One-Punch Man
One-Punch Man is a Japanese manga series created by One, originally released as a webcomic in early 2009. It tells the story of Saitama, an independent superhero who, having trained to the point that he can defeat any opponent with a single punch, grows deeply bored from a lack of challenge. He sets out to find stronger opponents, while making allies of other heroes as well.
A digital manga remake, illustrated by Yusuke Murata, began publication on Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website in June 2012. Its chapters are periodically compiled and published into individual volumes., 35 volumes have been released. In North America, Viz Media licensed the manga remake for English language release and has serialized it in its Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine.
An anime adaptation produced by Madhouse was broadcast in Japan from October to December 2015. A second season, produced by J.C.Staff, was broadcast from April to July 2019. A third season, also by J.C.Staff, aired from October to December 2025; its second cours is set to premiere in 2027. Licensed in North America by Viz Media, the series aired its first season in the United States on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block from July to October 2016. The second season also aired on the block from October 2019 to January 2020.
By June 2012, the original webcomic manga surpassed 7.9 million hits. By August 2025, the manga remake had over 34 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.
Plot
On a supercontinent ravaged by monstrous threats, the Hero Association mobilizes superheroes to defend humanity. Among them stands Saitama, an unaffiliated hero from City Z whose rigorous training regimen granted him invincible strength—capable of ending any battle with a single punch. This absolute power has left him disillusioned, longing for an opponent who can reignite his passion for combat. His solitary existence changes when he encounters Genos, a cybernetic warrior seeking vengeance against the machine that annihilated his hometown. After witnessing Saitama effortlessly defeat the monstrous Mosquito Girl—an adversary who had nearly killed him—Genos becomes his devoted disciple.The Hero Association's ranking system soon exposes its superficial nature. Despite his godlike abilities, Saitama's poor written exam results relegate him to C-Class, while Genos immediately attains the elite S-Class designation. When Saitama single-handedly stops an asteroid impact and later defeats the amphibious terror Deep Sea King, public opinion turns against other superheroes for their comparative weakness. In characteristic selflessness, Saitama deliberately draws criticism onto himself to protect his peers' reputations.
This cycle of duty and public ingratitude continues until the alien warlord Boros arrives, fulfilling the dying prophecy of seer Shibabawa. While the Association's forces battle Boros's army, Saitama confronts the conqueror in a one-sided duel that ends with his signature finishing move. The victory only deepens his existential crisis—even the "Dominator of the Universe" fails to challenge him.
Simultaneously, the emergence of Garo, the self-styled "Hero Hunter", coincides with escalating monster attacks. A disgraced martial artist scarred by childhood bullying, Garo develops pathological hatred for hero culture. His violent campaign intersects with the Monster Association's schemes—a subterranean organization transforming humans into monsters. When they kidnap a Hero Association executive's son, Garo forms an unlikely bond with Tareo, a hero-worshipping child, before both are captured.
The resulting assault on the Monster Association's headquarters becomes history's most destructive battle, reducing much of City Z to ruins. During the conflict, Saitama encounters Blast, the mysterious top-ranked superhero, who warns of an apocalyptic entity called "God". The battle climaxes when Garo, mutated into monstrous form, receives cosmic power from this entity and slaughters numerous superheroes—including Genos, whose core he destroys to provoke Saitama.
Their subsequent cataclysmic battle spans the solar system before Saitama prevails. In his final moments, Garo teaches Saitama time travel, enabling him to prevent this dark future. Returning to the past, Saitama subdues Garo preemptively, with only Genos retaining memories of the original timeline.
In the aftermath, Saitama's promotion to A-Class coincides with the Hero Association's crumbling credibility. Heroes dissatisfied with the association join the Neo Heroes, a rival group led by the enigmatic Blue—claiming to be Blast's son.
The new faction claims to optimize hero work, forgoing the hero ranking system and unfair treatment of differently ranked heroes. Neo Heroes are also given battle suits, armored vehicles, and proper equipment all while being led by Neo Leaders consisting of former S-Class heroes and other powerful figures.
Unbeknown to most, this faction harbors sinister ambitions of mass cyberization. Amidst all this, Drive Knight reveals to Genos that Metal Knight is responsible for the Mad Cyborg. Subsequently, Dr. Kuseno is assassinated by Machine Gods sent by the Organization, who launch an invasion consisting of millions of robots into every city, igniting a mechanized conflict potentially tied to Genos's past.
Production
began writing the original webcomic of One-Punch Man in 2009. The Japanese shortened name Wanpanman is a play on the long-running children's character Anpanman, with wanpan being a contraction of wanpanchi. One became interested in creating a superhero who was already the strongest in the world. He wanted to focus on different aspects of storytelling than those normally relied on in standard superhero stories, such as everyday problems. One said: "Punching is oftentimes pretty useless against life's problems. But inside One-Punch Mans universe, I made Saitama a sort of guy who was capable of adapting his life to the world that surrounded him, only armed with his immense power. The only obstacles he faces are mundane things, like running short of money."One has taken several breaks from the webcomic. In February 2010, he put the series on hiatus, deciding to take a one-year break due to family circumstances. After releasing the 109th chapter in January 2017, One took a two-year break, releasing the following chapter in April 2019. When One returned to drawing in 2011, he was contacted by artist Yusuke Murata about a possible partnership in which Murata would redraw the webcomic for One. Murata had been an enormous fan of One-Punch Man and was ill at the time. Fearing he was going to die, he contacted One. Looking back, he said, "Around that time, I was actually really sick. I broke out in hives, my inner organs were infected, and I couldn't breathe well with my windpipes swelling. I was in the hospital when I thought, 'Ah, I guess people die just like that.' If I'm going to die, I want to do something I really love to do. I want to draw manga with Mr. One. That's what I thought." Murata, already a successful manga artist, used his connections in the industry to get a publishing deal with Weekly Young Jump magazine. The manga became a digital publication on Weekly Young Jump spin-off manga website Tonari no Young Jump, published by Shueisha.
Media
Webcomic
The webcomic version of One-Punch Man was created and released by One in 2009. He self-published the series on the Japanese manga website Nitosha.net., the webcomic has 155 chapters.Manga
The manga remake of One-Punch Man is illustrated by Yusuke Murata. It has been published on Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website since June 14, 2012. The chapters are periodically collected and published in volumes, with the first volume published on December 4, 2012. A radio drama CD was bundled with the ninth volume released in August 2015. As of October 3, 2025, 35 volumes have been published.In North America, the series began publication in Viz Media's Weekly Shonen Jump on January 21, 2013. The first e-book was released in February 2014. In June 2014, One-Punch Man was one of a number of series that Viz made available on the digital distribution platform ComiXology. The manga has been released in print in North America since September 2015.
Anime
Season 1
An anime adaptation was announced in the 15th issue of Weekly Young Jump on March 10, 2015. The first season was directed by Shingo Natsume and written by, with animation by Madhouse. The series features character designs by Chikashi Kubota, who also served as chief animation director. The music was composed by, with art design by and Yukiko Maruyama. Ken Hashimoto served as the color key artist, Akane Fushihara served as the director of photography, Kashiko Kimura served as editor, and Shoji Hata served as sound designer. One-Punch Mans first season ran for 12 episodes. It aired in Japan from October 5 to December 21, 2015, on TV Tokyo. It aired later on Television Osaka, TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting, Kyoto Broadcasting System, BS Japan, and AT-X. The season was streamed on Niconico and was simulcast on Hulu, Daisuki, and Viz Media's Neon Alley service. A preview screening of the first two episodes was held at the Saitama City Cultural Center on September 6, 2015. The opening theme song is "The Hero!! Ikareru Ken ni Honō o Tsukero", performed by JAM Project, while the ending theme song is "Hoshi Yori Saki ni Mitsukete Ageru", performed by Hiroko Moriguchi. An original animation DVD was released with the tenth manga volume on December 4, 2015. Additional original video animation episodes are included with home media volumes of the season, the first of which was released on December 24, 2015.The series is licensed by Viz Media in North America, Latin America, and Oceania. Viz Media announced they were working on an English-language dub of One-Punch Man at Anime Boston 2016. On July 1, 2016, it was announced during Toonami's Anime Expo panel that the series would begin airing on July 17, which ended its first season on October 9, 2016. The series has been also licensed by Viz Media Europe in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Kaze UK and Manga Entertainment handle the distribution of the series in the United Kingdom. Madman Entertainment handles distribution in Australia and New Zealand, and also simulcast the series on AnimeLab.