One-Punch Man by ONE and Yusuke Murata (Illustrator): Vol. 1-5

One-Punch Man is written by ONE and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The work stars Saitama, the titular, “One-Punch Man.” After years of training, Saitama has become so powerful he can defeat virtually every enemy with a single strike. There’s just one problem: according to Saitama himself, “overwhelming strength … is boring.”

To kick things off, you will find plot summaries of volumes 1-5 below.

This volume serves as Saitama’s introduction. A major supporting player, Genos (a combat cyborg), is also introduced.
This volume focuses on the, “House of Evolution,” (an organization whose single focus is the artificial evolution of humanity), the “Paradisers” (a group that doesn’t want to work for a living), and Speed O’ Sound Sonic, a super-fast ninja for hire.
This volume sees Genos and Saitama joining the Hero Association, another encounter with Speed O’ Sound Sonic, and the first introduction of heroines in One-Punch Man (“Miss Blizzard” and “Terrible Tornado”).
In this volume, a meteor threatens to level an entire city. It also serves as an introduction to the Clan of Seafolk (who want to rise from the sea and destroy humanity)
This volume focuses in on the Clan of Sea Folk, and the “Deep Sea King” specifically. This volume also includes a bit of bonus material where Saitama encounters bank robbers and hi-jinx ensue.

With that said, what’s great about this work?

Saitama is great as a leading man, even if is characterization can be a little bit inconsistent (e.g. vacillating between wanting fans and not caring about public opinion). Aside from being a total badass, he also gets great lines like: “human strength lies in your ability to change yourself!”
The visual elements of the work are jaw-dropping; Murata’s work really helps bring the action to life
The differences in medium means the manga can focus more on character interaction and nuance than the anime. Neither is inherently better or worse, of course; I’m just glad to get more of characters I love. This extra content also includes “omake” (or bonus) chapters that add additional backstory and characterization.
Many scenes that were great in the anime were great in the manga, too (e.g. Mumen Rider’s big moment, Saitama and Genos’ relationship).
The premise is excellent, and allows ONE to both critique and invert many of the tropes of shonen battle manga
Speaking of the premise: despite being so off-the-wall, the story addresses surprisingly adult themes. This includes ostracization and struggling to fit into society, the costs of pursuing your dreams, and what it’s like to “arrive.”

On the other hand, what are some things I struggled with?

It isn’t fair to compare the manga to the anime, but I found certain action scenes and interactions easier to parse in the anime than the manga. In volume 1, for instance, the fight with Mosquito Girl sometimes left me wondering who was responsible for what attack.
This is more of an annoyance with physical media than the comic itself, but I sometimes found that details would be lost in the binding of the manga (especially in two-page spreads).
I wasn’t bothered by the use of English “sound effects,” but I was disappointed when they were abbreviated (e.g. when “tremble” became “trmbl”) or when their positioning didn’t make sense (e.g. when “swoooo…” was splashed out over two pages but ran counter to the flow of the comic).
It took 3 volumes for a heroine to appear in the manga; they also disappear relatively soon after. I know they make a larger appearance later on in the work, but I didn’t love the lack of representation.
Puri-Puri Prisoner (henceforth referred to as P3). Ugh. For context, P3 is an S-Class ranked hero who, in his own words, is, “doing 10,000 years for getting grabby with men.” He also threatened to “deep kiss,” all the other inmates at the maximum security prison he is being held at, “as punishment.” The grossness of this is only magnified by the fact that all of the other inmates live in fear of him and his advances. If this was meant to be played for laughs, it falls on its face. Even if P3’s actions are recognized as wrong in the universe of the manga, the lack of other LGBT characters in the series means that P3 comes off mostly as a gross stereotype. No thanks.

What are my final thoughts on the work so far?

One-Punch Man is a fun shonen manga that wears its influences on its sleeve. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that allows the serious and heart-felt moments to hit that much harder. In the end, One-Punch Man has a little something for everyone: humor, superheroes, action, and surprisingly deep characters. Ultimately, if you liked the anime or are a fan of ONE’s work, this one is definitely worth checking out.

Check it out here.