One-Punch Man is one of the latest anime's of this past season that has quickly gained popular in the genre. It takes a more comedic approach by trying to parody the 90s action super powered anime genre that was popular back then. Will it ever live up to the standard of those shows? That is something we will have to wait an see.
The story follows Saitama, just an average dude with a lifeless expression and a bald head. The one thing that makes him special is that with every new villain he fights with, no one has been able to last that long until he knocks them out with one punch. This is where the series begins as we follow Saitama fight various enemies, searching for new ones to challenge and take on, as also be a superhero at the same time. The biggest standout that this series has is the fight scenes, they are over the top times eleven! I had always thought that Dragon Ball was over the top with its fights scenes but in comparison, they need to step it up. They are fast paced and well animated, even by today's anime standard they are very good. I like the little subtle changes to the animation, especially to Saitama's face giving him a more series look to emulate the 90s style of anime.
Anytime a series takes a parody approach or even tries to emulate a genre, it will always come with criticism of being to much like what it is emulating. That being said, I can clearly see there being two camps for this show, of people either really liking this show or just hating it all together. The concept is very interesting but isn't followed through to the fullest of its potential and because of that it swims back into repetitiveness for the majority of the series. Making the fights as they go on become predictable and loose its excitement. It doesn't help the series when all the villains of the show not be as interesting or present cool ideas to keep them interesting or even a threat to our main character. An entertaining show, that is one to not take too seriously to enjoy it. One-Punch Man succeeds at making its fight look great but lacks some of the back bone to keep it interesting as the series progresses. This isn't something that can't be fixed in the future but as of right now its a decent series with a cool, funny idea that I hope they take advantage of in the future. Rating:
