#and isn't just going 'Saitama beats everyone so Saitama is right'

[gofancyninjaworld]

There was a lot of complaints ant Saitama's breaking speech never making to the manga, but tbh even if the manga has a series of events that requires that to happen, I still don't want it to happen. Mostly bc what Saitama said is pretty hypocritical and doesn't make sense.

While I do give kudos that Saitama even admits he doesn't really have a concrete idea of what a "hero" should be... That doesn't give a vote of confidence considering he's um. Literally the most powerful hero alive. Kinda hard to believe in someone who doesn't even know if they're doing the right thing while wielding immeasurable power. He pretty much, well, dodged the question and never really bothered to shoulder the responsibility to figure out what kind of hero really wants to be.

Another is his "serious" hero hobby and Garou's "compromised" monster hobby, and the reason why he'll always win is bc he never half-assed his hobby. While he's right not to lower the hurdle before the goal... But the reason why opm more or less has a plot to begin with is because Saitama is half-assing his heroism. He barely takes anything seriously. Like, yes he never half-assed his training to be the strongest and while he's one of the more moral heroes out there he wasn't the best for a reason.

And tbh I'm really satisfied to how 166-169 played out. In the end, what the manga shows us is that they both have naive mindsets. Believing Absolute Evil would bring absolute world peace, believing heroes would always be on time and save the day — only to have reality crashing hard that for Garou to achieve Absolute Evil means people he cares about will in fact die and that Saitama's complacency and invulnerability means it's not him facing the consequences, but everyone else fatally paying that price. it just shows the perfect image that Garou and Saitama are not so different — Garou is a poor villain, Saitama is a poor hero, and it's bc of those flaws, despite them wielding incomprehensible, godly power, they both meet in the middle ground as humans. Which further reinforces ONE's intention to create Garou as the anti-Saitama.

An old, old comment that has aged like fine wine.

There's a question Garou asks Saitama in the webcomic that the latter never answers -- and really should. 'You're strong, but so what?' His questioning whether the mere fact of Saitama being stronger than anyone gave him any moral authority is one that desperately needs to be addressed in the webcomic. So far, so bad.

I really like that the manga has started to look at that question. The Japanese idiom Saitama used when looking at the carnage Cosmic Fear Garou had wrought was his being pierced by realisation (h/t @koumbaya). As if a spear had been thrown through his very soul.

It answered the question he'd been asking himself ever since the Superfight that he'd forgotten something important. In that moment, it came to him just how shallow he'd been for fretting over not learning new moves or finding tough fights. How irresponsible it'd been for him to forget that just because Garou was no threat to him, the same did not hold for others. He had become a hero so that when people were in trouble, he could be there to help them, and instead, little by little, he'd come to prioritise having a good time.

I love how the denouement of the arc has Garou and Saitama understand and enact what it is to be a hero. Garou puts aside his pride to ask for help and heroically sacrifices his life to teach Saitama how to go to the past, Saitama saves everyone who needs his help, *including* Garou.

I love how this fits into the structure of the bigger story, with King having challenged Saitama over this very notion. It's an important question. A hero may need to be strong, but how does that translate into morality? What gives a hero the right to say 'this is unacceptable and I must stop it?'

Of course, there's the small problem of Saitama having forgotten what happened. Which makes me think: whether he wants to or not, Genos has a responsibility to ensure Saitama learns those hard-won lessons without the rest of the world paying for it first.

Final thing: Garou not being left as a foil to Saitama is the best thing of all. He hasn't received a pat answer and been sent into exile to do no more evil. He's getting to struggle with his ideas, to try to forge them into a coherent and workable way forward, and it's good to see him being his own person.

[jaijaitbinks]

During a fight Genos thinks everyone is already evacuated until he sees a boy trapped under the rubble. He helps him to get out but he doesn't pay attention to the monster, who had already approached them. He knows he doesn't have time to escape so he decides to protect the kid using his body as a shield. He hears the blow but it actually never lands. When he looks up Saitama is standing in front of them, unshaken after taking the attack and peering over his shoulder to ask with his serious face if they're okay.

Long story short, he kills the monster and after returning the boy to his parents, he pats Genos' shoulder.

"Good job, Genos"

"But it was you who ended the monster, sensei-"

"You know that a hero's duty isn't just about finishing enemies with one punch"

(Yeah, I made this after remembering how both Saitama and Genos didn't hesitate to put their lives on the line to save random inocent children)

The amount of stimming i did over this omfg

Also, Saitama would go out of his way to make sure the child isn't exposed to anymore gore or violence. He's turn to Genos and tell him to "Shield the kid."

When he does, he removes his gloves and hooks them to his belt. Genos wonders why, but doesn't ask aloud. Not when he sees Saitama's face soften as he picks up the kid and carries him in his arms. His body is turned deliberately to ensure the kid can't see the splattered, bloody remains of the monster. He asks if the boy is alright, if he feels anything hurting or off, but the child says he doesn't. There's some more questions, asking if he knows where his parents are, if he knew how to get to them, what they looked like (all of which, Genos realized, were phrased in a way so they didn't elicit panic from the kid, nor put pressure on him). Once they're both confident that they'd find the boy's parents, the three set off.

Kid's being kids, the boy asks questions left and right, including the ever popular "Why are you bald?" Genos goes to inform the kid that it's a personal question, but Saitama beats him to it. But instead of a correction, he explains why calmly (something Genos had never seen him do.)

"You're cool for a bald guy."

Saitama laughs, and Genos doesn't know what he's seeing.

The entire walk is like this, until they come across a road almost completely blocked off with civilians that had attempted to flee the area. As usual, someone spots the Demon Cyborg, concludes the monster has been dealt with, and people either dissipate break away from the crowd to go home or they crowd the poor cyborg.

Saitama spots two people searching through the crowds with pure anxiety in their expressions and movements. He recognizes them from the description the kid had given earlier, explains to Genos that he's found them and he'll be right back, and goes off to deliver the boy. He does so, the parents are relieved and thankful, and the kid and the parents head off. He comes back to collect Genos and flee the area, running from fans.

Once theyre finally alone and on their way to their apartment. That's when he tells Genos he did a good job.

The brief conversation ends with Genos' fingers having the phantom itch to write down what Saitama had said.

[scarletnakazato]

Keisuke Takahashi - Forever Love Me

• Keisuke Takahashi x Reader • Word Count: 2,523. • Synopsis: In which the small wreck on Keisuke's FD turns him into an emotional disaster, his brother hits a soft spot, and Keisuke's first instinct is to run home and into the arms of his loving girlfriend and for a future plan to be made.

➽───────────────❥

He was doing a practice run, along with Takumi, down Tsuchisaka pass. Project D was in the Saitama region as it was their next location to conquer. Everything was going smoothly and according to plan.

Until Keisuke drove over a large amount of oil, losing control, and slamming his front left wheel into a guardrail. To say he was beyond pissed was an understatement. He was upset and on the verge of tears, but his anger kept them from making their way out.

He knew those Lan Evo assholes did it, and he was planning to make them pay. You don't wreck Keisuke Takahashi's car and get away with it. He sat curled up with his knees under his chin just to the side of his FD. He had to wait for the rest of the team to show up. Takumi found him standing in the middle of the road during his run, stopping just before him only to see the oil on the road, being lit up by his headlights.

After a short interaction with the livid blonde, Fujiwara drove back down to the bottom of the pass where he informed Ryosuke. The Project immediately drove to the scene and the older Takahashi assessed the situation, calm as ever.

It aggravated Keisuke. How could his brother be so calm and act like he doesn't care when his precious car is wrecked? He would be just as pissed if someone fucked up his FC.

"How can you act like this doesn't matter, aniki? Those bastards fucked up my car, they deserve to get their asses beat for it!"

"I understand you're angry Keisuke, but we can get it fixed. It won't be a problem when the repairs are finished."

"That isn't the point, Ryosuke! They did it on purpose to get me out of the picture. Make them pay for what they did! My FD is a mess cause of those assholes!"

"I know it is, I can see your car, Keisuke!" Ryosuke yelled back, surprising everyone. The blonde has never heard his brother raise his voice before. "Either you calm down now and get over it, or you'll get to see that FD of yours in a scrapyard where it'll never get fixed. Understand me?"

Keisuke tensed and stood silently for a moment before letting out a quiet, shaky breath. Quickly walking towards his car, a few small tears fell down his cheeks and it escalated once he was driving down the pass and away from everyone else.

He didn't care what they thought about him in that moment, he just wanted to go home. He wanted to hide under his blanket in the comfort of his own room and the loving touch of his girlfriend. He really hoped she'd be home from work by the time he got to the house.

--------

"(Y/N)!" Keisuke called out shakily as soon as he shut the door to the mansion. As he climbed the stairs, he heard a door open and footsteps quickly make their way to his location.

"Keisuke?" he heard her voice ring out worriedly. They almost ran into each other at the corner of the hallway and he enveloped her in a tight hug. He picked her up and carried her to his room silently, not answering her questions.

Once they both were on his bed, he covered them with the blanket up to their necks and pulled her close. Inhaling her scent then sighing a few seconds after, he replied, "Shitty day."

(Y/N) nodded lightly in acknowledgement, knowing he wouldn't want to talk about it right away. She wrapped her arm and leg over his side and gently weaved her fingers in soft, silky blonde locks. He sighed happily, relaxing even further into her soft touch. She pressed soft kisses in his hair, continuing to thread her fingers through it.

Keisuke nearly fell asleep several times but kept himself awake so he could feel her gentle touches. Her hands were so magical, he nearly forgot about today's earlier incident. He nuzzled his face further into the crevice of her neck, lightly inhaling her scent before letting out a calm sigh. Her fingers ran through his blonde strands repeatedly in a gentle manner.

"Some assholes made me wreck my car." He mumbled into her neck.

"What? Why?" she asked worriedly.

"Didn't want me to race and wanted me out of the picture. Figured I'd be harder to beat than Fujiwara, probably. They poured oil on the road while we were practicing and I spun out. Fucked up my front wheel. Drove her home just fine though." Keisuke elaborated in a depressed tone.

"Does your brother know? He'll have it fixed right away, I'm sure."

"Yeah, he knows and doesn't seem like he gives a shit. Too calm about the whole thing and it pisses me off. Acted like it wasn't a big deal and let the assholes get away with it. Then he yelled at me saying he was going to have it scrapped if I didn't calm down. You and I both know he'd be just as pissed if it was his car." His arms hugged her tighter as his sentence ended.

They cuddled in silence, Keisuke falling asleep rather quickly when (Y/N) lightly massaged his back with one hand while the other was still in his hair. It was about an hour and a half later when she heard the front door open and shut downstairs. Ryosuke was home. She wanted to tell him off a bit for the incident but didn't know how to word it. Guess I'll ask him about it first and see what he says. Slowly moving Keisuke's sleeping form off her chest and onto the bed, she quietly left his room, heading downstairs.

"Hey, Ryosuke." She greeted.

"Evening, (Y/N). I assume Keisuke is here, too?" he asked, while making tea.

"Yeah, came home a couple hours ago. He was torn up about his car." She answered neutrally. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she kept an even tone. She wanted to know both sides of the story before scolding someone. "What happened, exactly?"

"Fujiwara was the one who told me that Keisuke lost control after running over oil, resulting in his wheel and suspension being damaged. When I and the rest of the team got there, I assessed what happened. He wouldn't stop bringing up his car and saying our opponents needed to pay for it."

"And?" she pressed, knowing he wasn't explaining everything.

"And I told him if he didn't calm down and let it go, I'd have his car sent to a scrapyard. I didn't mean it in actuality, I just wanted him to pull it together." The older Takahashi said honestly, leaning against the counter and taking a sip of the tea.

"Ryosuke, you know that fucked him up even more, right? He came home crying. Looked like he had been the whole drive here. I know you both weren't taking shit in that moment, but you know how much that FD means to him, you shouldn't have gone that far." (Y/N) spoke in a reasoning yet scolding voice. "That car is his pride and joy, he puts his entire life into that thing. You'd feel the same way if it was your FC. You might handle it better on the outside, but you'd be just as pissed and emotional on the inside. You're just better at hiding emotions than he is."

They stood silently in the kitchen for a minute, letting the words sink in. What they didn't know is that Keisuke was listening to everything from the top of the staircase. He was grateful his girlfriend always had his back and had more nerve than himself to tell his brother off when he deserved it.

"I'm not trying to tell you how to scold or punish your brother for things. You know him far better than I do, and probably always will. But I'm not going to sit there and watch him cry without saying something. I don't care if you're his brother or not, I'd still-"

"You're right." Ryosuke said quietly. "He's already putting in everything he's got. Everytime at every race. It's probably stressed him out and the incident to his car threw him over the edge. He's done more than enough for this project and has exceeded every expectation I've given him. I'm sorry." He bowed his head in sincere apology.

"It's nice hearing how far he's come since he started, I'm proud of him, he improves every night, gets one step closer to his dream. But, I'm not the one you should be saying that to." (Y/N) said with a small smile. "He looks up to you more than anyone, he deserves to hear that from you personally." She pushed herself off from her leaning position on the counter, quietly leaving the kitchen. She climbed the stairs so quietly, Keisuke didn't hear her coming and jumped when she turned the corner, scaring her in the process.

"God, Kei. What are you doing up?"

"I felt you leave and got up to follow you, but then heard you talking to aniki. Well, I uh, heard everything, actually." He wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his head onto her shoulder and hugging her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Aww, of course baby. Gotta protect my man at all costs." She kissed his ear and ruffled his hair, earning a child-like giggle from him. This boy is so precious, she thought with a loving smile. "I think your brother wants to talk to you, I'll wait for you in bed, okay?" Keisuke nodded, smiling when (Y/N) gave him a quick forehead kiss before going in his room.

I'm gonna marry her one day. Maybe after Project D is over.

The blonde made his way to the common room, seeing Ryosuke standing near the couch, seemingly waiting for him.

"Aniki." Keisuke got his attention.

"Keisuke. I want to apologize for today. I have no intention of having your car scrapped. I've called Matsumoto to have a garage spaced cleared to fix it right away. But, more importantly, I shouldn't have said any of that to begin with, and didn't take into consideration the stress this project, and most likely I, put on you during all of this. You've done more than I could ask for and you exceed every expectation I have of you. You've come a long way and you'll only go farther by the time this project is finished. I'm more than proud of you, Keisuke, and I'm sorry for my poor choice in handling today's situation." Ryosuke bowed his head, the same as he did for (Y/N).

Keisuke moved to hug his brother tightly. "Thank you, aniki." When he pulled away, the blonde asked, "Say, how long until the project is over, do you think? If everything goes according to plan, I mean."

"Hmm. Roughly two months give or take. Why do you ask?" The older Takahashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh, uh. I just had a small idea about something, hypothetical right now." The blonde scratched the back of his head, looking at everything but Ryosuke as a light blush dusted his cheeks.

"May I ask what that is?" Ryosuke now had a small smile on his lips. "You seem quite enamoured by it."

"Yeah, uh well," Keisuke stammered several times before taking a deep breath and finally pulling a sentence together, "If you still had Kaori... and wanted to propose to her after this project... how would you do it?"

Ryosuke's eyes widened a bit, both his eyebrows raised up now. He stood in thought for a moment before replying, "I'd do it when you feel it's the right time and how you feel it should be done. Whether it's right after the final race, on a vacation, or elsewhere. I don't believe there's any real way to fully prepare for something like that. It'll probably happen when even you least expect it, no matter how far you plan ahead. I think a surprise like that is what makes it the most memorable."

"Heh, yeah I suppose it does." The blonde smiled lightly, looking out the balcony door.

"She's a one-of-a-kind, Keisuke. She'd go through Hell and back for you; don't lose her."

"I have no intention of letting her go. Quite the opposite, actually." His sapphire eyes glimmered as he grinned at his brother.

"Good. I'd need to have a talk with you if you thought otherwise." Ryosuke teased.

Keisuke gave his brother another hug before they bid each other good night, going up stairs and separating to retreat back to their rooms. When the blonde entered his, he was greeted with the sight of his girlfriend reading a manga in only his shirt that was twice her size. She looked up from the book, smiling at him. She pat the empty side of the bed for him to join her, except he immediately crawled between her legs and rested his head on her thigh.

"Hey sexy." He grinned childishly.

"What do you think you're doing, mister?" (Y/N) wore a playful smirk.

"Reveling in peak comfort."

"When do I get my turn to lay on your thighs? Maybe they're comfortable too." She teasingly complained.

"Never."

"Aww, why not?"

"Too busy laying on yours." He nuzzled his face further into the soft flesh of her thigh. They both giggled as she ruffled his hair. "Hey, babe?" Keisuke asked after a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Would you want to go on a trip after Project D is finished? Y'know like a little vacation or something. Just the two of us." He glanced up her.

"I'd love that, sounds fun! Where do you want to go?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd tell me that."

"Well, I've kind of wanted to see what Okinawa is like. One of the islands has a big city but it's also right next to the coastline so we could go to the beach too." She spoke animatedly as she played with the soft strands of Keisuke's hair.

"Is it accessible by car?"

"Wha-? Kei, no, it's one of the southern most islands, you'd have to take a plane or boat." She laughed.

"Damn." He pouted.

"You'd be done with the project for not even five minutes and want to drive for the whole trip. You'd think you'd want a break from all that driving."

"Nah, I'm never getting tired of it. But I suppose I could give the FD a break too, huh?"

"A well-deserved one at that. That car has carried your ass more than you can carry your own." She snorted.

"Hey!" The blonde shot up in a push-up like position and glared.

"Love youuuu!" she sang.

She was such a smart ass, but that's one of the things he loved about her. He couldn't wait to marry his girl. "Alright, then. As soon as Project D is over, it's just us." He leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Just us." She affirmed with a soft smile, their lips meeting again for a slow, passionate kiss.

[whyamiinopmhellagain]

I posted 301 times in 2021

40 posts created (13%)

261 posts reblogged (87%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 6.5 posts.

I added 152 tags in 2021

#amai mask - 28 posts

#one punch man - 25 posts

#opm - 20 posts

#zombieman - 19 posts

#zombiemask - 19 posts

#sweet mask - 17 posts

#amazomb - 13 posts

#my baby - 4 posts

#oh - 4 posts

#also - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 96 characters

#they have a fear of being brainwashed so they start to question to the point of losing all logic

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

To sooth the Zombiemask hole in my heart:

(There may be typos, sorry!)

“And this idiot decided we were going to have to reshoot the WHOLE THING because he didn’t like where that one extra was standing!” Amai storms into his lover’s bedroom. “So I had to stay after hours, and miss a VERY important public relations meeting. Which is fine, because normally-”

Zombieman mentally turns the rest into white noise. He picks up the pillow he normally sleeps on and slouches on it, wiggling himself to make sure he’s as comfortable as he could be. With the way his boyfriend is droning on, he’s going to be here for a while. 

“So this moron wanted to completely overrule the-are you even listening to me?” Amai uses that ice cold glare that he uses on almost every staff member, reporter, or fellow hero that ever pisses him off. That one piercing look can cause people to bow to his every whim and desire. No one wants to face the being behind those shining green eyes.

Zombieman just gives him a dry look, takes the last drag of his now short cigarette and stamps it out on the top of his hand, ignoring the small, sharp burn it left.

“Come here.” He says, opening his arms. Amai was still rambling about how much he pisses him off, and how all of the time they spent together was time he could be working. However, his legs seemed to move on his own towards him and his cold, loving embrace. He makes himself comfortable in Zombieman’s chest, letting his head rest on top of his slow beating heart. He holds Amai’s body close with one arm, and lightly massages his dominant hand with the other. (He knows how many documents and pictures he needs to sign.)

“That’s my baby.” Zombieman whispers. And right at that moment, every muscle in Amai’s body relaxes. His jaw unclenches and his breathing evens out. His cares drift away like the fumes of his partner’s cigarettes, the scent he learned to find comfort in. His tired eyes slowly start to close, and the mask that he always wears in front of everyone else slowly slips off his face, and shatters on the stained hardwood floor. 

---

Who ordered fluff?

40 notes • Posted 2021-04-05 13:54:28 GMT

#4

Well, I guess Blast did earn his title of number one hero

I never thought we would see such a look of fear in Flash’s eyes until he tries to get Saitama to be his disciple after this is all over. 

44 notes • Posted 2021-01-25 14:43:40 GMT

#3

Zombiemask starts out as: *shares blunt and/or cigarette with homoerotic tension*

And then turns into: *lovingly gazes into each other’s eyes while drinking hard liquor straight out of the bottle with curly straws* 

63 notes • Posted 2021-03-27 09:19:44 GMT

#2

*At an S-Class meeting*

Atomic Samurai, drinking sake: It’s nice to indulge in some adult pleasures every now and then

Zombieman: Like drugs

Puri: And sex!

Genos: The military

66 notes • Posted 2021-10-02 18:59:21 GMT

#1

Is it really too much to ask to have Tatsumaki art that isn't sexualizing her?

72 notes • Posted 2021-11-22 07:02:42 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM manga updates 212 and 213 review

Hap-palled

Now y'all know that I've never met a piece of OPM story that I can't glom onto and gobble up like I'm late to a buffet and have been on an all-day fast, so you betcha I've got thoughts on the last couple of chapters. To say that I've got mixed feelings is an understatement. Fortunately, I found just the right image to convey this; it's a picture of Ippo (titular character of Morikawa's long-running boxing manga series Hajime no Ippo -- check it out if you like sports manga) being equal parts happy and totally appalled. Hap-palled, I'm calling this emotion.

I thought about summarizing the last two chapters but doing so is getting on my nerves and fuck it, everyone bothering to read this is highly literate, so you know the story. Let's just go straight for the meta.

META

I'll admit it; there's quite a bit in here that made me laugh. ONE's love of low-brow humour never left him and he brought it back. I shouldn't laugh but the ludicrousness of Saitama farting his way back to Earth after being teleported to the Sun; his wardrobe malfunction that restored his clothing everywhere except over his crotch, and Saitama being knocked ass over teakettle by an over-enthusiastic Genos did make me chortle. And of course, seeing Genos alive makes me happy.

However. Let's get more serious.

It's Not What You Want; It's What You Can Live With

While One-Punch Man is a story grounded in Saitama's lack of fulfilment owing to his getting what he wanted, in this story, if you look around, it's full of highly-capable, highly-driven, highly-accomplished people getting what they say they want... and then trying to live with it.

You can see OPM as an extended mediation on the futility of looking to any specific achievement or emotion as the source of happiness. When people ask how it can be classified as a seinen despite never having met a shonen trope it won't clothe itself in, it's this. And when OPM brings the sobering reality that happiness is not a static thing that can be attained once and for all to the world of insane characters striving to achieve impossible things, the implications get frightful.

Saitama's wishes have an especially terrible way of coming true.

Let's start with a positive one. You know OAV 1 when Saitama was sitting alone in the diner and saying that he had to believe that there was somebody out there who saw what he did and appreciated it. And that maybe it could be the guy who'd asked to be his disciple? Don't remember it? Go refresh your memory when you finish reading this. In chapter 155, that moment when Saitama finally understood that Genos really is a hero in his own right and isn't just fighting to get battle data or to fulfil the terms of their contract was the moment Saitama realised that his prayers had been answered TO. THE. LETTER.

Less positively, this arc has seen some of Saitama's less positive wishes come true too. His desire for a tough fight, for a rival who spurred growth, to feel himself growing stronger, to have to come up with new and exciting moves, he got them all.

Not that Garou was much of a rival; he only lasted as long as he did because Saitama decided to beat him with one hand. King pissed Saitama off by calling his desires shallow, immature, and not what being a hero was about. How right he was. The tragedy for the planet's existence was what it took for Saitama to see the truth of that.

I know Saitama said that he'd felt like destroying the Earth in a fit of frustration over losing his house. The fact that he really did throw a punch that would have destroyed the planet were it not for Blast (and team) intervening on losing Genos... should really give Saitama serious pause.

Garou also got his wish of being the Ultimate Evil, the ominous future that threatened survival itself, but how bitterly he came to regret it!

Just Had To Go There

After update 211, we had much speculation on how it could be possible that Genos's injuries were compatible with life. The answer: they weren't. Everyone else with blood coming out of every available orifice? They're dead too, even the allegedly unkillable Zombieman. Garou? He died; God went Old Testament on his ass and turned him into salt for displeasing Him. Saitama's the only person left alive on a planet that looks lifeless as far as the eye can see -- and probably much further. Not that the still-living would have much consolation: Jupiter, the protector of Earth from deadly projectiles, has been splashed and is slinging gigatons of rock and gas spewing in every direction. Even the Sun has not been left unscathed. ONE really went there, huh. But we'll fix it all... with time travel! This side of me is just appalled.

Physics is of course, not a friend to manga, but this time travel via subatomic particles thing takes the cake. There's just a homeopathic whiff of reality to it, in that subatomic particles can be symmetrical in time as well as space (e.g. an electron moving forward in time can be represented as a positron moving backward in time), but Garou being able to make particle and anti-particle sychronise but cancel out and Saitama being able to make them all go the same direction, thus moving backwards in time on the macroscale, ah hahaha.

Hell Is Truth Seen Too Late Redux

A few weeks ago, I wrote a meta about Garou's development in the story that is panning out quite well (damn) link.

As you know, I am never happy to see just one translation source. The last few chapters have really brought home why it's so important to have more than one independent person/group looking at the source material. A real problem with Garou's entanglement with God was that the translation given by the Reddit scanslation group and Viz alike was 'avatar', which created the impression that Garou was forced to do God's bidding. How does any redemption for Garou make sense if he didn't do anything? Denying characters agency is a horrid thing to do most times. Denying Garou agency is especially senseless.

I suspected otherwise and said as much; however, it's Koumbaya's love of digging into the connotations of the words used that really shines here. In an excellent bit of detective work (here), they pointed out that God's words to Garou were not that Garou would be His avatar per se, but rather the terms used when you empower someone to act in your place and with your authority. It would have been more correct to call Garou God's agent rather than His avatar. Garou has not been deluding himself about his actions being his own will. He was just telling the truth. Which means that what he did is his fault. This is a good thing but bear with me a second.

In their translation of update 211 (here), they also pointed out that when Garou was noting that he'd have to never see Tareo again, he moved from pronouns indicating closeness to those indicating distance. English has no compact ways of indicating distance. French can go from 'tu' to 'vous' here, so their translators are going to find this easy to convey. I noticed a couple of people puzzled as to why Garou went in the opposite direction to Tareo rather than towards him; that's your context. Garou should have left when Blast pleaded with him to come to a pocket dimension to save the lives of the people around him. He'd give anything right now to do that now, but Hell is truth seen too late.

One of the big, big flaws of Garou is that he's never seen people as people. They've been faceless things to him, and Tareo was the only person who could consistently cut through his miasma. His tendency to do this is mirrored by Saitama's state and thoughts just before he met Genos, btw. Like him, Saitama was losing his sense of reality. One becomes a monster when one becomes a separate existence from humanity, indeed.

Garou Finally Changes His Story

Bringing it all together, seeing Saitama holding that core was what brought it home to Garou that other people could understand him. They could feel like him, suffer like him, not think through the full consequences of their actions like him.

All through this story, Garou has seen himself as a victim of circumstances and has railed on how other people should behave better. Other people should stop being bullies. Should stop discriminating. Should stop being heroes with smug smiles on their faces as they put down the outcasts. He's appointed himself a monstrous busybody, going around trying to dictate to people how to be -- by knowingly adding great, needless cruelty to their lives. Nothing good was ever going to be built out of an enterprise founded on such crooked foundations. Well, what about you, Garou? What can you do to do better than you did before?

That's the most wonderful thing, to see Garou actually ask himself and find an answer to that question.

If Garou chose his actions, then that meant he had responsibility. If he had responsibility, then that meant he had agency. And if he had agency... then what stopped him from using his talent and imagination to consider a way to use his (literal) God-given abilities to a better end?

And that's when Garou humbled himself to ask for help. He could see how to use those powers, but he acknowledged that it was Saitama who had the ability to pull it off. This is a ridiculously huge step forward for him. I also read a certain humility in his asking Saitama to stop him before it was too late. An acknowledgment that he isn't going to be able to make different decisions without intervention.

I wondered how Garou's actions in this timeline could be forgiven. I had really hoped that what would happen is that he'd reverse entropy and heal the people he'd hurt, but alas, it was too late for anybody. I'm not a fan of redemption being death, but I understand ONE choosing to keep it simple (told you I was hap-palled). His actions were unforgivable so he paid for them with his life. But, he paid bravely. Even as God was turning him into salt, he did not waste a second panicking or feeling bad for himself and continued to instruct Saitama.

You may go 'why am I saying mean things about Garou?' But I feel that if for me not to note and condemn his bad sides is to sell his good aspects short and minimize the great personal development that he made. It's to me like measuring a mountain only from sea level, ignoring the fact that it is a sea volcano with its roots deep in the abyss. Half-assed.

He that would change the world must first start with himself is said so often it sounds trite, but self-transformation is no joke. Garou changed his story and, sad as I am over how it turned out, I couldn't be more proud of him. It really makes the cover hit different when you look at it again after reading the chapter and you realize that that's not Garou and Saitama's fists clashing but is rather a fist bump and that Garou's already turning into salt even as he does so.

In the end, they are not so different.

Too Little, Too Soon?

Speaking of personal change, let's move to Saitama who realised too late what he actually valued. And then dismantled causality itself to undo things. That moment of empathy when Garou realised that Saitama clung onto Genos as he clung onto Tareo for his very sanity, I wonder if Saitama has that same insight into his actions?

As I watch Saitama apparently forget why he re-entered the timeline once he merged with his present-day self and see him distracted by his disciple and a wardrobe failure in a very inappropriate place, I'm scared that Saitama won't remember enough to understand why he has to completely defeat Garou. If he only 'almost' beats Garou, Garou will continue on his catastrophic path and that would be a crime for which Saitama would be entirely responsible.

I hope the mute witness of the core he's still holding and the cramp in his left hand remind him of a future nightmare that might still come to pass, just a few minutes from now. I hope that his arms remind him of the feel of the dead child he rearranged to look as if they'd inexplicably decided to take a nap in a sea of rubble. I hope that his tongue reminds him of the taste of a youth crumbling away, who used his last bit of life to ask him to save him from himself. Even if Saitama doesn't remember what happened, I hope he realizes what he has to do and that it's not over until he ensures that Garou quits his quest for evil and finds a better path.

horrible, meaningless ends I never want to see again

Please, Saitama, this isn't the time to half-ass things. Beat Garou completely. His life and the lives of everyone you know and care about depend on it. Maybe that's why there's still a time-travelled core in Saitama's hand; the future is not averted. It's merely postponed unless he does the right thing fast.

I'm also concerned that Saitama may have dropped back into time too soon. That gamma-ray burst has still happened and it might not be too long before people start dropping dead anyway.

I've got a feeling that this isn't over by a long chalk. That baleful moon is still watching. It's not over until the Sun rises.

[gofancyninjaworld]

Why do you think Genos isn't weak? I agree that he can fight monsters but he won't stand a chance against strong monsters. He has been with Saitama for the longest time but he never learned anything. His naivety is the reason why he is weak, he is still consumed by the "normative awareness". His reaction to Amai Mask's transformation is a proof of that. His mindset never grew. He respects Saitama but does not understand him, which is why he is weak.

Please let me apologise in advance. First, this is long. Second, I do have a lot of thoughts.

Yeah, But

There isn’t a character in this series where the fanbase disagrees with the writer so deeply as this guy.  When interviewed, ONE insouciantly said ‘Genos is rather strong, even for a Class S hero,’ and fans went, ‘huh? You could have fooled us!’  It’s not without cause.  No matter how well his fights go, ONE always makes sure that we can append an asterix to it, that we can go yeah, but*

Right from the get go, every victory is downplayed. He thrashed Armored Gorilla, but we had no idea how strong Armored Gorilla was. Not for many, many chapters, until a much-shrunken, unarmored Armored Gorilla killed a tiger-level monster with one punch.   He clears a city and defeats two troublesome demon-level monsters in a matter of minutes? Yeah, but look at the state of his arms and oh! see, see, he just got flattened by that other monster!  Bang needs to save Garou from his clutches?  Yeah, but what if Garou was well?  He’s turning monster after monster into Cubist expressions without getting a speck of blood on him? Yeah, but it’s not like we can see what’s going on – the camera pans everywhere else.  He does the unbelievable against Elder Centipede?  We start going wow, followed quickly by – yeah but the monster regenerated, he’s fated to always lose.  He destroys G-5 without effort?  Oh My GAWD!  The Honour of Atomic Samurai [1] Has Been Besmirched!  (me: huh how does that follow? No, don’t explain – I do understand. Because Genos is seen as weak, if he does what another character couldn’t, then it’s seen as a disgrace to the other character, not an achievement for him.)

battle without honour – if he beat Garou, then he’s a bully, if he didn’t, then he’s a wimp

Of course, the converse is also true. If Genos is having a bad time, the camera lingers in 4K with extra slow-mo. And if the action switches, like when he went from struggling against G-4 to working out how to shut the robot’s lasers down and pull it into punching range, the camera pans away, returning only to feast on the grisly aftermath.

The final clincher is Genos himself, who never reacts with the slightest sense of celebration or triumph no matter how well a fight goes.  His lack of joy in fights is something that ONE has emphasised to Murata.   Being able to celebrate with characters is half the joy of watching them fight.

by contrast, hell yeah, Metal Bat! The story leaves no room for doubt that Metal Bat’s to be found awesome. And he is!  :)

The reason I go into all this is that I get it: Genos is presented to us in a way that gives us cause to doubt his strength.  In that, he’s like the opposite of Saitama, who is presented to us so we can have no doubt as to his strength, but to the internal audience in a way that keeps raising doubts in their minds.

But Genos is strong. He’s physically very strong, very fast, and versatile.  And he’s far less fragile than he is popularly made out to be. There is no reason he shouldn’t be able to take on very strong monsters, subject to match up (like almost every other hero [2]). However, ONE will make damn sure that Genos does not get to appreciate how much more powerful he has grown. What’s it going to be? What’s it going to take this time to knock down Demon Cyborg? Are several cadre going to attack him at the same time? Or will the super-insane monster that looks like the lovechild of Smaug, better-looking Sauruman and a hydra perched at the top of the mile high tower do him in first?  What’s going to *keep* him down? Place your bets, folk: the outcome is sure to be gruesome.

Which actually brings me directly to addressing your assertion: “…but he won’t stand a chance against strong monsters.“  Because it presupposes that Genos MUST be weak, any monster he defeats can’t possibly be strong.  A more honest rephrasing would be ‘I’m not prepared to accept that any monster that Genos could defeat is strong.’

No mental growth? Really?

That’s the physical part.  Let’s go onto mentality.  Annoyingly, I have to treat the manga and webcomic as separate entities at this point.  If you like the detail, I’ve written an extensive side-by-side comparison essay: link. You can skip it for this answer. :)

You know what would have made me think Genos weak?  If Saitama’s fears for what might be happening to him the morning he caught up with Garou had come true:

Before Elder Centipede showed up, Genos had told Garou that he’d finally begun to understand what Saitama had been saying to him about strengthening his spirit.  And then ONE put that to the test when he put Genos in the worst pinch the latter had ever been in: chopped in half and about to be devoured by a monster, with the only heroes watching those who’d proved impotent [3] to do anything to the monster.  Instead of giving up the way he had against Mosquito Girl, Genos dug deep and not only saved himself, but counter-attacked and burned the monster from stem to stern.  That is excellent: there is no place for a character who cannot find self-efficacy in a pinch.  

Without doubt, Genos has further to go, but in the manga it is wilful blindness to claim that he hasn’t developed mentally.

Now, let’s move onto the webcomic.

Even though ONE has done far less with his character in the webcomic than he has in the manga, Genos is back and fighting when most of his classmates are still rolling on the ground, unable to come to terms with losing. There is a real strength to getting up again and moving forward. 

It’s not that Genos doesn’t have any doubts: he does.  From his crushing realisation that he had made a mistake in giving up his human body to asking if he can really become stronger by changing his parts, Genos is very aware of a sense of stagnation and appears very worried by something.  But still, he’s not giving up and he’s not stopped looking to make progress.

even as Saitama despairs of being able to help, he cannot fault Genos for his determination

Still, why cheer for a loser?

There’s a real cognitive dissonance in fans who praise to the high heavens and write as inspirational Saitama’s words to keep trying and moving forward, no matter what, and yet are happy to mock Genos for doing exactly that.

There’s no honour for you if you laugh at characters taking Saitama’s advice

It’s amazing.  Does anyone imagine that before Saitama became too strong, he never failed? Really?  Saitama himself will disagree with that!  Sometimes success looks like reaching the summit of a mountain, but often, it’s only visible in the rearview mirror.  We saw it took Saitama a long time to finally accept that yup, he was just the strongest.

Something I came to realise a while back, people say they love seeing struggle, but real fights don’t sell well in mass media (yes, I have more extensive thoughts on this, here). We like the struggle, but we want the assurance that the underdog has something in their favour that will guarantee that we’re backing a winner.  At one level, we know we’re just watching *how* Garou is going to succeed… at least until Saitama body-checks him to great dramatic effect.

Goodness knows that everything is arranged against Genos and success. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble recounting most of them:

His lack of a biological body to train up.

His dependence on a mechanical body with its set in stone limitations.

His dependence on the cleverness and resources of others.

His lack of innate talent or heritage (and if he had any, they’ve long since been binned).

His stubborn persistence on a pathway we’re sure cannot possibly succeed.

His mentality, which is getting better, but isn’t there yet.

His persistent psychological problems that put him at high risk of turning into a monster instead.

The unresolved mysteries surrounding him, which make lots of fans think there’s a devastating revelation at hand from which he cannot recover.

And oh, he’s not the most likeable or relatable character out there. It shouldn’t be a factor, but it totally is.

And yet, Genos hasn’t stopped moving forward.  No idea how far he’ll get, but so far, Genos has not set himself a limit to the number of times he’s willing to get himself up and try again.  Not only that, he’s raised his sights higher, not lower.

For that and more, I’m not only happy to call Genos strong, but I’m willing to follow along with him however far or short his journey ends up being.

The risk of heartbreak is worth the excitement of seeing a real fighter working out his uncertain destiny.

no one can accuse him of lacking ambition. Gambatte!

Asides

[1] I know there’s a meme going round about Atomic Samurai being weak, but it’s as much in jest as the one about King being strong.  Anyone believing Atomic weak has piss-holes for eyes.

[2] There’s a reason Phoenixman highlights four heroes in particular – Blast, Tatsumaki, Metal Knight and King (Saitama).  They’re the heroes who are so strong that they’ve broken out of the tyranny of match up.  Everyone else has something they can’t deal with.

[3] You’re calling two old men impotent? Have you no shame?! In general, no, I haven’t much shame.  In this specific instance, it is entirely warranted.