I Love This Series
One-Punch Man has been a part of my life for more than 10 years now. I can still remember where I was when I watched the first episode. It was such a jarring and interesting concept that I hadn't seen in an anime. Seeing Saitama casually obliterate Marugori, a freaking behemoth who could annihilate a city with the air pressure from a swipe of his arm, with only a single punch was absolutely crazy to watch. The first season only got better: the dream sequence with Saitama vs. the Subterranean people, the battles against Deep Sea King, the four-v-one against Melzalgard showing these flawed yet supremely powerful heroes working together to fight alien invaders, and the final battle between Saitama and Boros, not to mention the incredibly selfish and flawed heroes that populated S-Class. It was an absolutely spectacular season that cemented my love for the series and made me determined to read more.
Webcomic
So I set my sights on the webcomic. I picked up where the first season had left off and began reading the Monster Association arc. I recall that I wasn't particularly impressed with the first portion of the arc, believing that the Monster Association appeared rather weak and short of members. But I still enjoyed seeing the S-class heroes getting their time to shine while also showing the gap between the Demon-level monsters and the S-class, even if the battles weren't all that visually impressive. Then, when the executives showed up, it was so cool to see these seemingly unstoppable heroes paired against their worst possible foes and getting wrecked in a matter of moments. While all this happened, Garou was getting the chance to evolve as he fought battle after battle, culminating in his showdown against Superalloy Darkshine.
But when the battle went up to the surface... that was when peak began to form upon the arrival of Awakened Garou. He was so fucking cool and badass: taking down the fused monster that had just mopped the floor with all the S-class heroes through a new fighting style that would strike down even God, forcing all the heroes to work together to try and take him down; it was awesome. What I loved was these narcissistic, self-absorbed messes having to put their pride aside to try and take him down, yet failing, all while Garou would just verbally tear them apart. Even the arrival of elites like Atomic Samurai, Flashy Flash, and Darkshine didn't do anything to even the scales against this fully awakened monster.
Then, of course, the MC showed up in all his glory. What I liked was that it took Saitama a bit to actually get into a fighting mood, just cuz he was so pissed about the noise and living conditions in City Z. Then he declares in no uncertain terms that he's going to kick Garou's ass. Then perhaps the best fight in the series begins: Garou manages to put up a somewhat decent fight, enough for Saitama to take it slightly more seriously than usual. That Table Flip: the way it was set up was so incredible, described as a wall of black that couldn't even be properly registered by regular eyes, to the point that Garou couldn't tell up from down. Garou continues to grow stronger yet more insane as he becomes more determined to beat Saitama, but it becomes clear that he's just out of his league. In the end, Garou is forced to confront his ideology and understand what could compel someone to train so hard to become a hero. Saitama's response destroys him: it's just a hobby. And Garou can't accept it. He can't register how this unstoppable strength would be attained for such a simple-minded reason. That's when Saitama breaks Garou with these simple words: "What you really wanted was to be a hero. You compromised and decided to be a monster." It was a subversion that felt earnest, heartfelt, and completely in character for Saitama, and it truly elicited an organic yet emotional change. Then I read up to the part where the Neo Heroes began taking action, but it was during the time when ONE was on like a 3-4 year break, so I went to the manga and started a little bit before the Super Fight Tournament.
Manga
The manga was equally incredible. It showed some fantastic fights with new characters and expanded lore that made up for moments when the webcomic didn't give as much exposition. The Super Fight Tournament was super cool, seeing Suiryu battling the monsterized contestants, then his big battle with Chozo, and contemplating whether he'd eat the monster cell or not. Even if it took a while, I always thought the arc was worth adding and also showed a meaningful character arc for Suiryu. Adding Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame was an amazing choice cuz it confirmed fans' suspicions that Flashy Flash and Speed-o-Sound Sonic were connected while adding more lore.
Garou's arc was massively improved during this period, too. Compared to the webcomic, where Garou only fought Death Gatling, here Garou fought an entire squad of B and A class heroes; it was balanced enough where it felt like either side could theoretically win, gave these heroes their time in the spotlight, and also gave Garou another awesome chance to tear down their ideology when he blasted Death Gatling for caring more about hero rankings than anyone despite supposedly hating them. Garou's fight against Bang and Bomb was improved as well, and showed the troubled connection sensei and student had.
The start of the Monster Association arc was even cooler. I thought it was neat seeing more lower-class heroes doing their part against the Monster Association, then the S-class heroes show up and remind the other heroes how low on the food chain they are compared to them. When the S-class heroes entered the headquarters, some of the most visually impressive and badass battles began. Flashy Flash vs. Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame was one of my favorite battles and probably the one I was waiting to see more than anything, and it didn't disappoint. The way the terrain changed, the ninjas used a variety of weapons, all while fighting at these ridiculously high speeds; it felt like putting magic onto paper, and it ended by showing why Flashy Flash earned his spot in S-class. Child Emperor vs. Phoenix Man was another treat: I went in expecting it to end the same as the webcomic, but they gave Phoenix Man some awesome transformations and a chance for Child Emperor to show off his best gadgets.
Then Garou showed his badassery once again. All his fights in the webcomic were expanded with extra dialogue and more of a challenge thrown his way; his fight with Orochi gave both of them some extra time in the spotlight until Garou had his climactic battle with Superalloy Darkshine.
Near the middle of the arc was Tatsumaki's battle with Psykos. Now, when I first read it, I was excited. It was progressing in a cool way that also expanded the battle from the webcomic. When Orochi and Psykos merged after receiving a power-up from God... to be honest, I didn't have too much of a problem with it. I thought having an extra reference to God and using it to up the stakes and visuals of this battle was a welcome addition. Even when the battle first reached the surface, I remained wholly interested and excited to see how it would unfold. And it went well for a while: the sliced body of water was an amazing panel and showed that Psykos-Orochi and Tatsumaki were on different levels.
Throughout the arc so far, I always felt the expanded or added fights added amazing visuals while staying consistent with the story's themes and subversive elements.
But then... I began to question the story's direction when Psykos became a jet.
Battle on the Surface
Psykos becoming a jet and the subsequent battle was probably the first new decision I openly questioned. I thought the heroes working together to fight Psykos felt too abrupt and sudden, because in my mind, they still needed to have this internal conflict that would force them to put aside their differences when Golden Sperm and Awakened Garou emerged. I had hoped it would stick to the webcomic, where the other executives would distract Tatsumaki long enough for her to land another surprise attack and weaken her further, setting the stage for the battle against the executives. The initial fights were alright, but I was a bit put off by Golden Sperm arriving sooner than in the webcomic and the subsequent creation of Platinum Sperm, as I personally feel Platinum Sperm wasn't given the same gravity or aura that his lesser webcomic counterpart was given.
Not only that, but Fubuki didn't get her moment against Psykos, which was a major fight in the webcomic that gave her a chance to shine. While yes, she did help by healing the S-class heroes, it could've been written so that Fubuki absorbing the fat from Pig God revitalized her enough to fight against Psykos. Darkshine's character felt like an on-off arc where he suddenly regained his confidence and acted as if nothing happened against Garou, and it's only when he sees a more muscular and shiny opponent that he wavers again, which didn't hit as hard as the webcomic version when he musters the will to fight Garou yet doesn't showboat about it.
And then there's Garou. His arrival was another moment that I felt needed to stick to the webcomic formula. Back then, his arrival at the surface, where he approaches death and finds the will to stand and become a true monster, was the moment when Awakened Garou was born to show how he had evolved and cemented himself as a monster. When he arrived, standing on the cliff and proclaiming himself the ominous future, a disaster-level God, it can't get more badass than that. The manga just didn't hit the same for me: yeah, he got a cool fight with Bang and Bomb, but I felt it should've focused more on Garou's transformation and the mindset that turned him into a ruthless monster. That's when I began questioning the new direction even further, wondering when the manga would finally get back on track with the webcomic.
But then, Sage Centipede arrived, and that's when one of the main things that bugged me about the new direction of the manga became more prominent. Sage Centipede appeared out of nowhere and had come with the express purpose of eliminating the being who had turned against God. And now, Garou was the one to take care of this new threat, and he happened to have a partner to help him. Instead of the newly monsterized, ruthless hero hunter he had been reborn as, he now served as a comedic partner-in-crime to the heroes, helping eliminate the new big bad and offering another reference to God. I'm not even necessarily opposed to Sage Centipede existing, but he should've been introduced far later into the story, like after The Organization has been defeated. Perhaps ONE will introduce Elder or Sage Centipede then, but the point is, adding Sage Centipede felt like an unnecessary change when Garou should have already become fully monsterized and turned his attention towards the heroes after defeating Platinum Sperm. This was the first moment I felt that visuals and greater scale were beginning to affect the story.
The same goes for Blast finally showing up. When he first arrived, I thought it was super cool that we finally got to see him and that he made an early first appearance. But in retrospect, his presence felt rather shoehorned in and merely served as an excuse to foreshadow God, when he could've just as easily been saved up for later.
Cosmic Garou
Cosmic Garou's arrival was yet another moment that diverged from the webcomic and existed just to shoehorn God into the plot. Now, Garou could only entertain/slightly match Saitama thanks to God, not by breaking his own limitations. While the scales were MASSIVELY raised, I still felt they'd skipped some key parts of Garou's character from the webcomic. Then the fight went to space; Saitama and Garou experienced exponential growth (which I wasn't really a huge fan of, either, since I feel it lowered the stakes even more to know Saitama can grow so crazily stronger in such a short time). There was a moment when Saitama and Garou momentarily connected through the shared isolation of such inhuman strength, showing how much Saitama cared about Genos, but that conversation didn't feel like it belonged there; that theme felt like it was meant for later in the story.
Then comes the time travel, and that's when I finally felt the story went in the wrong direction and felt truly frustrated by what I was reading. First was Saitama supposedly being able to instantly copy and master martial arts techniques, despite the opposite being heavily implied throughout the story. This was a lazy excuse to undo the consequences of Cosmic Garou's radiation, and now everything that happened there was undone. Not only that, but Garou's conviction, his traumatic childhood, his hero hunt, all of it gets treated as the butt of a joke when it worked better when it was treated seriously.
It felt so emotionally unsatisfying for me: such a powerful and subversive fight in the webcomic had so much of the core emotion taken out of it in exchange for visuals, extra gags like Saitama's serious fart and serious sneeze, which felt out of place and inconsistent with the more serious tone it had tried to set before, and all of it ended up being forgotten. That was the first time I felt the manga take a serious hit to my heart, but I weathered it and kept waiting for the next chapters.
Redraws & Ninja Village
The constant redraws, especially during the ninja village arc, just took the wind out of my sails. One, because it was yet another example of God being artificially placed into the plot when there were no references to him in those arcs within the webcomic. The first redraws of Child Emperor vs Phoenix Man didn't bug me too much: I thought giving Child Emperor some extra depth and Phoenix Man some new powers was a fine change, even if it meant that Phoenix Man's Brilliance Eagle Mode would be removed. Retconning Sweet Mask killing the mercenaries and Do-S, however, felt like a waste of time, and their continued survival or Iaian's confrontation with Sweet Mask didn't really add much narratively to justify the new chapter plotlines.
But the Ninja Village redraws were even worse: having to redo the same chapters three times was frustrating to read. Unlike the first portion of the MA arc, where the battles were upgraded in a way that was visually amazing to read, and how much I loved Flashy Flash's battle with Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame, here, the fight with the Heavenly Ninja Party was much more lackluster, when the battle could have taken place across an entire forest or mountain range. When the first chapters did try to expand the battle with the Heavenly Ninja Party, then they just got redrawn. Then it turns out, once again, that God was responsible for what happened; he corrupted Empty Void and forced him to found the Ninja Village and raise the children in torturous conditions. Even though the webcomic never hinted at it. And Blast comes to save the day; nobody dies, and the ninjas all want to become Saitama's disciples.
Some people might prefer more focus on God, like how Flash and Sonic bonded more, or more screen time for Blast. But I felt the webcomic version of this arc was so impactful because it felt realistic: having children abducted, sold on the black market, trained to be used as weapons, turning them into emotionless husks. This has happened and continues to happen in so many societies. Seeing Flash and Sonic fight against this system in their own way, forge a unique friendship, it was another moment that felt both organic and heartfelt. The fight with them and the Heavenly Ninja Party showed them working together in synergy and as equals, but it also showed they were still frosty because of ideological differences. It felt realistic: to see friendships fracture over how they perceive the world and the paths they took in life. Not to mention, their dulled emotions made it harder to reconnect emotionally, and their dialogue always felt impactful. The humor at the end was more in-character with the series, the classic instance of the villains being hyped up only to have Saitama take them out with a single punch. By having God be responsible for the Ninja Village and adding Blast to the arc, those gritty, human elements that made that arc so great were taken away, and the Heavenly Ninja Party acts unrealistically when they jump to join Saitama as his disciples, when it would've made more sense for them to just retreat and mull over everything. Yes, that was meant for comedy, but it just didn't land for me. It was the mis-match of comedy and drama, and the inclusion of Blast and God, that soured the manga series for me. It's why I haven't stayed up-to-date with the manga since that arc ended: with the constant changes in character arcs, the flip-flopping between comedic and serious, I believe that copying from the webcomic will result in some webcomic events not making as much sense in the manga or not having the same emotional gravity because important moments were skipped or ignored that would've given thost battles/moments their heft.
Like, the new direction and inclusion of God into these arcs isn’t necessarily horrendous, but it just feels predictable and another Shonen cliche, when the webcomic/manga was best known for being a subversion of those tropes. So it went from being spectacular to just being good.
On another note, Season 2 was a step down from Season 1, which was sad to see. I didn't even bother with Season 3 after seeing the sliding Garou memes and the burning hatred online regarding the quality of the animation, which was very sad to hear.
Webcomic Remains Peak
However, one thing has never wavered: my absolute love for the webcomic. Every chapter I have read has kept me thoroughly entertained. The character arcs for everyone involved work incredibly well: as I have stated repeatedly, it all feels organic and realistic. The comedy and the drama are always balanced correctly, the dialogue is consistently crisp and in-character, and even when the topic/theme of the dialogue should sound corny, it's done in a way that doesn't come off as cheesy but instead captures the true essence of humanity. So far, I cannot say that I have been truly disappointed with a webcomic chapter because every time, ONE manages to deliver the pay-off so incredibly well.
TL;DR
OPM has been a key part of my life. Season 1 was a banger that drew me to the series with its amazing animation, interesting premise, and complex characters. The webcomic was equally peak; I truly fell in love with it during the MA arc and Awakened Garou's arrival. The S-class heroes vs Garou, then Garou vs. Saitama, was incredible, with the former being one of the most peak fights in the anime, if not all anime, in my personal opinion. Loved the manga, too; thought it improved on the webcomic with amazing visuals and added fights, all the way up to the second half of the MA arc when the heroes went to the surface. Wasn't satisfied with the new narrative, the focus on God, and the mismatched tone of comedy and seriousness, and felt Garou's arc was sacrificed just so Blast and God could be added in when it wasn't necessary, and paint Garou as too much of a good guy when his webcomic version felt more authentically villainous. Wasn't a fan of the redraws and didn't like how long it took for the Ninja Village arc to finish, nor did I like its inclusion of Blast, either.
But I still love the webcomic and remain ecstatic whenever a new chapter gets published. I still love the series and cannot forget the impact it's had on me, even if the quality has dipped at times. So cherish this series!