One-Punch Man/Characters

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Saitama

Just a hero for fun... And profit

The titular character, a hero who can defeat any threat with just ONE PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!

Tropes exhibited by Saitama include:
  • Art Shift: His appearance can go from doodle to cartoon to anime-epic at any time.
  • Art Style Dissonance: The difference between his cartoony appearance and his serious one is clear, but it also helps demonstrate how serious or intense a situation is by how he looks.
  • Badass Abnormal: After 3 years of his "intense training regiment", he has become the most powerful being in the universe it seems.
  • Badass Creed: He has 2:
    • "I'm just a guy who's a hero for fun... and profit."
    • "If heroes run away, who's left to help."
  • Badass Normal: Even before he underwent his training regiment for 3 years, he managed to kill a monster crab guy with only a tie.
  • Badass Nickname: It's the title of the series. Although, nobody calls him that IN the series itself.
  • Blatant Lies: He pulls these on Genos since Genos moved in as his disciple, but didn't believe him when he revealed the truth behind his incredible powers. At the same time though, he lies mostly because he otherwise can't think of anything else to tell him to do aside from his exercise routine, and even that wouldn't be much use to Genos since his body is mostly robotic.
  • Brilliant But Lazy: His powers could be used for SO much, but he lacks the motivation to bother.
  • Calling Your Attacks: All he does usually is punch someone, but occasionally he will do a move he calls "Consecutive Normal Punches." which is just him punching rapidly, OR in the rarest of cases, he does a punch from what he calls his "Serious Series".
  • Comically Invincible Hero: Hence the name.
  • Complete Monster: It's very funny and ironic to think that the monsters of the world that do battle with him, consider him this. It got to where he lives in an area of City Z alone with nobody else, be they person OR monster that is willing to live nearby him, with the exception of Genos.
  • Covert Pervert: You wouldn't know it by looking at him. Unless you read his favorite sweatshirt that has the word "Oppai" The Japanese word for "boobs" printed on it. He is also an anime otaku, AND he is once seen fantasizing about how he should have his own fan club filled with nothing but hot fan girls.
  • Danger Deadpan: According to him, he finds himself feeling less and less emotion due to how over-powered he has become. Thanks to his joining the Hero Organization and taking Genos as an apprentice, he seems to be a bit better.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He is SO extremely powerful that he is almost constantly bored. He's also defeated countless super powerful bad guys and monsters, so he acts like he's heard just about every evil villain speech you can think of before.
  • Destructive Saviour: In the third chapter of the webcomic, Saitama defeats a powerful giant with one punch, as always...but the falling body of the giant destroys B-ville.
  • Expy: With his powers, he's like a bald Chuck Norris!
  • Genre Savvy: He has been through a lot during his time as a hero, so he is very familiar with how his battles go. Villains cause trouble, he shows up, the villains boast or try to taunt him, he offers them a chance to stop or surrender, they refuse... Punch! The end.
  • Genre Blindness: It isn't until Genos actually informs him that he learns that there is an organization for super heroes to join that actually provides funding and recognition for heroic deeds.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He practically DESTROYS his own hero reputation for the sake of other heroes and the organization as a whole's own reputation with the public.
  • Humble Hero: While the theme song suggests this is the case, Saitama did actively seek recognition. However when given the chance to receive credit for his actions, he threw it away so other heroes that risked their lives either to defeat a powerful foe or merely stall said foe from killing innocents till someone (or a group) who could defeat him arrived got recognition for their heroism.
  • Kryptonite Is Everywhere: Somewhat literally. The only thing close that he has to a weakness is that he has a poor sense of directions which leads him to showing up at the last second. Well that, and he's kind of lazy.
  • Made of Explodium: You'd think anything he punches is this when you consider how whoever or whatever he punches always gets obliterated by the punch. But nope, it's not what he punches... It's just that his punches are THAT strong.
  • Nice Guy: He doesn't do his heroic deeds for admiration or glory. He does it because he wants to, and he never passes up a chance to help someone in need... So long as he hears about it.
  • Nightmare Fuel: Anyone able to actually sense his power is terrified of him, except they also don't believe it when they see him, so they almost always underestimate him, which leads to them being punched.
  • [[Otaku]:] He lives alone in an apartment, and spends most of his time either fighting villains, lounging around watching TV, or reading manga all day. Till Genos shows up, and he drops the "living alone" part.
  • Reason You Suck Speech: He tends to just flatly tell his opponents to stop being evil or stop causing trouble. If they don't... They get PUNCHED! Some try delivering them TO him, but he tends to brush them off.
  • Spanner in the Works: His first act as a hero was what led him to training to obtain his seemingly infinite powers AND it also led to the founding of the Hero's Association although he nor anyone else in-universe ever realizes that. It also leads to numerous heroes taking credit for his deeds.
  • Too Awesome to Use: His powers seem to have no limit, and the things he does regularly demonstrate that. However, if he were to use the full extent of his powers which NOBODY else knows haphazardly, the damage he could inflict could very well destroy the world and then some. THANK GOD, he seems to have extremely good control over it though, except that even if he holds back he still manages to stop any threat with a single punch.
  • Unskilled But Strong: AND HOW!? He doesn't bother with trying to learn more advanced fighting techniques or strategies, because he's so powerful that he doesn't need to. His attack AND defense are portrayed as flawless. In fact, the only area of skill he seems to have outside of his powers is his mastered control of them. He knows how to hold back AND unleash his powers as he deems necessary in any given situation. Except that even some of his weakest uses are more than enough to turn his opponents into paste.
  • What the Hell Are You?: His enemies and even his friends wonder how the hell he has his unstoppable power. If he's some sort of demon or deity or something.
  • What the Hell Hero: Some people try to paint him as a fraud who steals credit for heroic deeds from other heroes. He later pretends to do exactly that during the Deep Sea King incident, because he wanted to avoid the populous losing faith in the organization as a whole, and so that the other heroes who fought wouldn't have lost public favor as well.
  • When It All Began: His first heroic deed was saving a boy with a big chin from a giant crab monster, and that was before he got his powers. From then on, he began training to become a super hero, and eventually does! At the same time, his first heroic deed inspired the big chinned boy's father into founding the Hero's Association in the first place.
  • World of Cardboard Speech: He has probably delivered more of these than Superman. Except that he has expert control over his strength so he never seems to worry about it as far as hurting innocents or allies is concerned.
  • Worthy Opponent: Yes, there's nobody who has ACTUALLY been a threat to him personally, but he still compliments some of the foes he faces... Right before he obliterates them with a single punch. Such as Lord Boros who was the first opponent we've seen to get him to use a move from his "Serious Series" of punch moves.

GENOS

The Cyborg Prince

A cyborg who lost his family when a crazy cyborg massacred his home town. He later meets Saitama and becomes both his apprentice and roommate.

Tropes exhibited by Genos include:
  • Ascended Fanboy: Of sorts, he was immediately in awe of Saitama's unlimited power, so he asked to become his apprentice, and eventually convinces Saitama to let him become his roommate. While living together, Genos is almost constantly taking everything Saitama says as though it were Gospel, and studies his actions even him lounging about watching TV as though it were some sort of secret badass training regiment.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Played for Laughs. His entire back story isn't told by flashback but by simple lines of text inside the webcomic, losing any kind of emotional impact of a normal flash back but becoming comically annoying to read. And Saitama is angered by having to hear it.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He pulls this at least twice. First was during his initial appearance while fighting Mosquito girl, he gets badly damaged and was unable to win, so he was about to self-destruct until Saitama stepped in. Then, during the fight with the Deep Sea King, he was doing pretty well at first, since technically speaking his powers DID have the capacity to weaken the DSK, but then a little girl yelled out how she believed he could win, which drew the attention and wrath of the DSK who spat a wad of acid at her. Genos was forced to throw his own body in front of it and take the hit which melts much of his body and leaves him (and everyone else) at the DSK's mercy. Had it not been for Mumen Rider and then Saitama's arrival, everyone present would have died.
  • Nice Guy: Initially he was just fighting bad guys to test his powers, but his time with Saitama has helped him become a better person and hero.
  • No Kill Like Overkill: When he spars with Saitama, he claims to be unleashing max output of his powers, and he wanted Saitama to do the same. Saitama then fakes him out and unleashes a single punch, but stops himself before touching Genos. The force of said punch obliterated the wall of the canyon they were standing in as well as parted some of the clouds in the sky. Leading Genos to realize he could never hope to reach the same amount of power Saitama has... No one could.
  • Oh Crap: His moments of this generally come from him being so impressed by Saitama's limitless powers.
  • Pyromaniac: His attacks and armaments all focus on unleashing intense flames.
  • Reason You Suck Speech: He tries to dish out one or two, but they tend to backfire.
  • Too Dumb To Live: Initially, he is very reckless when charging into combat. He usually underestimated his opponents or gets distracted which led to his defeat several times.
  • What an Idiot!: Despite having some of the best weaponry and technology in the world comprising his body, he still has many instances where he underestimates his opponents and gets beaten because of it. He also tends to be so wrapped up in how powerful Saitama is, that he considers everything he says or does as though it were Gospel.

Mumen Rider

Cyclist for Justice!

The Top Ranked C-Class hero!

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • All of the Other Reindeer: While most, if not all other members of the Hero Association possess some special powers, abilities, or weapons that make them "super heroes", he seems to be an average man riding a normal bike everywhere. He knows this, but it doesn't stop him from always striving to do what is right.
  • Badass Biker: He rides an everyday normal bicycle, and yet is definitely a badass.
  • Badass Creed: See Determined Defeatist below.
  • Badass Normal: He's the highest ranked C-class hero, but it isn't because he has superpowers or abilities. It's because he does more heroic deeds than any other hero in class C, if not the world! Apart from Saitama, and even then he (Saitama) tends to go after the bigger threats he hears about.
  • Calling All Heroes: Whenever there's a threat that arises and he hears about it, you can expect him to suit up and ride out straight for it. Even others try to tell him not to.
  • Calling Card: His bike and helmet.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Yes. Even Mumen Rider does it.
  • Determined Defeatist: He holds no illusions of where he stands. But he tries anyways.

Mumen Rider: No one expects much ...from me. They think a C class won't be much help. I know that better than anyone! I'm not good enough for Class B. I'm weak. I know that much. No one has to tell me I have no chance of beating you. I already... know that!
Sea king: What are you babbling about? Begging for your life?
Mumen Rider: And yet, I must try. It's not about winning or losing. It's about me taking you on right here, right now!

  • Determinator: In a world of super heroes with abilities that can do almost anything, HE is as far as we know, just an average man riding a bicycle. However, that doesn't stop him from working harder than probably any other hero out there, and yet he knows he isn't powerful enough to move up to any rank beyond C. Not that that matters to him anyway, because if there is ever a crisis, while other heroes may shrink away from danger, he always pedals straight for it. Why? Because that's what being a true hero is all about!
  • Does Not Know His Own Strength: Inverted. He knows it. Better than anyone, he knows his limits, but he fights on anyway!
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The Deep Sea King just brushed off how he was weakly attempting to stop him, and completely ignored his badass speech.
  • Fearless Fool: Somewhat. He never hesitates to dive into danger to at least try and help others, even though he knows he has no chance at victory. Simply put, this is how several OTHERS in-universe tend to see him.
  • Foil: To almost, if not ALL other heroes of the series, because so many of them are caught up in their rankings, fame, powers, and wealth to remember that they're supposed to be heroes always doing the right thing. He's even a foil to Saitama, because while they both have the right mindset as heroes, Saitama has seemingly limitless power whereas Mumen Rider is just an average human being.
  • Honor Before Reason: He charges into battles even when he knows he has no chance at winning. Why? Because that's what it means to be a hero!
  • Humble Hero: He's an average man on a bike. He has no super powers beyond his determination, courage, and will. He knows that. He knows that because of that, people don't expect much from him. He knows that it would be pointless to try and rise up in ranks since he doesn't have the powers to handle said threats that those ranks regularly take on. And yet, he works hard and never stops trying to fight and do heroic deeds, be them small or big.
  • Made Of Iron: No he doesn't have super human abilities or strength or anything like that, and seems to be an ordinary man. However, he still survived getting beaten around by the Deep Sea King who defeated several other heroes including 2 S-Ranked heroes before he showed up.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He knew perfectly well that he had no chance of winning against the Deep Sea King or any of the monsters like him, and yet he never backs down from fighting them anyway. Hence, this happened to him, but it was his as well as the other heroes' actions that bought enough time for Saitama to make it to the scene and take out the Deep Sea King.
  • Pet The Dog: After the Deep Sea King incident, many people were misled to thinking Saitama was a fraud that was stealing the credit from the other heroes who fought, including Mumen Rider. Some even sent him letters condemning him, but then he found one letter that thanked him for what he did. That one was from none other than Mumen Rider.
  • Pick on Someone Your Own Size: You could be a giant monster that has taken out S-ranked heroes with little effort, and he will still not hesitate to show up and try to stop you!
  • Ramming Always Works: Inverted. His signature move is to crash his bike into an opponent as he jumps off it. It works about as well as you'd expect it would on super powerful monsters.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite being the top ranked C-class hero, he doesn't flaunt his status or title over others. Unlike many other heroes both above and beneath him.
  • Reason You Suck Speech: He delivers one... to himself... Sort of. It doubles as a Crowning Moment of Awesome as well as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming and even a little bit of a Tear Jerker all at once!
  • Screw the Rules I Have Fury: It's not a rule for low level heroes to not try to fight threats that are considered out of their threat level, but it isn't exactly recommended either. Doesn't stop him from trying though.
  • Too Dumb To Live: Yeah, him rushing into battles even when he knows he has no chance of winning is brave, but it's also very reckless. That said, in the case of him fighting the Deep Sea King who had already taken down several heroes of ranks both lower AND higher than him. Had Mumen Rider not fought, Genos as well as most if not ALL the civilians and other beaten heroes in the area would have been killed by the time Saitama arrived on the scene to finish the job.
  • Weak but Skilled: He can certainly ride a bike better than anyone... That we know of.
  • What the Hell Hero: At first, he had heard rumors about Saitama being a cheat/fraud stealing credit from other heroes, so he WAS skeptical of him initially. However, after meeting him and then cleaning up the Deep Sea King incident, he comes to trust and believe in Saitama being a true hero just like him.
  • World of Cardboard Speech: Inverted. He gives a speech that basically tells of how in a world full of people with super human powers, skills, and abilities, he as an ordinary man is never expected to be capable of much. However, even in spite of that, he will still face any evil to try and protect others no matter what.

Tornado

The Terrible Tornado

The number 2 ranked hero overall and the highest ranked female member of the Hero Association. Her real name is Tatsumaki.

Tropes exhibited by Tornado include:
  • A-Cup Angst: It's not her breast size specifically. It's the fact that her body looks so young that some people mistake her for a child that pisses her off.
  • Alpha Bitch: She's the top female hero of the Association. She's also a conceited, rude, petty, and condescending bitch.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: She couldn't give a crap about the opinions of any of the other heroes. Fang is probably the only person she seems to respect and even that is only slightly.
  • Asshole Victim: No one shed a tear when she was eaten and digested by an enemy monster.
  • Berserk Button: Don't ignore her. Don't threaten her sister. Don't call her a "child".
  • Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Apparently, in the past, she and her sister were abducted and experimented on. Eventually, they were rescued, but the rescuer told her that she should have been able to free herself, and that she shouldn't rely on anyone else ever. It doesn't mean she turns evil, but it doesn't necessarily help her personality either.
  • Blue Blood: She is very rude and mean to anyone she deems as lower than herself. She's the number 2 ranked hero. So she looks down on A LOT of people.
  • Calling Your Attacks: She actually doesn't do this much. She doesn't name all of her attacks, but she does sometimes tell her enemies when they're coming and exactly what she's planning to do such as dropping a meteor on a monster or throwing artillery rounds back at those who fired them.
  • Comically Invincible Hero: Her powers make it very hard for anyone to be considered an equal much less threat to her. That said, she's prone to throwing tantrums when people ignore her or seem to belittle her.
  • Complete Monster: Many people, even some of her allies, see her as this.
  • Cool Big Sis: She's the number 2 ranked hero and the top female hero of the Association, so she SHOULD be this. Except that she's so rude and condescending that her sister developed an inferiority complex after feeling alienated thanks to her.
  • Danger Deadpan: She's facing a giant monster threatening to destroy the world. That doesn't stop her from getting on the phone and having a conversation with someone, even going as far as telling the monster to wait until the call is finished. City A is completely destroyed by a giant alien ship hovering over it. The ship is firing 100s of rounds of heavy artillery at the surface. She doesn't even care. She uses her powers to stop all the rounds in mid-air and then casually launches them all straight back up at the ship.
  • Dark Action Girl: She may be a hero, but she's not very nice to people. God help you if you're her enemy.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: She wears black. She isn't evil, but she isn't very nice either.
  • Dark Is Edgy: Her hair is swirly and her dress looks shredded.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: A monster she was fighting gloated that nothing short of a giant meteor crashing into the earth could possible harm or kill it. Guess what she does...
  • Fan Service: Her outfit covers her upper body, but it leaves little to the imagination from her hips down. In fact, it kind of seems like she doesn't wear panties under her dress.
  • Eaten Alive: And she didn't enjoy it at all.
  • Gainaxing:
  • Good Is Not Nice / Good Is Not Soft: She's very conceited, critical of others, and overall rude to anyone she deems as lesser to herself. Considering she became the number 2 ranked hero of the Association though, she has the power to back up her boasting.
  • How Did You Get It?: She was completely shocked to see Saitama emerge from the wreckage of the alien space ship. She certainly wasn't going to even think that a B-ranked hero got up there by himself, much less that he defeated the alien leader alone without much trouble.
  • Impaled With Extreme Prejudice: Does pulling a meteor from space and crashing it into a giant monster count?
  • Jerk Ass: She's this to pretty much everybody.
  • Kinda Busy Here: She just got dropped from a plane without a parachute in order to fight a giant monster. Suddenly, she gets a phone call. She takes the call, it was from the Hero Association asking for her to come back to HQ for a high priority meeting of all S-class heroes. The monster actually gets down to her level and tries to get her attention. She tells him this and finishes up her call. A minute later, she nonchalantly kills the monster.
  • Nice Girl: You'd think since she's an S-ranked hero right? Wrong! She's spoiled and condescending.
  • No Kill Like Overkill: She gets sent out to deal with a giant monster. The monster tells her than nothing short of a meteor could harm, much less kill him. She responds by bringing one to earth and dropping it right on him.
  • Oh Crap: Those who see her in action react similar to those watching Saitama.
  • Panty Shot: Sort of negated. Her outfit, plus her poses, and then a few camera angles end up revealing she doesn't seem to be wearing anything underneath.
  • Psychic Child: She is said to be the strongest psychic on earth, or perhaps even the whole series.
  • Psychic Block Defense: When aliens try to bombard the heroes with heavy artillery, she uses her powers to stop ALL the rounds in midair and then sends them back at the ship with ease.
  • Reason You Suck Speech: She delivers these to just about everyone she talks to.
  • She's Got Legs: Her outfit leaves little to nothing up to the imagination. Certain angles even reveal that she doesn't wear panties underneath.
  • Swallowed Whole: Her final fate.
  • Smurfette Principle: Of the top ranked S-class heroes, she's the strongest woman. She's also the number 2 ranked hero overall, and it certainly shows.
  • Too Dumb To Live: Anyone that upsets her is this. She has the overall maturity of a spoiled child, so it doesn't take much.
  • Well Intentioned Extremist: She IS a hero and deep down she does mean well. It's just that she has such a self-centered attitude that it's easy to forget whose side she's on.
  • What an Idiot!: How she sees and treats anyone she feels is weaker than she is.
  • What the Hell Hero: She is almost always arguing with or insulting those around her. Family, friends, other heroes, leaders of the Hero Association, etc. She doesn't care.
  • When She Smiles: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
  • Older Than She Looks: Despite her youthful appearance, she is actually 28.

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