From out of nowhere, he arrives. He stands, facing the foes no one hero can
triumph against. He hears out their evil
ramblings and, well before they prepare to deliver unto him a death blow, he
ends the battle with one single punch.
And just like that, he vanishes, off to make it in time for a special
sale on food cause he has a particular dish in mind for dinner. He is Saitama and even when One Punch Man
wasn’t at its best, he always was the man you could count on to never let us
down. Either with a really bad ass
action scene or the most simple of reactions to a crisis (a “shrug” or “oh…ok
sure”), Saitama delivered the goods with
more than just One Punch. So to close
out my time with one of the biggest hits of the 2010’s, I’m counting down my
Top 5 Saitama Moments from One Punch Man.
Man is Season 2 going to have to work hard to top these.
#5-Taking out a
Meteor
This was one of the seasons biggest set pieces. An asteroid the size of Texas was bearing
down on City Z and there was no way anyone was going to be able to take it
down. Even Genos and Metal Knights
ultimate attacks. All hope seems
lost. Not even a team of oil drillers
and a popular rock band could stand a chance against this thing. Then Saitama comes along and does what he
does. Sure it ends up with massive
damage to the city cause of all the collateral damage but still, it’s no less
really freaking epic. And yes, I hope
there’s an AMV out there where Saitama pulls this off to Areosmith’s “I Don’t
Want to Miss a Thing” from Armageddon cause that is how that movie should have
been done. And now that I think about
it, this is probably the most “standard heroic moment” I have for Saitama on
this list.
#4-Covering for
the Heroes
Sometimes being a hero isn’t about the strength in your
punch, it’s about what’s in your heart (thanks Supergirl). After Saitama easily beats the mess out of
the Sea King, who’s laid waste to every single hero sent to fight him, everyone
is wondering how the hell Saitama was able to pull off a win everyone thought
was impossible. Some say Saitama was
faking it, others are convinced the win was legit. Saitama, looking at his fallen friend Genos
and series MVP Mumen Rider, decides to take the former route. He tells everyone that he simply came in and
claimed the victory, that everyone wore Sea King down enough for him to get in
one good shot. This puts some negative
press on Saitama but it saves the reputation of the heroes who need to work
more than twice as hard to pull of the victories that Saitama can in one
punch. Their legacy and hero rep is
preserved and Saitama is perfectly ok with being the “bad guy” to make that
happen, wow what a guy.
#3-Noodles with
Mumen Rider
Well after what Saitama did above, you’d think the world
would hate him. But Genos isn’t the only
one who knows what his “Master” did for him and the other heroes. In what’s probably the most touching scene of
the season, Saitama is found at a noodle shop by Mumen Rider, a C Class hero
who is a good at peddling a bike and probably a decent fighter but has no
actual superpowers of his own. Mumen
sits down a tells Saitama he’s buying his next drink or meal and thanks him for
what he did, assuring the bald headed Superman that even if the world believes
otherwise, Mumen will always think of him as a true hero. It’s one of the few friends, maybe even true
friends that Satiama meets all season aside from Genos. It’s not a shout at the top of your lungs “F
YEAH” moment but a quiet, continuous nodding “f yeah” kind of scene.
#2-The Secret of
his Powers
This was it, the moment we’d all been waiting for since
the first episode. Just how did Saitama gain his God like abilities. The answer came…in one of the most
epic…nonsensical…totally bogus…and yet totally hilarious moments. Seriously, it’s so damn goofy in its
execution from the scratch paper drawings of Saitama to his Rocky-esque montage
to the way he sounds, just like an inspirational instructor, that this moment
works so perfectly. And the payoff…isn’t
that we learn how he got his powers, it’s that we DON’T find out and have to
settle in for one simple fact: we may never find out the real answer. And you know what, that’s perfectly ok with
me.
#1-Mosquito Slayer
I laughed hard at the first episode but this moment for
Episode 2 solidified for me just how special One Punch Man really was. When the tiny minion of a (so freaking sexy)
Mosquito Lady finds its way to Saitama’s apartment, the One Punch Man finds an
opponent he cannot kill even with his great strength. It irks him and irks him and irks him. All the while, Genos is taking on the
Mosquito Mistress single handidly and seems to have the upper hand…until
Saitama comes barreling down the street with a can of bug spray screaming “GET
BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BASTARD IM NOT DONE WITH YOU YET” at the same damn
mosquito. As much as I loved every hard
hitting fight or dramatic announcement or heartfelt bonding moment…nothing and
I mean nothing has yet to top just how hilarious this scene is for me, it could
very well be in a Top 5 list of funniest moments I have ever seen in an Anime
EVER. Oh yeah Season 2, your work is cut
out, now impress me.
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