The surprise hit “One Punch Man” continues onto its seventh volume, officially bringing the English-translated manga up to the point where the anime ended. The world is at stake, power levels keep going higher, and we see yet another glimpse of Saitama’s true power. So how is it? Quite awesome, actually.
Written by ONE
Illustrated by Yusuke MurataNothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem – he just can’t seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on! When aliens invade Earth, a group of Class-S heroes finally finds a way to fight back and go on the offensive! Inside the enemy mother ship, Saitama fights Boros. Faced with the alien’s frightful power, he decides to get serious! What is the Earth’s fate?!
“One Punch Man” has always been a series about playing up the common tropes in both manga and comics – with overpowered bad guys, lengthy speeches, and enough dramatic backstories to fill quite a few spinoffs – then obliterating them in one punch. Saitama doesn’t care about your tragic history. Saitama doesn’t care what your power level is. All Saitama really wants to do is be a hero for fun, and finish in time for the sale at the supermarket. And that is the wonder of “One Punch Man.”
However, this volume begins near the climax of a story arc that sees all the Class-S heroes fighting off a massive alien invasion… while Saitama leisurely strolls through the alien mothership and beats up all the bad guys. As such, we get a one-on-one match between Saitama and Boros, the extremely overpowered leader of the aliens, and the battle can only be described as epic.
The action scenes in this manga are incredibly fast-paced, but combine detailed artwork with wordless action perfectly; I found my eyes flying across the panels as I flipped through the pages to try and keep up with the pacing that the battles deserve. Yusuke Murata’s artwork is absolutely stellar this issue; typically “One Punch Man” switches seamlessly between the detailed, serious artwork and the small, goofier style to reflect Saitama’s indifference, but given the stakes of this volume, every page and panel sees the art in full form.
Special credit must be given to one exceptional series of splash pages. As Saitama actually got serious about a punch to counter an oncoming attack, each double-page moved closer and closer to him, following the course of the attack, and moving in on his fist before showing the full impact of his single serious punch. It’s done so expertly that the impact can be felt through the pages, capturing the sheer magnitude of Saitama’s power in a single blow.
In addition to the combat, there’s also a little more in the way of character, particularly regarding the high ranking heroes we didn’t get to see much of before. The Class-S heroes get a fair share of action themselves, and Amai Mask has a few scenes of note that hint at a larger backstory. Hints are dropped for the progression of future plot threads, and the world of heroes in “One Punch Man” grows just a little bit more.
While Saitama himself is a fantastic character, with unbridled power wrapped up in a slovenly bald body, and an absolute aversion to any of anime’s typical cliches, the supporting cast is also noteworthy. His cyborg sidekick, Genos, has his own plot threads to chase, but he’s just one of many Class-S heroes. Each one has a unique design, voice, and personality that makes them appealing. As fun as it is to see Saitama defeat his opponents without breaking a sweat, seeing the characters who have long since established themselves as the greatest of heroes in action is also very enjoyable; they’ve all more than earned their ranking, and seeing them in action proves it.
After all the action of the main story, the volume wraps up with a few little bonus chapters. The first focuses on Tank Top Master (the Class-S hero who trained previously-seen heroes Tank Top Tiger and Tank Top Black Hole) as he trains to help his pure muscle defeat telekinesis. As a character piece, it works just fine, shining a small spotlight on a character we didn’t see too much of in previous chapters. Once more, the artwork is fantastic, capturing the sheer strength of the character, in addition to the scale and power of the AT-AT-esque robot that appears in it, to an outstanding degree.
Continued belowThe second bonus chapter focuses on an even less central character, Charanko, one of Bang’s students. He was only seen briefly in previous chapters, but the bonus chapter lets us get to know a minor character a little bit better, and provides more of a look into Bang’s life and current situation.
Thirdly is a bonus chapter exploring the relationship between the police and the Hero Association. In any world where superheroes are commonplace, the role that law enforcement organizations play is always worth exploring; do they work along with the heroes, or do they resent how super-powered civilians take all the spotlight?
In this case, it may be the latter, but the animosity between the organizations is clear. The dynamics of the two is certainly a subject worth exploring, and while this chapter was a nice look into it, hopefully it’s a topic that will be expanded upon later.
For a short bonus chapter, it contains a lot of depth and a good amount of heart.
Finally, perhaps shortest of all, we have Metal Bat on a call with his sister. Short though the bonus chapter may be, it adds a nice layer to Metal Bat’s character; like previous bonus chapters, this one shines a little more of a spotlight on characters we’ve only seen a little of so far.
But between the action-packed chapters that take up the most of this book, and the amusing bonus chapters at the end, there’s plenty to enjoy in this volume of “One Punch Man.”
Final Verdict: 9.0 – an action-packed conclusion to the Boros story arc, with expert pacing, artwork, and writing. An absolutely thrilling addition to the “One Punch Man” story.
