One-Punch Man

One-Punch Man
Cover of the first One-Punch Man print volume
ワンパンマン (Wanpanman)
Genre	Action, Science fiction, Comedy, Superhero
Manga
One-Punch Man (webcomic)
Written by	ONE
Published by	Self-published
Original run	July 3, 2009 – ongoing
Manga
One-Punch Man (remake)
Written by	One
Illustrated by	Yūsuke Murata
Published by	Shueisha
English publisher	NA Viz Media
Demographic	Seinen
Imprint	Jump Comics
Magazine	Young Jump Web Comics
English magazine	NA Weekly Shonen Jump
Original run	June 14, 2012 – ongoing
Volumes	5

One-Punch Man (Japanese: ワンパンマン, Hepburn: Wanpanman) is an ongoing Japanese webcomic created by an author using the pseudonym ONE, which began publication on his personal homepage on June 3, 2009. The series quickly went viral and has since surpassed 10 million hits, with an average of 20,000 hits a day.^[1] The name is an obvious play on the long-running children's character Anpanman, as punch (パンチ, panchi) is not usually shortened to pan.

A stylized digital manga remake of One-Punch Man illustrated by Yūsuke Murata began publication on Shueisha's Young Jump Web Comics website on June 14, 2012. The idea for the remake began when Murata approached ONE on Twitter to discuss a possible collaboration.^[2] Viz Media has licensed the remake for English serialization in its Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine.^[3][4]

Plot

The story takes place in a the fictional metropolis of City Z, Japan. The world is full of strange monsters that mysteriously appear and cause many disasters. Saitama, the protagonist, is a super powerful hero who easily defeats the monsters or other villains with one punch. However, after becoming too strong, Saitama becomes bored of his powers and is always trying to find stronger opponents who can fight him.

On his adventures, he meets new friends, enemies, and his own disciple, the cyborg Genos, and joins the Hero Association in order to gain fame for all of his actions to prevent evil. Despite defeating many strong monsters that even the Hero Association’s top heroes are unable to defeat, Saitama struggles to gain respect.

Characters

Main characters

Saitama (サイタマ)

Saitama is a powerful hero who easily defeats all of his opponents with a single punch. He is a thin man at the current age of 25 and is bald, supposedly due from his excessive training. Saitama has always been heroic, saving the innocent from the strange Mysterious Beings that appear in his world; however, he never receives any credit for it. After defeating so many without effort, he feels bored and empty inside, endlessly searching for opponents that will actually pose a challenge to him.

Saitama originally was an ordinary man constantly looking for a job who became depressed after many rejections. One day, Saitama saves a child from a monster. This actions spawns two major consequences: the child's powerful relative creates the Hero Association, and Saitama decides to become a hero like the ones from his childhood. After training every day for three years with an inhuman workout routine of 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and 10 km running, he gains superhuman strength and speed but loses his hair. Although Saitama believes his strength is a result of everyday workout, Genos finds it ludicrous.

Genos (ジェノス, Jenosu)

Genos is a cyborg who decides to become Saitama's disciple after being witness to Saitama's easy-victory against Mosquito Girl. Genos pesters Saitama to mentor him and even offers a bribe. Saitama finally accepts Genos as his disciple. Genos tells Saitama about the Hero Association when he hears Saitama's complaints about not being recognized despite his actions, and they both decide to take the official hero exam and become registered super heroes. Genos becomes an S-class hero after getting a full score on his tests, while Saitama only earns a C-class ranking.

Before meeting Saitama, Genos was a normal happy boy who lived with his family. One day when Genos was 15, a crazy cyborg destroyed Genos' town, killed his family, and left Genos alive and majorly wounded. Professor Kuseno (クセーノ博士, Kusēno-hakase), a doctor of justice, found Genos and modified him into a cyborg at Genos' request. From then on, Genos fought for justice while searching for the cyborg who destroyed his town.

Heroes Association and other Heroes

S- class heroes

• Pri Pri Prisoner - Rank 17: a hero who places himself in prison so he doesn't "attack cute boys". Due to his large muscle mass, his clothes often tear apart, leaving him to fight nude in most of his appearances.
• Metal Bat - Rank 16: a delinquent who wields a metal bat.
• Tank Top Master - Rank 15: a practitioner of the tank top style of fighting, who is much more level headed than his brothers, who bear a grudge against Saitama.
• Genos - Rank 14: a cyborg, and newest member of the S class.
• Lightspeed Flash - Rank 13: a hero who is very fast (though Saitama is still much faster than him). he uses a sword but is capable of martial arts as well.
• Watch Dog Man - Rank 12: a highly efficient hero who is always seen wearing a dog costume.
• Super Alloy Darkshine - Rank 11: a bodybuilder whose muscles are stronger than metal, and lost all his hair from training like Saitama. He was originally a weak child who couldn't even lift small weights, building up to superhuman levels over time. Despite his immense strength however, he does not have the conviction to match.
• Pig God - Rank 10: a hero who is always eating, and defeats his enemies by swallowing them.
• Engine Knight - Rank 9: a hero who is shrouded in mystery. He warns Genos to beware of Metal Knight and that he is their enemy.
• Zombieman - Rank 8: a practically immortal hero who can regenerate from any wound., later revealed to be a former test subject of the house of evolution. After seeking out the house of evolution, he has become aware of Saitama's true power.
• King - Rank 7: at first believed to be the most physically powerful man on the planet, feared by others in the S class, he is actuality a completely normal human who has accidentally been credited for most of Saitama's achievements. He and Saitama get along well in spite of this, as King never claimed responsibility himself. The only two things abnormal about King are his above average gaming skills and his exceptionally loud heartbeat when scared, which is ironically feared by his enemies.
• Metal Knight - Rank 6: a mysterious hero who uses remotely-controlled robots with high destructive capability, whose real name is Bofoy.
• Child Emperor - Rank 5: a child genius and inventor, former assistant of metal knight.
• Atomic Samurai - Rank 4: a skilled samurai who claims he can cut anything.
• Silver Fang - Rank 3: a martial artist, Master of the "Water Stream Rock Smashing fist" and one of the few people to know Saitama's true power, his real name is Bang. Has an older brother named "Bomb" who is the Master of the "Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist".
• Tornado of Terror- Rank 2: an Esper, who is much older than she appears. Despite this, she acts childishly and is not above insulting or attacking people who annoy her.
• Blast - Rank 1: a hero whose whereabouts are currently unknown. He is said to show up on his own terms and seldom responds to requests from the Heroes Association.

A-Class Heroes

• Lightning Genji- Rank not disclosed- his appearance strongly resembles the boss character "Spark Man" from the old Mega Man video game franchise. He is send to D-City to investigate the cause and defeat of a giant (that was incidentally defeated by Saitama)who has destroyed both D-City and B-City.
• Heavy Kong- Rank not disclosed: he is a man resembling a wrestling caveman. He was sent to investigate mysterious-being activity in W-City.
• Biting Snake Fist Sneck- Rank 38: The lowest ranking A-Class hero, He works directly in the Heroes Association 6th Official Examination Center. He delivers seminars to heroes who have recently passed the official entrance exam. He attempts newbie crushing on heroes he feels are threat to his rank.
• Spring Mustache- Rank 33: A fairly skilled combatant resembling a matador. He is able to morph his cowl into a fencing sword. His attacks are able to pierce through granite and steel with ease.
• Golden Ball- Rank 29: His appearance is that of a typical hoodlum, he wields a mechanical slingshot which he fires transmorphic golden balls from that turn into weapons of various caliber.
• Stinger- Rank 11: A Combat expert who wields his beloved spear "Bamboo Shoot".
• Tank Top Vegetarian- Rank 9: One of the many "Brothers" of the S-Class Rank 14 hero,Tank Top Master.
• Death Gatling- Rank 8: He wears a tattered cloak and black leather clothing underneath. He wields a very powerful Gatling gun as his left arm.
• Magic-Trick Man- Rank 7:
• Blue Fire- Rank 6: A hero shown to have above average combat abilities. He wields small flame throwers underneath the sleeves of his coat.
• Heavy Tank Fundoshi- Rank 5: A hero shown to have impressive strength. He wears a loin cloth similar to those of sumo wrestlers.
• Bushidrill- Rank 4: One of the three disciples of the S-Class Rank 4 hero Atomic Samurai
• Slicing Sheman- Rank 3: One of the three disciples of the S-Class Rank 4 hero Atomic Samurai, and is a known cross-dresser.
• Iaian- Rank 2: The top disciple of the S-Class Rank 4 hero Atomic Samurai.*
• Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask- Rank 1: He is a model and celebrity with immense power and regenerative ability rivaling the S-class heroes. The majority of his powers remain a mystery. Even though it is said by other heroes he should rank up he refuses as he feels it is his duty to remain in the number one spot of A class to prevent the unworthy from becoming S-Class heroes.

B-Class Heroes

• Mushrule- Rank not disclosed. A girl wearing a bandit mask. She was sent to investigate H-City along with class B hero Horse-Bone.
• Jet Nice Guy- Rank not disclosed. He is a cyborg who's appearance is similar to Licenseless Rider. He is shown to be an average fighter.
• Saitama- Rank 6: The main protagonist of the story. He is ranked lowly due to him barely passing the hero exam.
• Mountain Wolf- Rank 3: A hero working for the "Fubuki Group" under the B-Class Rank 1 hero "Blizzard Of Hell".
• Eyelashes- Rank 2: The second in command of the "Fubuki Group".
• Blizzard Of Hell- Rank 1: An Esper, She is notorious for searching out recruits to work under her within the B-class. Her real name is Fubuki. She is the Younger sister of Tatsumaki, the S-Class rank 2 hero "Tornado of Terror".

C-Class Heroes

• Horse-Bone- rank not disclosed: A man who has a horse head and hooves and wears a business suit. He is sent to investigate H-City along its B class hero Mushrule.
• Buzz-Buzz Man- A man with an Afro haircut and wearing a long sleeve shirt that has the kanji for "fist" written on it. He is shown to have average abilities.
• All Back-Man- Rank not disclosed. His costume resembles the uniform worn by NASCAR racers. He appears to be an average fighter.
• Licenseless Rider- Rank 1: He is an average person seen fighting against odds he has no chance surviving. He is famous for travelling with and literally fighting with (as a weapon) his bicycle named "Justice".

Villains and Monsters

• Speed Of Sound Sonic: a ninja with unmatched speed (except for Saitama), he has declared himself Saitama's official rival and vows to defeat him. He is introduced as a killer-for-hire.
• Underground King: first appearing in a dream of Saitama's, he is swiftly dispatched
• Kombu Infinity: a powerful creature that ventures to Z-city in hopes of meeting the rumored "monster" residing there. It easily defeats two A-Class heroes.
• Sea King: the self-proclaimed ruler of the seven seas, his aim is to take over the surface world as well. He easily lays waste to the hero associations many heroes including S-Class Rank 17 hero Pri Pri Prisoner, and also engages in combat against Speed Of Sound Sonic. He is near invulnerable and grows more powerful (as well as changes form) while it rains. He states that when he is re-hydrated he grows closer to his original form.
• Sky King: states he will take over the world and destroy the Heroes Association in the process after the defeat of the Sea King.
• Garou: The former disciple of the S-Class rank 3 hero, Silver Fang, he has promised to become the world's first true "god" disaster level monster and crush the hero association along with all martial arts dojos. He goes on a full out "hero hunt" and his ever evolving combat abilities cause the hero association to eventually seek out a plan to stop him. He is eventually confronted by Saitama and reveals that his real reason he wanted to be a monster for was uniting humanity against him, thus stopping wars between humans.

House Of Evolution

An organization created to further human evolution and take over the world. They are led by a doctor who re-obtained his youth through science as well as made many clones of himself to take over in case he dies.

• Doctor Genus: it is shown he has at just over 70 clones, he is responsible for creating the house of evolution.
• Mosquito Girl: she is an insectoid girl who is able to telepathically communicate with mosquitoes and have them draw blood from creatures up to 50 km away. When she absorbs enough blood she transforms gaining incredible speed and strength.
• Manty: a messenger sent by the house of evolution to recruit Saitama
• Slugerous: a small dumpy looking slug man
• Frog Man: he looks similar to one of the characters from the "Frog And Toad" book series.
• Ground Dragon: a small mole creature who is capable of digging efficiently
• Armored Gorilla: the 3rd most powerful creature of the House of evolution. He resembles a giant knight in armor and is a very dangerous fighter.
• Beast King Leo: the second most powerful of the house of evolution- A large lion-headed man wearing a royal cape and crown. His powerful attacks are able to cut apart buildings and other structures just from the shock-wave alone
• Asura Rhino: a large man-beast resembling a giant rhino beetle- he is so dangerous and powerful that he is kept locked within the facility of the House Of Evolution. His killing spree rampages are said to last for up to a week nonstop.

Alien Invaders: "The Dark Matter Thieves"

• Gloryverse- undisclosed estimated disaster level: A frightening creature resembling a man with Venus flytraps for a face and hands.

• Geluganshp- undisclosed estimated disaster level: A shadowy creature possessing impressive telekinesis, he claims to be space's number 1 telekinetic.

• Melzalgald- undisclosed estimated disaster level: A grotesque, five-headed shape-shifting alien. He has the ability to divide into 5 separate bodies, each capable of taking on multiple S-Class heroes at once.

• Lord Boros- undisclosed estimated disaster level: The leader of The Dark Matter Thieves and self-proclaimed subjugator of the universe. He is a large cycloptian man with spiky hair. He wears armor and cloth resembling some Hindu deities. In the remake, he is shown wearing black armor resembling that of a knight with a white cape attached, along with a one eyed, goat skull cod piece. It would seem that he was powerful enough to fight Saitama head on for a period of time but it was later revealed that Saitama was holding back much of his strength to fulfill Boros' wish to have an enjoyable battle with an equal.

Monster Association

Created as an answer to the Hero association, the Monster association is composed of the deadliest and most insane creatures known to exist on planet earth.

• Senior Centipede- estimated disaster level of "demon": A giant centipede monster with a human face, shows up after it is perceived that Garou fails his mission to kill 100 humans.

• Royal Ripper- estimated disaster level "demon": a sadistic man in mummy wrappings who has swords in place of his hands. He is shown to get excited over cutting apart anything, enemies as well as allies.

• The Bug God- estimated disaster level "demon": A large and very powerful man resembling a cockroach and a stag beetle.

• Overgrown Rover- estimated disaster level "dragon": A very large black 6 eyed creature that behaves like a dog. It is incredibly durable and capable of firing destructive energy bursts in rapid succession.

• The Hot Rod brothers, Gale and Hellfire: disaster level never disclosed.

• Phoenix Man- estimated disaster level "demon": A man who wore a bird suit and mutated into a powerful monster.

• Monster Princess, Goddess Glasses- disaster level never disclosed: She claims to have 1000 love slaves.

• Vampire (Pureblood)- estimated disaster level "demon": he claims to be the only "true" monster, having been born into a vampire family and feeding on human blood since his childhood.

• The Great Food Tub- estimated disaster level "demon": a large gluttony monster resembling a man with large tusks.

• Devil Long Hair- estimated disaster level "demon": a tall pale man with prehensile hair which can easily pierce through flesh and deflect many enemy attacks.

• Black Sperm- estimated disaster level "dragon"- easily one of the most powerful members of the monster association. He is capable of shape-shifting his form, shrinking, enlarging, possesses unparalleled strength and stamina. He claims to be composed of 11 trillion 449 billion 1 million, 712 thousand 554 "me's", each being an individual exact copy of himself, thus the source of his ability to seemingly split up infinitely. He is also shown capable of re-merging all of these cells into a single "true form", named "Golden Sperm" who's disaster level is never disclosed but is clearly more powerful than anything the hero association had fought previously.

• Homeless Emperor, estimated disaster level "dragon": a man who acquired explosive energy powers from "God" so he claims. He is incredibly fast, but due to his abilities does not show a need for close quarters combat.

• Fuhrher Ugly, estimated disaster level "dragon": a man who's feelings of jealousy and self-hatred that manifested into strength and the ability to enlarge his body

• Gums, estimatged disaster level "dragon": a large doughy monster with small arms and legs and a mouth for a head. All that is known is it eats more than the S-Class hero Pig God. (This character also appears in ONE's other manga series "Makai no Ossan"- Old Man Of The Underworld, as a female monster, "Taberu"-lit. "To Eat" who mates by eating the males she is attracted to and combining them with her DNA inside a world that exists within her stomach).

• Evil Natural Water, estimated disaster level "dragon": another insanely powerful member of the monster association. It is capable of firing devastating high-speed jets of water, is completely immune to all forms of attack. It reacts based on the emotions of the people around it.

• Psykos, estimated disaster level "dragon": the leader of the monster association and the former colleague of B-Class rank 1 hero "Blizzard Of Hell". Also a very powerful telekinetic.

Digital Manga Release

The original manga of One-Punch Man currently has 93 chapters on the author ONE's personal website. The digital manga remake of One-Punch Man illustrated by Yūsuke Murata began publication on Shueisha's Young Jump Web Comics website on June 14, 2012. As of December 4, 2013, the series has been compiled into 5 volumes.^[5] Additionally, the author ONE does not number his chapters conventionally; such as chapter 10 being followed by chapter 10.5. The following is the list of currently released chapters:

• 1st Punch: One Punch
• 2nd Punch: Crab & Job Hunting
• 3rd Punch: A Disastrous Being
• 4th Punch: Dark Undergrounders
• 5th Punch: Itch Explosion
• 6th Punch: Saitama
• 7th Punch: Mysterious Raid
• 8th Punch: You Mean This Guy?
• 9th Punch: House of Evolution
• 10th Punch: Modern Art
• 10.5 extra: 200 Yen
• 11th Punch: The Key to His Power
• 12th Punch: Paradise Group
• 13th Punch: Speed
• 14th Punch: Don't Know You
• 15th Punch: Hobby & Work
• 16th Punch: Passed the Exam
• 17th Punch: Sparring
• 17.2 Punch: Sparring [cont.]
• 17.5 extra: Recollection of a Summer
• 18th Punch: Business Activity
• 19th Punch: No Time for This
• 20th Punch: Rumor
• 20.2 Punch: Rumor [cont.]
• 20.6 Punch: Brushing Up Yourself
• 20.7 Punch: Special Story
• 21st Punch: Giant Meteor
• 21.2 Punch: Giant Meteor [cont.]
• 21.3 Punch: Giant Meteor [3]
• 21.4 Punch: Giant Meteor [4]
• 22nd Punch: Voices
• 22.5 extra: Prison
• 23rd Punch: Threat from the sea
• 23.2 Punch: Threat from the Sea [2]
• 24th Punch: Seaking
• 24.2 Punch: Sea King [2]
• 25th Punch: Glimmer of Hope
• 25.2 Punch: Glimmer of Hope [2]
• 26th Punch: Beat-Up but Shining
• 27th Punch: Because It's Raining
• 27.1 Punch: Because It's Raining, Version 2
• 28th Punch: B-Class
• 29th Punch: S-Class
• 30th Punch: Great Prophecy
• 30.1 Punch: Shonen Jump LIVE Special Chapter
• 31st Punch: From Space...
• 31.2 Punch: From Space [cont.]
• 32nd Punch: Counter

References

External links

• Original One-Punch Man webcomic (Japanese)
• One-Punch Man remake on Young Jump Web Comics (Japanese)
• Viz Media's Weekly Shonen Jump website (English)
• One-Punch Man (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Yusuke Murata's Live Stream art channel (English)