One-Punch Man is the flagship series for the "strongest ever" genre, a type of story about becoming the strongest and greatest practitioner of a martial art or magical power. However, what many series that have attempted to imitate it since have missed is that Saitama's strength isn't something that anyone should want.

Many series fall into the "strongest ever" genre, as that desire to be the best is frequently present within shonen anime and manga series. It's in everything from Naruto to Pokémon, but applying it to physical strength is a particular niche within the broader shonen genre. One-Punch Man takes that idea to absurd ends by making Saitama overwhelmingly more powerful than anyone else in his world, by a huge margin. Saitama's so strong, in fact, that there's very little room left for him to grow, if any. He has achieved what so many shonen heroes are desperate to have, and all it's done is leave him bored.

One-Punch Man Sets Itself Apart with Saitama's Ennui

Saitama's Boredom is a Direct Result of Being Strongest

One-Punch Man proves that being the strongest isn't all it's cracked up to be. To be the unquestionable strongest, one must be so much more powerful than anyone else around that they don't even pose a challenge anymore. And ultimately, that's what Saitama wants more than anything: a challenge. If he can destroy anything with one punch, then there's no difference between swatting down a fly and taking out a monster the size of a skyscraper. There's nothing exciting or interesting about that, and the story is fully aware of that fact. Saitama is struck with incredible boredom from a life without challenge.

Part of the reason that One-Punch Man succeeds so well at this strongest-ever genre is the fact that it doesn't focus much on fights or battles. Saitama's biggest concern is often making it to the supermarket in time to take advantage of the deals, for example, and he leads a rather ordinary life in just about every respect except his strength. Even when there are monsters to deal with, Saitama is often out of the picture, and fans are instead treated to other heroes trying their best and failing, like in the battle with the Deep Sea King. Once Saitama does show up, the fight is over.

By focusing on the struggles that other characters face against a powerful monster, it gives the audience an idea of how powerful this creature truly is, before it gets smashed to a pulp by Saitama. Not only does that provide a greater appreciation for Saitama's strength, but it also creates a tension in the story that's otherwise lacking. Will Saitama make it in time to defeat the monster before other heroes are killed? Only time will tell. Saitama will win, of course, but the driving question becomes, "Can he win in time?"

One-Punch Man Uses Everyday Problems to Underline the Flaws of Becoming Strongest

Becoming the Strongest Doesn't Solve Every Problem

In many of the series that follow in One-Punch Man's footsteps, becoming the strongest is treated as a goal of its own. There's an assumption that, upon reaching that goal, everything will change for the protagonist's life, but One-Punch Man proves that isn't necessarily the case. Saitama doesn't get any respect for being the strongest; instead, his ease of victory makes other heroes just look bad by comparison, even though they really did their best. Many people refuse to accept Saitama's strength, even when they see the results with their own two eyes.

One-Punch Man goes to show that even for the strongest, life will still have plenty of problems. Saitama ends up catching a bad reputation as a "glory thief" for defeating enemies that have wiped out other heroes, as crowds in-universe accuse him of preying upon weakened monsters and taking credit for the hard work of other heroes. It also gets him unwanted attention from characters like Genos and Bang, who do recognize his strength and have their own things that they want from Saitama as a result.

For Saitama, being the strongest is a burden, not a pinnacle of achievement. It leaves him unfulfilled by any action he takes, as even if he saved the world, it was only a minor level of exertion for him. While monsters occasionally push Saitama to use a new level of strength, no monster has ever actually posed a real problem. Saitama's strength is even a problem itself at times, such as when he was trying to kill a mosquito and caused massive collateral damage.

One-Punch Man Stands Out for Its Exploration of the Strongest Trope

Other Series Don't Seem to Understand What Drives One-Punch Man's Success

One modern series which heavily takes after One-Punch Man is Mashle: Magic and Muscles. In that show, Mash has no magical powers in a world where everyone is magic, but is instead physically powerful. Mashle often makes jokes about Mash attaining seemingly magical feats through sheer physical strength, and similar to Saitama, his physical feats are often denigrated, as if he couldn't possibly achieve what he has done without the use of magic. That ends up being a good thing for Mash, but the series never really explores what it means to be strongest the way One-Punch does.

One-Punch Man has become the success that it is largely due to how well the rest of the story beyond Saitama is executed: other characters are lovable, the jokes are funny, and the stakes remain, despite his strength, due to the fact that Saitama can't be everywhere at once. Surprisingly, the story thrives when the focus comes off of Saitama, and other characters are allowed to take center stage.

Saitama's boredom and struggles with life as the strongest are absolutely the key feature which sets the series apart from those which follow in its footsteps. One-Punch Man presents a new side of being the strongest ever by looking at what happens after one achieves that dream, and reveals the truth of what being the best really means.