ONE PUNCH MAN – SEASON 1 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: MAKOTO FURUKAWA, KAITO ISHIKAWA, MAX MITTELMAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

One Punch Man is an interesting cultural phenomenon. The titular character began life as a parody of jokey childrens’ superhero character, Apanman. The core gag behind One Punch Man is that he is an overpowered hero who can defeat anything with one punch, and so he is bored. The other jokes are that he’s a bit dim and his bald head makes him look a bit like food. Though he began life as a comic book hero, he’s best known for the cartoon series. That and an internet meme associated with apathy.

This Blu-ray brings together series one of the cult hit in the usual sort of way. It’s nice to have It all in one piece, though the extras aren’t anything special. The show expands on One Punch Man’s world, introducing us to a Japan filled with heroes, most of whom are vain attention-seeking superstars looking to make a name for themselves. The most powerful simply want to be top dog.

Like a lot of anime, some of the humour doesn’t translate well. Many of the heroes and villains are riffs on characters from other sources and, unless you’re really into the genre, this will go over your head. Another example of the humour falling flat is the character of Puri Puri Prisoner. He is an effeminate muscle man and the show basically plays his homosexuality for cheap, bawdy laughs. This shows a lack of awareness about modern audiences and the jokes are so old fashioned we had to check this wasn’t written in the 1970s. They border on the offensive, and there’s just too much of this sort of thing in the show; it goes for the easy gag and comes across tired and lame.

For a show about a hero who is so powerful that he has become bored with it all, the show is pretty lazy. Much of the action does not focus on One Punch Man and although there are some great moments of heroes being heroes and some nicely paced plotting, the whole thing just feels a little tired.

Honestly, if you want superhero themed anime with humour and heart, you should really be watching My Hero Academia. The main problem with One Punch Man is that its one joke is told many times, mostly to a cynical and jaded audience. What it passes off as parody and world weariness is really just two dimensional storytelling. It has its moments, but they’re not worth the journey.