#saitama vs garou

[bluecollectorglitter]

[movieanimex]

One Punch Man Season 3 Trailer Is Here !!! MovieAnimeX

[my-name-is-katelynn]

I can not even put into words the emotions I felt when reading this for the first time, just chills, fucking chills.

“Do I really have…a hero’s intuition?”

One Punch Man 166

[rants-about-opm]

I would have preferred if Garou had kept his memory after the whole time travel adventure, and managed to do something Saitama and Genos hadn't: realize that Saitama is a problem.

I wish garou would have run off into the jungles like he did in the webcomic and just gone absolutely bonkers with forbidden knowledge, finally seeing that every big conflict comes to a head with this bald man, and how that isn't a good thing because that means the only thing standing between humanity and the kind of havoc people like himself try to wreak every day is a man who never gets there in time, never learns, and never changes despite having fended off such world shattering enemies several times before.

Can you imagine Garou being chased out of the town square because he's there with a megaphone telling an absolutely insane story about him being radioactive and getting knocked the fuck out by a god egg?

It's funny, but also could have so many interesting story repercussions; the Hero Association, who laughed Genos off, now have to rethink their entire approach to everything because the guy who was kicking the shit out of their heroes two weeks ago now wants nothing to do with them and is instead running around freaking out about the same story Genos told them, with the caveat that he doesn't think Saitama's supposed strength is anything but a ticking time bomb.

Genos would definitely end up hearing about what Garou is up to, and have to wrestle with his jealousy, his suspicion of Garou, and his attachment to Saitama if he is going to eventually team up with the only other person who knows the full extent of the truth about Saitama's power in order to prevent the doom Garou predicts will come about should other forces as powerful as the hero hunter was continue to challenge Saitama.

And of course, running around town doomsdaying is sure to catch the attention of Bang, who has no idea what to do with Garou anymore, the attention of the general population, who are going to flip their shit when the "ultimate evil" suddenly changes his mind about killing them and is trying to warn them of an even more ultimate evil, and also the attention of the exact kind of challengers Garou is trying to warn everyone about, who no doubt will be drawn to Saitama the way people who learn of his power often are.

I just think it could have been a real domino effect type deal. That being said, I'm not wanting ONE and Murata to change what they have in mind for the story. Somehow I get the feeling that the experienced writers and artists who have brought us countless other great stories have a better idea of how OPM should proceed than a guy with a Tumblr account and a dream.

[1punch]

tfw your grief is so crippling it destroys planets and stars without even caring

[ella390-the-potato]

New Anime Announcement

One Punch Man 3

To Be Released in 2024

[the-nysh]

I have seen people on twitter that izuku shouldnt be treating shigaraki like a person that he needs to stop

(Tip: don't listen to those twitter takes, you'll have a much better time with the manga.) Cause this should be long established: how the designated 'villains' are human (victims - of society, circumstances, or even their own quirks) desperately in need of help (saving) too. Even Uraraka fundamentally understood this with Toga when she saved her from her despairing rampage, by treating/accepting her as the person she's always wanted to be (when she'd always been rejected as a 'demon'/'deviant' to even live as herself.)

And Shigaraki (Tenko) we've seen is one of the biggest trauma victims who was never saved (with great resentment), only exploited and explicitly groomed by AfO to become this - his personal Vessel of Mass Destruction. Where now Shiggy himself denies (outright refuses/rejects being saved or seen as human) and practically everyone and their mother (in-universe) expects and advises Deku to be prepared to kill him. This transcendent inhuman 'monster' as they in turn call him. But Deku is the only one who's seen the trapped human child Tenko still suffering within, and is adamant in choosing to use OfA as a power to save. Not to kill, as that is just the simple easy way out. That of course, most people in-universe (and apparently those on that side of the twitter-verse) expect of him and want him to do too. And that is precisely why this has become Deku's biggest challenge!! To do the opposite of what's typically expected, as his own brand of new gen hero. As a difficult battle not of power, but of clashing egos: to save the one who refuses to be saved and threatens to destroy all.

Which is proceeding exactly as Hori said it would from his 2022 Jump Festa message:

He’s the greatest obstacle in Deku’s goal of “saving”. Saving and Destroying are both born out of ego. Whose ego will win in the end? Is it even a matter of winning or losing? How will things go? What shall I do? What am I supposed to do??

So naturally we (the audience) should be cheering for Deku to succeed as the type of hero (who saves - Tenko included) that he's chosen to be. (And to what extent shall he be pushed and hindered by hurdles towards that goal? That is up to Hori's execution to decide!)

[bluecollectorglitter]

[theomnicode]

More of these great animations, the beginning of the fight between Saitama and Cosmic Garou, very well done animation to boot from AniMatt.

Check it out!

[villainous-ace]

Gonna reblog this

I'm sobbing rn

ONE PUNCH-MAN FANGIRLING THOUGHTS: AN ESSAY

It’s been such a long time since i even posted anything here. This is kind of like a summary to the vent session(s) I had with my friend about the latest chapters. She suggested I post it here so here goes.

First of all.

Loved it.

Loved that so much.

It was right down my alley.

I know some people didn’t like how some things were done, that’s fair, you can’t please everyone. I was kinda bummed by how things were wrapped up too to be honest. I’ll get to it later.

But the things they did with Saitama’s character? A masterpiece. The artwork? Godly.

I am a sucker for metaphors in art and the latest chapters were just chock full of them.

Of course the fight scenes were ungodly amazing too, don’t get me wrong. But the metaphors? *chefs kiss *

Let’s get to the rants.

Here’s a list of the beautiful symbolisms that I managed to glean from reading the final chapters in both English and Japanese.

————————————

1. The fallout rain

It’s a natural phenomenon that has happened before in Japan during the world war. How they executed the phenomenon, though, was perfection.

(Absolutely loved this page)

Loved how Murata used the rain as a metaphor for the sadness that somebody important just died, but also since it’s in bnw, you can’t really tell if it’s blood, or some people had assumed it was oil from Genos, or if it was what it really was: the fallout rain.

But it fits all the symbolism in my opinion, since it was basically all of them. It symbolises the blood (or in Genos’s case; oil) that’s in Saitama’s hands. It symbolises the consequences to his action (or inaction).

Saitama decided to spare Garou and not deal the finishing blow to him when he had the chance. He was responsible for Garou being able to have contact with the god thing, and therefore become the cosmic horror. Saitama is indirectly responsible for the deaths, and most importantly, Genos’s death.

I also loved how Murata drew the streaks down his eyes, like he was crying. Quite sure that it’s intentional.

I loved Saitama’s expression. I can see the disbelief, the despair, and utter shock in his face. I believe that’s called a shell-shocked expression?

To me, his expression seems to cry out, “Why did everything end up becoming like this?”

It was genuinely heartbreaking to see that in his face. Murata is a true artist for portraying that so expertly. That expression of utter shock was incredibly fitting for someone like Saitama. I’ll explain why I think so.

All this time Saitama has never bothered to put his heart in any of his fights, cuz he’s basically invincible. He has no stakes in any fights and this one was no different. Unlike other heroes, he never had anything to lose in any fights cuz he’s always going to win. He knows that.

So it’s just so fitting because of his character’s portrayal; someone who’s lost touch with the real world and his emotions. He is basically invincible, and was so alone he really didn’t have anything to lose.

That is, until he did.

Up to this point we’ve been showed crumbs of how Saitama cares about Genos (pretending to be his teacher, running to his aid first thing after getting out of the MA lair, ignoring Garou, and let’s not forget the core touching scene lol).

All in all, we are shown bits and pieces how much Saitama cares about Genos, and I think Saitama does know that he cares about Genos (maybe not as aware as to how much he cares tho). Thing is, up to this point, I don’t think Saitama has ever seriously considered Genos actually dying. It’s fair since he always comes back even after getting brutally beat up like in the Seaking arc.

So in this instance I think it genuinely rattles Saitama to the core to realize that Genos can actually die.

And that he actually does have something to lose after all.

The usage of the fallout rain as a symbolism was perfect for this one. I absolutely love it.

2. The Face Swap

Let’s not forget this one.

The way Saitama has a black tone all over his face and Garou has a light colored one is a very deliberate symbolism.

I’ve seen a lot of people calling this one out too and I agree with what they call it.

Saitama is the hero in this story, but at this moment, he is the one who doesn’t give a fuck about anything and anyone else but the object of his revenge, which, if I recall correctly, is what we call a villain.

Meanwhile we have Garou, the guy who calls himself the villain, yet at his heart of hearts, is actually not evil.

Some people have mentioned that Saitama is the hero with villainous tendencies and Garou is the villain with heroic tendencies. I do agree with that.

Some people argue that Saitama did not intend to destroy the earth and while for some reason I do believe destroying the earth itself wasn’t the intention, the lack of caring of what’s going to happen in the aftermath of that serious punch is undeniable.

We have seen the devastation of what a serious punch can cause during the early days of one punch man series, when Saitama sparred against Genos. Imagine that kind of devastation inflicted upon the already broken down area. It would’ve been atrocious. If the other heroes there weren’t already dying, they’d surely be dead if they got caught in the aftermath of that punch. Especially because if I recall their positioning correctly:

Yup. Directly behind Garou and Blast.

And I doubt Blast could tank the aftermath of a serious punch enough to protect everyone else, sorry Blast.

Had Garou not return the serious punch, the destruction of the whole area would still be imminent.

And Saitama did not care.

So yeah, villain. A hero with villainous tendencies sounds about right.

While Garou was his opposite; the villain with heroic tendencies. Polar opposite fists sounds about right. That, couples with how ONE had once mentioned that Garou is the anti-Saitama? I do believe that explains everything quite well.

3. Jupiter

The Jupiter scene is incredible. Period.

This whole scene depicts just how far behind Garou is compared to Saitama. Jupiter behind Saitama seems to symbolise just how massive the storm in Saitama’s heart is, and plus it depicts what an ominous presence Saitama currently was. Compare that to how small Garou is in the lower part of the screen. The result of this fight has been clear from the start.

Saitama is drawn at the top is already symbolic of how far on top of Garou he is. And Jupiter’s surface behind him is drawn like an eye, which I’m pretty sure is symbolic too about how he stands as the eye of the storm.

Which as we all know, is the calmest part of the storm.

He did look calm didn’t he?

At least on the outside he did.

The storm behind him symbolises the storm brewing inside, waiting to release its fury on Garou.

4. The Core holding scene (not that one)

I have not seen anybody talk about this one yet. This one is a bit less obvious and I only caught on because I read the Japanese version. So I’m gonna be posting the picture in Japanese.

Here Saitama was talking shit to Garou, which was already rare coming from Saitama. But what he said in Japanese made me realize why this picture was made in that composition.

Here Saitama said “そのためなんだろ？” which was translated to “isn’t that the whole point of this?” In the english version. It’s not wrong. But in my opinion it fails to capture the nuance of why the picture was drawn like that.

What Saitama said could also be roughly translated as: “what you did was for this right?” Which, when we look at the way Murata included Genos’s core in that picture, seems to want to say “you killed him for this, right?”

It hurt me when I realised that but also

That’s how you do composition in storytelling. Honestly I’m kinda sad more people didn’t catch on. Some animators even made awesome fan animations and I saw a few failed to include Genos’s core in that scene, which saddens me even more cuz the animations were great otherwise.

To be fair it’s a very nuanced thing, which sometimes get lost in translation. I get that.

So here I am trying to explain away one of my favourite pages lol.

—————————

And while we’re on the topic of translations, let’s talk Japanese. And by that I mean let’s talk about the original Japanese dialogue. This is gonna be me nerding out about the original Japanese phrases in the manga so be warned.

Let’s start from the top.

This page is really heartbreaking.

Basically here, what Saitama said was actually closer to: “I really do not have what they called a hero’s instinct at all huh……”

He’s not questioning whether or not he has a hero’s instinct. He’s admitting that he does not in fact have a hero’s instinct, at all.

It hurts for me to read that because that’s a very defeated phrase to say for someone who already, in the previous chapters, stated the doubts he had of his own heroism. It shows just how hurt he was at this scene. It kinda justified how he basically threw all caution to the wind and went for the overpowered punch right after that…

Let’s take a break from the sad.

This one is, in fact, very correct. The English translation has Garou say “later then lol”.

It is in fact what he says.

He did say “w”, which is the abbreviation for “wara”, which in Japanese is 「笑」. It means “laugh”. It is the Japanese word for ‘lol’. It’s usually a chat thing though, not a spoken word but it’s super common even my bosses at work uses it regularly.

So this one is, in fact, not a mistranslation. They got it 100% correct on this one.

Let’s go for another sad.

The clinging word here is pretty accurate in my opinion. However the word they used for this in Japanese was 縋る (sugaru). I went to the dictionary for more context and I got it. Let’s see if I can convey the whole meaning in English. It be difficult this one.

This word is very emotional, as it has the meaning of “to clutch really strongly on to something or someone, that is the sole dependable/trustworthy figure in times of pain or hardship”.

The dictionary mentions that this word is closely related to 頼る(tayoru) which means to lean on someone for support. But the former put a far stronger emphasis on the dependence and trust placed in the something or someone than the latter.

That one hurt me.

To realize that Genos and Tareo were depicted as the sole emotional support to Saitama and Garou respectively that they trusted and depended on. It was almost enough to make me tear up.

If Garou was comparable to Saitama, Genos is comparable to Tareo in terms of what they are to each of their respective idols.

They even share the same bald spot <3

Let’s wrap this up with a sweet one.

This moment when Genos thought he needed to tell this story to the people who needed to know? The Japanese is admittedly a bit ambiguous. It is written 人間, which directly translates to human. However, this word is used pretty regularly in lots of different meaning (singular or plural both) depending on the context. Which led me to believe that, Genos is not trying to tell this to “the people” who needed to hear.

He meant he needed to tell just one person. And he did it immediately after that.

It wasn’t about any other people.

It was just about Saitama.

And that’s so like Genos.

Saitama was the person who needed to hear that yes, he actually did make it in time. Yes, he did manage to save everyone including Genos. Yes, he is a hero despite all his doubts.

I think it’s so sweet of him and so in character of Genos to be thinking of Saitama first. It makes sense too, because he made that promise to himself during the seaking arc that he wouldn’t interfere if Saitama chose to play the role of a bad guy but he’s gonna be there for his Sensei whenever he’s in a pinch.

It’s like a throwback to the aftermath of the meteor where he voiced his solid appreciation and devotion to his Sensei after that public lynching to support and make Saitama feel better.

It’s so like Genos to take it as part of his role as Saitama’s disciple to protect his Sensei and remind him that he is appreciated. Especially after thinking he’s just giving up the acknowledgment for the sake of other heroes again (he just doesn’t remember tho lol).

Protective Sensei is a force to be reckoned with.

Protective borg is a sweet borg.

Too bad Saitama doesn’t remember so he honestly doesn’t understand Genos was being sweet.

It’s ok Genos, we know.

Hopefully Saitama will too.

Anyways, I can go on and on about my take on their relationship but I’m running out if space for this one (I’m on phone) so I’m gonna wrap this one up.

Maybe I will write another one if I feel like it.

Cheers~

[gofancyninjaworld]

Hello!!

I would like to ask. What do you think of the negative reviews regarding the current direction of the OPM manga?

I have seen a lot of negative opinions that OPM is going to failure because of Murata (and even ONE), because the Blast Vs Void fight has been uncertain for a long time since the manga break, and then we were introduced to the neo heroes arc. That many have found it boring since the story of the ninja village was interrupted, and that the last chapters have been very short and it feels that the work progresses very slowly. In addition, OPM has had constant redraws and the last arc of MA and cosmic garou was somewhat controversial for its resolution, added to the redraws.

In addition to this, I see that people support that the work completely forgets about Saitama, pointing out that the main character is not forgotten since he practically does not appear (beyond the covers). Finally, I have also seen that some people point out that ONE has decreased the quality of the work because of being involved in other manga. And that OPM has lost quality completely.

I would like to hear other opinions, because I feel that they are somewhat exaggerated. But honestly I have been frustrated not to see Blast and Void fight, and I feel that many people waiting for this fight makes them lose interest in Neo-Heroes because they feel like they introduced this reunion at a bad time. I feel that Murata and One are overlapping these WC arcs, and developed in parallel. But that's my speculation....

Lol. I laugh now because the reality of watching OPM being made is a bit like the pitch experiment. It flows but not a timescale that makes sense to sit and watch it.

I started following the manga in 2016, right at the tail end of the time when Murata would only get a storyboard every 2-3 months, and would often post only a handful of pages of redrawn stuff. Then it went to every 2-3 weeks with month-long pauses but at least new story, 15-20 pages. Then it started to be 30+ pages at a time, every 3-4 weeks. Then it started to be 30-ish pages at a time, every other week. ONE has managed to deliver storyboards consistently enough that there's a whole generation of people who joined in the last 3-4 years who have no damn idea it was ever any different.

This is far from the first time that many updates have gone into making a single chapter: Saitama vs. Genos, the Giant Meteor, all the chapters of the Alien invasion, King, to just name a few, advanced a few pages at a time over many weeks. This is not the first time that Saitama has been gone from the story for months: when it's compiled, he's away from the story for only a few chapters but it sure doesn't look that way following chapter-to-chapter.

And as for redraws, BITCH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STORY WHERE THE FIRST CHAPTER WAS REDRAWN FIVE TIMES! If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know, I don't know what does. I used to tell people regularly that if you don't want uncertainty, buy the volumes or wait for the anime. That's when you'll see the story as it was intended to be seen. Want immediacy? Then you have to make peace with the fact that this work does change regularly.

As for whether it has lost quality... make your mind up for yourself! 'Quality' is a meaningless term without a set of criteria. A good quality F1 racecar is a poor quality 18-wheeler -- and vice versa. So what quality are you referring to? Sure, I've heard some people grumble about having fewer panels they can hang up on the wall as decontextualised art pieces but they're losing the point of the panels as being moments in a sequential story. There's people who are annoyed at it not being the webcomic with nicer art, to which I say, 'DUH!' The manga has only one job, and it's the only quality criterion on which I judge it: does it delight me? Its only job is to entertain... hopefully enough to induce you to part with some disposable income.

If you're not entertained, give yourself permission to drop it. Life is short and excellent works are many: don't hang onto something that doesn't bring joy to your life. The OPM manga delights me. If that changes, I will drop it.

Hope that answers your questions.

[quirkwizard]

If you could drop full power All Might (or Izuku, whichever sounds more fun) into a setting, where would you pick? It could be just because you want the setting to get the hammers of justice, or because you want to see some unique interactions. I realize the question is a bit aimless, but I kinda like your crossover questions like the vs ones.

You know what? I'll cover them both. For the sake of this, I am disqualifying anything related to Marvel or DC. There have been so many fan works related to those two and are such obvious choices that I don't feel the need to include them.

-Any "realistic" hero setting: The Boys specifically. I just want to see Izuku or All Might beat the life out of every single character in that series, show or comic. Not only would it those insufferable mouth pieces to stop talking, but it would be refreshing to see some actual heroes in that setting.

-Any manga with a notable power system: This is a sort of catch all for other big shonen series like Dragonball or Naruto. I'd really only want this to see how they'd interact with the system. Like I'd be curious to see what Izuku's Stand would look like or how All Might would use ki, rather then anything deeper then that.

-One Punch Man: Probably the setting they'd have the easiest time fitting into with the hero system, though their may be some friction with how differently the heroes act. By that same metric, it's one of the least interesting to talk about. I'd be really curious to see how they'd interact with Saitama and Garou especially.

-Pokémon: I'm suggesting this one more because I'm curious what choices they'd make, like the kinds of teams they'd build or what their actual goals would be. If nothing, it'd be hilarious to All Might and Izuku could go head to head with other Pokemon. Their team gets knocked out by a Tyranitar and box it themselves.

-One Piece: I believe that it would be intriguing to see how Izuku and All Might would deal with such a radically different world, both in terms of geography and politics. Not only is this a world where everything is so spread out, but it's a world where there are plenty morally awful people for them to go against on both sides of the law.

-Jujutsu Kaisen: This is a mix of wanting to see them deal with the various injustices of that world and wanting to see them beat the life out of all of the villainous characters in that series. And for those of you who say they can't, I would like to remind you that Maki and Toji are a thing. Just give them a good ole magic stick and let them go to work.

-Worm: While I don't particularly care for Worm in execution, I do think that it'd be interesting to see people like All Might and Izuku act with it. Not just how they'd interact with the failing system of heroes or how they'd fight the various villains, but how they'd interact with the world. Genuinely good people with power who aren't bogged down in the mire of misery that is this setting.

-Hunter x Hunter: What may be the best mix of options. With this, would get a far more morally lax world, especially for those in power, that the two could play against. There's also a varied and personal power system for them to interact with. I'd be really curious to see the kind of abilities the two would have with Nen and how they'd try to deal with such a "might makes right" kind of world.

[garoumylove]

Forgive me OPM darlings for I have sinned...

I see a few people reading and interacting with my posts lately which makes my heart super happy but I think it's time to come clean.

I have committed the cardinal sin: I do not like the ending of the MA arc or the way Garou is characterised post his fight with Saitama.

I'm sorry...I'm sorry if this lets you all down. I know that this is not the Done Thing in the OPM fandom but I just...can't.

Now let me be clear because confessing to this comes with so many assumptions.

-NO, I DO NOT HATE THE MANGA. I fell in love with Garou through the manga. He become the light of my life during the A-Class fight. I think the manga did an amazing and brilliant job of capturing him and his spirit up until a certain point.

-NO, I DO NOT THINK THE MANGA SHOULD HAVE BEEN A 1 TO 1 CARBON COPY OF THE WEBCOMIC. While I do think the webcomic did a better job of Saitama vs. Garou and its aftermath than the manga, I don't think it should have been a straight up copy of it.

So what don't I actually like?

I stopped loving it after Garou got to the surface after the long hiatus of us not seeing him due to the Psykos fight.

Ever since he re-emerged he was not the same cocky, decisive, independent , threatening character. He was completely softened up to the point where, to me personally, his personality was no longer recognisable as the Garou I fell in love with.

I've had many discussions with people who feel similar to me and people who feel the complete opposite. The deal is that Garou since then has been really pure, way more than before.

I'm not upset because he's happy, I always wanted him to be, I just don't like the pure, age regressed Garou. He seems more naive and comical than before. To me, he feels more like Luffy now than Garou. It's not that I wanted him to be depressed and angry all the time, I just wanted him to be happy but more of a cocky young adult rather than the kid-like Garou we have now. I didn't want him to submit to authority so easily and for Bang to treat him like a small naughty child. I wanted him to reconcile with Bang and have a more mature mentor/mentee relationship and probably not so soon after his defeat.

I don't want to get too much more into this because I know this is a very sensitive topic and people get really upset about it as I've learned through personal experience. But I just wanted to be completely honest with anyone who may be reading or interacting with my posts.

I understand why so many people do like this much softer, child-like Garou and I think it really comes down to personal preference and unfortunately, that just isn't mine. I will continue to write and draw Garou as I see him, the Garou that I have built up in my mind based on everything up to the surface fight. The Garou that I fell in love with.

It's just my preference, just like some people like soft and fluffy fanfics and some people prefer darker, more brooding stuff.

I think there's no question that Garou's characterisation has changed to become more of a sweet comic relief and that's just something I'm not that attracted to.

I respect everyone's preferences and opinions and headcanons of Garou and other characters but these are mine.

I'm just going to keep doing what I've always been doing but I wanted to be honest with this because some people take this very seriously and this debate has ended friendships.

Please love the Garou that you love and enjoy what you enjoy. I guess I am just a heretic and will continue to be so. I'll go say my ten Hail Marys now ;)

[sw33t-as-h3ll]

It is amazing, sensei!

Chapter 164 last page coloring by me. This is one of my favorite panels as of date ❤

[webtoon-devourer]

i don't think it's necessarily the ruling opinion, but there are no doubt some people upset with the end of the Monster Association arc and how everything was "fixed" with time travel. i would like to express the level on which i disagree with this sentiment.

this dislike of the arc's conclusion likely stems from the general dislike of "it's okay, we can just go back in time!" and "it was all a dream :)" style endings, specifically the idea that these endings, under any circumstances, are cop outs. i disagree. if One Punch Man ended there, with saitama travelling back in time to stop everyone's deaths and his fight with garou, i would be immensely dissatisfied with the ending. i think that would be fair. however, vitally, it does not. those events are only the conclusion to a single arc. it brings us to a similar situation as the ending of the lord boros arc, with a city destroyed but none of the important characters dead. therefore, i would argue that such a conclusion to an arc is par for the course for One Punch Man. but there is also the vital matter of "it was all a dream :)" situations and how, in my opinion, while often used as cop outs, they are not inherently so, and dogmatic insistence against them is detrimental to good writing. having every possibility on the table is important in order to develop a plot in the way best suited to it - it's simply lazy writing which misuses these possibilities.

the vital question here is: was the time travel ending of the Monster Association arc a cop out? no, it was not. in my opinion, the events which were reversed could nearly be considered expositional. the cosmic garou vs saitama fight and the events which caused it tell us a heck of a lot about the characters. that garou retains his humanity even after becoming monsterised - when he sees takeo dead, he realises that his actions have not led the world in the direction he hoped, which was always a fairer existence. (he's really not a bad guy at all.) what saitama is capable of - man caused untold destruction during this fight without much of a care, including nearly destroying the earth if not for blast and co; on the technical side, we are shown that his power increases exponentially in response to another being even beginning to approach his level of power, leading him to easily beat a puppet channeling the power of literal GOD. that saitama actually cares a heck of a lot about genos, and clings to him for his sense of humanity, which he is barely hanging onto. it also gives us a taste of god's power, for future reference. the only reason i don't consider it expositional - that is, a "what if" scenario purely for the audience's benefit, which fleshes out the characters under otherwise inaccessible circumstances - is that genos remembers. therefore, these events actually do impact the plot through him. (there's a chance that blast and co also know, which would also affect the plot, but i'm not sure.)

the ever-increasing stakes are vital. we're still within the time frame of shibabawa's great prophecy of a god-level threat. at first, we thought it was lord boros, then garou, and now it's looking like the god-level threat might literally be god. whose power we have gotten a taste of, thanks to the cosmic garou fight. things are very much not hunky dory. there is still plenty of opportunity for things to go terribly wrong, even if it didn't happen this time. especially now that we know that saitama is barely clinging to his humanity. the deaths of everyone he knew affected him for sure, but particular emphasis was placed on the death of genos, because he's saitama's hinge to humanity. (if you deny this, i will be forced to call into question your reading skills.) this ups the stakes in a unique way. before, the concept of genos' death carried far less weight. genos fans would be upset, naturally, and saitama would be pretty sad, because it was clear before this arc that he cared at least somewhat about genos. but now? we know how saitama will react to genos' death. and it's not in a sane manner. genos' death now carries with it the stakes of the earth potentially being destroyed and saitama losing his sanity. at least personally, i will look upon any close calls genos has in future with greater anxiety. this newfound knowledge that we have only gives more ground to the idea that the final enemy might be saitama. either the final enemy of the earth, if he turns into a villain (quite possibly due to losing his mind), or the final enemy of saitama himself, as he battles his depression and struggles to stay in touch with his humanity.

the time travel ending was not a waste, nor a cop out. i encourage you to look at the bigger picture instead of allowing your instinctive reaction of "time travel clutch bad" to inform your opinions. there is still the problem of time travel now being on the table as a solution, but this can be avoided in various ways. for example, the existence of the alternate universe where everyone died and saitama fought cosmic garou as a parallel universe created by time travel, therefore not really fixing the problem, but merely rerouting it. or having time travel somehow taken off the table as a possibility. for example (this is just conjecture and not supported by canon), if god dies, perhaps time can no longer be manipulated, and saitama will have to make a decision between destroying god or saving everyone but letting god live and continue to manipulate events, a decision which he can never bypass because he ends up at the same crossroads no matter which path he takes leading up to that. i understand the concern, and am somewhat concerned myself, but i trust ONE and Murata not to end the series in a dissatisfying way. also, i think it adds another level of interest, even. if saitama's power is so great that he can manipulate time, that he can do basically anything, then hitting a single roadblock which he cannot bypass regardless of his power would undoubtedly have incredibly interesting effects on him psychologically. he could be glad to not be all-powerful, and have to actually fight for something for once, or - much like the events with cosmic garou - he might realise that finding a difficult opponent (in the form of a fighter or an impossible decision) at the expense of the people he cares about doesn't actually make him happy or excited. that perhaps he should have turned his search for feeling and a reason to live elsewhere, beyond fighting, a long time ago. idk 🤷‍♂️

[sukustar]

Master List

of my content

I don't specialize in the slightest in scenarios/headcanons and stuff but I upload a lot of anime content so I wanted to create a list to keep it in order.

MHA:

Headcanons by T. Shoto and B. Katsuki

Picture of Dabi Child and Baby Shoto

Image of Little Keigo and Enji created by Horikoshi's Assistant

Sketches of Lady Nagant made by Horikoshi

Appreciating the beauty of Bakugou (Images)

Deku vs. Shigaraki 384 (Picture)

AFO Full Face Reveal (Images)

DABI:

Dabi learning to get angry without toxicity

Pictures before Dabi Dance

Dabi sketch made by Horikoshi

Baby Touya Images

Dabi Dance Images

Mha 376

Pictures of Dabi looking soft

More Images of Dabi Dance

More Pictures of Little Touya

Gentle Boyfriend Dabi (Headcanon)

386-The end.

JJK:

Maki on the cover of volume 22

The possibility of Satoru facing Megumi (possessed)

Image that makes me want to collect signatures for Akutami to release Yuuji

Imagened of Cute Toge

Image of Cute Toge ×2

Panda Icons

Season 2 Visuals

Season 2 Trailer Moments

Satoru, Suguru and Toji GIFs

Toji's official voice

Pets they would have (Various characters)

Professor Gojo and Professor Nanami (Images)

Face to Face. Toji x Gn! Reader (Drabble)

Cover of volume 23 of the manga: Sukuna and Yuuji

JJK x CSM (Images)

Appreciating Toji's beauty (Images)

My personal top 10 saddest deaths in anime/manga

Designs for the s2 of Mei Mei, Utahe, Haibara and Nanami

In this blog we support...

Father Figures (image)

Season 2 Second Trailer Moments

GIFS of the Second Trailer of Season 2

SPOILERS:

208- Kenjaku finds Tengen's face funny

212- Sukuna taking Megumi's body

214- Good night, Hana, Angel...

214- Sukuna vs. Yuuji

215- Sukuna vs. Maki and Yuuji

216- Someone is in love with Sukuna

216- Sukuna and their reunion

217 - Thief

218- Revealed face of Yorozu in the Heian Era

218- Sukuna's Shikigamis

218- Sukuna has a true love?

219 - Sukuna True Form, Uraume and Yorozu

219- Sukuna kills Yorozu. Megumi sad

220 - Sorcerers Assemble/New Gojo Panels

221 - The return of God

222- Gojo showing off his body

223 - The battle of the most powerful begins

223- My favorite trio

224- Sukuna vs. Gojo

225 - Sukuna cuts Gojo's neck

226- Sukuna vs Gojo third chapter

SUKUNA:

Image of Sukuna True Form

Image of the reason why I envy Hana

Compilation of Sukuna in Megumi's body (updated)

Drabble: The King of Curses rejected you and a thousand years later he regrets it

Playing to guess the name of Human Sukuna

Image of cross-eyed Sukuna

Compilation 2 of Sukuna in Megumi's body

Imagining Sukuna fighting with his mom (images)

Sukuna True Form Compilation

OPM:

My drawings of Saitama and Garou

Appreciating the beauty of Genos (images)

Thank you for taking the time to get here and see my content♡♡