One-Punch Man (Volume 5) - To the Hero Saitama, Thank You!!

The Deep Sea King has come to claim the land and all the people on it. However, he hadn’t counted on several heroes getting in his way. Genos finds himself standing between the Deep Sea King and a shelter full of people!

One-Punch Man (Volume 5) – To the Hero Saitama, Thank You!!

What happened?

The Deep Sea King had already defeated Stinger and Lightning Max which was enough for Puri-Puri Prisoner to escape from prison to fight him. Speed O’Sound Sonic tagged along, thankful for the chance to escape too. Puri-Puri Prisoner and the Deep Sea King exchanged blows, knocking each other around in the rain. Sonic stood back watching as these two juggernauts shook the ground. But then, the Deep Sea King battered him and sent him flying. Sonic fled.

However, the Deep Sea King was incredibly fast for his size and almost caught him. Sonic managed to escape, but he had to abandon his clothes to do so. The Deep Sea King lost interest and began to search the city. He found a shelter and punched through the indestructible wall. Four lower-ranked heroes tried to stand up to him, but they were no match. Then, Genos arrived and caused the Deep Sea King some trouble, but, he too was not strong enough.

The fight moved outside which gave Mumen Rider a chance to save Genos. He too was hopelessly outmatched but never gave up. Saitama finally arrived to save Mumen Rider and applaud his fighting spirit. Then, he took a blow from the Deep Sea King without flinching. He turned and killed him with one punch, much to the surprise of the people watching. Someone recognised Saitama and started to wonder if the Deep Sea King had really been that strong. Realising that the entire Hero Association was in the spotlight, Saitama told the people that the other heroes must have worn the Deep Sea King down and he just waltzed in at the end and stole the glory. Genos was worried that Saitama was taking on too much, but couldn’t and wouldn’t say anything to contradict his master.

One Punch Man Volume 5 Saitama is coming

What did you think?

Brilliant. Just brilliant. The action in this series is incredible. The two-page spread art is absolutely fantastic and captures the ferocity of the fights perfectly. But, as I said with the last book, there’s much more than amazing fights. I had to laugh that it appeared to be some troll with a NEET shirt on that started to cast doubt on Saitama and the other heroes. I think it’s a good criticism of how crowds can turn quickly when under stress. The mob mentality is definitely going to be a continuous element of this story and seeing how Saitama deals with it is going to be interesting.

I liked how this book used Speed O’Sound Sonic, clearly developing him further as a rival for Saitama even though they never actually crossed paths in this one. I wonder if Saitama will ever be able to convince the masses of his strength. Clearly, there are still lots of doubts from every angle, but there are a few that truly understand. I also liked Mumen Rider. He’s clearly a bit of a joke character, but he stood up to the Deep Sea King and saw what we see with Saitama. There’s more to him than it seems too… maybe…