Manga Review: One Punch Man Vol 4

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to another Manga Monday. I hope you all are enjoying these posts. I know I’m certainly glad that I’m once again starting to post more reviews and content on here. Trying to keep to a regular posting schedule has been good for me, and I’ve managed to get it to where I can write up about a week’s worth of posts in just a couple of days (usually over the weekend and on Tuesday evenings).

Anyway, it is time for my next review for this hilarious parody hero series. Let’s get started.

Summary

A manga series that packs quite the punch!

Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem-he just can’t seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on! Saitama is now a certified hero! And with that title comes great responsibility-he’s required to perform one heroic deed per week. While Saitama makes the rounds to meet his quota, and incoming threat from outer space is screeching toward Earth…

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

So Saitama is now a certified hero…which means he just goes back to his usual boring routine, just waiting for something to show up that might actually be a worthy foe. What I loved about this is that Saitama clearly didn’t pay attention to all the rules and such for certified heroes, because he needs Genos to remind him of his heroic deed quota.

This leads our intrepid protagonist to go on a wild run through the city as he tries to find some sort of criminal activity that he can stop so he keeps his certification. It is much harder than he thinks, which honestly is just amusing. Because in racing around like a crazy person, trying to find trouble, he actually ends up causing citizens to panic, because his actions don’t appear to be those of a hero. Instead he seems like a nervous person up to no-good.

That is one of the things I love the most about this series, how it stands unique among the overpowered superhero genre because it is technically a parody of that theme. I love seeing how they subvert tropes or play along with stereotypes. It honestly makes it even more interesting for readers (or viewers–since I technically started with the show and then started reading these).

So, this is actually a series I’m surprised that I ended up enjoying and picking up. But I would definitely recommend this to others, because it is definitely worth experiencing. And I’m going to have to read some more volumes of this so I can continue to review the series. I need an evening of manga reading, which I might end up doing either tonight or tomorrow. It sounds like a nice way to spend a few hours.

Where to Buy

You can pick up this volume from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.