Pinch me - I'm actually reviewing another Volume of One Punch Man.
Volume 24 represents a high-water mark in the Monster Association arc, and yes, I am damning with faint praise there. It's great to finally Saitama vs. Orochi and Tornado vs. Gyoro-Gyoro, but they are only the standouts of this arc because, structurally, it's time for a boss fight - not because they actually earn it through storytelling. They are welcome reliefs amidst an arc replete with endless slush, but at the end of the day, what do we really get out of them other than Murata's exceptional spectacle? Don't get me wrong: I had a lot of fun with Vol. 24, and I've long accepted that One Punch Man isn't really telling a story anymore. Doesn't mean I can't keep bringing it up! 😊
The Highlights:
Merc group vs. Evil Water
Wow have I never given a shit about the merc group. In the middle of all the crazy, it's been so easy to forget they exist - which is a shame, because they should provide us with a more human perspective on this nonsense. As if to prove my point, ONE even gets a surprising amount of mileage out of killing one of them off in a rare permanent death for a human character! Classic case of too little, too late, I fear, but hey, I'll take it.
Tornado vs. Gyoro-Gyoro
One of the two focal points of this arc that I had heard about ahead of time and it's...surprisingly anti-climactic! I get that this is probably because Gyoro-Gyoro is not really done with, and in fact may have an even stranger phase that's about to be unveiled (I don't really know what Tornado's last line is about, but hey ho). It looks cool as fuck, but this felt like a squandered opportunity to push Tornado as a character. Instead, she just kicks Gyoro-Gyoro around for a few and shrugs off all his supermassive attacks like nothing. Which makes her as good as Saitama Mark 2 on a power level. Odd.
Saitama vs. Orochi
Well, I was expecting Lord Boros-levels of significance, but at the end of all these volumes, Saitama really does deal with Orochi in exactly the manner you think he will. The art is superb, the direction is deranged, and the writing for Saitama is spot-on in its cheekiness (Water Gun!). But we're too deep into the arc for this not to feel odd. After all the importance and extended fights given to this storyline, Saitama swatting it out of existence in a single chapter doesn't feel like a subversion - it just feels like a different kind of full-stop. Also, I enjoy the prophecy stuff for Orochi, and the reveal of God at the end, but like...I can't really get too invested in this narrative trajectory. Saitama vs. God is not a story - it's a punchline that you achieve just by typing it out. Unless ONE can push that battle in a less traditional direction, I'm not sure what separates it from any other.
Super S AGAIN
For Fuck's Sake OPM! Can't you let a thing be finished?! Apparently not, and Super S comes back for a rematch against Blizzard that feels totally unnecessary after her death scene just two volumes ago. Probably the low point of the volume, just for how much time it wastes.
Amai Mask vs. President Ugly
What the fuck is this series doing with Amai Mask? He feels like a potential super-sized Big-Bad, and is a fantastic character idea in a world that has a Hero Association. Then they reveal he's possibly a monster, which is a neat extension of his traits, before this Volume reveals...he doesn't like Ugliness? Sure? It just feels like such a swerve into two-dimensional jokiness just as we're digging deeper? There's something here, and maybe I'm being cynical, but I don't see how this will yield anything truly interesting.
The Result:
I'm giving up on the MA arc having any real concrete meaning to it. Just finish it already. Please. I would like to actually see what an ending to OPM looks like before I turn 90.