One-Punch Man (Volume 1) – One Punch

Life can get a bit boring when you’re so powerful that you can defeat any opponent with a single punch. Unfortunately for Saitama, that is his life now. He trained so hard to get strong, but he never considered the drawbacks.
One-Punch Man (Volume 1) – One Punch
What happened?
Saitama had failed another job interview and was feeling a bit down. Luckily for him, a murderous crab monster called Crablante took pity on him, seeing his own deflated life mirrored in Saitama’s eyes. Crablante was busy looking for a kid that drew nipples on him while he slept. That kid was going to die. A little later Saitama found the kid and managed to save him from Crablante’s attack. Now, he was locked into a battle to the death with the monster. Amazingly, Saitama won and decided that he would dedicate himself to his calling.
Three years later, Saitama had become so powerful that he defeated every opponent he faced with a single punch. Despite his powers, he found himself struggling to defeat a single mosquito and followed it outside where he found a cyborg fighting a humanoid mosquito that had used her swarm to harvest blood to make her even stronger. The cyborg was struggling. Luckily, Saitama swatted her away with a single blow.
The cyborg, Genos was grateful for Saitama’s help and demanded to become his disciple. If he could get that strong, he could finally avenge his town and family. Saitama didn’t need an apprentice but agreed to tell him how he got so strong. However, their conversation was cut short by a group of monsters who attacked, trying to capture Saitama. Of course, they weren’t expecting him to be so strong. No one that sees him does!

What did you think?
I watched season one of One-Punch Man back in 2017 and loved every second of it. The humour is fantastic, especially when you realise just how bored Saitama is with everything. Well, the manga is exactly the same. This volume felt a bit like a bunch of non-consecutive scenes thrown together without too much thought. It certainly could have been stronger from a storytelling point of view, but it was still epic. The fights are amazing. The artwork doubly so.
I’m excited to get into this series as the manga is still going and no doubt will give me so much more than the anime, although reading this does make me want to dive back in and finally catch up on the second season. It’s simply a lot of fun and I believe the story and characters do develop as it progresses. It’s also a very quick read with lots of panels with only a word or two. The contrast between the artwork is amazing too with Saitama often looking like an egg and then evolving into an amazingly detailed character when he starts taking things seriously, if only for a minute.

Volume highlights





Other posts in the series
Series Information
English Title | One-Punch Man |
Japanese Title | One-Punch Man |
Genres | Action, Adult Cast, Comedy, Parody, Super Power |
Demographic | Seinen |
Manga
Author | One | |
Artist | Yusuke Murata | |
Volumes | Ongoing | Chapters |
1 | One Punch | 1-8 |
2 | A Hero for Fun | 9-15 |
3 | Nothing Unusual | 16-20 |
4 | This is How They React! | 21-24 |
5 | To the Hero Saitama, Thank You!! | 25-29 |
6 | Can I Have Some Tea? | 30-34 |
7 | Prophecies are Unreliable! | 35-37 |
8 | His Name is King… | 38-40 |
9 | Nothing But Trouble! | 41-47 |
10 | With Everything I’ve Got! | 48-55 |
11 | I’m Done with Teams! | 56-61 |
Anime
Season One
Season | Season One |
Released | Fall 2015 |
Animation Studios | Madhouse |
Episodes | 12 |
Season Two
Season | Season Two |
Released | Spring 2019 |
Animation Studios | J.C.Staff |
Episodes | 12 |
