So for those of you who know me, you might know that my absolute favorite anime of all time is called One Punch Man. Not only have I watched all of the episodes which came out so far (not too impressive since there is only season 1 and 2 out rn), I also finished reading all of the manga, read all secret chapters, watched analysis videos on youtube of said chapters, and I just finished rewatching all episodes throughout this break. So just a quick overview for those of you who don’t know, One Punch Man is about this hero named Saitama who is absolutely overpowered. In this anime world, monsters appear throughout the city to attack humans, and heroes are needed to defend the people from these monsters. And since Saitama is overpowered, basically every single fight between him and a monster ends up with the monster being beaten with just a single punch (hence the name One Punch Man). Now this might not sound like an interesting story given the way I frame it; after all what’s the fun in watching a fight if every single time the victor is clearly obvious. Would anyone watch the Superbowl if they knew the Patriots would win every year? Would anyone be so passionate about the world cup if it was guaranteed that France would always come out on top? And yet, somehow, this anime absolutely captivates me; and I’ve recently been pondering what the reason for that is. 

And after a bit of reflection, I think that I have figured it out. It’s because the character Saitama possesses character traits that I deeply admire and would like to replicate in my own life. No, I don’t want to be strong to the point I can beat everyone up in a single punch; it’s Saitama’s selfless deeds that he does despite his internal struggles that I find so amazing about this character. You see, every single other superhero movie has something in common: public recognition. While this might not be the main goal that superheroes like Captain America or Iron Man are aiming for, the public respects and acknowledges these superheroes as heroes of the planet. However, One Punch Man is different in that no matter how many monsters Saitama defeats, the public refuses to recognize his name. He doesn’t have fan clubs like the other heroes in the anime have, and he doesn’t get anywhere near the credit he deserves. Despite being the strongest hero, the people actually view him as a cheater and openly dislike him. Like when a meteor comes hurtling towards earth and is on course to destroy a city, Saitama jumps in the air to smash the meteor to pieces and saves everyone. While one would expect the citizens to hail Saitama as a hero, the people actually hate Saitama for all the damage that the shattered meteor causes (smashing buildings, cars, etc). Another example: when a monster named Deep Sea King comes wreaking havoc on earth and other heroes try to stop him, they are all absolutely wrecked. Then, Saitama comes in and beats the Deep Sea King in a single punch as usual. But after this, the people of the city call him a cheater because they think the other heroes were actually the ones who weakened the monster. 

Now, it’s not like Saitama doesn’t care about getting public love and respect. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be liked by everyone. He is obviously interested in getting fan clubs and having people know his name (as any regular person would). In fact, the reason he became a hero in the first place is so that people could recognize him. But despite saving humanity countless times, he is denied this reward. Not only is he disliked by the people, he’s also bashed on by other heroes in the hero association who simply do not respect him. From being ranked the lowest class hero to being cheated out of work, Saitama does not nearly get the credit that he is due. And yet, despite all this, he still decides to protect the people, defend other heroes, and do what is right no matter what people say. He stays true to his morals even when the public criticize him, he saves the people who looked down upon him, he does what is right despite getting none of the rewards that should be associated with it. He is a poor, depressed, bored, unpopular, disliked, hero; and yet, he always does the right thing. Underneath his physical power he really is just a regular guy. But his strongest attribute is his mental and emotional toughness. He faces mental health illnesses, he is insecure about his baldness, he craves to be loved, and yet, he still finds the emotional strength to push forward and save his enemies. Honestly I’m really really hoping for an episode where all characters finally realize how strong Saitama truly is and see how wrong they’ve been treating him this whole time, but I know that this episode will never actually come. In the meantime, I’ll just be rewatching the series, admiring Saitama’s emotional strength, and perhaps hoping to be strong enough to the point where I can stand by my morals and beliefs even if everyone else hates me for it.