One Punch Man Volume 12 Review

Saitama presses forward in the martial arts tournament, surprising the other competitors and the audience. Clad in a wig, a karate gi, and white belt, Saitama is far from intimidating. In fact, he really makes himself look ametuer when he fails to even tie his belt correctly.

The Story

This volume is filled with plenty of battles, with the tournament running parallel to the mayhem happening just outside the arena. The city gets invaded while there’s a shortage of high ranking heroes to push the monsters back. Authorities consider canceling the tournament, but Genos, wanting to see Saitama succeed, leaves his seat to fight the monsters. He clears them off until he reaches a formidable foe he wasn’t prepared for. In the meantime, the tournament continues with upsets as the favored fighters meet defeat. Saitama shows no concern for the vicious defeats, leaving the other competitors surprised by his indifference.

Eventually Genos is wrecked and needs backup. Blizzard comes in to defend but loses her followers to brainwashing, forcing her sister Tornado to pick up the slack. Although this is a fight scene, there’s a lot of arguing between the two sisters. What see that Blizzard lives in her tiny sister’s shadow. For the first time Blizzard realizes she holds herself back and relies too much on others. We also get a glimpse of a special ability – Blizzard is impervious to Super S’s brainwashing capability. I really enjoyed this section of the volume because it gives Blizzard potential. Up until this point she’s been a bully, trying to get stronger heros to stay in her class and join her cult. Despite the following she’s gathered, it is still not enough for her to succeed. Blizzard has never tasted independent success. Finally she realizes she cannot progress if she’s shackling herself to others.

Although Blizzard has been unlikable thus far, I’m happy that she had a chance to develop. I sense there is now room for her to move up the ranks in future volumes.

Final Thoughts

This volume had a good balance of humor and character development. Saitama continues to be funny just from being himself. I always appreciate his indifference towards the other heroes and their powers. He doesn’t get caught up in specific ideas on what strength really is. Other characters in the series require that others know their name but Saitama doesn’t care about fame or money. He just wants a good fight.

Blizzard finally becomes likable, which is a relief because we have seen a lot of her so far. She’s a reoccurring character who we are likely to see more of in the future. I still dislike Tornado and I suspect that’s not going to change. At least Blizzard is about to get more interesting.

As usual, this series does not disappoint. What frustrates me at this point is dealing with stubborn people who are unwilling to give this series a chance when I express my love for it. This series has an element from a variety of different genres, making it easy to like regardless of your fandom. One-Punch Man artfully draws from shonen, slice-of-life, and comedy to make something that is accessible and unique.

 

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