Updated November 28, 2022 by Ernie
An ICON, a GOD, Saitama is a quintessential being that defies all odds with his mighty One Punch! Saitama could easily obliterate anyone with his famous otherworldly strength! Even Superman won’t stand a chance of this man’s might! He’ll surely smash him to smithereens!
Table of Contents
With the usual hero formula we know for example, is someone like Deku, the gradual increase of his abilities and his hardships, the way he gains experiences to become a stronger hero. But with Saitama… it doesn’t seem to apply to him at all!
It’s not everyday we see a hero that could beat his enemy with just a punch, let alone without even breaking a single sweat off! But, is that really the case though? With such tremendous power, he might as well be a god! Can he beat Goku though?
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At first, Saitama’s overpowered buff started off as a comical moment, a parody of the superhero genre. But as the series went on… that doesn’t seem like the case, especially when he became a literal GOD that could turn back time with his powers!
With that, before going through all the details of how Saitama obtained his power, we should start with where it all began and how he became One Punch Man. MAJOR SPOILERS ALERT ahead, so for those who don’t wanna get spoiled then leave now.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN, SAITAMA’S POWER
Three years ago, he was an indifferent and unemployed man looking for a job, your average Joe. While walking the streets he encountered a crab monster– well, technically a half man, half crab with his upper body being a crab and the lower body a man wearing a huge diaper. Anyways, the monster talked about how he came to be, by eating tons of crabs and he suddenly turned into a crab monster. He decided not to prey on Saitama because he looked lifeless like how he used to be when he was human.
Instead, he targeted the kid with a HUGE butt chin. I know, the kid looked… kinda… weird I guess… Well, that’s what we get from a comedy anime after all. To continue, the crab was looking for that kid for one reason, Vengeance! That’s because the kid drew NIPPLES on him!
Yeah, you heard that right, because of a harmless prank, he now seeks to kill the Kid. Plus he can’t erase what he drew because of his crab hands lol. When the crab monster was about to throw some hands or crab claws, on the butt chin kid, Saitama unconsciously rescued the kid from being yeeted by him! With that, the crab monster questioned his actions as to why he saved the kid and of course, Saitama tried to talk things out with him, which kinda reminded me of the talk-no-jutsu in Naruto, in a logical manner.
But, at the end of their conversation, Saitama realizes that he was a villain from an anime that he used to watch and he ended up getting thrown away by the crab monster. At that moment, Saitama remembered what he dreamed of when he was a little boy and that is, to be a Hero that could defeat any monster or villain with just one punch. With that, their fight started, of course, at first Saitama got hit first but at the end of the battle, he won by pulling out the crab monster’s eye using his tie. And boy, a fire of passion can be seen through his eyes and he became driven in achieving his dream of becoming the Hero that he aspires to be (One Punch Man Season 1 Episode 1 4:50 – 9:42)!
Hence, this starts his rigorous training for the next three years…
HOW DID SAITAMA GET HIS POWERS? AND WHY IS HE SO STRONG?
Saitama has surpassed the limits of what any man can do. The reason why he is so strong was mentioned in the manga, to be precise, by Dr. Genus, the former head of the ruined organization called House of Evolution, who said that Saitama’s strength is purely hard work alone. His physiology, nature, and nurture are all just average, he just basically opened the doors of limitation with his perseverance and resilience (One Punch Man Chapter 88 Page 48).
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As I’ve mentioned before, he went through rigorous training for three straight years until he reached a certain point that he could never return– being The Strongest Man out there. The training he did is quite normal per se, in fact, it’s something people who engage in fitness could do, especially those who are experienced. His regime was a secret… Well, not really though, more like nobody asked him what training he did to become that strong.
Anyhow, the dreaded question came about in episode 3 of the anime in which he was asked by Carnage Kabuto during battle, what is his secret. This then made Saitama into spilling his said “secret” to his enemy as well as to Genos his Disciple. Saitama’s intense training regime consists of these four steps: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, then a 10km run and that’s it! Also, you’ll have to do these routines religiously EVERY SINGLE DAY without having any rest days.
First of all, I for one could… maybe… possibly… do his regime. Okay scratch that, I could probably not! I mean, his workout is plausible and not an impossible task, however, doing it every single day is hard for me. The push-ups, sit-ups, and squats are plausible but running 10km per day isn’t for me, since I’m no runner. But, I think there are some people who could do all that, since nothing is impossible if you’re determined, like what Saitama said.
Anyways, going back, aside from doing his workout regime every day, maintaining a healthy diet– aka eating three meals a day, is what he does. Saitama also mentioned that he doesn’t use the Heater or A.C. during summers and winters. Lastly, while doing this training he fights against monsters too. Which showed how determined and diligent he is in becoming the strong Hero that he aspires to be.
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Because of this training he did, after a year and a half, he lost all of his hair. This was the reason why Saitama is bald. Also, he noticed that he became stronger too, after beating up a monster. With that, he still did not stop doing his training and after three years, he was able to achieve his childhood dream– becoming a Hero that could beat his enemies in just One Punch (One Punch Man Season 1 Episode 3 16:05 – 18:13).
THE CONSEQUENCE?
Since he became a powerful hero that could just beat anyone with just a punch, have you ever thought of what the consequences are in reaching that pinnacle? Well, I have the answer to that… As we all know there will always be something in exchange for one’s boundless power. For Saitama, his hair was one of them. The biggest consequence that he got in exchange for that power is alienation (One punch Man Chapter 88 page 42).
The fact that he could beat his enemies with just one punch made him feel empty. The feeling of excitement in fighting against a monster hand-in-hand was gone because of his power. This resulted in him having a huge existential crisis because he knows he’s too strong and he wants to look for an opponent whom he can fight hand in hand.
WILL HE EVER GET THE CHANCE IN FIGHTING AGAINST AN ENEMY HAND-IN-HAND?
Well, the answer to that is yes and no. In the recent chapters we would be seeing the battle between Saitama and Garou where we see him for the first time fighting in serious mode (One Punch Man Chapter 166 Page 38, 39) and let me tell you this, the battle is EPIC!
Garou was able to receive divine powers from a God which led him to reach the pinnacle of martial arts (One Punch Man Chapter 164.2 Page 47). He was able to make Saitama fight seriously after destroyingGenos’ Body (One Punch Man Chapter 166 Page 28). Their battle was immense since Garou was able to obtain a newfound power where he could copy other people’s combat prowess and Saitama was no exception (One Punch Man Chapter 166 Page 40).
This was the reason why he was able to fight him hand-in-hand. However, in the succeeding chapters, this is where everything went downhill for God Garou because it turns out Saitama’s power is growing- he’s evolving, unlike him who has reached his peak. Which made him realize that Saitama is on a far more different level than anyone, monster or hero, Saitama is one a realm of his own. With that, he knew he could never beat Saitama let alone keep up with him which is why he lost the fight (One Punch Man Chapter 168 Page 62).
CONCLUSION
It is yet to be revealed in full detail how he became that strong or perhaps this might be the only vague explanation we’ll be getting. But since the manga is still ongoing, there’s still a possibility that more will be revealed.
But, who knows, maybe in the end, it’s all just Saitama’s will and strength that made him that strong! The usual I-believe-in-myself trope!
Imagine a more OP Saitama than ever before? How stronger can he even get?! Well, I guess that’s for us to find out in the next coming chapters of the manga!
Do you think there’s more to Saitama than meets the eye? Or you think he’s a plan ol’ joe like the rest of us? Comment your thoughts below!
| REFERENCES |
| One Punch Man Season 1 Episode 1 One Punch Man Season 1 Episode 3 One Punch Man Season 1 Episode 5 One punch Man Chapter 88 page 42 One Punch Man Chapter 88 Page 48 One Punch Man Chapter 164.2 Page 47 One Punch Man Chapter 166 Page 28 One Punch Man Chapter 166 Page 38 One Punch Man Chapter 166 Page 39 One Punch Man Chapter 166 Page 40 One Punch Man Chapter 168 Page 14 One Punch Man Chapter 168 Page 62 One Punch Man Chapter 168 Page 63 |
