Review of One-Punch Man Volume 01 Bonus Chapter

A 12-year old Saitama must take on bullies and a Piggie Bank monster but he’s clearly not the hero we’ve come to know from previous chapters.

Issue: One-Punch Man Volume 01 Bonus Chapter

Name: 200 Yen

Published: 2014 by Viz.

Blurb:

Creators:

Writer: One
Artist: Yasuke Murata

Characters:

The Good: Saitama
The Bad: Third-Year Bullies, Piggie Bank

My Reading:

This bonus chapter takes a step back and looks at the early years of Saitama, when he was 12 years old and attending school. As often in schools, upperclassmen bully younger kids for lunch money and such in Saitama’s school is no different. Here the 3rd year students are intimidating the 2nd year kids.

But that’s just what’s going on in school…out in the rest of City Z, a monster appears. This pig-like creature attacked police and fled and no one has seen it since. News reports indicate that this is the first attack by a monster in 9 months but that they are getting closer together. Bored with schoolwork, Saitama watches the monster attacks on the news and falls asleep, which means he didn’t finish his homework.

At school, Saitama gets dressed down by his teacher for not doing his homework and ends up assigned to meet the teacher after school so the instructor can teach him “how much of a loser” he is. But when school’s over, Saitama gets waylaid by the 3rd year bullies. They demand his money but rather than submit, Saitama prepares to fight them…they soundly kick his ass and take his 200 yen. But before they leave Saitama, they’re attacked by the monster…Piggie Bank. The monster demands coins from the bullies and they provide the 200 yen…Saitama has had enough. He picks himself up and chases after the monster but instead of using one punch to end the monster, he gets pummeled by the pig and knocked out.

The police eventually get the monster but Saitama ended up late and with a ripped uniform when he finally meets with his teacher. Somehow he keeps losing…not like the One-Punch Man we know…

What did I learn:

• Saitama was kinda a loser in school.
• Even though he was weak, Saitama still aspired to do great things as a child.
• Prior to Saitama’s 12th year (and this chapter), the last time a monster showed up was 9 month earlier in July.
• Monsters have been showing up for at least 10 years.
• Data shows that monsters are appearing more frequently.

My Thoughts:

This chapter shows a different side of Saitama…one before he became One-Punch Man, and it shows his motivation to become stronger. As a kid he really got beat up…and often. However he became One-Punch Man, it’s clear his desire to do good stems from the bullying and attacks he suffered when he was younger. I do wonder about the fact that Saitama seems to attempt a bluff against the bullies but gets beat up…later on we see that as One-Punch Man, he doesn’t bluff anymore or encourage the monsters, he even warns them not to fight him but he takes care of business when they attack.

As for the art, it’s what I’ve come to expect from this title and I particularly like the panel where Saitama starts to fall asleep. I think the blurred lettering is a really cool touch that conveys his tiredness.

My Rating: B+

This comic can be found on Comixology or at your local comic book shop.

Daily Ramble 269.3 | Comics – Monday Manga – One-Punch Man Volume 01 Bonus Chapter