It’s a new year, and what better way to celebrate than with a comprehensive review that barely scratches the surface of the wonders of One Punch Man?
CLICK HERE or on the image above to download our review of the 2015 anime TV series (with bonus manga discussion), featuring Daryl Surat of Anime World Order, regular co-host Tom Pandich, and special guest host Ruth Gwaltney.
We talk about humor, narrative structure, and what it takes to be a hero in this modern world.
FINAL THOUGHT:
Don’t let Saitama’s try-hard appearance in the first key visual dissuade you. One Punch Man is primarily a comedy.
The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast 
And yet another anime series I’ve never heard of before, Paul!
Anime Fun Time always reminds me how far out of the loop I am….
One Punch Man was a lot of fun and everyone should check it out.
Not too deep but still a very well produced superhero action comedy.
I do have a feeling those expecting some sort of profound message from the narrative at the end of the road or any particularly intriguing character arc resolutions will be ultimately disappointed though.
In comparison, something like Concrete Revolutio might be more of a mess, technically speaking, but it has a lot more to say. Even if half of it might as well be Sho Aikawa’s old man ramblings, there’s more depth involved. Which is fine since I don’t think OPM even wants to do that.
PS: Fist of the North Star may have been pretty good at one point in time, but in the year 2015…I am very sorry to say that it is too dated.
In fact, it just kind of sucks in the eyes of a modern audience. The tragic backstories of the villains might have been emotional once, but now they are often rather unintentionally hilarious. In terms of writing, the number of plot holes as well as Deus Ex Machina isn’t a good thing. It remains historically iconic, to be sure, but not because of its quality. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure pretty much did everything better.
Well, this podcast sold me on it, certainly, Theo!
“I do have a feeling those expecting some sort of profound message from the narrative at the end of the road or any particularly intriguing character arc resolutions will be ultimately disappointed though.”
I could understand Daryl’s reasons for the way they series was handled the way it is Had it been done elsewhere like Toei, they’d certainly throw in filler arcs and kept this puppy dog going for the long haul. It’s only glad Madhouse worked on something that’s not “Overlord” for once, but at the same time, it’s a shame there’s only 12 episodes of this (given the monthly run the manga is getting, being telegraphed from a webcomic it’s also adapted from). One one hand, it’s nice we got something at all, on the other, it’s another “Go Read The Book!” method of ending a show. I don’t know why I feel I’ve had enough of that in my life but I do. Better off reading the book and nothing else if that’s the case. Oh well.
Hearing of the show, I’m glad to see it’s not following the usual shonen action trope we’ve seen done to death for the past 30 odd years. Glad to get a titular character who actually finds it a bore and a challenge to be who he is. I’ll have to check it out sometime, though I don’t have a spare HDMI cable or I’d go fiddle with hooking my laptop or tab to the TV set if I must. That is true, we have that advantage these days (my laptop being about 6 years old yet bothers doing 720p fine without skipping) but people get sold on Roku, Chromecast and anything under the sun these days (like buying a new set with those apps installed already). We live in such ridiculous times.
Don’t diss the Chromecast, Chris! I love my Chromecast – $35, and I can stream just about any video on Google Chrome with it.
Great show, guys. I’ve been holding off on OPM for a while, but I’ll have to check it out now.
@Theo: Naw. As someone who read it a few yeara ago, i csn still say it’s still one of the best things ever made.
Thank you for talking about One Punch Man. I hardly watch anime anymore and while I’d heard some of the buzz around the show prior, it was this podcast that piqued my interest enough that I gave in and watched the first episode, immediately followed by the second. I then looked at the clock, calculated the minimum amount of sleep I needed to function at work the next day, and proceeded to watch the entire series in one evening which is a first for me. I’m currently rewatching (though only one episode/week this time) with my friends at our weekly drama/anime-watching evening and they are loving it as well. Thanks again for featuring it!