One Punch Man Anime Review

SAITAMA!!! This anime has many reasons to love! It may also have many reasons to hate! But this anime always made my day!

One Punch Man is an action, comedy anime. It follows a story about a normal salary man, named Saitama, who feels that his entire life is boring. He believes that he can be something more, that's when he become the One Punch Man. 

What do I like about the anime?

It is a very fun anime. It always made my day due to how hilarious the entire thing was. I had been a huge fan of action anime, but One Punch Man brought a new taste towards the genre and it delivers in style. I would definitely recommend it due to the sheer jokes it provides. Another thing that should be noted is that, I don't think that this anime takes its plot very seriously, which also contributes to the amusement. One Punch Man also take a new style on developing a character where instead of developing the main character, it decides to develop the supporting characters that revolves around the main.

What do I not like about the anime?
While there aren't exactly any noticeable plot in the anime, there has been constant tries to force a plot into it. It feels a bit awkward because, there isn't really any point on trying to introduce a plot. Of course it's a good attempt but it doesn't add value to the anime. The synopsis kind of promote the anime as a hero's journey but it is not exactly a journey and more like the daily life of Saitama. 

Judgment
This anime deserves an A. Mainly due to the amount of laughs it brings to people, so much so that plot does not really matter. Definitely recommended for people who just wanna have some fun.

From this point onwards... SPOILER ALERT!

Now delving deeper into the anime. I can't really say much about this anime to be honest. It is overall just a very fun anime to watch due to the immense over-exaggeration of terms used in Shounen Manga. It is hilarious that way, especially if you used to watch many Shounens in the past especially the Big Three (Naruto, Bleach and One Piece) or Dragon Ball.

Characters
In general, this anime has a very diverse character due to the nature of the show, being populated by heroes. Development wise, I cannot say that it is apparent, but I do take notice into a very interesting way they develop Saitama.

Saitama
The series main protagonist and is the strongest anime character ever created (well, you can argue that Goku is stronger). Saitama possess a godlike power that allows him to defeat any opponent with a single punch. He achieved this by doing a series of push-ups, running and some mundane exercises (which eventually become a running joke in the series). Saitama started off as a normal salary man who wanted to become a hero because he is bored of his normal lifestyle. Eventually he trains "too much" and gain this immense power. However, even after all those power, he is still bored because... well he can't find an opponent that of his calibre.

It is important to take note here that the hero's journey that this anime covers is not the journey that takes normal Saitama to overpowered Saitama. It is instead focused on what next. This is why the development for this character is interesting because it is out of the norm. Instead of giving us normal shounen power-ups gradually, we are given the end product of a hero. So what else is there to develop, when the main character is already developed? This is where it gets interesting! The anime focuses on how the supporting characters and opponents develop around him as he is faced with more and more formidable opponents as well as paired with more formidable allies.

Genos

If this is a superhero movie, then Genos would be Saitama's sidekick. Genos kept calling Saitama "sensei" clearly indicating that he respects Saitama. Don't get me wrong here, Genos is extremely powerful himself. He is a cyborg, and I would call him immortal to a certain extent because he can just repair his body anytime he wants. Yet, he is still unmatched against Saitama because well... Saitama is meant to be overpowered. Genos as for now, keep on following Saitama, admiring him and learning in the process. This is where the character Genos is developed. Genos initially believed that he is already powerful, and yet after meeting Saitama, he constantly seeks more and more power and that is why Genos respects Saitama and would follow him. It is Saitama's journey, but at the same time it is also his journey to find this power he desires. 

Hero Association

The Hero Association is an organisation that harbors heroes. They recruit people with powers and those who wished to be heroes to be a part of their organisation. This organisation brings a lot of variety to Saitama's adventure. Some can be extremely hilarious to watch like Puri-Puri Prisoner who's a huge muscular dude that wears a petit outfit. Others seemed incredibly strong like Tatsumaki. Initially, these association is not even mentioned, but as the story progresses, Genos introduces Saitama to the existence of this organisation. The story then introduces us to more stronger characters.

This is the interesting part. While we know that these members of the Hero Association would probably be no match against Saitama, you can't stop wondering "What if?". What if there's actually a character that is stronger than Saitama. What if there is indeed a character that can withstand a punch from Saitama. Not only that the introduction of these new characters, indirectly, and sometimes without the viewer's notice, contribute to the growth of Saitama as a character. That is why One Punch Man is unique in terms of character development.

True enough by the end of the season, Saitama actually encountered Boros who can actually withstand his punch.

Plot

As I said previously, there aren't any noticeable plot in the anime. This is mainly because the journey of Saitama growing as a hero is pretty much completed. He has achieved his ultimate form and there's nowhere exactly for the story to go. The anime just fool around the concept of Shounen entirely and made its viewers laugh.

However, the anime does try to introduce some plot into the narrative. This is done by creating some sort of tension between the characters. Rivalries between characters, and all that. As for now, the anime kind of stopped at season 1, and season 1 is pretty much just building up or more accurately introduction. If they would continue further, I believe that this aspect of the story can be developed further to make it a full pledged narrative.

Coherence 

Due to the lack of plot, there aren't exactly the need for coherence. But the anime does try to connect some dots within the story. They tried to explain how one scene will connect with another. It is usually just a small side story like Genos stalking Saitama or some sort. 

Effects

Damn! The effects actually feels rather nostalgic. I used to watch a lot of shounen anime back in the past and they do bring it up to a certain extent. The animation on the fights are well done and it gives me that Dragon Ball vibes sometimes. The soundtrack also feels very heroic, truly fitting for the series. 

Emotions

One Punch Man is one of the most fun I had watching an anime. It is hilarious and kind of nostalgic at the same time. Some scenes are also purely epic and satisfying to watch, they are not necessarily funny in this case but it gave me that thrill and excitement just like how an action anime should. One of these scene of instance is when, Genos fought Saitama as a test for himself. It is not necessarily funny but it is one of my favourite scene in the anime. As for the rest of the anime, the jokes delivered never gets old and I really enjoy the way they joke around shounen theme with perfection.