One Punch Man (2016)

[ワンパンマン]

Volume 12

Author: ONE
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Publisher: Jump Comics

Synopsis:
Genos fights off the monsters attacking C City so the fighting tournament can continue uninterrupted.

Story/Characters:
Now, if you don't like the tournament, this volume does a wonderful job of juxtaposing the rather low-value conflict of the tournament with the serious hero work Genos is doing. On the tournament side, we see Suiryuu and Bakuzan featured more prominently. In an ordinary tournament story, these would likely be the primary protagonist/antagonist duo. I particularly like Suiryuu's devil-may-care attitude. He comes across a lot like a Saitama who hasn't been emotionally emptied out yet (but that's because his overwhelming strength is only relative to the other competitors).

Besides all the fighting Genos is doing, Fubuki's fight with Do-S is quite good and we also get to see some other S-Class heroes in action such as Kudoh Kishi (a.k.a. Drive Knight, who's really cool) and even Butagami (Pig God).

Art:
There are more great action sequences as you'd expect, to include Genos really going through the wringer again. The tournament sequences are solid, but they pale in comparison to the heavy-duty monster fights going on outside.

Other:
This volume's side story involves an attempted hit on King. How many hitmen did they bring to take on the World's Strongest Man? Not enough. ^o^

Conclusion:
For some really good fights, this one's a no-brainer. Fans will definitely want this one in their collection.

Rating:
Own It