V Reviews - One Punch Man: One hit wonder, or something more?

Let's go back a few years. 2015 was a mediocre year for anime. Only a handful of titles were really good, with lots of the "best of" rewards going to a select few, or to second/third seasons of an ongoing anime (like JoJo), or even to anime that started airing in 2014 (Like Shirobako and Your Lie in April).

The few new titles that ended up being above average were Assassination Classroom, Food Wars, Death Parade... and obviously the phenomenon called One Punch Man.

And One Punch Man truly was thé hype anime of 2015. It only took one episode until people started loving it and started jumping on the hype train.

So let's get back to this one and review it properly.

V Reviews - One Punch Man Season 1

Backstory? The Dream of EVERY webcomic artist ever

The story of web artist turned mangaka "ONE"is truly is a Hollywood story of how a Japanese guy making web comics somehow created one of thé hypes of both 2015 and 2016 (and if Season 2 of OPM is any good, then even 2017!).

Lots of people like to draw comics and many of them publish those comics on the internet. And you can call yourself pretty good if a few thousand people are reading your stuff on a daily/weekly basis. You can call yourself amazing if you end up having a million readers or more, let alone do that for several years ongoing.

But how did a webcomic like One Punch Man slide under our radar for so long? Well, it's the same reason why so many other great comics (both on the web and on paper) slide under the internet radar: it's in the author's native language instead of English. In this case thus: Japanese.

To give an indication of how popular it got in Japan: The web comic got launched in 2009 and after the peak of its first hype (back in June 2012), the site already passed 7.9 million hits... from a limited audience that can read Japanese. It's a number that many comic creators can only dream of, even if publishing in English. And that was only the beginning.

In 2012, Eyeshield 21 mangaka Yusuke Murata was looking for a new hit after his Eyeshield manga ended and his next attempts all "misfired". Let's put it like this. He's an amazing artist, but his storytelling skills are... ehhh....

Yeah, I re-used an image. It's still relevant!

After reading the One Punch Man web-comic Yusuke contacted the web comic creator with the pen-name "ONE". They started collaborating and made a few one shots. And after they figured out they could work well together, Yusuke started creating a manga variant of the One Punch Man web comic. Same story, but with actual top-quality graphics. It got quickly published in Shueisha's Weekly Young Magazine online edition and it became an instant hit.

After that, it quickly got picked up by Viz for an English release and in 2015 it was picked up for an anime release as well. And from that point onward, more and more people were looking at the series for the first time and started falling in love with it.

So now, there's a 12-episode series, a special, a 6-episode OVA which was included on each DVD release and a second season in the making. So the hype-train is once again set on full force!

On a side-note, if you want to read the original (crude) web comic, you can visit ONE's original website: galaxyheavyblow.web.fc2.com

Story

Saitama is a jobless guy who took it upon himself to train his ass off to become a hero. And after three years of intense workout (so intense he lost ALL of his hair), he somehow obtained godlike powers.

An amazing workout routine

Saitama is suddenly able to take enemies out with One single Punch. What does he do with those powers? Nothing, really... He had hoped to become a superhero, but forgot a few of the basic steps to become a registered superhero (you know, like actually trying to register).

He does fight the monsters in his neighborhood. But since he can take them out in one punch, the fights usually bore him.

"Okay". The face of many memes

After being annoyed by a mosquito and trying to kill every single musquito he sees, he encounters and incidentally saves the Cyborg Genos.

Saitama hunting a mosquito is the most satisfying thing ever...

Genos is so impressed by Saitama's powers that he instantly wants to become his apprentice. And while Saitama is initially opposed to the idea of him being a mentor (he doesn't see himself as very special), he's convinced pretty quickly when Genos suggests he will cover the rent for their apartment.

Together they have a mission (somewhat) to turn Saitama into a registered, popular and respected hero.

The entire show has a "Monster of the week" formula in terms of storytelling, but the ongoing story of Saitama's journey to become a respected hero while being overshadowed by Genos. And boy, the dark comedy that's layered all throughout the series, make it very enjoyable to watch and keep watching.

Characters

While there are lots of minor characters in this series, the following can be counted as the main cast:

	Saitama: The hero of the story. If you need to cut this character open, you'll see pieces of Luffy (One piece), Gintoki (Gintama) and even Takashi Kamiyama (Cromartie High School). Overall an interesting character who can act very weird and lazy at one moment, jealous and greedy at other moments, but heroic when needed.
	Genos: The lone survivor of a brutal assault by a crazy cyborg. Became a full-body cyborg himself to get revenge. But when faced with Saitama's power, he decided to become his apprentice to become a better man himself. Gets (partially) destroyed a few times throughout the series, but due to him being a cyborg he's restored (and upgraded) prety easily.
	Speed-o-Sound Sonic: The Redundant redundancy ninja. Is an assassin/bodyguard for hire and the most recurring antagonist of the show. He has a fixation on killing Saitama, but is obviously unable to do so. Watching Sonic and Saitama interact is like watching the Roadrunner cartoons with the roles switched around (which is actually just as hilarious to watch).
	Mumen Rider: A parody on Kamen Rider. Is a guy with a bike who tries to save people. He somehow always shows up where Saitama is saving the day and sometimes even gets credit for the work that Saitama does. Though all in all, he's just a nice guy!
	Bang: The Martial arts master. The third ranked S-class hero and one of the first who sees through Saitama and recognizes his immense power. He wants Saitama to inherit his martial artist "school", but he obviously doesn't feel like it.

Art and Animation

You know that animation can either make or break a good anime series. But goddammit, they REALLY nailed it with this one. Studio Madhouse has taken the license for the anime (a name that is a quality label by itself).

Boom! Nailed it!

But if you hear people say One Punch Man is more of a Bones anime than a Madhouse anime, that's mostly due to Madhouse getting in contact with Bones regular "Shingo Natsume" and his book of talented (freelance) animators. Shueisha and Madhouse wanted top notch animation and absolutely wanted Shingo on this, since he has become a brand name by itself (animating/directing series like Welcome to the NHK, Ikki Tousen, Guren Lagann, Space Dandy and others).

And you see throughout the series that this has been directed by somebody who has been an animator for his entire career and can communicate very well with his fellow animators. The show flows really well and there are some animation elements visible from Guren Lagann and Welcome to the NHK).

On a side-node. If you want to know more about Shingo and his book of animators, Youtuber The Canipa effect did a two-parter focusing on the animation of One Punch Man. Go watch part one and part two here. Go give it a watch. He deserves it!

Sound

The soundtrack sounds good, but it's really the Opening song ("The Hero" by The Jam Project)that stands out!

There's only a limited number of Opening songs I'm willing to let play without pushing the "skip" button on my media player, but this is certainly one of them. A song clearly made for the show, but it's full of power and invites to sing (or yell) along.

Personal opinion and conclusion

In a year that was overall pretty mediocre, this is the one show that rose above it all and ranked in the highest position for many best-of-the-year lists (including mine). This is an amazing show I've loved watching from beginning to end without breaks and has lived up to its hype.

Is it for everyone? Probably not. This is and remains a somewhat dark comedy with superheroes and monsters. It's seinen by nature. So if you're not into hero shows, or if you're more into lighthearted and moe-type animes, you probably won't like this as much. But it's a must-see for everyone else!

My score: 9.5/10: Near perfect! Can't wait for what Season 2 brings this coming fall.

On a side-note: This review came out nearly two years too late...

Yeah, um... I have to apologize for this review. This is a review that has been sitting on my "to do list" since 2015. This has been fully written and was supposed to be published after my Fate Stay Night review and my Ghost in the Shell Arise review (which is also still in "concept mode" on this blog).

But due to season two being in the works and an upcoming review for Mob, I wanted to get this out of the way first.

So next review is Mob Psycho 100. Until then, V out.

V Reviews - My Hero Academia: One hair will change your life!

Ever since Marvel started their cinematic Universe, heroes have become more popular than ever before. It's only natural then that even the manga world starts to pick up on the trend and create heroes themselves.

And there have been several attempts at hero-related manga, both in the past and today (with various degrees of success).

There have been great series like Zetman, Ratman, Tiger & Bunny and obviously One Punch Man (just to name a few). But one hero show has conquered many hearts in both the East and West. This is My Hero Academia

Ready? Let's get this show on the road.

V Reviews - My Hero Academia (Season 1)

Let's dig into some backstory first...

Kōhei Horikoshi is a mangaka from 1986 who required some time to actually get a long running series from the ground.

He started off as an assistant to Yasuki Tanaka, creator of Kagijin. Whilst doing this, he also created a few one-shots to get his own career started.

But don't worry if you have never heard the name of Yasuki Tanaka before. Kagijin was cancelled after two volumes and none of Tanakas other series stuck as well. Kagijin is literally the last recorded manga Tanaka worked on.

So without a steady mangaka to work for, Kōhei had to start creating a series that could get himself launched in the industry. In 2010 he got his first manga running, named Oumagadoki Zoo. This series sadly enough lasted only for 5 volumes before it was canned.

Not too long after that, he tried with the series named Barrage (first as a one-shot, then as a series). But that one didn't do that well either, and after TWO volumes it got canned.

After that, two years of nothing with only 1 one-shot manga that got published. But that is only looking at recorded works. Who knows how many attempts at a new series were refused by Jump's editors?

Look, even Hattori isn't impressed.

But then in 2014, Kōhei finally got a manga series started that is still running today: Boku no Hero Academia (My hero Academia). Kōhei has truly struggled hard to obtain a long-running series. So let's celebrate that he finally has a franchise that is favored well by manga readers and anime viewers alike!

And well-liked it is. The manga has already generated two spin-off manga's, a video game and now also an anime that is going into its second season this spring!

Edit: Oh, and on a side-note: You can follow Kohei on twitter @horikoshiko.

Story

The world of My Hero Academia is one where more than 80% of all people have a superpower (called kosei, or "Quirks"). Some people use them as "tools" in their daily life, while others become either villains or actual superheroes.

Our protagonist Izuku Midoriya has been dreaming his entire life to become one of these superheroes and starts to adore them. His biggest idol is the superman-like hero "All Might". But Izukus dreams are crushed when medical tests have proven he has no quirk at all.

Could YOU tell him he can't become a hero when he makes a face like this?

But even with no powers, he continues to adore Superheroes and fills notebooks with info about them, much to the annoyance of other kids with powers. These kids end up bullying him, with rival character Katsuki Bakugou at the helm of all this.

But after All Might accidentally releases a villain he just caught, said villain catches up to these bullies and catches Bakugou. The monstrous blobby villain wants to "absorb" Bakugou and use his explosive powers for his own. But since the villain leaves parts of the absorbed Bakugou on the outside (and thus make him appear as a hostage), nobody of the existing heroes is able to do something about this (out of fear of killing the hostage).

"Wait, this kid can use explosions? Coooool..."

When Midoriya enters the scene and sees this happening, his legs start moving on their own and he wants to go help his "friend" / bully. The powerless Midorya is obviously unable to do anything, but he's able to distract the monster long enough for All Might to jump in and save the day.

One PUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!

Inspired by Midoriya's actions and his backstory, All Might decides to make Midoriya the inheritor of his powers.

Why is he looking for an inheritor? Because a wound he received years ago is seriously decreasing his ability to act as a hero and it's only growing worse by the time. All Might explains that his Quirk "One for All", can copy his powers onto Midoriya... as long as he absorbs All Might's DNA somehow.

As you might guess... If this was a hentai, it would be indeed be via sperm or spit or something similarly disgusting. Since this is a shonen, it's kept to the the awkward act of... eating his hair.

You won't get no dessert 'till you clean off your plate, so EAT IT!

The rest of the story focuses on Midoriya's story into becoming an actual hero in the U.A. Academy and becoming accustomed to All Might's high power with an equally destructive side-effect.

Characters

	Izuku Midoriya: Main character. He's a hero fanboy who desires to become a hero himself. After he acquires the "One for All" power, he becomes the textbook definition of a glass cannon. His story focuses on both becoming a true hero, as well as accepting this overwhelming power that disables him just as much. Fun note: Midori(ya) = green, which is present in his color scheme.
	Katsuki Bakugou: Starts out as the bully of Midoriya, but ends up becoming the rival character. He looks like Bleach's Ichigo with a superiority complex and a very short fuse. The name "Bakugou" also literally means detonation (which says enough about his character).
	All Might: This universe's incarnation of the Superman archetype. But he quickly reveals that he's just a human too, since he's carrying a "war wound" from a battle of several years ago that is limiting and decreasing his time as a hero.
	Tenya Iida: The typical super-straight guy who wants to do everything by the book and becomes the class president. He's one o the first U.A. students that befriends Midoriya. His power is becoming super-fast due to jet engines in his feet.
	Ochako Uraraka: The "love interest" character for Midoriya. Wants to become a hero for money reasons (to help her poor family) and has the ability to make things and people "float" (including herself). Though this comes at the cost of becoming nauseous if used for too long. She befriends Midoriya rather quick and is the one who gives his nickname "Deku a positive spin (form "useless" to "never giving up").
	Shouta Aizawa: Eraserhead. He's the homeroom teacher of Midoriya's class and has the ability to cancel or "erase" other hero's quircks for a short time (though it gives him dry eye if used for too long).

And since this is a "high school" manga, there are tons of supporting characters in form of Midoriya's classmates. Too much to name them all, though. In this first season, most of the classmates remain as minor supporting characters. But some more time is given to Asui Tsuyu (the frog girl) and Minoru Mineta (the sticky balls guy) than others in this first story arc.

Animation & Sound

I can be very short when it comes to the animation. My Hero Academia is animated by Studio Bones. Bones = Consistent Quality animation. End of story.

When it comes to the sound, however, I'm in awe. The score is done by Yuuki Hayashi, and he did a phenomenal job. THIS is the kind of music I want in my Superhero movies or series.

While having good movies, I think it's an understatement that the music of both Marvel and DC's Cinematic Universe (and TV series) are lackluster, with only a handful of DC character themes actually being memorable (e.g. the Wonder Woman theme). Both DC and Marvel should stop playing it safe and take a few lessons from this soundtrack!

So give this OST a listen, if you can (search it on Youtube, or buy the CD). It's one of the best OSTs I've heard from 2016!

Any negatives?

My Hero Academia a typical Shonen action anime. This means that this anime is filled with lots of anime tropes and is lacking in complex storytelling or characters. So if you're looking for the "critical darling" of 2016, you're at the wrong address here.

But on the other end... This IS a hero anime with a positive vibe. If you wanted a critical breakdown of the hero genre, go read Zetman instead (but don't bother watching that anime adaptation.)!

Personal opinion and Conclusion!

In my honest opinion, My Hero Academia is a perfect gateway anime, especially for people in the west who love their TV-series colored "hero"!

With that I mean that it's perfect to suggest to your friends if they want to experience what a typical anime is about, without going to "deep" or "weird" in storytelling. It's something that anyone of any age can enjoy.

This is also a perfect replacement for people who felt sad that Naruto and Bleach have ended and want something else that is equally digestible.

Personally, I certainly can enjoy a well-crafted Shonen action series like this. I enjoyed the first season and am definitely looking forward for the second season!

I'm giving this a solid 8.5/10.

Until next time, V out.