7 Reasons Why You Should Watch One Punch Man

If you are up-to-date with animes this Fall 2015, there is no way you would not have heard of One Punch Man (OPM). 🙂

One Punch Man is based from a web-comic since 2009 by an illustrator under the pseudonym of ONE. With only one chapter released then, ONE created OPM as a hobby to simply try out a manga creating software called Comic Studio. He didn’t intend to further OPM but the overwhelming feedbacks from the audience have pushed him to continue its story. Due to its rising popularity, this has been redrawn for digital manga publication along with manga artist, Yusuke Murata on 2012  and the latter made the artwork more awesome 🙂 . By March 2015, it was announced that OPM will have an anime adaptation. It was released on October 2015 under Studio Madhouse, the company behind Hunter x Hunter, Trigun and Death Note. With only 12 episodes, it has ended last December 21, 2015. 🙂

So what’s it all about?

(c) Shumijin

OPM revolves around the story of Saitama, a guy who constantly claims he’s just a hero for fun. The catch is, he happens to be so strong that his opponents, no matter who they are, do not even stand a chance in a fight. What’s even greater is that, it only takes one punch for him to crush his enemy.  Yup folks, one punch. With this, he finds his life a bit boring. It’s as if he has lost his enthusiasm in life since no one can match to his greatness. In his journey of being a hero, along the way he meets Genos, a cyborg who then becomes his ultimate disciple, and a whole lot more. Haha. Well, that’s it for now.

I highly urge you to watch One Punch Man. Here are my 7 reasons why you should do so:

1. It’s an ultimate breather.

I’ve been watching anime ever since, and upon seeing OPM, it just simply stood out. It is unique in a sense that it has offered deviations from your mainstream shounens.

(c) Madhouse

While protagonists of most shounen start off with a struggle to become stronger, our dear Saitama on the other hand is already the strongest of them all.  To simply put, the anime sets off with Saitama having reached the pinnacle of his own strength. That perspective alone sets OPM apart from other animes. It also brought back something what is now lacking from long-time running shounens – the awesome thrill in watching. No fillers. No dragging back stories. Just action-packed scenes balanced with comical sense. And gladly, it didn’t fail to deliver.

2. It has interesting characters.

The main character alone, Saitama, is pretty interesting. Again, he’s much different from your other shounen protagonists with his being laidback and poker-faced appearance. You would usually see this kind of animated artwork if a character attempts to make hilarious remarks.

(c) Madhouse

But in OPM, it’s his normal everyday look. Haha! 🙂

But you will love him all the more once he gets serious – his facial details more defined, main theme sets in, and you just know that something epic is about to happen. 😉

(c) Madhouse

On the other hand, Genos somewhat complements Saitama in a sense that he is more artistically drawn and made appealing. His features appear to be more intricate, especially his built-in weapons.

(c) Madhouse

Although some characters seem like they’ve just appeared out of nowhere, I found them interesting as well. More so, some of them are parodies from other animes which make them all the more extremely entertaining. 🙂

3. It’s really funny.

For someone like me who easily laughs at silly things, then this anime is a treat. It basically captured the sense of humor this generation has been fond of. Jokes, puns, and a touch of satiric comedy made this anime an instant fame. 🙂

(c) Madhouse

It is completely hilarious and the thing is, it didn’t really have to try. No goofy voices. No slapstick comedy. No need for background shifts. It’s just simply funny which makes it really enjoyable to watch. 🙂

4. It has awesome soundtracks!

(c) Madhouse

Opening theme song is epic! Its title is The Hero!! By JAM Project. Man, that vocals! It gets you really hyped up! The ending theme song, Hoshi yori saki ni mitsukete ageru by Hiroko Moriguchi is too nice and peaceful that it doesn’t seem to fit in this awesome anime. Haha.  Also, if you are keen about soundtracks, you have probably noticed that OSTs have improved come Episode 7: The Ultimate Disciple and it just gets better from thereon. Currently, official soundtracks have yet to be released but there are re-makes or recreations from talented artists in Youtube. I have to say that the hunger for OPM OSTs are real my friends. 😉

5. It talks about reality.

Well, not in the sense that doing Saitama’s Ultimate Secret can make you that strong (Come on, it’s just an anime).  It talks about reality in the sense that some heroes, just like Saitama, don’t get the credit they rightfully deserve and yet they continue doing what they think is right. In our everyday lives, there are unrecognized heroes who have done deeds, big or small, of which we have to be grateful for. Somehow, OPM implicitly tells us to be more appreciative of their existence.

(c) Madhouse

6. It is humbling.

Saitama may be the strongest hero alive but I’ve noticed that not once did he brag about his superb abilities. Never. His greatness doesn’t get to his head.

(c) Madhouse

(c) Madhouse

He may also appear dumb at times but this man has a very big heart (you’ll know more about it as you watch OPM). And this has been acknowledged by Genos and Mumen Rider. This fact alone makes you want to cheer for him all the more. 🙂  It now leaves us a message to be humble as well no matter how strong or powerful we can get. Saitama is <3.

7. It believes in the strength of humanity.

Saitama appears as an ordinary man but with extraordinary capabilities.

(c) Madhouse

He even left us with a quote,

“Human beings are strong for we have the ability to change ourselves.“

This anime reminds us that each of us have the potential to be greater only if we have committed ourselves to do so. No wonder many viewers have been empowered (i.e., to exercise in particular) after seeing the first few episodes of OPM. Indeed, a change in mind set can lead us to greater strength.

One Punch Man has a huge potential to become something great. There are still a lot of things hanging like the sketchy Amai Mask, Saitama’s road to being an S class hero, or perhaps his love life to fill in his empty heart and bring back his life’s joy haha, I kid. I also long for a day where he would feel fear again, or even a new way to surpass his own current level. I don’t know, but I think there’s so much in store for this anime. 🙂 Some might say that it has a cheap story line and repetitive scenarios (i.e., monsters appear out of nowhere, ergo, battle scenes), well, yeah, but it was really entertaining to watch!  Surprisingly, at some point, it also moves you (i.e., watch out for Episode 3 and 9). 🙂

As much as I would want OPM to have longer arcs and more in-depth character development, maybe this is a gem in itself that it has caught the attention of people despite its short-lived season. Although the manga is still ongoing, I don’t want to spoil myself with it since I believe that shounens are best ‘consumed’ in animated form. Haha! 🙂   I join the many people all over the world in petitioning for a second season. But with how it is now, it would probably be aired in 2017 at the very least since one anime episode covers 3-5 manga chapters. As of November 2015, there are 104 chapters, and the anime ended at around Chapter 52, if I’m not mistaken. So there has to be more manga chapters to be released for the animated version to catch up. Let’s just hope and pray for ONE to have amazing ideas and creative storylines for this anime. For the meantime, fear not for we have OVAs on the way.  ❤

With that, I can say that One Punch Man is definitely a must-watch. This, my friends, is by far, the best anime of Fall 2015. 🙂

P.S.

Listen closely to Speed-o’-Sound Sonic’s voice.

(c) Madhouse

Doesn’t it sound familiar? 🙂  He’s also the voice actor for Eren Jaeger in AOT/SNK. That’s Kaji Yuuki for you! 🙂

References:

http://myanimelist.net/anime/30276/One_Punch_Man