Title: One-Punch Man
Volume: 3 (of 10+)Creator: ONE and Yusuke Murata
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: Shueisha
US Publisher: Viz
Release Date: 11/3/15
Pages: 216
ISBN: 1421564610
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (Teens)
Description: 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! For three years, Saitama has defeated countless monsters, but no one knows about him... That's because he isn't in the Hero Association's registry! Together with Genos, Saitama decides to take the Hero Association's test! But can they pass?
Contains Punch 16-20:
- Punch 16: I Passed
- Punch 17: Sparring
- Punch 18: Pounding the Pavement
- Punch 19: No Time for This
- Punch 20: The Rumor
- Bonus Manga: Summer
- Bonus Manga: A New Wind Blows
Review:
Cover Art: The cover for this volume features one of our wild-card characters who we don't know yet is a hero or a villain, Sonic. The volume number is on the lower left corner which is presented in the same style as the original Japanese versions. The title is on the top in green lettering.
The spine from top-to-bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, series title, volume number, mangaka, an image of Sonic hanging upside down and the VIZ company logo.
The back cover has Saitama walking down an upper dirt road with stairs leading to other paths below him. The bottom portion of the cover has the volume summary.
I really enjoy the covers of this series. It's not just because they are exact replications of the original Japanese tankoubans but also the imagery used. Each cover so far has used a single character primarily featured in that volume as the front cover, while the back cover has more of a simplistic art used to show the lighter side that the series has occasionally.
Artwork: The art from this volume is a bit all over the place. It still has tons of great action sequences but the art seems to at times go from a lot bold-to-thin lines quite a bit more frequently. There is one thing though that this series continues to surprise me with which are the double page spreads; not a lot of current manga series use double page spreads which in action series such as this one just show how much more powerful the action going on can be.
Translation: The translation is accurate for this volume. Character names, jokes, and references have been all left intact. The only thing that has been changed are sound effects, which is typical for VIZ manga titles.
Extras: The extras in this volume are pretty substantial. We get two bonus manga chapters. One being before Saitama actually became a hero and had hair. This chapter was a bit of comic relief as we had Saitama who needed to use the bathroom while being held inside of a building while S-Rank Heroes were off trying to destroy a nearby threat.
The second chapter showed off a new heroine; Class S, Rank 2 Terrible Tornado. Not much was really shown in terms of who she is, but it had a pretty cool action sequence.
Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This volume was a bit light on content as there was only five chapters that were pertaining to the central main story. We first have Saitama and Genos trying out to be heroes by taking the Hero Association Test. Genos passes all tests with high marks getting put into Class S easily. Saitama however doesn't pass the written very well and is placed in Class C. The examiner thinks Saitama shouldn't still be a hero so follows him on his way home and tries to pick a fight, but he is no match for Saitama's one-punch.
The second chapter deals with Genos and Saitama in a sparring match. Genos wants to test out his skills against his master.
The third and fourth chapter sees the return of Sonic. Saitama must go out and stop crimes or he will lose his Class C Hero license. While he is looking to prevent him from losing his hero status, Sonic shows up to cause some problems, along with other heroes who question who Saitama is in the Hero Association.
The last chapter has two Class A heroes, Golden Ball and Hero Mustachio, as they have a run in with a monster called Kombu Infinity. The monster quickly defeats our two Class A Heroes, but luckily Saitama is on his way home from the grocery store and single handed pulls apart the monster piece by piece and takes the Kombu (it's basically the seaweed used in sushi) home for food.
Overall there still was a lot that happened in this volume in terms of moving the forward story. My only complaint was to maybe be able to see a bit more of the Hero Association Exam. Most shonen mangas I have read that have an exam of some sort (Naruto, My Hero Academia) have a bit longer process in terms of story with something like this. I understand it would slow the story down a little but it would have been a bit more character development for our characters and maybe had them run in with some other of the Class S and A characters. Other then that, the pacing was handled well. There was not a serious threat in this volume to really have the story arcs be longer then one or two chapters each, but hopefully soon that will change now that our main protagonists are actually heroes now and will soon have to take on much bigger threats.
Objectionable Content:
- Language: No
- Violence: Yes
- Nudity: No
- Sexual Situations: No
Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 12/6/2015
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