One-Punch Man: Volume 14 manga review

One-Punch Man Graphic Novel Volume 14 cover image

Saitama wants to be a hero and begins his training when he is 22-years-old.  He becomes a superhero when he is 25, but he really does not look like one, with his lifeless facial expression, bald head, and unimpressive physique.  But he beats the snot out of supervillains with one punch, and he even has his own disciple, the young cyborg, Genos (who really needs no training).

As One-Punch Man, Vol. 14 (Chapters 72 to 75; entitled “The Depths of Despair”) opens, the martial arts tournament that Saitama entered (under disguise) is over.  The uber-talented martial artist, Suiryu, won because Saitama was disqualified – after defeating Suiryu.

But the celebration was interrupted when Goketsu crashed the party, and now, he is delivering ultimatums.  Goketsu offers the tournament participants a tough choice.  They can die at his monstrously-clawed, giant hands or they can each swallow a monster cell, which will “monsterize” them.  They will transform from mere human martial artists into monsters in service of the “Monster Association” and live in a world where they can rampage, kill, and satisfy their desires.

But one man isn't having any of it; Suiryu steps up to battle the newly “monsterized” fighters and Goketsu.  But is Suiryu the right “one man” for the job of stopping Goketsu?

THE LOWDOWN:  The One-Punch Man manga is a superhero manga as only Japanese creators can do superheroes.  It is full of weirdos and monsters, and some of them are actually heroes.

One-Punch Man Graphic Novel Volume 14 is a sheer joy to read.  One-Punch Man can sometimes offer chapters that are vastly inferior to the rest of the chapters in a particular volume or to the series as a whole.  Vol. 14 is one of those volumes that is comprised of chapters that are all great – individually and collectively.

I am starting to think that One-Punch Man is some kind of superhero battle manga that is inspired by Akira Toriyama's legendary franchise, Dragon Ball.  If One-Punch Man's creator/writer ONE and creator/artist Yusuke Murata were inspired by Dragon Ball, they could not ask for a better inspiration.  And they are living up to it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of shonen battle manga and of superhero comic books will love the “Shonen Jump” title, One-Punch Man.

A+
10 out of 10