He’s bald. He wears a yellow jumpsuit that looks like it was bought at a discount pharmacy. He’s got a Cape. Honestly, if you saw Saitama walking down the street in Z-City, you wouldn’t think "there goes the strongest being in the universe." You’d probably think he’s just a guy worried about missing the Saturday supermarket sale. And that’s exactly the point. One Punch Man isn't your typical Shonen anime where the hero screams for ten episodes to power up a friendship beam. It’s a subversion of every trope we grew up watching in Dragon Ball Z or Naruto.
The premise is deceptively simple: Saitama is so strong he ends every fight with a single punch. Sounds boring? It should be. But ONE (the original creator) and Yusuke Murata (the legendary illustrator of the manga) turned that boredom into a masterpiece of existential dread and high-octane comedy.
The Problem with Being Unbeatable
Most stories rely on tension. Will the hero win? How will they overcome the villain? In One Punch Man, those questions don't exist. We know Saitama is going to win. The tension actually comes from whether he'll make it to the grocery store before it closes, or if anyone will ever acknowledge that he’s the one saving the world.
Saitama suffers from a very specific kind of depression. He’s reached the "endgame" of his own life. Imagine playing a video game, hitting level 100 in the first ten minutes, and realizing there are no more challenges left. That’s his daily reality. He’s looking for a spark, a reason to feel his pulse quicken again. When he fought Boros—a literal alien overlord who traveled across the galaxy just to find a worthy opponent—Saitama almost looked hopeful. He wanted a real fight. He didn't get one. Even the "Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon" was just a minor inconvenience for our bald protagonist.
The struggle isn't physical. It’s mental.
It’s about a guy who worked so hard to achieve his dream that the dream ended up swallowing his personality. He told Genos his "secret" training regimen: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run every single day. No AC in the summer. No heat in the winter. And a banana for breakfast. It’s an absurdly mundane routine that somehow broke the limits of human evolution. Scientists in the series, like Dr. Genus of the House of Evolution, lose their minds trying to figure out how a "normal" human bypassed the natural "limiter" placed on living beings.
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The truth is just that he wanted it more than anyone else. He pushed through the pain until his hair fell out and his emotions went numb.
Why the Hero Association is Actually the Villain
If Saitama is the heart of the show, the Hero Association is the cold, bureaucratic brain. They represent everything wrong with commercialized heroism. They rank heroes from C-Class to S-Class based on popularity, physical tests, and "heroic points."
King is the perfect example of this system's failure.
The "Strongest Man on Earth" is actually a terrified otaku who loves dating sims and happened to be at the scene of Saitama's kills. The Association gave King the credit because he looked the part. He had the "King Engine" (which is just his heart beating incredibly loudly because he's about to faint from fear). Meanwhile, Saitama, who actually does the work, is stuck in the lower ranks because he failed the written exam and doesn't care about PR.
- S-Class Heroes: Genos, Tatsumaki, Silver Fang. They are the elite. They have egos the size of planets.
- The Ranking System: It creates toxic competition. Instead of saving people, heroes like Fubuki (Blizzard of Hell) spend their time "newbie crushing" to maintain their top spot in B-Class.
- Public Perception: The citizens in One Punch Man are fickle. They turn on Saitama the moment someone suggests he’s a fraud, despite him literally stopping a meteor from wiping them off the map.
This mirrors our own celebrity culture. We value the image of success over the actual substance of it. Saitama is the only "true" hero because he doesn't do it for the rank or the fame. He does it because it’s a hobby.
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The Art of the Punch: ONE vs. Murata
You can't talk about One Punch Man without mentioning the weird history of its production. It started as a webcomic with "bad" art. ONE isn't a traditional illustrator; his drawings are crude, shaky, and simplistic. But his storyboards and comedic timing are world-class.
Then came Yusuke Murata.
Murata, the artist behind Eyeshield 21, saw the webcomic and offered to redraw it. What resulted is arguably some of the best art in the history of the medium. The fight between Garou and Saitama in the later chapters of the manga is a visual feat that seems impossible for a human to draw. He uses "centrifugation" techniques to show movement and creates sense of scale that makes you feel the impact of every crater.
Yet, even with Murata's god-tier art, Saitama often stays drawn in ONE's simple style. When everyone else is hyper-detailed with bulging muscles and flowing hair, Saitama is just an oval with two dots for eyes. This visual gag reinforces his detachment from the world around him. He doesn't belong in a high-stakes action manga. He’s a gag character living in a tragedy.
The Rise of Garou: The Human Monster
Season 2 and the subsequent manga arcs shifted focus to Garou. This was a genius move. Since Saitama can't really have a "character arc" in terms of power, we follow Garou’s descent into monsterhood.
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Garou hates the unfairness of the world. He roots for the monsters because they always lose. He’s the "Hero Hunter," and his journey is the perfect foil to Saitama’s. While Saitama is a hero who feels like a normal guy, Garou is a guy trying his hardest to become a monster. Their eventual clash isn't just a fight; it's a philosophical debate about what it means to be a "hero" versus a "symbol of fear."
Common Misconceptions About Saitama's Power
People love to debate "Saitama vs. Goku" or "Saitama vs. Superman." Usually, these debates miss the point of the character.
- He’s not just "strong." He is a gag character. His "power" is that he wins. It’s a narrative rule, not a physical one.
- He does have a limit? Some fans think he’s infinitely strong. Others think he just has "enough" strength for any opponent. The manga suggests he has "removed his limiter," meaning his potential for growth is infinite and instantaneous.
- The "Dream" Fight. In the first episode, Saitama fights the Subterraneans in a dream. He bleeds. He struggles. He’s happy. This is the only time we see him truly alive. Everything else is just a chore.
How to Get the Most Out of the Series
If you’re new to One Punch Man, the best way to experience it is to start with Season 1 of the anime (produced by Madhouse). It’s a lightning-in-a-bottle production where the industry's best animators came together to create something legendary.
After that, move to the manga. While Season 2 (by J.C. Staff) is okay, it doesn't capture the sheer scale of Murata's art. The "Monster Association Arc" is a massive, sprawling epic that defines the series.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Newcomers:
- Watch for the Satire: Don't just look at the fights. Pay attention to how the show mocks other anime. The way villains give 10-minute monologues only to be punched mid-sentence is a direct critique of Shonen pacing.
- Read the Webcomic: If you want to see the "purest" version of the story and find out what happens way ahead of the anime, ONE's original webcomic is still ongoing and has a unique charm.
- Focus on the Side Characters: Mumen Rider is the soul of the show. He has no powers, just a bicycle and a heart of gold. His fight against the Deep Sea King is more "heroic" than anything Saitama does, precisely because he knows he’s going to lose but stands his ground anyway.
- Check the "OVAs": There are several Original Video Animations that provide backstory on how Saitama got his suit and his daily life in the ghost town of Z-City. They add a lot of flavor to his character.
Saitama might be looking for a challenge he'll never find, but for us, the challenge is finding another show that manages to be this funny, this beautiful, and this oddly relatable all at the same time.