One-Punch Man is a great parody and an even greater show. Since its second season's trailer has been going around lately, I figured I would take this opportunity to discuss its first season.
Since I started watching the show My Hero Academia I have received an even better view of just why One-Punch Man works so well. One show is a shonen that revels in the tropes and cool moments of American superhero movies, and the other is a comedy that revels in making those moments unsatisfying. If you contrast the two shows, you will be able to see how One-Punch Man feeds off the shonen archetype. Since the protagonist of the show, Saitama, can take out almost any opponent he faces in a single punch, every physical battle he enters is over nearly immediately. This gives room for a transition to another wacky villain almost every episode, and the villains are very creative in their own right. They all have strange gimmicks and overpowered concepts that have much more place in a comic than a TV show. But since Saitama can just finish them on a whim, there is never a moment where a villain becomes stale. No matter how wacky the villain is, there is always a cool moment with them. One example of this is the barrage of heroes that go up against a villain called the Ocean King. This villain is able to take down everyone who opposes him in extremely flashy and occasionally comical ways. Then, at the end of the fight, Saitama takes him out in one punch. This strategy works for majority of the season's villains and serves multiple purposes. The first purpose is the cool factor. Despite the fact that the show is a comedy, the fights between the wacky villains and the side characters are action-packed. They establish the villains as overbearing powerhouses and also give the audience some amazing fights to watch. Second, this strategy serves comical purposes. The side characters' interactions with baddies make for some of the show's funniest moments, and watching Saitama blast a villain away in a single blow is hilarious. Finally, this method makes for great parodies on multiple levels. It serves as a parody of a typical shonen trope, with the strategy clearly being taken from a shonen anime, and it also makes fun of typical superhero tropes. The latter leads to comical aspects, sure, but it also leads to very interesting story elements. Saitama is a man who is too strong for his own good. In the process of searching for a challenge throughout the show, he learns the value of helping others out, and it really makes a connection with the audience. You see these epic fights with other characters in the show, and you get to actively experience Saitama's boring fights along with him. As the show progresses, more and more powerful moments occur, and most of these stem from the protagonist growing and changing. This show is an amazing experience, but I believe its best aspect to be its length. One-Punch Man is only twelve episodes long. That's the perfect amount of time to get plenty of laughs and fights, but it also prevents the tropes from becoming stale. Many characters experience growth within these twelve episodes, and I believe that the story should've ended there. I adore this show, but I feel as though a second season could make the humor feel repetitive. I guess I'll see for myself when Saitama returns, albeit probably with a worse opening.
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AuthorMcRae Walker, an 20-year-old writer and lover of many dorky topics. Archives
September 2022
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