“Saitama’s so strong, he don’t even need hair.”

By Matthew Maravilla

We’ve heard the infamous debate about who the strongest character is, Naruto’s Goku vs. Marvel’s Superman. Well, there’s a new kid on the block and, unlike Goku, his extraordinary powers resulted in him losing hair, not growing out more. Of course, we’re talking about the man who only had to do 100 pushups, 100 squats, 100 crunches, and run a 10K every day for three years, Saitama of “One Punch Man”. Never have I ever seen a guy who’s so strong that his entire series is about how bored he is because he is so absurdly strong. So, to add to the debate, let’s talk about “One Punch Man”.

So, as the title suggests, “One Punch Man” is about a hero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch. He defeats opponents so fast that you have to wonder if Saitama, the show’s protagonist, was even strong to begin with. To top it off, the show even parodies what could have been in the first episode with the most epic fight scene that turns out to be a dream Saitama was having.

If Saitama is so powerful, how does that make the show interesting? Actually, that’s the idea the show takes to heart. Saitama is the most unfair opponent anyone can have. He became powerful from doing a basic strength workout regime that he stuck to for 3 years while others went extreme lengths in order to even reach a fraction of Saitama’s power. Saitama is so powerful that one of the reoccurring themes throughout the show is everyone’s disbelief in his capabilities. While Superman was a man trying to be treated like anyone else, Saitama and “One Punch Man” as a whole is a series in which everyone treats Saitama too much like an ordinary person, when he’s actually the strongest man in practically the entire universe.

Through the killer ballads and themes, to the amazing animation done by Studio Madhouse with cooperation of most of the staff who also worked on the anime “Space Dandy”, “One Punch Man” is by far one of the most gorgeous animes that came out last year. Every fight scene in the anime oozes detail and fluidity; much that we don’t get to see a lot in shounen animes of today. For a show about a guy only needing to punch his enemies once to put them into gory messes, there are at least twice the number of key frames than any show by Kyoto Animation this year. Literally, you can say that “One Punch Man”, even as a shounen anime, is money. Actually, if you’re a fan of reading manga, there’s the anime but if you really want to treat yourself, the manga of “One Punch Man” is on par, if not better than the anime based on it.

“One Punch Man” is definitely a treat. For a premise about a dude that can kill anything with one punch, One, the creator of “One Punch Man”, has been able to create a compelling story revolving the most hardcore character of 2015. Then, for that story to be animated, some of the best animators in the anime business, is one glorious work of art that you can’t miss.

“One Punch Man” can be streamed legally with a Hulu subscription or a Funimation subscription.