Book reviews

MadmanRat8
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
A stunning mix of comedy and action manga. With the most gorgeous art I've ever seen in a long time.

Story & Character - Onepunchman is not your typical shounen manga. Most shounen mangas follow a weak or wimpy boy who slowly grows up and become stronger in order to reach his goals. Not Onepunchman. The main character Saitama is already so strong he ends all of his fights in one punch. He is literally so strong there hasn't been anyone or anything that give him a hard time. You might think, then what's the fun in watching a story where the character is too powerful? You'll be surprised when you give this manga a try.

It doesn't have a central plot, per se, but the story progresses as more characters and more villains get introduced. Saitama, who started off alone, started getting to know more and more characters, each with their own quirks and circumstances that brought forth interesting storyline. As a shounen manga, of course one of the main points of Onepunchman is the fight scenes. But how are the scenes even enjoyable when Saitama ends everything in one punch? Well, the fight scenes are not only about Saitama's. In fact, Saitama's fights are only around 20% of the total fight scenes. There's a whole lot of interesting side characters that aren't invincible, each fighting strong enemies on their own, and that comprises around 80% of Onepunchman's fight scenes. The characters and villains are all so diverse that the interactions between them are varied. Believe me, you won't be bored.

Also, the comedy. Onepunchman is a comedy gold. Just by looking at the bald stature of Saitama you'd know that this is not a depressing manga. It's extremely fun and Saitama's interactions with his buddies are hilarious. The authors got a knack for inserting humour into the most ridiculous parts of the story, and it works. That's not to say Onepunchman is a complete gag manga. It's got its emotional moments as well. It's a great blend between the serious moments and the hilarious moments.

Art - Absolutely stunning. I grew up reading Eyeshield 21, which was drawn by the same author (Yusuke Murata), and the fact that his artwork has grown so, so much from the first volume of Eyeshield 21 to this masterpiece of artwork that is Onepunchman staggers me. Everything looks so vivid and extremely detailed. Dare I say that Onepunchman has the best art in a shounen manga I've ever seen. The fight scenes look fluid and easy to follow, there are even a few chapters where the pages are just spreads of snapshots in the fight. It doesn't feel like manga anymore, it's like buying an art book.

Overall, Onepunchman is an amazing manga. It's extremely enjoyable and will have you in stitches from too much laughing. I really don't have anything bad to say about this. Please try reading this. You won't be disappointed.
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Simply_Waiting12
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review


Story - Spoiler alerts - (8 out of 10)

The story revolves on an unemployed man who became an unknown undefeatable superhero who has been saving the cities from dangerous atrocities done by evil monsters or humans. This superhero was called Saitama. Three years ago, on his way home, he met a dangerous crab monster after being rejected by a job interview, the crab monster spared Saitama's life after recognizing lifeless eyes of Saitama. In fact, Saitama wasn't the Crab monster's target, it was a cleft-chin boy who drew nipples on his chest.  Saitama, after saving a cleft-chin child, realized that his dream was to become a hero not a job-hunter. In fact, that was his childhood dream career.

After intensive training for 3 years, Saitama has become an overpowered hero who wins battles with merely one punch. Saitama's overpower made him bored and made his fights unenjoyable.

Art (10 out of 10)

The art of OPM is mesmerizing and most of the characters are definitely charming and has matured looks, especially our heroes and some of our villains.

Yusuke Murata's art of one punch man is so attractive, aesthetic, natural, pure & eye-catchy.  I respect him & love his art.

Character - Some spoiler alerts - ( 10 out of 10 )

Saitama: A 25 years old man with funny bored-look on his face who looks nice when serious and look good with hair. He was an unemployed man who became our overpowered placid unknown superhero after hard conventional training for 3 years without taking days off. He speaks less, dislikes it when people are talkative & is not serious during fights and that makes his enemies furious due to his careless actions. (I love him, he is funny and comedian.)

Saitama achieved his dream by becoming a superhero but lost enjoyment of battles.

Genos: A 19 years old cyborg, S-class hero of 17th rank & an ultimate loyal disciple of Saitama. His goal is to destroy the cyborg that destroyed his city and killed his people. He is loyal and looks up at Saitama with respect after being saved by Saitama & witnessing Saitama's power and using it for justice. He is quite talkative and is always serious.

My comment: I suggest you to read it's manga and to watch it's anime. It's worth watching and reading.. and you might like it. You have to give it a try first instead of judging it because of how overpowered is Saitama.

This is my first review and it's not that good. Forgive my grammar errors & errors regarding any line or repetition. I hope I get better in reviewing manga in the near future.

(Although I am currently enjoying the manga, I will still omit the enjoyment and overall parts for now because I am in chapter 12.)
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NuniChan15
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
After seeing the anime version the second time, I just had to check out the manga. Season 2 wasn't going to come out for some time and I couldn't wait.

I was not disappointed. This marked the first time I stayed up very late to read a manga, heck, the first time I stayed up late to read at all in a long while. One Punch Man (OPM) as a manga is highly entertaining, with a plethora of fights that are brilliantly illustrated in such a way that you can easily imagine their happening in real-time. They're very fluid. The powers of these heroes/monsters are epic. I love how when a new hero appears his/her name is shown with his/her class and rank. One of the aspects of shounen that really make you want to keep watching is the aura of mystery surrounding strong characters -- even after having caught up with the manga, I still don't know about the abilities of some key players that will definitely play an important role later on.

One may say that OPM has too many fights once it gets into its main plot, but its main plot is such that many fights are bound to occur, and besides, it all contributes towards ONE's motif of what it means to be a hero. Like its rival, Boku no Hero Academia, OPM is a tale of heroism for a protagonist who defies the odds, albeit in a different way. And unlike the fights in Bleach, for example, those in OPM do not consist mostly of talking and using the same modes of dialogue over and over again. The hero(s) and monster(s) meet, fight, and an outcome is established. I do criticize the scarcity of hero deaths (although there are plenty of hero injuries) in comparison with the myriad monster deaths. However, it would certainly shake the mood if heroes were to die, and usually if "good guys" die they only do so for a reason.

I'm primarily an anime viewer (52.2 days of anime, 0.9 of manga) so I can't really say this with backing -- but of the manga I've been reading so far, OPM is one of the best illustrated. The attention to detail is insane. To think that this actually began as a webcomic that's still going, which was converted into a manga, which was converted into an anime. The disparity of visual nearness from webcomic to screen is just amazing. If you read manga for the art, then read OPM. If you like unappreciated heroism, then read OPM.

I'll write a more detailed review after the manga finishes.

Let's hope that doesn't come for a long, long while.
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rawrsaysno9
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
Saitama is a man-turned-hero who underwent three years of extreme training. As a result, Saitama has becoming incredibly strong (and bald) and is able to end every fight with just a single punch. He thirsts for the exciting rush of combat. The problem is...he's too strong?

One Punch-Man takes a comical yet thought provoking look at strength, justice, and ambition. It's thoroughly enjoyable to watch the heroes struggle to defeat a villain just to have Saitama walk in and finish it off in one, effortless punch. His strength and his never-ending struggle to find an opponent who can survive a single punch leads him to great frustration, despite seeming to be an average guy at first.

One Punch-Man also takes on the typical good-and-evil struggle as well as the theme of ambition. Watching Saitama take Genos under his wing (although it wasn't really a choice) is interesting. The different ambitions and ideals of the heroes can lead to hilarious and thought provoking moments, be it running in fear at pathetic looking fish creatures, or refusing to help out a civilian in need, almost every little hero you see has a personality that'll make you laugh or turn your nose in disgust.

The art in One Punch-Man would probably be one of it's weaker points out of all it's strengths. It's not bad, but it's nothing to be really proud of. It's just...normal. Nothing wrong with that. What I do like about the art is that certain characters are drawn to fit their personalities. Genos is over-detailed in order to fit his dutiful and perfectionist nature. Saitama looks like he was ripped out of some poorly-drawn sketchbook in order to align with his "average" facade and for quite a bit of comical effect. Heroes and villains are drawn appropriately whether they think they're god or they're afraid of the smallest thing.

As of right now, there hasn't been a great deal of character development, but you can really see it forming at the edges. Saitama, for the most part, seems to be a static character that the story revolves around (maybe he'll find a worth opponent). Speed of Sound Sonic (mind the long name) may one day lose a bit of his ego, and Genos might realize the cowardice and pride of his peers. What do I want to see the most? Personally, I find the Saitama's struggle with his own strength to be one of the most interesting and enjoyable aspects of this manga.

I have to say that this manga is a real surprise to me. Out of the many superhero based mangas that try to beat each other, One Punch-Man effortlessly rises above the competition in a single punch. Out of the many mangas that I am following, One Punch-Man is the most entertaining and enjoyable. Anyone who is looking for a refreshing and funny manga should not hesitate to pick this up.
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azuriknight10
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
One Punch Man is a really fun manga to read. Like it's so fun to read that the filler is fun to read. And what's interesting about this manga is how it achieves this quality, in that the story isn't anything special. It's a shounen through and through, an action fighting manga. It encompasses an endless amount of tropes, and OPM would only be an average shounen if it wasn't for its characters.

The star studded cast of OPM just elevates the manga into something more than just another shounen, it feels special and different. That stems from our main character, Saitama. He is outstandingly written, and the way in which he is placed in the story amongst the rest of the characters that allow him to work the way he does. On the subject of all the other characters; ONE (the author) does this thing where they all belong to a certain trope of the shounen genre. And then, he uses Saitama, as a subversion to explore these characters and their motivations in such a way that it leads to some of the funniest comedy and most engaging scenes / arcs / characters I've ever read.

On the other hand, the art of One Punch Man doesn't push to envelope, but it is outstanding and breathtaking. Yusuke Murata is just able to reach a level of detail and linework / inking perfection that makes me wish all shounens were drawn by him. Everything just possesses of intricacy and no aspect of the picture is compromised even during the most taxing and spectacularly grand scenes of action. The engaging nature of OPM wouldn't be possible without this art, and that is reflected in the original Onepunch man webcomic by ONE. It's the same story and characters, but its the art that elevates OPM above it by a mile.

OPM has the ability to be a thrilling page turner, but it really isn't for everyone because at it's core, it is still a shounen. I enjoyed it, and I'm not exactly of fan of this genre of manga, nor a big fan of action and fighting. I find this manga really enjoyable to read, and I've quite my share of it .It's the type of manga that can become a classic, and I really hope it reaches the audience it deserves.
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Playcool2
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
Overview: One punch man is a story of an unknown hero named Saitama, who once was an average employee after tirelessly training for three years; he has achieved great power. And with great power comes hair loss and responsibility. After obtaining this great power, he found his new carrier in being a superhero. Despite his over the top physical ability, he was ranked one of the lowest tiers in the hero association; hence the name, the unknown hero. Despite being viewed as one of the weakest heroes, he manages to destroy every monster that comes across his path, rending bored and hoping for an enemy strong enough to defeat him.

Character: Saitama, the main character and protagonist of the story, the strongest hero but is placed in low ranks. Finding no thrills in battle due to his incredible physical abilities. Genos, the disciple of Saitama, a cyborg who became a disciple of Saitama in hopes of becoming as strong as him. (Together, they balance the growth of mindset and the growth of physical ability)

Story (8/10): I understand that this manga is mainly for laughs, but the story just follows a traditional hero journey, lots of fighting and destruction, lacking a bit of depth to the story. But still, get an 8 in my book because of the contradiction between his strength of a god and inconsistent attitude. Becoming super serious when face even with the smallest average day problems while paying no attention when fighting. This contradicting character development makes the story very interesting and compliments the comedy very well.

Art (10/10): Murata Yusuke, the artist for this manga, did a fantastic job matching the expression of the characters to the story. The drawing was able to bring out so much more action in the manga and further compliment the serious and sleepy attitudes that Saitama often have. The detail and clarity found in every image are great for helping the reader to feel more emerged with each character and more emerged in the world of One Punch Man.

Enjoyment (9/10): I personally enjoyed this manga very much; I look forward to new characters that will be coming as the story progresses. (keep in mind that the manga is not finished yet) It is easy for readers to get bored of a manga where the main character is this powerful, but the author who goes by the name of One is able to connect the daily struggles of Saitama and present it in a way that makes the story so refreshing and keeping me want to read more.

Overall: I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys comedy or action, it is a easy to read a piece of the manga, and it is very entertaining. And for those who have read the manga, the anime version is also enjoyable.
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uranx6
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
Rather than Action, *ACTION* fits this manga better.

Story-8
The story are quite generic. Simply put, it's a story about heroes battling against villains. Onepunchman add gimmick such as hero rank system, which shows how the heroes regulated by government. Nothing mindblowing but for an omnipotent hero like Saitama, this actually could build a sense of growth which I don't expect from one-hit-kill main char.

Art-10
Yuusuke Murata providing a generous amount of action scene for this series. No really, when you see action it means real ACTION. 18-20 page for weekly release are just not enough to capturing the awesomeness that put other battle mangas to shame. Arts, details, drawing techniques; IMO it's handsdown the best among manga, or (on some chapters) even comparable to high-end OVA.

Character-9
The diversity of character in OPM is enormous. Major character are consist of heroes though since most monsters/villains are gonna be one-hit-Ko'ed anyway. The main char Saitama portrayed as somehow indifferent hero, neither openly shows hot-blooded sense of justice nor having no justice at all. This generates a pivot point for diverse kind of heroes that appears in the story.

Enjoyment-10
I highly enjoy this series. Rather than push pull battle scene which showing U-turn win-lose-win pattern, it just show how the protagonists win the battle. If 1 hit is all we need to beat the opponent, why do we need to throw new fancy techniques each chapter just to be countered by the opponent on the next chapter? Even 1 hit kill could be interesting if it compensated in another department, on this case OPM leads huge margin by the detailed drawing of battle scenes.

Overall-9
An exemplary of what a battle manga could achieve. So smooth that you could breeze over the chapter in just a few seconds, but without reducing reader's interest to re-read again.
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Knightmare_Otaku11
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
When I started reading OP-Man I though i was gonna get into just another popular shonen.

I could not be more wrong. This manga shows from the first chapter that the reader is not gonna read about a Goku, or a Luffy, or a Naruto, Ichigo... (You know, those shonen protagonists who get gradually stronger by overcoming obstacles) Saitama is so strong that he can defeat (and utterly blow up) ANYTHING without even trying. And he is extremely unhappy because he cannot get a real challenge.

Story (9): The plot is not complicated, heroes vs monsters. It is as easy as that. What makes me give it a 9 is something you realize soon after you start reading this manga. It is a satire. A satire of all your typical shonen stereotypes, and it is done masterfully. That is how can you get invested into a simple heroes vs monsters story in which the main character is invincible.

Art (10): Yusuke Murata is amazing. Perfect in every sense. The art is outstanding and the fights are incredible,and some of the most well-drawn combat scenes that come to my memory belong in this manga.

Character (10): You could hate Saitama as a main character and you should still give this manga a 10 in this category. Secondary characters are amazing. IMHO some of the heroes rank among the best secondary characters in shonen manga. Most of the monsters are incredibly cool and special mention to Garou, who is one of the best anti-heroes ever protrayed in a manga. Period.

Enjoyment (10): When you have a plethora of awesome heroes fighting utterly terryfing, hellish strong monsters, you really can't get enough of it.

Overall: (10): One of the very best shonen manga. It is an absolute must-read.
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Kagamihara-chan9
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
OPM is a great Shonen manga that also parodies the genre.

Despite its predictable conclusion of "Saitama will punch it," the battles actually tend to be quite intense. This is mostly because Saitama often isn't in the battles, and never really "saves," the other people involved in the battle. Saitama is often preoccupied with another fight, or is completely clueless about the battle taking place. This actually sets the stage for all the other fighters to have some nice battles where the power levels are pretty even. Along with the fantastic art, OPM actually functions as good Shonen, even if it sets out to parody it.

Like I said, it parodies the genre at the same time. Saitama is a joke on the classic Shonen hero; unstoppable, always wins, but described to be "your everyday hero, the average guy." Genos is a joke on the more edgy characters with tragic backstories that look 10x more powerful than the main hero, but in reality they aren't at all. There's another character later, "Bang," who is the stereotypical wise martial arts instructor. Several characters are non allusion jokes, like "King," or "Pri-Pri-Prisoner." Overall, a very funny manga as well, and mixes action and the comedy fantastically. It knows when to be serious, and it knows when to be a complete joke.

As a whole, OPM is incredibly enjoyable to read. You'll find several references to other Shonen stuff, and even some jokes about Western stereotypical heroes. The worst part about it is how short the chapters are, chapters that don't come out too often either. In summary, I give it a 9/10.
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stardreaming9711
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
One Punchman follows the daily life of the superhero Saitama, on his journey to find a worthy opponent. What makes him different compared to other superheroes? As the title already suggests, he's so overpowered that he can finish all his opponents with a single punch. "Sounds quite boring" is what I thought at first. It's for sure hard to make a story interesting where the protagonist is that overpowered. But the authors did such a great job with it. Its humour is what really makes it so good. saitama rarely gives a fuck, forgets the faces/names of his rivals, is kinda selfish and he doesn't take his work as a hero very seriously.

It's the combination of his overwhelming strength, his unimpressive attitude, his personality and his will to find a worthy opponent that makes this show so great.

Story:
There is not much to say except for that the story is pretty simple and easy to follow. It's nothing special, but it doesn't matter because it's not the story making it good. The only thing that's really bothering me is that most of the time it feels like the new stronger monster/monsters are just appearing out of nothing.

Art:
It's pretty good, but also not the best I've seen. But it's unique and fitting for sure.

Character:
The main characters are the ones who give life to the manga. Every character in Saitama's "squad" is unique and contributes to the story. They are the only ones who recognize Saitama real power and its the interplay between them that makes it so good.

All in all, I think this show really outstands because of it's incredibly good combination of comedy and action.
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aish_y14
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
One-Punch Man is just like what the title sounds - A main character who can literally one punch kill everything. Now , what's the fun about an overpowered BALD main character who can defeat gargantuan monsters and meteorites in just a punch ? Everything. One-Punch Man is a series that deviates from the general shounen rule of : New enemy comes out and destroys the main character , leading the main character to train and power up and repeat. This makes it utterly fresh to the eyes and this is not a manga to be taken seriously because of it and the sheer idiocy of this made the enjoyment so much better than its peers.

Story : 5/10

The story is pretty linear. One-Punch Man basically revolves around a boy named Saitama who defends cities after cities from evil overbearing monsters aiming for world domination and the sorts. He literally one punches everything and everything would be solved , but this was the problem. He was too overpowered that he had already lost the motivation to fight any more because everything just ends in one punch. But that was not the case forever since the readers are shown his past where he was not yet BALD and looked like an eggplant head , showing that he was actually weak even before the series started and had trained for years just to achieve his power today.

But even so , after defending so many cities , he remained unknown as a hero and a fellow hero , upon seeing his retarded power begged to be his disciple and both of them took on the tests to become official heroes. The storyline is basically like that , sweet and simple with Saitama trying to achieve his well-deserved S-ranked Hero class. There are hardly any plot twists or any sub plots other than this simple storyline which made the storyline suffer just a little bit.

Art : 7/10

One glance at Saitama and you would be wondering , ' What the hell am I watching ? '. It's simply because Saitama is a character that looked as though an elementary school kid could draw easily because of his simple design that could even put One Piece's characters to shame. However, the author had shown that he had purposefully did that to Saitama's character design and it's evident that he could draw masterful pieces of art if you'd compare the other characters , especially the bosses of each arc. The amount of details spent on each bosses are exceptional as they looked as though they were ripped out from Gantz , which is renowned for its high quality drawings that looked realistic compared to its peers.

Character : 4/10

Each character are given a set of personalities but this is really where the series is lacking. Although there are several characters introduced throughout the series , one could not help but think that these characters were merely introduced just so that they can hype up the arc's boss - in other words , flaunting of it's power before Saitama one punches it like usual. So far of most characters that had been introduced , most of them fall under this category sadly to say and Saitama's disciple , Genos , which is arguably the series' second main character is not spared from this.

However with that said, not all characters are just fodder-type material as although Genos fall under the category as stated above , he was given ample character development and serve well as the secondary character because Saitama is usually absent until he decides to show up just to deliver the final blow and the humour of Genos taking the credit because of the civilians watching their fight is overused , yet it's still funny to see Saitama being irked and pissed about it.

Enjoyment : 9/10

This is where the series truly shines because it's original and gives the readers a break from the usual shounen power ups as stated in the introductory paragraph. The story is predictable and yes , Saitama would just one hit everything but it's extremely enjoyable to see him being distressed about his own power. And the back story given of why Saitama lost all of his hair and became a bald eggplant was hilarious and his superbly simple design would probably paint a smile on one's face. The series is clichéd beyond hope but for some reason , the readers are able to enjoy it and it's something that cannot be described through words but rather only could be explained by reading it.

Overall : 7/10

I originally wanted to give this series a 6 out of 10 but I simply had to add one point because of the sheer enjoyment I had through reading it. I would definitely recommend this series to people who are tired of seeing convenient power ups from other popular shounen series because the concept of an overpowered main protagonist that is distressed because of his own power is fresh.
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porchpuppy11
Apr 15, 2021
One Punch-Man review
Ah, that feeling of boredom eating away at you when you have godlike stats in your game. Or just passing any test in school with no sweat. That's what Saitama, our protagonist in this action shounen manga, similarly felt when all of his enemies, big or small, fast or slow, all fall down, or worse dissipate into thin air, with one punch. Yes, 1 punch is all it takes, and thus the title of this manga. Worse of all, he is being underestimated because of his mundane looks and attire, like some crappy '80s superhero in tights. It doesn't even help that he joins an organization of heroes who look down on him too. And thus we follow his story of looking for his best contender in the whole universe!

At first one may be put off with Saitama's character design because of his looks, to some it may be enough to detract themselves from reading this manga, and his looks greatly contrasts with his newfound sidekick Genos, a white-haired bishie cyborg with equipment that can rival Iron Man's who wants to be trained under Saitama's tutelage, as well as other heroes and villains who have way too cool designs and gadgets with them. But this is okay, because it is compensated by the great variety of designs, and even the details of their hands are different. 

As for the characters themselves, you can't help but feel for Saitama, who even though strong, is left with a boring superhero life. Genos' development is such that he realizes his cyborg body may not be enough to defeat all those who stand in his way, and thus he strives to improve himself as Saitama's sidekick, much to the master's chagrin. Villains though are cliched, and are rather made to prove that Saitama overpowers them in a match. Even so, their interactions with each other are hilarious, especially when Saitama knocks them out.

All in all, the enjoyment factor is very high for a shounen manga, and albeit the battle scenes are quite short when Saitama enters the fray, the panels are very detailed to the point that one panel of their movement encompasses one page. Which brings us to what I think is a minor problem here. I don't know if this is one of the mangaka's quirks but detailing one page with only one movement frame of the character could slow down the pace of the manga indeed, in fact in one scene it took 2 chapters to finish one villain, and with one punch too. Nevertheless, if this is intended by the mangaka, I think it is really original for such a medium. 

Anyway, if you're into action shounen, then Saitama's antics will make your day complete! Not to mention sympathizing with him when he feels down as his day comes to an end knowing he didn't met yet his rightful rival.
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One Punch-Man
One Punch-Man
Author Murata, Yusuke
Artist --