another work, but funnier and mostly mockery comes out of it.
The plot starts with Saitama, an average guy who always had a nick for being a hero. Soon, coming from work, he is met by an alien-like monster and he is let down by his utter defeat. Saitama, though beaten up, does not give up easily and he takes down that monster. From that day, Saitama decided to work hard on becoming a real hero so he is not met by defeat ever again.
However, his hard work out pays off way too well and he becomes an overpowered character. It’s always been boring to see an overpowered protagonist in anime, but One Punch Man does not disappoint. The main character becomes depressed since there is no one strong enough to defeat him or just challenge him. What depressed him even more is people had no idea who the hell he was! He never got the credit he deserved beating up monsters and being its hero.
That plays a major role in the latter episodes. Saitama has to show the public how powerful he is with a 19-year-old cyborg called Genos. Said man wants to become the disciple of Saitama after witnessing his utter strength.
Enjoyment
As an anime of parody, One Punch Man is a major hit in that formula. Anyone will enjoy every passing second of it. Though it has just 12 episodes, each 24 minutes, One Punch man will never get you sighing of boredom.
Immersion
Concerning immersion, not many anime can get you inside the vibes it sends. Immersion is one of One Punch Man’s strong points. In parody, it can make you laugh your heart out in certain scenes and dialogues. Especially when Saitama’s casual, nonchalant character gets you with his choice of words in certain situation. This anime isn’t one of those that need fan service to make it a hit series. One Punch Man relies on words and expressions to make you laugh till you cry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZanhC9N1-ko
On the other hand, when it comes to fight scenes, One Punch Man builds a bubble of immersion in action. Even if the characters in it do not experience death, they have plenty of hardships. Especially the ones those that aren’t strong enough. Suspense isn’t on the playlist of this anime, but an action pack certainly is. The fight scenes of this anime are most enjoyable since they’re well-taken care of and well-made by Madhouse. What’s good about it is that the animation of Saitama changes profusely once it hit seriousness.
Sides of Enjoyment
No matter how funny or action packed this anime can be, it certainly does not miss the enjoyment on the emotional side. One Punch Man, though it does not focus on the moral side much, it has those. It has the Plot Armor around the important characters, but that doesn’t make them perfect. One Punch Man is one of the series like Gintama, though protected by the author, they still make them develop through emotional experiences. Through these emotional experiences or just wise words uttered by someone, it can hit close home to the viewer.
One Punch Man has strength in making a laughable joke as a moral lesson behind the layers. It’s as though the author was just winging it when he decided to write the scenarios. However, these winged, unnoticed details are the ones that stand out a lot better. All because he’s not trying that hard to sound cool or wise. So, One Punch Man may just seem to care about the jokes and punchline, but it’s really not. It’s deeper than that.
Characters
In One Punch Man, there are not many characters that play a big role in the story. However, its supporting characters are just as powerful and respectable. They are not accounted for as they’re not thoroughly explained.
Saitama
Saitama is the most powerful hero alive in One Punch Man. He is a very relatable character in the anime, since all did he did was work out very hard. Yet he faces a tremendous problem concerning his power. The author portrayed Saitama as a plain-looking guy beneath a shell of wisdom and strength. He is the real deal of don’t judge a book by its cover and appearances are deceiving.
Saitama’s personality has a care-free, nonchalant attitude, but beneath that layer, there is a strong, caring fighter. The said man often says things that may seem nonchalant, but with his face and tone of voice, it sounds funny as hell. No matter how stoic he seems, the egg-faced man cares deeply for Genos, the only person who admits his strength. Saitama rarely talks about serious things unless they’re concerned with being a hero. However, sometimes, when talking to Genos about something, he surely says some really wise stuff.
Genos
The main character Genos plays a great deal in the anime. He’s very powerful as well and he is partners with Saitama, whom he called Sensei. Genos possesses a cyborg body with a tremendous amount of power.
Genos is an extremely serious character. He has a strong sense of justice and a drive to get stronger than he is with the help of Saitama. Genos is always nagging Saitama about his secret to his super strength.
Even when he tells him the secret, Genos does not believe all it took was working out. Thanks to the Genos, we see a moving train of the anime. And since he gave him a past for the viewers, it certainly won over their hearts.
Supporting Charatcers
One Punch Man certainly owns a big deal of heroes and characters that can never be taken for granted. Even though the focus is on Genos and Saitama, anyone who watches cannot take supporting characters for granted. There is one character that cannot be hated no matter what—Justice Rider. In the latter episodes, Justice Rider made the most touching speech ever existed in the history of heroes that weren’t that strong.
Every once in a while, exist characters that make a huge impact on us, One Punch Man’s definitely do.
Art
Madhouse certainly did a pretty good job in animating this manga. However, it is not as great as the other series like Fate and Kara no Kyoukai. In fact, One Punch Man may feel like it’s rushed since Madhouse usually have something up their sleeve. Some kind of weapon concerning main characters like flashy effects to go with action.
Nevertheless, One Punch Man cannot be taken lightly whether in expressions or just a pure fist fight. Miraculously, it provides a lot of special effects for the punches and the surroundings. That makes the art of this anime up to no debate, since its designing and effects are top notch. Unlike most studios that tend to make the faces weird or come out like they’re unfocused, Madhouse avoids that. Fluid motion, outstanding effects, basically nothing overdramatic. One word, simple, but epic!
One of the best parts of the anime are the chibi parts of Tatsumaki and the facial expressions of Saitama. In addition, the design for the villains especially in the last episodes are nothing to meddle with. They’re not given the stereotype vibes, in fact, they’re just perfect.
Background
Action anime require detailed work on backgrounds. Madhouse did not disappoint in that, in fact, it made flawless special effects on it. The environment was rather rich, smooth and lacking of unnecessary details. Ordinary people are considered parts of the background, too, but they’re carefully drawn.
Sound
Remember those opening that you can never skip? ONE PUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH! Is one of them! It’s the kind of opening that you would never ever dare to skip. The opening has good vibes that get you pumped and excited before the episode starts. Opening themes are the hardest for such anime, since it needs both talent and passion to create.
On the other hand, the seiyuus are not to be taken for granted, as well. They are simply eargasmic, infinity-level of voice acting. Madhouse is one of the studios that consider every detail in characters and plot. We’re not disappointed in this with the epic voice-acting of Furakawa Makoto playing as Saitama; Ishikawa Kaito as Genos. These two certainly were handpicked carefully to make the anime more outstanding and alluring.
Moving on from seiyuus, the fight themes and the music suit every situation perfect. In fact, the music and themes are not repetitive as they are in most anime, which makes it more epic.
Overall
One Punch man is certainly not one of those anime that have boring stereotype. On the contrary, most characters have their own strengths and weaknesses. And they all have weird, loved personalities that make them more attractive.
Furthermore, this anime is far from a disappointing, repetitive scenario. It may have an over-powered character, but that’s what makes it rather interesting and funny. So, if anyone tells you One Punch Man is bad, show them your One Punch by daring them and actually trying it out.
Final Thoughts
One Punch Man is not shallow at all. In fact, it just conveys things differently than other serious anime. OPM does not show much in expressions as they focus, mostly, on funny ones. However, it tremendously shows morals in words that may seem unimportant to you.
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