My friend introduced One Punch Man to me fairly recently, and I was not disappointed. Of late, I have been disappointed with anime — I tried getting into One Piece ages ago, but every character’s backstory was at least ten minutes long and I lost my suspension of disbelief when more and more magical elements were being added to the series. Don’t even get me started on how big they always make boobs in animes, because we’ll be here all day.
Wisecrack also made a video, which you can watch below:
Anyway, my postmodern senses were tingling because One Punch Man is wildly subversive and incredibly funny. Here’s what I like about it.
- It lampoons everything — tropes in anime, Asian society, and superheroes in pop culture.
Beating up the villain when it is monologuing? Check. Making fun of ridiculous monster designs prevalent in anime? Check. (See the crab monster in the first episode). Have the protagonist be a salaryman out of a job who inadvertently becomes a superhero? Check. The list goes on. My favourite bit in One Punch Man is the Association of Superheroes, and how it makes fun for Asian culture–the heroes are made to take tests and jump through hoops to join and receive rankings accordingly, much like Asian society. Also, having Saitama, the main character lives in an apartment who pays rent and is broke, a stark contrast to any fortress of solitude or Batcave.
- It’s all about opposites
I like how this is manifested in Saitama and Genos’ relationship. Genos, is a stereotypical dark, brooding hero who monologues his backstory and asks Saitama to be his teacher. Nearly every single one of their interactions is amusing, at the very least. Saitama makes Genos run errands, like buy groceries and hotpot, and Genos thinks that there is some profound lesson to it. However, it’s only because Saitama needs to eat or has a particular craving. There isn’t any real meaning to what Saitama does, but Genos treats everything like it contains wisdom. That to me is funny, like how people try to make meaning in a world where most events happen arbitrarily.
- It’s really existential
Saitama is pretty much the physical epitome of existentialism. Strip away the costume and inhuman strength and you’ll see a man who is searching for meaning himself. Before he became One Punch Man, he was looking for a job as a salaryman, feeling lost and adrift in the corporate world. As a hero, he tries to find meaning in what he does (even though he says it’s just for fun) by finding a suitable challenger. In fact, that is what he dreams of, but he’s nearly always disappointed in life.
Finally, I have a Japanese anime that I actually like watching. I’m looking forward to Season 2.