#It's hard to look forward to his stuff if he's compromising the game lore to justify whatever he's planning

[speedofsoundsketches]

Oh, it turns out Ian flynn worked on the Shadow animated shorts, he did a pretty good job consider he doesn't always get Shadow right in idw

I'm aware. With the amount of #knowingsmiles posted during the initial announcements, it's hard to not know he was involved.

He also wrote the Knuckles short in Frontiers which I also really liked but I attribute that being thanks mostly for having to work under Tyson Hesse's direction.

Shadow being ok in these shorts happened thanks to Sonic Team giving a LOT more direction and scrutiny on the scripts since it's held to a much higher standard as part of the games than Flynn was for IDW. (which still didn't stop him from inserting some of his fanfiction sourced flynnisms but what it do)

One hopes that this closer work relationship with Sonic Team will teach him how to properly write these characters and internalize the art of writing Sonic Stories in the future. I have my doubts tho since some of the writing in the shorts IS still pretty contrived (wouldn't be on brand for him if it wasn't) and ignores established lore to make the plot make sense like Shadow not warping directly into the Space Ark as he's done before. But nope, we gotta have big fight sequences so let's raid a base for a shuttle he doesn't need!

And I say this as someone who enjoyed it overall and thought the fight scenes were hype. But I'd like fight scenes to have thought behind the spectacle, not without.

[the-nysh]

What's your prediction for the up coming OPM story? now that ONE has finish MOB psycho? How do you thing Sai's character arc will end?

Hmmm! :O It’s difficult to say. Once ONE finally gets back to the main plotof the webcomic, there are manydirections it could possibly go. His writing is also very hard to predict,since he tends to swerve in curveballs that subvert most common expectations (which I findquite brilliant).

But considering where he immediately left things off, turmoil is certainlybrewing in the opm world. Which is another strength of ONE’s writing: he buildsup tension like mad.

And this is what we currently have at stake (spoiler warning):

The public’s uncertainty and distrust in the HA has been steadily growing,to the point an alternative hero group has formed, the Neo Heroes, led byAccel. Even heroes from the HA have felt dissent and decided to either transferover to the new group, or outright resign. Since Bang decided to retire fromthe HA, his absence has left many who looked up to him, like Atomic Samurai,feeling confused and aimless during this time of change. Because things AREchanging; it’s like a whole social and political power shift slowly happening, thateven puts Saitama – steady as a rock, obliviously stuck right in the middle ofit.

Because Saitama’s previous home just got destroyed in the Garou battle, he’s now living in the HA’s apartments. If anythinghappens to the HA, like bankruptcy or a complete loss of public support infavor of the Neo Heroes, it will directly affect Saitama’s living situation.Even Genos is aware of this, and invited Saitama to join him in a morewelcoming environment with the Neo Heroes. However, it is still unknown whetherthe Neo Hero group’s policies will be any better/different than the HA’s currentsystem. So! Plus all Saitama wants right now is some peace and quiet, andmoving AGAIN would be too much of a hassle. So he declines the offer, and optsto simply stay where he is. Genos, faithfully not one to abandon Saitama either,agreesto remain by his side.

Now! Aside from all of this happening, we still have Fubuki and Psykos’hanging issue over her ‘Third Eye’ vision of the future. Fubuki confrontedPsykos in the first place to ascertain exactly what she saw, and we still don’thave an answer. Whether it coincides with Lady Shibabawa’s ‘the earth is introuble’ prophecy remains to be seen too. All of this just fuels a very ominousoutlook on what could possibly happen next in the story.  

Ah, and we also have Sweet Mask taking a disturbing interest in the ‘beauty’of Saitama’s power, and Bofoi (Metal Knight) keeping tabs on Saitama as well.Both of these two have status and influence within the HA, heck even Bofoi’sposition has been indirectly compromised by Saitama (destroying his defensebots), so with both of them targeting him, coupled with the unstable status of theHA, everything is potentially brewing to become something incredibly messy.  

We also can’t forget Zombieman returning to Dr. Genus to inquire more aboutthe nature of power and limiters again. The Dr. still has more of hisresearch to reveal to him inside his basement. We’ll probably have moreimportant opm lore that will be revealed to us soon!    

ALL OF THIS stuff swirling around is where the current plot of thewebcomic has been left hanging. And as you said, it all eventually boils down to andrevolves around Saitama: his ongoing arc and placement in the story. Saitama,who is currently in a bit of mental turmoil himself, disenchanted and unsureabout what he should DO, so he’s currently stuck himself sedentary in the mud. Perhapshe just wants a bit of a mental break, to think and decide for himself what hecan do, and what kind of hero he’s always wanted to become. And that’s ok! However, the worldoutside still turns without him, so depending on what happens to the state ofthe world (and/or the HA), the changes can immediately come back and bite himdirectly, regardless if Saitama currently remains oblivious to it all.  

So yeah, this is Saitama’s ongoing dilemma. He can choose to remain isolatedand uninvolved, but at some point – some breakingpoint, he will HAVE to make a stand. And find that sense of responsibility toact. Throughout the whole story, he’s been burdened after attaining unlimited power,disillusioned after reaching the perceived height of his craft and realizing it’snot all that satisfying as he once thought it could be. (THIS problem actuallyresonates very strongly with manyreaders in his age group.) However, likeKing has told it to him straight, there’s still much more to do than simplygrind to the figurative level cap and then stop finding any more enjoyment inthe ‘game’ of life anymore. The fact that Saitama complains of his boredom andloneliness, yet doesn’t actively try to do anything to change his situation –actually, he persists in puttinghimself there, only speaks of his anxiety/uncertainty and inexperience in how bestto handle it. The fact that Saitama has thus far only gauged his sense of personalsatisfaction, accomplishment and fulfillment within the realm of fighting, andalready believes he’s achieved the pinnacle of his craft, ALSO speaks bounds onhow one-tack and narrow-minded he’s been assessing himself…because no matter thestats of his current skillset, Saitama has yet to become the best hero.

All of this is something that Saitama has to figure out. He needs to reevaluatewhat it is he truly wants – whetherthat’s reforming his ideal of heroics, broadening his horizons, or seekingfulfillment from companionship and the domestic comforts in life…actually it probablydoesn’t really matter from where he finds it,because the answer is most likely a mixture of many experiences combined, but theimportant distinction is that he will notfind the satisfaction/thrill he seeks from within the realm of fighting achallenging opponent (by now it’s obvious that will never happen), so Saitamawill have to look elsewhere.

Now, this process of thinking outside the box to find new inspiration worth chasing willnot be easy for him; as he should know, because he once worked his ass off to achieve his level of strength,only for it to backfire in his face and seemingly feel like all the effort was awaste. But he should also realize that if there’s anything he truly wants, and if he’s serious about it, thenhe has to put in at least some effortto attain it. Because, anything worth having takes (sometimes hard) effort and risks to achieve.But being burnt once after putting in so much effort, only to come out ‘meh’ inpersonal satisfaction, can turn someone jaded, scared, and/or indifferent to everinvesting that much effort into something else again. And this is Saitama’sproblem. Because he’s yet to realize where else he can channel his strengths, and if there’s anything else in life he’sinterested in and feels worth pursuing.

So this is what I hope to see from him. I want Saitama to understand and realizethere are other means with which to obtain happiness and fulfillment. Beyondthe limitations of what he’s currently mentally encased himself with. And theydon’t even have to be as hard/difficult of an investment in effort as hisprevious muscle training was. In fact, many of the things he’s actually searchingfor – the things he needs, are withinhis grasp, if only he’d reach out to realize their close proximity.

Rememberwhat Tatsumaki asked him: whether he even has any real friends he’s made outsidethe HA. Gee,I wonder who that could be (hint, it’s Genos). But again, only if Saitamasat down and realized what he already has,what else he truly wants, and howbest to take action to achieve it. And it’s not that Saitama doesn’t care about these things either, because he’s aware and worried about his ongoing problem, and is concerned about his ability to keep caring as he continues as he currently is.

The fact that the world outside him isominously teetering on the edge of a breaking point, may just become the kindof shock/spark/instigator he needs to get him to reevaluate his responsibilities,values, and place in the world, so that he can finally see beyond the scope of hiscurrent limiting selfishness. Again, this process will not be easy, but that’s the point; Saitama’sstill young and has much more to learn about in life. Knowing ONE’s hopefulness,despite all the realistic (relatable) hardships and suffering portrayed in hisworks, we can expect Saitama to eventually find his answer. It will take time, but I’m looking forwardto a positive one. So, all I have left to say to Saitama is this: you can doit! :D