Comics / Manga

One-Punch Man: Volume 4 manga review

By Leroy Douresseaux
January 9, 2016 - 07:59

One-Punch Man Volume 4 cover image

Rated “T” for “Teen”

It was not until he was at the age of 22-years-old that Saitama started training to become a superhero.  Now, 25-years-old, Saitama is a superhero.  He simply does not look like a superhero, with his lifeless facial expression, bald head, and unimpressive physique.  But he beats the snot out of supervillains with one punch.

As One-Punch Man, Vol. 4 (entitled Giant Meteor; Chapters 21 to 24) opens, cyborg teen and Saitama disciple, “Genos,” informs his master of the new superhero rankings.  Saitama has risen from the very bottom of C-rank superheroes (#388) up to #342.  Meanwhile, a giant meteor is heading for City Z, and the Hero Association calls on A-rank Genos to stop the meteor.

Genos cannot help but wonder where the other superheroes are, until one calling himself, “Mr. Bang,” shows up.  Who will help Genos?  Will it be the mysterious old man who wants to be called Mr. Bang?  Or will it be his assuming master, Saitama, who still doesn't know that the massive space rock is headed towards the city... because it is a secret?

THE LOWDOWN:  The One-Punch Man manga may be my favorite new comic book of the year.  I think I might love it more than I do Image Comics' From Under Mountains from the team of Claire Gibson, Sloane Leong, and Marian Churchland, which is simply a fantastic comic book

In case you did not know, dear readers, Vols. 1-7 of the One-Punch Man manga is available to digital manga readers via VIZManga.com and the VIZ MANGA App for the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones and tablets.  Those same volumes can also be purchased through the Nook, Kindle, Kobo, comiXology, iBooks and GooglePlay stores.

One-Punch Man Volume 4, if you pay attention, shows how the creators are slowly allowing the series to both evolve and to reveal itself.  There is something dark about the Hero Association, or they are simply a self-indulgent bureaucracy.  Series writer, ONE, has mitigated Saitama's unbeatable punch by making him an underdog.  That might make readers love him, but, within the narrative, it makes his colleagues, contemporaries, and rivals take him for granted.

Saitama has to fight harder than anyone else.  He may be the best of them all, but circumstances leave him dismissed, forgotten, and/or ignored.  It is a good look for a superhero and is why One-Punch Man packs a lot more punch that other superhero comics

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of shonen battle manga and also adventurous superhero readers will be knocked out by One-Punch Man.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12