TITLE: One-Punch Man vol. 13
YEAR: March 2018 (USA release)
COMPANY: Shonen Jump Manga
Story by One
Art by Yusuke Murata
As the heroes take on the monsters in the city, Saitama (using the guise of “Charanko”) makes it to the finals and must take on a fighter named Suiryu who has defeated others with one kick.
All this and more in vol. 13 of “One-Punch Man” by One and Yusuke Murata!
What is “One-Punch Man” all about?
When it comes to success stories of web comics becoming viral, ONE’s “One-Punch Man” is one of the well-known titles that have taken the world by storm.
Created back in 2009 and having surpassed over 7.9 million hits in 2012, “One-Punch Man” would receive a digital manga remake featuring illustrations by Yusuke Murata (best known for his illustrations for the manga series, “Eyeshield 21”) and would be published on the Shueisha’s “Young Jump Web Comics” website.
In September 2015, Viz Media released the graphic novel for “One-Punch Man” in the United States and in October 2015, the anime adaptation for “One-Punch Man” began airing on Japanese television.
“One Punch Man” is set in City Z and monsters have been appearing in the city causing massive destruction.
But standing in their way is a skinny, bald man named Saitama who also happens to be extremely powerful and can defeat monsters with one punch. But because he often wins all the time, Saitama has grown bored and is often trying to find more powerful opponents.
In volume 12, the martial arts tournament has completed and the first round is done. Saitama has moved on to the next round and now he must take on the champ for the last two years, Bakuzan.
And as others are getting ready for their second round of competition, ruthless monsters have descended towards the martial arts tournament area, leaving various superheroes trying their best to defend the location and protect people.
But what happens when Genos and Blizzard are trying to fight against these monsters? Can they outlast and defeat them?
In vol. 13, Saitama (using the guise of “Charanko”) now will take on Suiryu, the one kick fighter in the martial arts competition finals who literally has defeated everyone with one kick. Now it’s One Punch Man Saitama vs. One Kick Suiryu! Who will be the victor?
With the 13th volume of “One-Punch Man”, it’s martial arts tournament time as the group who survived the first round now must be ready to take on their challengers for the second round.
And so far, people are surprised by the one punch of Saitama (going with the name “Charanko”) and the one on kick Suiryu, what happens when these two will meet in the finals?
Also, as everyone is watching and being entertained by these one-on-one battles, monsters are descending to the area and the heroes but due all what’s possible to stop them.
For the most part, I’m really enjoying this series because the protagonist is quite unusual. You think of a strong and charismastic super hero as your main protagonist, but the protagonist of “One-Punch Man” is a skinny baldheaded man named Saitama who doesn’t look menacing at all.
A person who became strong by working out constantly, he then lost all his hair an became super powerful.
And where most heroes are proud of their work, Saitama is somewhat wanting the attention and respect that comes with being a hero, but yet hasn’t received it. So, Saitama is an interesting contrast to the stereotypical hero who is typically a person that is athletically fit, has a remarkable IQ or tremendous skillset, but for Saitama….he looks like a normal guy.
And while Earth has their heroes ranked, Saitama, despite his awesome strength is rated quite low. Will Saitama be able to prove that he is more than a hero?
Having seen ONE’s original “One-Punch Man”, the artwork from the original versus Yusuke Murata’s artwork is night and day. I always enjoyed Murata’s work on “Eyeshield 21” but his work of bringing ONE’s “One-Punch” man to life is fantastic. It was Murata who approached ONE to redo the artwork and if anything, it had helped ONE’s creation become well-known internationally.
So far, I’m enjoying the series, especially its really crazy and outlandish characters. But I like how the series manages to balance humor and fighting violence quite well. And Saitama is so different from your usual protagonist character in a super hero comic, so I am enjoying what I’m reading so far.
If you love action-driven superhero manga series with a a lot of humor, “One-Punch Man” vol. 13 is recommended!