Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, in which a rotating duo of Multiversity staffers take a look at two stories contained in each installment of Viz Media’s Weekly Shonen Jump. For the uninitiated, Weekly Shonen Jump is an anthology that delivers more than 200 pages of manga of all varieties. We hope that you’ll join us in exploring the world of Weekly Shonen Jump each week. If you are unfamiliar, you can read sample chapters and subscribe at Viz.com.
This week is the Obon holidays in Japan, so instead of the regular anthology, we get a special edition of “One Punch Man,” which Rowan will be reviewing. We’ll be back with a full installment next week!
One Punch Man Chapter 87
Written by ONE
Illustrated by Yusuke Murata
Reviewed by Rowan Grover
I love how seamlessly ONE makes this a fantastic, comedic reading experience by wrapping the real meat content of the issue in classic Saitama antics. As soon as we debut this massive chapter, we’re setup with potential of danger for Saitama, with his friends and disciples speculating what may have happened in his search for Garo. Genos sets the most plausible explanation, stating about Saitama’s “firm will” and that he “may not return until he finds and destroys the entire Monster Association”. Of course, however, our concern is diffused when Saitama returns home, stating that the biggest problem of his outing was that he lost his wallet somewhere. Similarly, in the end scene, we get a fierce, Western style showdown as Saitama stages a hot-pot, where he complains about how everyone here is mooching off him and he bought all the food. It’s a great way to gift wrap the Monster/Hero association content, especially with the captured kids listening to the monsters talk about the threat-level Dragon monsters.
With that said, a lot of the more serious content in the Monster Association story is really well crafted and compelling. Seeing the hierarchies and self-established pecking orders within the association is a lot of fun. Gyoro-Gyoro is a classical villain oozing with intimidating presence, and ONE writes him in this tone perfectly. Lines like “Are ridiculous lies all you have?” give him a very grandeur and posturing personality, while also accentuating his persona as a behind-the-scenes operator. Rhino Wrestler is a great examination of a character who works to overcome his opponents in training, essentially a Goku gone bad to compare to Shonen tropes. When he destroys the giant chain of tyres swinging from the ceiling and screams “I CAN’T WAIT TO DEMONSTRATE MY STRENGTH!”, it evokes terror rather than excitement. The showdown in the hallway with King The Ripper and Big Eater is palpable with tension also, especially with the ugly kid hiding behind King without really knowing if he’ll give him up or not. The entire section is fraught with tension and ONE plays it out masterfully.
As always, Yusuke Murata proves he’s a versatile and superb artist capable of penciling the fastest and most intense action scenes and funniest comedy interludes. I love the contrast between character styles in Saitama’s house at the opening, it shows a lot of talent for an artist to be able to slip so many art styles into a single scene. Having the cartoonish and simply drawn Saitama being yelled at by the overly feminine Fubuki, with the cyberpunk and complicated Genos and softer looking visage of Dr Kuseno in the same room is so much fun to take in and witness, and Murata clearly has fun with it. I love the eerie tension later in the book when we’re reintroduced to Saitama’s house during their hot-pot dinner. The full two-page spread is flecked with a smokey texture to insinuate steam, but also gives a haunting air to the scene, one offset by the overly serious expressions on each characters face. The comedy aspect of this comic is on point as always, and Murata plays a big part in the execution of it.
Murata’s action has some intense highlights throughout the issue here. The fight between Hellfire Flame and Gale Wind is one of the most high-octane and beautifully choreographed fight scenes I’ve seen in the series. I love how free flowing Murata renders both of them, with them both moving at such high speeds that they exude an aura that rails behind their movements. They eventually clash in a spiral of water which is a singularly beautiful scene in the midst of general chaos, in which we also get close ups of the two trying to psych each other out. Another scene, the hot-pot dinner, which is more played up for its comedic aspect, still has some great action despite the lighter moments. Tension is created when Murata shows a simple full-page of each diner’s chopstick-wielding hands, before letting it all loose with speed lines and visceral energy effects the next page. There’s a small moment the following page which feels like the perfect punchline to the action, in which Genos snatches a piece of meat out of the air before Fubuki’s adoring gaze. It’s a great use of action as comedy and delivers a unique tone of light-heartedness few other artists are capable of.
This giant chapter of “One Punch Man” proves that it can maintain an interesting story with great plot developments, comedy and action over nearly one hundred pages. ONE does some great takes on classic superhero/manga tropes and delivers classic, deadpan humour that is so synonymous with Saitama. Yusuke Murata combines great comedy and emotional work with high-velocity action, proving that his art is some of the best in the game and well worth the wait between installments.
Final Score: 9.0 – “One Punch Man” sustains a story that is both hilarious and gripping over a hundred pages without any hints of a lull.
