One Punch Man

One Piece... I mean... One Punch Man was a recently added anime that people seem to be raving about. When it comes to popular opinion, I tend to be very cautious going into these series. People talk about how awesome Kill al Kill, Attack on Titan, and Death Note are but those series I find despicable. What was my opinion on this new series?

There were rumors that One Punch Man was a deconstruction. After watching a certain anime that deconstructed the magical girl genre, I knew this wasn't going to be an easy ride. Glass Reflection is a reviewer that I have tended to agree on with multiple series. His review was pretty spot on. Think of the series somewhere between Hancock and Superman. You have a being that is indestructible, impervious, unstoppable, and essentially all-powerful. What would happen? It reminds me of an episode of Samurai Jack where the entire episode revolves around this one person from a village. There is a contest for the mightiest warrior, he is given equipment that was forged from the mightiest blacksmith, and sent to meet with Samurai Jack only to be defeated in a matter of seconds.

The series can be summed up by the title. A man is able to defeat any enemy with one punch. Would that get boring? Would he feel any sort of emotion when nothing is able to challenge his power? Some episodes go into this huge backstory about how a villain came about only to be defeated in a couple seconds. Other heroes go through huge amounts of effort and feelings trying to do their best when this nobody comes in and destroys someone because it could be fun. Sometimes this "joke" of a formula brings about some laughable outcomes. In the end, it all feels kind of... boring. I think there were only 13 episodes and it lacks any sort of connection of realism. I think the problem comes down to the same way I feel about Dragonball Z. It is a series that you may want to experience but in the end may just bore you to death.

 

1-30-2016