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Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 18, by One and Yusuke Murata


Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)
Release Date: December 2019
Volumes: 21+
Spoilers?: No.
Volume: 1. 17. 19.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Life gets pretty boring when you can beat the snot out of any villain with just one punch.

Nothing 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!

Garo has just left the Monster Association’s hideout when he crosses paths with Saitama, who’s in quite a pinch, but Saitama still doesn't know Garo is the Hero Hunter. Later, King the Ripper can no longer hold back his murderous urges and confronts Garo himself!

Review:

Garo wants to be an evil villain, but he's also not quite the same as the other villains. He doesn't want to do what they tell him to, just because they told him to. And after saving this little kid, he kinds of forms a soft spot for the boy.
Garo is also a very intense character. This is contrasted very nicely when he comes upon Saitama, who doesn't even mean to punch him but is actually just trying to hide his face.
Honestly, I still rather enjoy the humor of Saitama's straight-faced reactions and anti-climactic fights, and the silly reasons he reacts in certain ways. At this point, though, we're not getting a whole lot of that. Saitama's group of heroes are building to go fight the monsters, but that plot point is taking its time, and instead we're getting a lot of weird monster fights, and in this volume, a lot of time of Garo with the other monsters. Those scenes are just meh to me. I understand why, since this series has expanded so much and they had to throw in other content, but still.
These volumes are easy to read, for the most part, and I don't mind them. I'm not following the main plot too closely, though.


A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

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