One-Punch Man, Vol. 10

I love Tatsumaki, the volume came in perfect conditions

One Punch Man is the new hit anime/manga on the block, and acts as a satire of what is known as the shonen genre of manga, best known for it's over the top main characters and abilities with attack names longer than Rick Riordan's book titles.One Punch Man exists to subvert all these, with a main character, Saitama, who is so unbelievably strong he makes fights boring by beating every enemy with a single punch; hence the title. However, while One Punch Man's premise can seem dull on the surface, ONE's brilliant writing and Yusuke's Murata's perfectionist drawing style, they simply make it work. As while Saitama himself can seem dull to watch fight, fighting isn't all he does. He struggles to pay the bills, rise up the ranks in the Hero association by doing good deeds and fighting monsters far below his level, and helps train the cyborg Genos to become as strong as him one day. Side characters keep the fights interesting, as they all have vibrant and original personas and attacks, but Saitama is where most of the dramatic tension comes from. One Punch Man Volume 10 is the 3rd volume to feature the new main villain Garo, the human monster, and is easily one of my favorites in the series already. This volume doesn't feature any action scenes featuring any main characters, but still keeps up the same intense pacing of all the others. ONE manages to humanize even the main antagonist, and delivers powerful messages about what real strength entails without being hamfisted or cheesy. Yusuke Murata's art is as vibrant and lively as ever, even in simple black and white images. The only gripe I have with Volume 10 is it's rather short, and the bonus chapters that develop side characters or the world of One Punch Man found in the end of each volume are a lot less interesting than the rest, but what is here is absolutely stunning.

Garo, Silverfang's superbly skilled and severely warped ex-disciple, is officially on the prowl "hunting heroes". He's gotten Saitama's attention, and One-Punch Man visits Mumen Rider and Tank Top Master in the hospital to gather intel, but is distracted by an upcoming martial-arts tournament with a big cash prize. Metal Bat gets some center-stage time as a series of monsters appear to be targeting Hero Association officials; and in a bonus episode, Miss Blizzard hasn't given up on adding Saitama to her roster of subordinates. Another excellently entertaining volume. The action has not let up, but since Saitama and Genos joined the Hero Association, character interactions and politics have been added to the mix, with always intriguing results. Saitama is unsophisticated enough that one is never quite sure just what he's going to do. Lots of fun. Tough to wait two months between new volumes!

A lot of the stuff in this volume doesn't come from the webcomic. Actually, I'm pretty sure ALL of it is new stuff. Nevertheless, it is really funny and action packed. This volume features a lot of Garo actually hunting heroes. You can think of it as filler I guess, but it's necessary in order to not run out of material. But this volume has 3 significant breaks in canon from the webcomic: allows Garo and Saitama to encounter one another before the big final battle, Saitama learns about the human monster threat and gets motivated to do something about it, Garo develops a rapport with a kid as he hunts heroes. That development with the kid is especially significant and I think it's an excellent addition. The passing encounter with Saitama is almost immediately ret conned and is just played for laughs, but it is there.

Volume 10 of One Punch Man continues to build Garo as a legitimate threat to the hero association. As Garo continues to hunt one hero after another, Saitama gets ready to enter a martial arts tournament with a large amount of money as the grand prize. One of the best thing about this volume is the development of other Heroes, which really helps to enrich the world of One Punch Man. Overall this is a slightly more serious volume but there is still the signature humor the series is known for. As with previous volumes of One Punch Man the fights can get a bit graphic at times, so do with that information what you will. As a final sidenote the bonus chapters inside are some the best yet.

OPM is certainly unique as it throws away most conventional anime tropes and turns them around. Great artwork by Murata. I have never bought a manga in my life and happy to start now. It's amazing how a series that has an overpowered character that stops everyone with one punch can still be made to look genuinely vulnerable and helpless in other aspect of his life all the while attaching very compelling and interesting side characters to the story. Oh and if it's your first time like me with manga, the books open on the opposite side. Follows Japanese convention of writing/reading.

ONE-PUNCH!!!! Love the manga, and love the anime even more. Unfortunately, it feels as though the pace of the story is approaching a grinding halt in comparison to what we've gotten so far. Hopefully they turn it around soon.

Book came in fantastic shape and it was a great read