You've seen the memes. Saitama punches a giant beefcake, the universe explodes, and he goes home to check the supermarket flyers for a sale on leeks. It’s funny. But honestly, if you think the characters in One Punch Man are just a collection of battle shonen tropes designed to look cool before getting obliterated, you’re missing the actual soul of ONE’s writing.
The series isn't about the fight. It’s about the crushing weight of being "the best" in a world that doesn't care.
Saitama is a gag character trapped in a Seinen world. He’s basically a god with the soul of a bored salaryman. This creates a weird, beautiful friction with the rest of the Hero Association. While Genos is busy calculating trajectory paths and upgrading his core with high-tech hardware, Saitama is wondering if he left the stove on. That’s the core of the show.
The Saitama Paradox: Power vs. Purpose
Let's talk about the protagonist. Most characters in One Punch Man have a clear arc. They want to get stronger, protect the weak, or climb the ranks. Saitama? He already reached the end of his skill tree.
He did the 100 push-ups. He did the 100 sit-ups. He ran the 10 kilometers. Every single day.
The result is a man who is literally too strong for his own good. When he fought Boros—the "Dominator of the Universe"—he wasn't scared. He was relieved. He was hoping, just for a second, that he might feel the spark of a real fight again. But he didn't. Boros's dying realization that Saitama wasn't even trying is one of the most tragic moments in manga history. It’s a subversion of every "final boss" trope we've been fed since Dragon Ball Z.
Saitama’s struggle isn't physical. It’s existential. He represents the "End of the Road." If you achieve everything you ever wanted, what do you do the next morning? You buy groceries. You play video games with a shut-in like King. You exist.
The Hero Association: A Masterclass in Bureaucracy
Then you have the S-Class. These guys are a mess.
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If Saitama is the "average Joe" with infinite power, the S-Class heroes are the elite 1% who are barely holding their lives together. Take Tornado of Terror (Tatsumaki). She’s arguably the most powerful esper on the planet, but she has the social skills of a disgruntled toddler. Her sister, Blizzard (Fubuki), is even more complex. Fubuki is obsessed with her B-Class rank because she’s terrified of being a small fish in the S-Class pond. It’s a very human, very relatable insecurity. She’d rather rule a group of weaklings than be the weakest of the strong.
The Hero Association itself functions like a bloated tech startup. They care about PR. They care about rankings. They care about "marketability."
- Atomic Samurai refuses to shake Saitama's hand because of rank.
- Metal Knight only cares about salvaging alien tech for his own projects.
- Drive Knight is basically a walking enigma who might be a double agent.
It’s a corporate nightmare disguised as a superhero league. This is where the satire of the characters in One Punch Man really shines. Most of these heroes aren't fighting for justice; they're fighting for their brand.
King: The Greatest Lie Ever Told
We have to talk about King. He’s the "Strongest Man on Earth." Except he isn't. He’s just a guy with an incredibly loud heartbeat (the "King Engine") and a massive amount of luck.
King is the ultimate foil to Saitama. Saitama has all the power and no credit. King has all the credit and no power. Their friendship is the most wholesome thing in the series because King is the only person who treats Saitama like a human being rather than a weapon or a fraud. They bond over gaming. King actually beats Saitama consistently in fighting games—the one place where Saitama’s physical strength is useless.
Garou and the "Human Monster" Philosophy
The introduction of Garou changed the game. Before Garou, villains were just monsters of the week. Giant crabs, deep-sea kings, alien invaders. They were there to be punched.
Garou is different. He’s a "Hero Hunter."
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His logic is skewed but oddly sympathetic. He saw how the "monsters" in kids' shows always lost regardless of how hard they worked. He viewed heroes as bullies—a popular majority that picks on the outcast. By becoming the "Ultimate Evil," he hoped to unite humanity against him, creating a twisted kind of world peace through a common enemy.
The battle between Saitama and Garou in the Monster Association arc (especially the manga version illustrated by Yusuke Murata) is a philosophical debate disguised as a planetary-scale brawl. Saitama doesn't kill him. Why? Because Saitama sees through the act. He realizes Garou actually wants to be a hero but took the easy way out by playing the villain.
Why Mumen Rider is Actually the Best Hero
If you ask a hardcore fan who the most important character in One Punch Man is, they might not say Saitama. They’ll say Mumen Rider.
He has no powers. He rides a bicycle. He wears a suit he probably bought at a sporting goods store.
When the Deep Sea King was slaughtering everyone, Mumen Rider showed up. He knew he was going to lose. He knew he was going to get pulverized. But he stood his ground because that’s what a hero does. Saitama represents the power we wish we had, but Mumen Rider represents the courage we actually need. He is the moral compass of a world that is increasingly obsessed with power levels and "disaster levels" (Tiger, Demon, Dragon, God).
The Hidden Depth of Genos
Genos is often the butt of the joke. He gets dismantled in almost every major fight. He’s the "Demon Cyborg" who spends more time in Dr. Kuseno's lab getting repairs than actually winning.
But look at his notebooks. Genos takes literal notes on everything Saitama says. Even when Saitama says something completely moronic like "just work out until your hair falls out," Genos treats it like sacred scripture. He’s a character defined by a desperate, almost pathological need for a mentor. He lost everything to a "Mad Cyborg" and has traded his humanity for chrome and oil just to get revenge.
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Saitama isn't just his teacher; Saitama is his anchor to what it means to be a person.
The Problem with Power Scaling
People love to debate who would win in a fight: Saitama or Goku? Saitama or Superman?
The truth is, those debates are boring because Saitama's entire "power" is that he wins. He is a meta-commentary on the genre. When you look at the characters in One Punch Man, stop looking at their stats. Look at their flaws.
- Bang (Silver Fang) is a martial arts genius who failed his own brother and student.
- Puri-Puri Prisoner is a literal convict who finds "love" in the strangest places.
- Zombieman is a tired detective who can't die, no matter how much he wants to rest.
These aren't just archetypes. They are parodies that accidentally became deep, tragic figures.
Practical Insights for Fans and Writers
If you’re diving into the series or trying to understand why it’s a global phenomenon, here’s the reality check.
First, ignore the "rankings." The Hero Association rankings are intentionally wrong. They are based on paperwork and public perception, not actual capability. Saitama being in C-Class (and later B and A) is a joke about how "meritocracy" is often a lie.
Second, pay attention to the background characters. Some of the best world-building happens in the small interactions between citizens. The way the public turns on Saitama after he destroys the meteor or defeats the Deep Sea King shows a very cynical, very realistic view of herd mentality.
To truly appreciate the characters in One Punch Man, you have to look at what they do when they aren't fighting. Watch the "Hot Pot" scene. Watch the way they argue over cabbage. That is where the real story lives.
Your next move: If you've only watched the anime, go read the original webcomic by ONE. The art is crude, but the paneling and the raw emotional delivery of the dialogue are arguably superior to the high-budget versions. It strips away the spectacle and leaves you with the bare-bones philosophy of what it means to be a hero in a world that only values results. After that, compare the Garou fight in the webcomic versus the manga; the thematic differences are massive and will give you a whole new perspective on Saitama's "hobby."