Richie’s Reviews: One Punch Man

Netflix has again released another series that was extremely addictive. The anime series ‘One Punch Man’ is about an extremely powerful man, by the name of Saitama, who is “a hero for fun.” But when his strength overbears every challenge that crosses his path, the man becomes bored with his superhero lifestyle. Along the way he becomes a sensei to a young cyborg, Genos, that wants to learn his power in order to defeat the robot that destroyed his town as a child and made him half-man-half-machine. Once the two  become friends with one another, they embark in countless situations pushing how far they can go, encountering various enemies with unusual traits.

Although I do not watch many anime shows but I can tell when I’m watching something that is impressive. My expectations were beyond exceeded. One thing that stood out the most was the screenwriting. The visual creativity level is at an all time high with the concepts and the enemies that Saitama faces. An example of this is in the first episode when Saitama explains how he first knew when he wanted to be a hero, when he encountered an enemy that was a half-man-half-lobster. The top half was an immense red lobster torso with massive claws and the bottom half was legs of a regular man wearing nothing but tighty whiteys. The concepts are also interesting. Saitama explains that gaining great power takes away other emotions such as fear or even excitement, taking a spin on the usual hero tale.

Another thing I love about “One Punch Man” is the mix of action portrayed and the comedy performed. Saitama is an awkward guy that many people are underwhelmed by, leading to gold moments that leave the audience cracking up. An example is when Saitama is pulled into the ground by a mole man with his bald head being the only thing sticking out. A lion man then presents himself as the strongest villain that he will ever encounter. The lion man takes himself way too seriously while Saitama is not impressed by any means. Saitama slowly rises from the ground, brushes off the dirt, proceeds to dodge the attacks from the lion man and ultimately killing his opponent with one punch.

I was enthralled with the whole series, as there were so many factors that were pristine. Stylistically speaking, “One Punch Man” was always keeping my eyes on the screen. The dialogue exchanged between the characters are continually entertaining, with embarrassing situations or well-written wit. “One Punch Man” is totally inventive, making for one of the weirdest shows you’ll ever watch, in the best way possible.