Last episode we were left with Saitama’s heroic entrance to save Suiryu from what can only be certain doom, if left to his own devices. Naturally, Saitama takes care of monsterized Bakuzan in one blow. It’s also worth noting that he is as surprised as we are about how much damage has been done while he was getting chased around by security guards, as Suiryu is the only one still remaining.
After a brief conversation, Saitama realizes that there is still one threat that remains to be taken care of – Gouketsu, a towering monster so powerful that Genos is convinced that they will need several S class heroes and Saitama to take down. After seeing how easily Gouketsu overpowered someone as strong as Suiryu, I wasn’t so sure how well the other heroes would stack up either, so I can at least appreciate his cautiousness. As Saitama attempts to leave to handle Gouketsu, Suiryu refuses to let his savior walk into his own demise – after he had finally met a true hero after all this time, he couldn’t let him leave when he was destined to save many, many lives. I have always found this scene particularly powerful – this proud, hedonistic martial artist has been brought to the absolute depths and back, and what a profound transformation on his way of thinking and outlook it has had. The old Suiryu would have not paid Saitama a passing thought, assured of his superiority.
Of course, despite his pleas, Saitama leaves to defeat Gouketsu anyway…and does, in a single punch once again, laying the evidence of his victory before the battered body of Suiryu. Genuinely curious, he questions Saitama on his victory and drops the line we were all waiting for – would he take on another disciple? Considering that Saitama didn’t even want the one he had, the answer is obvious. I’m sure we’ll see more of Suiryu as a hero later, a goal he makes clear to us he wants to achieve.
Most interesting moment in this pair of episodes for me is Saitama’s rare introspection – what is he after? What is the purpose? It seems I’m not alone -not even Saitama himself understands his personal mythos. Now that he is so strong, is there any height to pursue? What does he want from his life? Curiously enough, the answers come from an unlikely source – King, who mentions that Saitama should continue to achieve higher heights, and doesn’t buy Saitama’s excuses he makes for himself. After all, a core theme of one punch man is surpassing your limits.
Afterwards, he brutally murders his ass in a fighting game.
The monster association has made their move to the higher ups in the hero association. They have a hostage, so now it is on the heroes to make their move. Naturally, because the child is the kin of one of their greatest contributors, they are personally invested in retrieving the child. Not all heroes feel an invasion is the best idea – for example, Bofoi believes nuking the base is the best way to go, hostage or not, which is a perfect demonstration of his moral compass. Child emperor can’t seem to convince him otherwise.
Garou can’t catch a break either. After attacking “King” (which was really Saitama), he wakes up exhausted after his countless string of battles and passes out in a cabin which apparently belongs to the kid whose hero book he is always borrowing. The kid is tasked with removing Garou from the cabin from his friends which puts him in dire circumstances as the cabin is surrounded by heroes who have been watching Garou’s moves to corner him. Death Gatling, Wild Horn, Glasses, Smile Man….the list goes on. A litany of A and B heroes awaits him outside. The heroes themselves are unaware that a child is in there, so in order to avoid the child getting hurt, Garou surrenders himself outside and asks them not to destroy the cabin, likely either too prideful to mention the child or certain they would not believe him.
Considering his injuries and exhaustion, a battle of attrition would not avail him. Worse yet he is struck by a poison arrow. Wait…what do I mean “worse yet”? Isn’t Garou the villain? Yes, at this point onwards, Garou is the underdog. Still a villain, but the underdog. No doubt at this point you have made notice that Garou never kills his targets and has yet not killed a single individual. A little easier to figure out than Saitama but still relatively unclear.
