It starts with a bald guy in a grocery store. Well, actually, it starts with a purple monster named Vaccine Man screaming about pollution while leveling a city block, but the bald guy is the reason we’re still talking about this show over a decade later. When Madhouse released One Punch Man episode 1 back in 2015, the anime world basically shook. It wasn't just another shonen jump clone. It was a middle finger to the entire concept of the "hero's journey."
You know the trope. A kid wants to be the best, he trains, he loses, he finds a mentor, he screams for three episodes, and then he finally wins. Saitama? He’s already won. He won before the opening credits even finished rolling.
What One Punch Man Episode 1 Actually Accomplished
The first episode, titled "The Strongest Man," is a masterclass in subverting expectations. We open on City Z. It’s a wasteland. Vaccine Man—a clear, legally-distinct-enough homage to Baikinman or even Piccolo—is doing the standard villain monologue about being the "apostle of Mother Earth." He’s terrifying. He’s huge. Then Saitama shows up in a yellow jumpsuit that looks like it was bought at a thrift store and Cape that looks like a bedsheet.
He’s bored.
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That’s the hook. Saitama isn't brave; he's just really, really tired of winning. The animation by Shingo Natsume and his team at Madhouse was, frankly, overkill. They brought in industry legends like Yoshimichi Kameda to handle the fight sequences. When Saitama finally lands that single punch, the sheer kinetic energy on screen makes you feel like your monitor might crack. It’s beautiful. It’s also hilarious because the threat is neutralized in literally one frame.
Most people think the show is about a guy who can kill things with one hit. It’s not. One Punch Man episode 1 establishes that this is actually a tragedy disguised as a comedy. Saitama has achieved his dream, and it’s a nightmare. He’s so strong that he can’t feel the adrenaline of a fight anymore. He’s just a guy looking for a sale at the local supermarket who happens to be a god.
The Crablante Flashback and the "Average" Hero
We get a glimpse into his past through a flashback involving a giant crab-man in briefs called Crablante. This is crucial. It shows us Saitama with hair—a regular, salaryman-type guy with dead eyes. He saves a "butt-chinned" kid from the monster. This isn't a magical origin story. There’s no radioactive spider. There’s no demon fox sealed inside him. He just decided to be a hero for fun.
The training regimen he eventually reveals (100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run every single day) is a joke. It’s objectively bad advice for professional athletes. It’s basic. Yet, in the world of the show, this mundane repetition broke his "limiter." It’s a brilliant satire of the extreme power-scaling found in Dragon Ball Z or Naruto. While other characters are screaming for new transformations, Saitama just did some cardio until his hair fell out.
The Dream Sequence: A Glimpse of What Could Have Been
The highlight of the episode for many isn't the real-world fight, but the Subterranean dream. For a few minutes, we see Saitama actually struggling. He’s bleeding. He’s panting. His heart is racing. The music swells. This is the only time in the entire series we see Saitama genuinely happy because he’s finally in danger.
Then he wakes up.
The Subterranean King appears in reality, and he’s about three feet tall and terrified. One kick, and it’s over. The disappointment on Saitama’s face is palpable. You feel for him. It’s a weirdly relatable moment for anyone who has ever reached a goal and realized the "chase" was actually the best part.
Animation Quality and the "Madhouse" Magic
Let’s be real for a second: the production value here was insane. People often misremember that One Punch Man had a massive budget. It didn't. According to staff interviews, it had an average budget. The reason it looks like a feature film is because Natsume had an incredible Rolodex of freelance animators who wanted to work with him. They used a lot of "smear" frames and hand-drawn effects that CGI-heavy shows today just can't replicate.
Look at the scene where Saitama punches the giant Marugori. The way the clouds part and the shockwave ripples through the city—that’s classic sakuga. It’s the kind of visual storytelling that tells you everything you need to know about the power gap without a narrator explaining it to death.
Why We Still Care About City Z
City Z is depicted as a ghost town. It’s the "dangerous" part of the world where monsters spawn constantly. But to Saitama, it’s just where he lives because the rent is cheap. This groundedness is what makes the show work. If Saitama were a brooding, serious warrior, the show would be unbearable. Instead, he’s a guy who worries about getting his groceries home without breaking the eggs.
The episode introduces the concept of the Hero Association implicitly, showing that there is a whole infrastructure of "professional" heroes. But Saitama isn't part of it yet. He’s an amateur. He’s an outsider. This sets up the social commentary that carries the rest of the season: why does society value the flashy, ranked heroes over the guy who actually gets the job done?
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The Philosophy of Boredom
Honestly, the core of One Punch Man episode 1 is an exploration of ennui. If you remove all obstacles from your life, do you actually find happiness? Saitama is the strongest being in existence, and he’s arguably the most miserable character in the show. He’s looking for a connection, for someone to understand the burden of being at the top.
Every villain in this episode represents a different type of ego. Vaccine Man is environmental ego. Marugori (the giant) is the ego of physical supremacy. They all think they are the main character of the world. Saitama treats them like a nuisance, like a fly he needs to swat so he can go back to his manga.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going back to watch the first episode, keep an eye on these specific details that most people miss:
- The Sound Design: Pay attention to the silence right before Saitama punches. The sudden drop in audio makes the impact feel ten times heavier when the bass finally kicks in.
- Background Details: The grocery store flyers and the mundane items in Saitama’s apartment are full of easter eggs and references to the original webcomic by ONE.
- The Eyes: Notice how Saitama’s art style shifts. When he’s bored, he’s drawn with simple, "derpy" lines. When he gets serious, his face gains detail, shadows, and sharp angles. It’s a visual representation of his mental state.
- The Score: Shiro Sagisu’s (of Evangelion fame) influence is felt here, though the primary composer is Makoto Miyazaki. The heavy metal riffs aren't just for "coolness"—they represent the internal fire Saitama is trying to reignite.
How to Experience One Punch Man Today
To get the most out of the series after revisiting the first episode, you should track the evolution of the art.
- Compare the Anime to the Manga: Yusuke Murata’s art in the manga version is widely considered some of the best in human history. Some panels actually function like flip-books if you scroll through them.
- Read the Webcomic: If you want to see where it all started, check out ONE’s original webcomic. The art is crude, but the comedic timing and story beats are arguably even sharper.
- Watch the Specials: There are several OVA (Original Video Animation) episodes that flesh out Saitama's daily life between the big fights. They help bridge the gap between his "Hero for fun" persona and his actual living situation.
The brilliance of the first episode is that it doesn't leave you wanting to see Saitama win; it leaves you wanting to see him challenged. It flips the dopamine hit of a victory into a question of purpose. You've seen the peak of power—now you’re sticking around to see if the man behind the fist can find a reason to keep waking up in the morning.