One-Punch Manis pretty unusual as shonen battle manga go, with Saitama’s exceptional strength standing out even among other powerful shonen protagonists. However, it’s not really Saitama’s strength that makesOne-Punch Manunique, at least according to series creator ONE; it’s how he interacts with his world.
One-Punch Manstars Saitama, a fairly ordinary guy who happens to be insanely strong, and who acts as a hero for fun. While Saitama’s strength functions as the premise of the series, and is in fact a source of much of the manga’s comedy, it’s actually Saitama’s perspective on the world that draws out the most laughs. From freaking out over missing supermarket bargains to going crazy trying to kill a simple mosquito, Saitama’s personality makes the series stand out just as much as his strength does.
The contrast between his strength and the world in which he lives is filtered through his perspective on the world, and that’s where the comedy really comes from.
One-Punch Man Draws Humor From “Friction”
The Series' Humor Comes from Saitama’s Worldview
In a 2015 interview originally featured in the databookOne-Punch Man: Hero Encyclopedia,as translated and shared by fan blog OPM City Z, ONE answers a question surrounding what makesOne-Punch Mandifferent from other shonen. While he acknowledged that Saitama’s strength was the original premise he created from, he also noted that, “I also love it when a series createsfriction between drama and humor. WithOne-Punch ManI wanted to try doing that through the worldview itself, rather than through specific plot points.The series is set in a dangerous, monster-infested world, but since Saitama’s there you don’t really notice just how bleak the world is. I think it’s that friction between Saitama and the rest of the world that makes things interesting.”
When one thinks about it, it’s actually a very accurate statement, even all these years later.The world ofOne-Punch Manis constantly beset by monster attacks, which result in almost daily death tolls and mass destruction. Saitama himself lived in an abandoned city, but he never acted like that was a problem; for him, it just meant he had to pay no rent. Saitama is comedically obsessed with the little things, like the aforementioned supermarket bargains, making his concerns look ridiculous compared to the situations he often finds himself in. Without Saitama’s carefree attitude,One-Punch Manwould be a much, much darker series.
In that sense, Saitama is something of a classic fish-out-of-water, concerned with minor problems that most wouldn’t even acknowledge in the face of the real issues in the world. He can afford to be like this due to his overwhelming strength, sure, but it’s likely that even without such power Saitama would still view the world in much the same way. It’s just who he is at his core, and that’s a key element of what sets him apart from other heroes in the genre.One-Punch Manis the hilarious story that it is because of the contrast between the laid back Saitama and the devastated world he lives in, masking how dark the setting truly is.
