Started Reading Onepunch-Man

I haven't started a new manga series in a long time. While reading other manga at manga sites, I saw Onepunch-Man on the front page and started reading it. The series turned out to be hilarious parody of the superhero genre, with overpowered characters, plenty of action (and gore), and a lot of ridiculous and funny moments. I think I'm going to follow and maybe even blog about this manga, especially since I don't have much motivation to watch anime these days.

To those who haven't started the series, Onepunch-Man is based on a web comic by ONE and illustrated by Yuusuke Murata of Eyeshield 21 fame. It's the story of Saitama, an average guy who became a hero to put some excitement into his life. After grueling training and becoming completely bald in the process, Saitama became so incredibly powerful that he can defeat any foe with one punch in addition to having unparalleled speed, reflexes, and durability. However, Saitama is frustrated because fighting monsters and saving the world is not exciting anymore, and on top of that Saitama discovers that nobody knows him despite saving the world several times. And thus currently Saitama joins the Hero Organization and tries to work his way up the rankings and build his name.

What makes Onepunch-Man so funny is the contrast between Saitama's plain appearance and his incredible abilities. On one hand Saitama worries about pinching pennies and average everyday issues, but on the other hand he is nonchalantly defeating super-powerful enemies with one punch. The hilarity is compounded by the reactions of other super-powered heroes and villains when they witness Saitama's one-punch KOs, and the many "internet meme" faces that are used (probably due to the series' web comic roots). The basics of the gags are the same from chapter to chapter, but it hasn't gotten old for me yet. It'll be interesting to see if Saitama will eventually encounter an opponent, whether another hero or a mysterious being (monsters), that can finally give him a good fight. As things stand now, anything that can be hit and damaged by a punch probably has no chance against Saitama. The series seems to be generating some buzz, and hopefully it'll continue to deliver.