12
One Punch Man
Author: One (Original artist and writer) Yusuke Murata (current series artist)
Volumes: 26 English & 28 Japanese (Ongoing at 195 chapters)
Publisher: Shonen Jump [click HERE for digital chapters]
Written and originally drawn by One, and then later “remastered” by Yusuke Murata, One Punch Man is a story that I used to cringe-worthily describe as “superman done right” or “superman but good” even though I hadn’t even read a single superman story until very recently and instead knew him more by pop culture bastardisation than I did his actual character, but we’ll get into that when Superman shows up down the line.
One punch man is a sort of “be careful what you wish for” type story in which the main character Saitama, trained to become strong enough to defeat monsters, then accidentally becomes so strong that all the challenge of a good fight becomes lost to him. With a face devoid of emotion, so much so that it sometimes reverts to One’s original simpler style, Saitama is desperate to find meaning in his strength and in life.
On paper, the very concept of being so strong you beat anything in one punch seems so one note, but One understands how to go beyond the surface and really put the reader in the shoes of somebody who just isn’t that well off at all as much as the concept of ultimate strength would fool you into thinking so.
Saitama is often so powerful that he’s often seen as being a fraud, or isn’t recognised for his actions at all. Those that do understand him, often struggle a lot more than he does yet also receive more praise. At the start of the series he’s found living penniless in what is essentially a slum that Saitama’s heavily implied to have created due to being such a disastrous monster magnet.
He lives off coupons and sales before encountering the first of his allies Genos, a powerful cyborg that aspires to train under Saitama and initiates the main character journey that will change Saitama’s life for the rest of the series. Signing on to the hero’s association, Saitama at the very least is trying to get his skills to pay the bills.
Yusuke Murata’s take on the visuals are second to none too. One moment things are relatively clean and simple, and then all of a sudden, he cranks everything up until the artwork climaxes into the most incredible two page spreads you will ever see in your life. Though he’s not the only artist that can show such a range of talents for the simple and the detailed, or even the only artist in this list that can, he is easily the only artist I know where his range is so vast and yet consistent.
What I mean by that is that some artists draw too simple and lose aesthetic appeal, and others will draw too detailed and lose clarity within the scene itself. Yusuke Murata can do both like the best of them, and somehow make it appear like it all marries up seamlessly despite the range of approaches.