Every living thing, Homo sapiens or otherwise, needs to watch One-Punch Man.
One-Punch Man isn’t just for you; it’s also for your dog! And your parents!
I know. Parents?!
I made my parents watch One-Punch Man ’cause I already exhausted the whole of my friend group into watching it. Obviously, as per my predictions, they loved it.
One-Punch Man has blown! up! And rightly so. It’s one hell of an anime.
You would think the title’s a bit self-explanatory, but trust me. While it is, it also ain’t.
Anyway as youge (“usual”; I’m trying that out, how you like?), here’s a spoiler-free review of One-Punch Man. Just gotta say, One-Punch Man was dooooope to me, so prepare for subjective opinions!
Plot Perspective
Ooh, get ready for the wonderful amalgamation of Comedy! Intrigue! Shounen!
Speaking of Shounen, One-Punch Man flips the common Shounen trope of “I must get stronger so I can be the best in the whole wide world/protect the ones I love!” on its head.
Into what? I won’t tell you! How exciting!
Episode one of One-Punch Man hits you (pun intended) with the hard-hitting truths (pun also intended) of the current social/economic environment of Japan; a Japan in an alternate reality, sure, but still the Japan today. If you’ve been watching anime for a little while, or maybe you just have basic knowledge of Japan’s social/economic landscape, you’ll probably get the jokes in this episode that might fly over the head of someone who doesn’t pay attention to worldly issues.
And that’s the only clue I’m giving you.
One-Punch Man isn’t a classic Shounen anime, but be prepared for the outpouring of affection towards the main character, Saitama, aka Caped Baldy. Or maybe that was just me? But whatever, I’m sure after watching it, you’ll miss Saitama. Shounen anime tend to do that to me; they make me root for the main character so hard because you want them to overcome whatever struggle they’re going through, and see them at the end, happy. Granted, Saitama doesn’t have the conventional manner most people think of when they watch Shounen anime, but I challenge you not to love him and root for him!
One thing I did not expect from One-Punch Man was how much I was going to laugh. One-Punch Man manages to keep you lol-ing long after the last lol scene. Oh don’t get me wrong, the story is wonderful and not all about the comedy, but in combination with the main character’s matter-of-fact dialogue and deadpan delivery, you’ll be pausing and letting yourself ROFLMAO.
Ahh, one thing I do have to mention is that it can get kind of gruesome, so people who get squeamish over blood and guts, prepare yoself! I’m usually iffy abut gore (you KNOW I never watch horror), but in this case I think the gruesome-ness just added to the humour.
One-Punch Man introduces one of the most deadpan anime protagonists I’ve ever seen. He’s just so deadpan. I won’t spoil it for anyone but if you need just one reason to watch this anime, Saitama is it. Not to say that the Caped Baldy is the only character worth mentioning, because that certainly isn’t true. Genos (that other guy you see in the graphic above) is also insanely lovable cause you kind of feel bad for him… lel. Other characters like Mumen Rider, Tornado of Terror, and Puri-Puri Prisoner (I know!!!) are also wonderfully present for our enjoyment.
Also Watchdog Man. He doesn’t do much, but he’s there, which is enough for me. *heart eyes*
Anywho, I know I’ve been going on about the comedic elements in One-Punch Man, but for me, that’s not what makes the show so brilliant. The anime is surprisingly touching. I got this tingly feeling in my hands multiple times during the show because I felt so bad for Saitama! (By the way, anyone else feel this too when you’re sad or is it just me again?). There’s a moral theme to this anime that one would not expect from an anime like this, and I loved how the creators made me feel that way without pushing that narrative. It’s something you get organically I guess. Such talent.
So! TL;DR? Basically my perspective of One-Punch Man‘s plot can be boiled down to “LOVE THE SATIRE, LOVE THE PARODIES OF COMMON SHOUNEN TROPES, LOVE THE CAPED BALDY CHARACTERISATION, LOVE LOVE LOVE”. Maybe I’m too easily chuffed, but I’m hopeful you’ll like the plot too.
Art and Animation
In a lot of anime, protagonists tend to have flashy weapons that they use, and that usually means the bulk of animation is focused on those epic fight scenes. But when your only weapons are your fists, it’s pretty hard to make fists flashy and exciting. But of course the animators managed it! The fight scenes were done in so much detail I’m surprised they didn’t give up halfway through animating and just re-use the scenes… (I’m looking at you, YOI).
Thank glob nothing too overdramatic was done, but the animators did a wonderful job of animating every movement into magnificent fluidity and precision. The fight scenes especially, but even just the tiny little movements like the flick of a cape or Saitama’s quick dashing movements were so fluid. The background and landscapes were also really beautiful, even the real ugly scenes in the final episode in the dingy, dirty WHOOPS ALMOST A SPOILER.
I loved Saitama’s character design. It’s so funny-looking and not something I see very often in anime other than in a comedic scene. Most of the time Saitama is illustrated in this way, which I gotta say I loved. You’ll find yourself chuckling (or in my case rolling on the floor laughing with tears streaming down my face) at his timely expressions. Oooh, but one thing I did notice about the level of detail put into the animation is how Saitama’s eye shape changes depending on the seriousness of a fight. Lemme know if you noticed too! Most of my friends didn’t notice at all, bleh.
Special mentions to the detail also put into the random civilian characters that pop up too. Like that totally isn’t seen as necessary in other anime, where the regular peeps all kinda look the same, not to mention a lot of times the even the main characters have the same face but just different eyebrows and hairstyles to distinguish one from the other. Those people didn’t bother, but wow did the One-Punch Man animators bother. The level of effort put into the randoms? Wowowow. Every character is so distinguishable from another! I don’t think I saw any characters that looked alike, other than the tank top WHOOPS ALMOST ANOTHER SPOILER.
Overall, the animation was great! Definitely way above average when compared to the majority of anime. But I gotta say that the animation in the final episode specifically was extra good. No spoilers.
Worth it?
One-Punch Man was totally awesome. It only has one measly season, but I don’t doubt that there’s going to be a season 2. *shivers in anticipation*
So is it worth the watch? Doh.
WORTH IT.
Wanna deadpan together about Saitama? Feel like recommending similar anime you think I’ll like? Leave me a comment below!
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*takes deep breath*
ONE PUUUUUUUUUNNNNNCCCCHHHHHHH!!!
*begins to headbang*