Fans of One Punch Man, like myself, are finding the series to be full of action, silliness, and impressive artistic direction that can’t be ignored. Instead, it should be celebrated by spreading the good word and getting more people to watch it. No, I am not getting paid to tell you this. But I probably should.
If you are unfamiliar with the series, One Punch Man focuses on the story of Saitama, a man who is a ‘hero for fun’. Initially, he is a nobody, but eventually, through grueling training and dedication, Saitama becomes the most over-powered hero we or anyone else has ever seen. The title of the series, as you could imagine, is indicative of his abilities. He is able to defeat any foe with a single punch. Whether his foes are giants with their heads in the clouds, or intergalactic space lords who have traveled eons to find a worthy opponent, Saitama can defeat them with a single punch. Now the dilema, is that Saitama is so bored that there is no one to challenge him, that he is struggling with his own abilities at being the greatest. The other problem is, no one has ever heard of him (he isn’t one for marketing himself). Plus, Saitama is kind of clueless to most things. He isn’t an idiot, necessarily, he is just sort of oblivious. And since there is not a single villainous threat that he can’t handle with his fist, there really is no need to be concerned or worried about things like that.
Along the way, Saitama begins to garner attention from the Hero Association, a sort of governing body that looks after heroes of various classes, with S-Class being the highest and paid, and C-Class being the lowest (if you are below that, you aren’t really taken seriously).
Perhaps his biggest challenge is trying to kill a pesky mosquito that plagues him throughout one of the episodes.
Saitama begins to work towards spreading his name, which makes him a target for villains and jealous heroes, but at the same time, the largest threat is dealing with being bored.
If that is not enough to sell you, then too bad. Because you really ought to be watching this show for the humor as well as the story. I won’t go into any further details that could spoil it, but you are truly doing yourself a disservice if you don’t at least give OPM two or three episodes (you’ll be hooked by then).
Once you get through season one, you can hop into season two, which debuted last month. Here is a list of the episodes that are out now, and coming shortly. It should be noted that you can check out the first season in English or Japanese (preferably Japanese), and the second season in Japanese with subs on Hulu.
- S02 E01: Return of the Hero
- Debuted on April 10, 2019
- S02 E02: The Human Monster
- Debuted on April 17, 2019
- S02 E03: The Hunt Begins
- Debuted: April 24, 2019
- S02 E04: The Metal Bat
- Debuted: May 1, 2019
- S02 E05: The Martial Arts Tournament
- Debuted: May 8, 2019
- S02 E06: The Uprising of the Monsters
- Debuts: May 15, 2019
Look, you have heard of the show. We both know you have, but give it a shot if you have not already, because it is full of laughs and does a fantastic job at pointing out all of the silly and obnoxious tropes that anime is known to have. Give a few episodes a shot, and then hit me up on Twitter with your thoughts. I know you will love it.
