One Punch Man is a rather novelty for me here at IndieGala. Indeed, I’ve not encountered this franchise before but gladly took it upon myself to write about it. Why? Because first and foremost, it’s been popping in my Netflix recommendation/suggestion box for a while now. And secondly, a dear friend of mine is a huge fan of the anime already. So this came my way with the highest of recommendations, and I became very curious indeed.
Oh and a side note is needed here. I’ve been dabbing in a bit more anime territory lately and I must say… I’m enjoying it. After writing about the iconic Monkey D. Laffy character from the One Piece series…. And of course New Gundam Breaker’s influences (check it out here)… I loved writing about One Punch Man. But did I liked the anime too? Scroll down to find out.
What Inspired This One Punch Man Article?
Yeah, I should probably come clean and reveal the third and equally important reason for this article. The One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows game that we have here at IndieGala.
First, let me just mention that the game is also part of our Bandai Namco Sale (available here), but the game is fantastic all by itself. You can purchase it here. And what’s It all about you might ask?
Well, it is a 3D fighting game in which one to two players battle using teams of three characters. The title character Saitama is invulnerable to other characters’ attacks. And can defeat them in a single punch, but if a player picks him for their team, he will arrive late to the battle. As such, that player needs to make it through the match with the other two characters in their team until Saitama arrives. An alternative version of Saitama without these attributes, called the “Dream Version”, is also playable.
The game is developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment and it’s pretty great. So, create your own hero avatar and choose your own set of powers and abilities!
Fun fact: One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows was nominated for The Game Awards 2020 in the best fighting game category.
And What Are Some Of The Steam Comments Saying About One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows?
* If you’re a true fan of One Punch Man then you will enjoy this. Says OneHollySword.
* This is like Mortal Kombat, but better. Adds AŁ¶žĚ &oË°Ôě .
But Before I dive into the first season of the One Punch Man anime series, I believe a word or two about the franchise is in order.
What’s So Special About One Punch Man?
Well, first and foremost it’s a Japanese superhero franchise. Created by ONE, it started as a manga webcomic in 2009 and then morphed into games, anime and what not. And you can expect the film adaptation pretty soon, which is awesome (or terrible, depending on whom you ask). However, all have in common one thing: they tell the story of Saitama.
A superhero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch. He also seeks to find a worthy opponent after growing bored by a lack of challenge due to his overwhelming strength. And for the purpose of this article, I’ll focus on the first season of the One Punch anime. As I mentioned, it kept popping on my Netflix suggestions and I figured… Why not? There are 12 episodes in the first season, and I can safely say that I liked them. Not loved the entire season, but I liked them enough to give it a passing grade. I’ll leave the second season for another time. Now, with that in mind…
Is One Punch Man Anime Good?
Yes, I think it is. Now you should take these words with a grain of salt since I’m not an expert on the matter. But I enjoyed it, so I guess it counts. Even with the flaws, that I’ll get into later. And as the title suggests the anime is about One Punch Man. Or Saitama. A „hero just for fun“ who lives in City Z and can defeat any opponent with a single punch. Hence the title. But soon a cyborg named Genos is introduced to the story. He’s is in search of another robot who destroyed his village and later requests Saitama to become his master after seeing his strength. They form a reluctant and unlikely dynamic, but the show goes beyond these two.
Yeah, that’s the basis of the story but there’s so much more than that. And I suppose the story picks us steam in the 4th or 5th episode of the season. When the Hero Association is introduced and the ranking system for the heroes as well. But I enjoyed the anime to the fullest, and let me elaborate on why.
Great Animation And Fascinating Characters
Yes, as you can probably tell the animation is fantastic. Especially fascinating were the fight scenes for me, mostly because they were over the top and sometimes crazy. But what I loved the most were the characters. Especially Genos and Saitama but I loved most of them yeah. They’re unique, they all have their quirks and of course. And they’re also serving the purpose of making fun of anime characters and tropes. They’re all fascinating to watch. But as I mentioned, the relationship between Saitama and Genos is one of the books for me. I love how they’re fairly different but they learn to tolerate their difference in order to achieve their goals. But yeah, these two are my favorites. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t like the others. Mumen Rider was great and Sonic too. Despite the lack of character development in most of them.
But yeah. If I have to choose, I’d pick Genos as my favorite character of all. He seems like the most developed and the most intriguing one of that.
“If you really want to become strong, stop caring about what others think about you. Living your life has nothing to do with what others think”.
It’s Not Without Flaws After All!
Yup. Although I liked it for the most part, there are some flaws in One Punch Man, and I feel I must address them. The series felt a bit repetitive as the episodes kept coming. And the humor is at times hit or miss I must say. Well, it all depends on what your humor taste buds are leaning towards. But although at times I found myself chuckling, for the most part, the humor felt flat.
I guess that’s partly because much of the humor is achieved through tone and juxtaposition. But the show does take itself way too seriously at times, which is a rather unfortunate downside of the entire series. Yes, it’s rather simplistic (dare I say thin) in the plot department and gets repetitive fairly quickly. However, I can look past that, and I actually found myself enjoying it. For the most part, anyway. No, what I loved here was the message that the anime coveys. At least the message I picked up. You can have all the power in the world and it won’t mean much. No. Over here, the best and the strongest are still looking for validation and recognition. But yeah. It’s pretty good even with the flaws that it has.
Are You A Fan Of One Punch Man?
Let me know in the comment section. What do you love the most about the anime? Don’t be shy and hit that comment section. We’d love to know your thoughts on the anime.
