One-Punch Man

Episode 12

Holy. Hot. Damn.

You know what it's like to hear a little kid describe a fight in an action cartoon they really like? Heck, maybe you've been that little kid, and as a nascent anime fan, you were describing what happens in an episode of Dragonball Z or something. Kids can talk about even the most cheaply animated crap like it was a religious experience, doing their best to convey the passion they felt from a hero's declaration or a big explosion in one tiny overwhelmed voice frequently interrupted by heavy breathing! Sure, it's hilarious, but it's also a little touching. I mean, there's no action cartoon in the world that can actually live up to the way it's embellished when seen through a child's eyes. Right?

Enter One-Punch Man. This finale takes the starry-eyed way that every seven-year old superhero lover sees the Big Battle that first rocked their tiny world and turns it into reality. After over twelve solid minutes of jaw-dropping, brain-melting, fist-pumping animation, the battle between Saitama and Boros has pretty permanently seared itself into anime history as one of the most awesome fight scenes ever. At long last, Saitama no longer has to settle for one weak-willed punch in combat against an opponent. Sure, it's sad that his heart's not really into it because he's so disgusted by Boros's perspective as a rival, but at least the showdown forces him to get serious on a physical level if nothing else. While the remaining Class S Heroes settle the final score with Melzargard on the ground below, Saitama and Boros proceed to rip the universe a new hole, and the overall fallout is indescribably glorious for any fan of dynamic destructive insanity.

OPM's musical score really steps things up in this episode too, starting off with a more conventional reprise of the series' opening theme at the top of the battle but lapsing into some inspired pulse-pounding transitions as this ultimate face-off blows sky-high. Boros turns his blue body to radioactive white as a dramatic chorus begins gracefully freaking out and an orchestra full of strings starts to accelerate. When he finally knees Saitama in the stomach so hard it sends him straight to the moon, the soundtrack comes to a dead stop. After all, there's no sound in space! Of course, this isn't the only reason things have gone quiet. The fight up to this point has just been Saitama taking uncountable body blows without fighting back, granting Boros the experience he traveled twenty years to find. In the vacuum of space, Saitama gathers his bearings before donning a serious face and tensing his legs for the leap back to planet earth. The viewers' hearts begin racing to fill the silence.

Playtime's over. Now it's about to go down.

Upon his planet-shaking return, Saitama is accompanied by his familiar soaring victory theme and the rest is all gravy. This alien warlord has unfathomable regenerative powers, so even our hero's consecutive "normal punches" aren't enough to keep Boros from recongealing the blood-slurry-formerly-known-as-The-Dominator-of-the-Universe into combat-ready shape. No, Saitama has to pull out his last resort: the "serious punch." How serious is it? Well, it crumples the mothership's remains in a split-second heat death of lava and lightning, and bifurcates the very troposphere of the earth for thousands of miles out into the ocean. Holy Moses indeed. I thought I was keeping it together pretty well until I saw that, but then I just slumped forward and emitted some shameful noise between a gasp and a squeal, utterly defeated by the magnificent spectacle of One-Punch Man. The Serious Punch Showdown only makes up the first half of this season finale, but it easily earns a perfect score on showmanship alone.

So after a climax that impressive, what else is there for the series to spend time on? Weirdly, the last half of One-Punch Man's farewell chooses to dwell on lingering non-essential notes of characterization in the rush to the credits. It's all good materail, so it certainly doesn't hurt the finale, but all this information does seem a little bit out of place. Still, here's what we learn before the show says its last goodbyes for now.

Amai Mask shows up once the fight against Dark Matter is over to prove that not only is he less of a hero than the noble-yet-powerless Mumen Rider, he's actually his polar opposite. After making excuses for his absence (he was shooting a TV drama one city over, much like the talk show he happened to be on when the Deep Sea King showed up), he scolds the S-Class Heroes for failing to save the city more elegantly. Image-conscious above all else, Amai Mask seems more concerned about what the papers will say about these results than the fact that the threat was eventually extinguished. Okay, so he has a crappy attitude, but S-Class Heroes don't have to listen to some cowardly A-Class pretty boy talk smack, right? It's only when Metal Bat threatens to send him packing to the plastic surgeon that Amai Mask reveals his much nastier secret. He's actually far more powerful than an untold number of S-Class Heroes, but he chooses to stay at the top of Class A instead—purely to keep anyone else from being promoted. Where Mumen Rider's voluntary status at the top of Class C represents his devotion to hard work and integrity above all else, Amai Mask's motivation for the same decision represents his elitism and desire for control. He believes that the Heroes' Association should reward outstanding talents that also have the right image to sell the public. So he expresses disappointment with Genos's recent displays of compassion in battle before swiftly murdering Dark Matter's quivering survivors with a dismissive "I have swiftly implemented justice." It's a short but fascinating portrait of a nasty villain-in-hero's-clothing, and Genos's resulting curiosity and pity toward Amai Mask should only further stoke the viewers' desire for a second season pronto.

Speaking of Genos providing fuel for season two, he receives a quick tip from Drive Knight about another suspicious and slimy Hero, Metal Knight: "He is your enemy." This could mean any number of things, but if the reclusive Metal Knight turns out to be a cyborg, things will definitely get ugly between those two. Whatever he is, he's a total tool, waltzing into the rubble of City A once the battle is over to scavenge the fallen mothership for new weapons. The episode also gives us a minute or two with the bratty Terrible Tornado, who seems to be childishly sensitive to her own perceived seniority in the Heroes' Association and distraught at the idea that a B-Class Hero might have accomplished something she could not. There are also some positive and thoughtful reforms made to the Heroes' Assocation in the aftermath of City A's destruction, but they're such an afterthought to the episode that they're literally relegated to one sentence of narration before the end credits. (HQ is now a more centralized base that serves as a superhero port with roads leading directly to all major cities, and A-Class Heroes and up can choose to live in comfort on-site. These are good changes that could both promote a sense of unity within the top classes of Heroes and provide faster response access to major incidents. Baby steps!)

As a work of animation for almost every audience (provided they can stomach a little cartoon gore), One-Punch Man was the revelation of the year. Despite packing its run with creative content and unforgettable action setpieces well worth rewatching, it feels like twelve episodes will never be enough to realize the full potential of Saitama and Genos's world. I know I'll be pining for a second season in the coming year, but even if we never get one, it's nice to have another anime that you can show to just about anybody and knock their socks off. Sure, it's not the end-all-be-all of anime as a medium for deep artistic storytelling, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more perfectly realized pure action series in not only animation, but live-action as well. The show's little forays into social commentary were just icing on the cake, and I hope we get more of its unique take on shonen adventure sooner rather than later. ONE PUNCH FOREVER!!!

Rating: A+

One-Punch Man is currently streaming at Hulu, Daisuki.net, and Viz.com.

Hope has been an anime fan since childhood, and likes to chat about cartoons, pop culture, and visual novel dev on Twitter.