Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 19, by One and Yusuke Murata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2020

Volumes: 22+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 18. 20.

 

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!

The Monster Association has kidnapped Tareo, the boy who admires Garo, and now Garo finds himself plunging headfirst and alone into the heart of the Monster Association’s hideout. Meanwhile, the Hero Association pushes forward with its operation to rescue Waganma, while Genos and the others are living it up enjoying hot pot at Saitama’s place!

 

Review:

 

While Saitama is having a hot pot night at his house, fighting over the meat, Garo is getting a boy out from the villains lair. He says he doesn't care, but for some reason he seems to want to save this weird little boy. Most of this volume is taken up with Garo's evolving indestructibility. The more he fights, the more he wants to fight and win, and the stronger he appears to become.

Honestly, there was a lack of Saitama in this volume.

It looks like Garo is building up to potentially be the first real fight for Saitama to have. But, then again, it very well might be a while for that. And the other heroes are stilling planning to bust into the villain lair and rescue the rich boy being kept there.

 

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

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.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

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!

Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 17, by One and Yusuke Murata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2019

Volumes: 21+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 15. 18.

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!

Despite his best efforts, Garo is no match for the overwhelming skill of Bang and his brother. In fact, the hero hunter is near death when the Monster Association attempts to steal him away, unleashing Centichoro in the process. Bang and company take the threat-level Dragon monster head-on before Genos boldly enters the fray!

Review:

This league of monsters is starting to get serious. Garo is fighting three heroes off, and is only interrupted when an even bigger monster comes out to play. This interrupts their fight, and makes Saitama come out of hiding long enough to win without anyone knowing. These fights where Saitama comes and wins with a single hit, after chapters of fighting, could be seen as anticlimactic. But I just find it funny how it all dwindles so quickly and goes from such serious panels to a more comedic art-style.

After all of that, there's some recovery needed. And Saitama doesn't really want to get involved unless he absolutely has to. Which now he's being forced to do, as the monster hide-out is getting closer to being discovered and a lot of deaths are going to be on the line.

This is a fun series. I do actually enjoy reading it, mainly because of how Saitama reacts and the parody of his whole character in contrast with the uber-serious heroes.

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

Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 15, by One and Yusuke Murata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2019

Volumes: 20+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 13. 16.

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!

Review:

The monster association have proven to be smart enough to band together to fight the heroes, and now seem to be demanding their own rights and place to live. The heroes don't like this and don't quite know how to win against them. But then again, maybe the monsters don't actually want to live equally either?

During all of this political debate and fighting, Saitama and King have formed a friendship. We know King has taken all of Saitama's fame, though we discover that might be a good thing simply for the level of heroism in the world. Saitama feels so powerful he now feels empty inside and doesn't know what to live for. King gives some interesting insight into his situation, though I don't think it really consoles Saitama any.

I've only read a few volumes of this series, here and there, but I enjoy it. Saitama's struggle is understanding, though a bit hard to feel sympathy for during all this war. It's interesting to see all the politics and war happening around him, though, especially when so little of it ever reaches him.

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

Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 13, by One and Yusuke Murata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2018

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 11. 14.

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!

Class-A heroes struggle in their fight against the giant monster Multieyed Octopus. Wait, is that Class-S hero Flashy Flash joining the fight?! Unfazed, the Monster Association continues ramping up its attacks, but its goal remains a mystery. Meanwhile, the martial arts tournament reaches the semifinals!

Review:

A large group of heroes are downtown attempting to defeat these invading monsters. Some are too weak, and then Flashy Flash steps in but is showing off a bit much, so Tornado interrupts to take care of it. She don't have time for that shit.

Elsewhere, it looks like bad things are happening within the hero committee...

Meanwhile, One-Punch Man is still masquerading in the tournament, and it's finally reached the finale. Of course, he's taken out all of his opponents with one hit. But his last competition is supposedly extremely strong, and people are excited to see this. Instead, Saitama only pisses him off, when he continuously dodges and remains untouchable, even as he's knocked around. Saitama is so utterly bored, that he's trying to make this last as long as possible. It's almost sad, honestly.

This series is a lot of fun. I love seeing Saitama's antics, as he attempts to find some kind of fun in the world.

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

Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 11, by One and Yusuke Murata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2017

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 8. 12.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Life gets pretty boring when you beat the snot out of every 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!

Review:

I really wish that I was keeping up with this series. I know I would really like it, but I just haven't had the time, and I'm quickly falling behind.

I've missed a couple of volumes, and suddenly there's a huge monster attacking a city, with several other powerful villains/demons attacking throughout the city, and heroes are trying and not-quite-succeeding at defeating them. Meanwhile, Saitama is entered into a hero competition, under a different name and wearing an afro.

We get a lot of fighting from random villains and heroes all over the city, in between scenes of the competition. It's a little all over the place, but that might be because I haven't been following it and I don't know who any of them are.

The hero competition has only just begun in the second half of the volume, but I must confess—seeing Saitama defeat a guy who underestimated him with only a face slap was extremely satisfying. I really want to see more of that, honestly. They needed to include at least one of those moments in this volume.

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

Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 8, by ONE and Yusuke Murata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Spoilers?: Some.

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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!

Class-S hero King is known as the strongest man on earth. Even monsters fear him. But when a mysterious organization sends an assassin after him, the shocking truth about King is revealed!

Review:

I haven’t read any of this series since volume one, though I should probably catch up. Even though I missed so much, and I do feel like I should read more to get to know the characters better, I had an easy time getting into this volume.

We get to know King in this volume; he’s a very high level hero, all the villains are afraid of him and the citizens love him. Only, we find out that he actually has no idea how to fight and he loves girly video games. King has instead had amazing luck with looking like the hero in odd situations, when someone else has actually been inadvertently doing all the work.

I liked seeing King and Saitama interacting. I also enjoy seeing Saitama and his predecessor Genos, and how Genos tries to learn and fight without Saitama’s help. I think a lot of this would have been even more fun, had I been following the series more.

The volume ends with an interesting lead-in of a bunch of villains possibly going to cause chaos or do good things. Then there are a few extras, and those are a lot of fun.

This is a really fun series, funnier than I expect it to be, and I definitely want to get caught up with it at some point.

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

Manga Review: One-Punch Man, Volume 1, by ONE and Yusuke Murata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 1, 2015

Volumes: 9+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A manga series that packs quite the 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! Every time a promising villain appears, he beats the snot out of ’em with one punch! Can Saitama finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?

Review:

Given the covers of this series—the very serious art and expressions—I was not expecting what is inside the book. I had been somewhat warned, but I didn’t expect more of a Dragon Ball parodical superhero comedy.

This series is about Saitama, a man who decides to become a superhero and save people instead of live his boring existence. Only he gets so good at it that he can defeat any enemy with one punch, and now he’s just as bored as he was before.

I did enjoy Saitama and his struggles. He just wants something to do with himself. His boring office job was just as boring as his current superhero gig. He’s even dreaming about monsters harder to fight than the ones he’s actually fighting, the poor guy. Finally he meets a robot, who attaches himself to Saitama because he’s looking for a master. At the end of the volume, it looks like Saitama has found an organization to entertain himself with.

I like the artwork; it’s simple and comedic for the right moments, joking with Saitama’s normal life and bored existence, and then more intense and serious for the fighting and his frustrations.

This was a fun volume, and I can see why so many people are excited for it.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!