Manga
The manga that were hits in Japan in the 2010s.
2010S HITS
About
In this new action-comedy, everything about a young man named Saitama screams "AVERAGE,” from his lifeless expression, to his bald head, to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking fellow doesn't have your average problem... He's actually a superhero that's looking for tough opponents! The problem is, every time he finds a promising candidate he beats the snot out of them in one punch. Can Saitama finally find an evil villain strong enough to challenge him? Follow Saitama through his hilarious romps as he searches for new bad guys to challenge!
Character analysis
Saitama trained himself into absurd strength through a brutal daily routine, and the joke is that it worked too well, every opponent dies in one punch before he gets any sense of challenge or satisfaction. His flat, bored reactions to apocalyptic threats are the series' main engine.
Genos rebuilt his body after losing everything to a rampaging cyborg, and he asks Saitama to be his master after watching him casually win a fight that should have been impossible. His intensity is played against Saitama's indifference for comedy, but Genos also voices just how strange and lonely Saitama's strength actually is.
Mumen Rider rides an ordinary bicycle and has no special abilities, yet he throws himself at threats far beyond him purely because someone needs to try. Where Saitama's struggle is finding meaning in effortless victory, Mumen Rider's is finding meaning in effort that almost never wins.
King is ranked among the strongest heroes in the world, but his actual reputation comes from happening to be nearby whenever Saitama secretly finishes off a threat. His comic terror of being exposed as ordinary says something sharper about the story's whole hero-ranking system, that reputation and real strength aren't the same thing at all.
Tatsumaki is one of the strongest heroes in the story thanks to overwhelming psychic ability, and she treats most other heroes, and most problems, with open contempt. Her short temper and short stature are a running joke, but her power level keeps her from ever being just comic relief.
Status evaluation
The art, especially in its most acclaimed arcs, is known for some of the best action choreography in the genre.
Flipping the power-fantasy formula by making the hero already unbeatable gives the series a sharp, consistent comic hook.
Saitama's deadpan reactions to world-ending threats are the series' signature joke, and it rarely gets old.
Saitama's quiet boredom with his own strength has real pathos, but the series leans comedic over emotional overall.
Monsters look threatening, but the tone undercuts any real horror almost immediately.
Monster battles get destructive, though the focus stays on spectacle rather than graphic detail.
The hero-ranking system adds some structure, but the core joke and cast stay easy to follow.
This figure has not been verified against a current source and should be treated as approximate.
“The only superhero story where winning too easily is the whole tragedy.”