One Punch Man Season 1 Review

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Some Of The Best Shonen Action Since Dragon Ball Z

I can’t remember the last time I’d watched an anime that over the span of 12 episodes managed to make me care for it’s large cast of characters, have great action scenes, maintain perfect pacing throughout the series and at the same time make me laugh out loud more times than I could count. But One Punch Man managed to do just that.

One Punch Man follows the life of Saitama, a self proclaimed “guy who’s just a hero for fun”. He looks just like an average guy, besides being bald and running around wearing a yellow costume and a cape. But he is anything but average.

After being confronted by a monster on the way home from a job interview, Saitama vows to train to become a hero. His training lasts for 3 years and is so intense, it causes his hair to fall out. The outcome from all this training? You may have guessed it based on the title but Saitama becomes so strong that he is able to defeat any enemy monsters with a single punch.

Constantly Entertaining, Never A Dull Moment

This causes him to become somewhat bored, constantly chasing a challenge that no enemy is able to give him. Saitama crosses paths with a cyborg fighter who is currently having a difficult time dispatching ‘Mosquito Girl’ a powerful enemy able to control swarms of mosquito’s. Saitama takes her out with a single slap and is instantly idolised by the cyborg, who introduces himself as Genos and demands that he become Saitama’s disciple.

After moving into Saitama’s apartment, Genos introduces Saitama to ‘The Hero Registry’. A program that allows people to register as hero’s, get graded and then called into action when monster attacks happen. And they happen frequently. Which is one of the highlights of the show. When the plot isn’t all about the action filled monster battles it usually revolves around the Hero Registry and Saitama’s goal of rising through the ranks to be recognised as an S Class Hero.

Most people who follow anime often see Shonen series as containing tons of episodes that are often padded out with pointless content and villain confrontations that take a number of episodes to even minorly forward the plot. You won’t get that at all in One Punch Man. The pacing is perfect. Most episodes are almost stand alone stories that focus on a new monster, threat or Saitama’s daily life activities. It isn’t until late in the series there is a threat that spans more than an episode. And I loved that. It felt like the story was constantly moving forward while at the same time introducing incredibly interesting monsters and hero’s, each with their own abilities and personal quirks.

The Series Gets So Much Right

One Punch Man’s use of animation, artistic style and humour are second to none when it comes to Shonen anime. The first thing some may realise is that Saitama seems to have 2 persona’s. An everyday activities, bored moment persona and his intense fight scene serious persona. And they are drawn differently too which only adds impact to his humorous lines which frequently left me laughing out loud while watching. One Punch Man offers some of the best drawn animation seen in recent years. The fight scenes’ constant destruction and fluidity look absolutely stunning especially when combined with the shows outdoor environments and vibrant colour palette. It is obviously inspired by Dragon Ball Z but never takes itself too serious.

Both the Sub and Dubbed versions have perfect castings for the characters and the translations between the original Japanese script and the English version have almost no differences it content which is on the rarer side with many anime.

The Madman release I watched also came with all 6 additional OVA’s, which combined offer over an hour more One Punch Man content. Clean opening and closings (one of the best anime openings I’ve ever seen), and Viz cast interviews that contain interviews with both the English and Japanese cast.

Overall

Watching One Punch Man was some of the most entertaining time I’ve had in recent times watching a new series. It is short enough to be welcoming to newcomers and has perfect pacing throughout, you’ll never get bored. In just 12 episodes I felt more attached to the large cast of characters than I thought I would because each of them are unique, with their own attitudes and quirks. There is a reason this series was the smash hit when it released in 2015. It is a joy to experience and should be watched by all. I can not wait for a second season.

If you want to watch One Punch Man, you can stream it on AnimeLab or get a physical copy from Madman Entertainment.

A Bluray review copy was provided by Madman Entertainment for the purpose of this review.

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9

Watched On: BluRay

  • + Absolutely hilarious
  • + Large cast of characters that are likeable
  • + Perfect pacing throughout.
  • + Animation Quality


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