Many feel it’s just another superhero action series now.
Summary:
- One Punch Man was supposed to parody the battle shounen genre, but by the end of Heroes Association Arc, it’s largely following the same tropes.
- Some fans feel that the manga is its own thing which was never a parody.
- Anime fans are worried the story is going to become worse.
One Punch Man has always been praised for being a parody of the classic battle shounen tropes. In fact, it is pretty obvious it is one from the premise alone: the protagonist is so overpowered he doesn’t ever face actual danger.
However, the latest arcs of One Punch Man manga haven’t been liked much by some fans. While Yuusuke Murata’s art is still consistently amazing, the story seems to have suffered. The manga no longer feels like a parody of the battle shounen genre, and fans say it devolved into doing the same things as the series it parodies.
It became the exact thing it was supposed to parody
The Monster Association Arc (part of which was adapted into the second season of the anime) was, according to fans, where the series started losing its original spirit. Not only was the arc excruciatingly long to read in manga form (it ran for roughly 5 years), but by the end of it, some fans felt they were reading yet another battle shounen manga.
The fight against Garou’s Awakened form (commonly called “Cosmic Garou” by fans) was perhaps the most divisive point in the entire series. The entire fight felt like straight out of Dragon Ball Z or other shounen series, with the power levels going over the top.
It has been a general trend in the Monster Association Arc. The entire concept of the heroes and the inner workings of their organization get explained in detail — which is nice and everything, but it’s completely different from the wacky parody the series originally was.
Many feel it’s not that bad
Other fans argue, however, that the manga was never really a parody. The original webcomic was, and the manga incorporated the general plot, but only retained some of its comedy.
The OPM manga is basically a superhero action work with some comedy, especially in the later arcs. It introduces many new arcs and expands the plot, and often focuses on fanservice — which is another thing fans’ opinions are split on.
However, despite the manga of One Punch Man being largely its own thing, it is still overseen by ONE, the creator of the webcomic, who still makes storyboards for it and oversees the plot development (even though all the art is done by Yuusuke Murata).
What about the anime?
Since the source readers’ opinions on the developments in the manga during and after the Heroes Association Arc are divided, the anime watchers are worried that the anime is going to become worse.
That said, they have other issues to worry about: the question of whether Season 3 will be as much of a disaster as Season 2 still stands