I’m not the right person to review One Punch Man. I get the impression that this series is a pitch perfect parody of a genre about which I am almost entirely unfamiliar. That genre is ‘shounen’ anime; think Dragonball Z, or Naruto, or an anime pitched at teenage boys where the heroes spend more time fretting about powering up or their convoluted backstories than actually engaging in the perpetually-teased battles. Aside from a handful of Naruto episodes, my knowledge of these shows is practically non-existent.

Which is a shame, because I think if I’d grown up on such anime – as opposed, to say, Azumanga Daioh and Neon Genesis Evangelion – One Punch Man would’ve really hit the spot. It’s positioned much like a shounen anime, but because of its titular hero’s incredible prowess – he can defeat anyone with, yes, one punch – it becomes an extended deconstruction of shounen anime’s obsession with lore and training and who’s the best! around!

As is, I can appreciate the po-faced humour of the series and its expressive animation, used to conjure extravagant action sequences. But the intent of the satire was lost on me. If you grew up on Super Saiyan, definitely check this out.