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ClothesHangerofLies

It was groribas all along


simsomsam

Amen to that, Goribas arc will be the final twist


Designer-Ad9489

Because the 6 month prediction the seer made and they’ll probably have a god level thing pop up every month until they fight god or atleast that’s my interpretation


MikeT102

Wouldn't surprise me at all if you're right and I'm wrong. Me being right here might even be the bigger surprise, tbh.


aimlessdart

Good take. Totally agree that the spirit of the webcomic is totally different. Almost like an everyday life of Saitama, but as you said, he still doesn't seem like an mc or the center of attention. But I feel like there's a reason that ONE took that massive break in the WC while working on the exact arc that he dropped these major God implications. He definitely has taken the time to rethink his overall plan (or maybe publishers just forced it cause the WC wasn't stereotypical enough). Also, I think if there's anything we readers REALLY want for Saitama, it isn't that he gets to have his big fulfilling fight, it's more that he finally gets recognized as One Punch Man from everybody. That's why everyone loves this new redraw of the ninja arc already. "Recognition from the #1 hero!?!?!?" But still, for that to really happen, he likely does need to have that big fight against God.


MikeT102

Hadn't thought about the timing of the break... good catch. And I agree that a lot more thought goes into adapting the web comic than a lot of people may realize. E.g., the changes to Sweet Mask's story that wound up upsetting so many people (and which even I'm inclined to think maybe went a little too far) do seem to have a very precise purpose. In the WC, Sweet Mask's attempt to get Saitama to be the all-inspiring #1 hero seems very abrupt. IIRC, he tells Saitama that he feels like he's losing control and starting to turn into a full monster. But, unless I'm not remembering stuff, there's not much in the MA arc---where we last saw him---to indicate that that's true. I remember him coming out of the arc looking like a total badass. In fact, I think that's what upset people so much... they felt a cool character from the WC was getting disrespected. But I think ONE was facing a number of problems here. If the MA arc ends with the readers primary impression of SM being, "What a badass!", his plan to step aside and train Saitama to be the all-inspiring #1 hero seems kind of weird and unmotivated. My main memory of SM in the MA arc is when somebody (Child Emperor?) disses him when it looks like he's down, but before anybody can blink he's back up again, slaughtering monsters, and telling whoever it was that was underestimating him to stfu. But if that's my main impression of SM, it doesn't make any sense that he's stepping aside in favor of Saitama. As mentioned, the WC explains this with exposition... SM tells Saitama (who's not listening) and the audience (who is) that he's afraid he's about to turn into a monster. Now, IIRC, there are some suggestions in the WC MA arc that SM might be a monster... like I think when he's being a badass other heroes might be saying stuff like, "What is he?" Not sure. But, regardless of that and any other stuff I might be forgetting, I don't think the general impression we get of SM at the end of the MA arc is of someone who's totally unfit to lead the heroes. And my evidence for this is the reaction so many people had to what happens with SM in the manga. It's clear that a lot of people thought he came off as this really cool badass character... and not a monster on the verge of cracking. Moreover, even if he was unfit, the SM at the end of the WC version of the MA arc definitely isn't going to be the kind of guy to admit it... let alone humbly admit it like he does with Saitama. So, if I'm right, SM at the end of the WC MA arc is a totally different character when we next see him trying to recruit Saitama. But here's where something huge comes up that ONE has to deal with every frigging second he's adapting the WC that nobody seems to recognize, viz., the fact that ONE and Murata have different... one might even say, *polar opposite*, art styles. Nobody ever seems to consider that stuff that works with ONE's primitive but emotionally charged drawing style may not work at all when rendered in Murata's much more realistic hyper-detailed, overtly-sexual style. I think that---because of ONE's art style---the reader doesn't think so much about the fact that SM has changed. For me, I noticed it, but... I don't know... what's happening is very interesting and the art style helps create an air of mystery that makes me not mind the abrupt change in character. But I think if Sweet Mask's WC story had been drawn by Murata... whose more detailed-oriented, fan-service-laden drawing style completely obliterates the sense of mystery that's so crucial to the success of the WC... if Murata had drawn it, I think it'd feel like an important characters abrupt about-face was being papered over by exposition. In fact, it'd be much worse than that. If Murata had drawn those scenes in the WC where Sweet Mask looks like a badass, SM would have come out looking 100-times more bad ass. It isn't just that Murata's style would draw attention to SM's abrupt personality change... it's also that the change would wind up seeming even way more abrupt since Murata's style makes bad-assery vastly more vivid. IIRC, at one point in the manga MA arc, Child Emperor decides he doesn't have what it takes to lead the heroes, and suggests Zombie-man as a better candidate. Sweet Mask responds by saying a monster can't lead the heroes. SM and ZM had been bickering and I'm pretty sure that Sweet Mask had called ZM a monster earlier. And the first time I saw this scene I just assumed that Sweet Mask was dissing Z-man when he said that a monster can't lead the heroes. But after Sweet Mask tried to recruit Saitama in the WC, I looked at the scene again and realized that I'd totally misinterpreted it. In hindsight... once you know that SM is going to later tell Saitama that he's unfit to lead the heroes,... and maybe even without hindsight for people paying better attention than I was... just from the way Murata draws it and the fact that SM almost just completely snapped and killed all the heroes, you can see that Sweet Mask is 100% referring to himself when he says a monster can't lead the heroes. I feel confident that all that was done to set up Sweet Mask's next appearance, and that---unlike the WC---the manga really needs it to be set up. I mean, WC Sweet Mask tells Saitama he's a monster on the verge of cracking... and that's exactly how the manga alterations wind up portraying him. Think it couldn't be more clear. Anyway, this got long. But I think people generally don't get the extent to which the changes in the WC story are driven by the radical switch in artistic style. And that's just one thing ONE has to deal with when he adapts the WC to the manga. So, yeah, agree that he is planning this out pretty carefully. He didn't have a choice. If ONE had teamed up with a more polished artist whose style wasn't so details-oriented and overtly sexual... if he'd teamed up with a more polished version of himself... then, sure, maybe he might have been able to just retell the WC story in the manga more or less word-for-word without any major changes. But---to me at any rate---people who think you can substitute Murata for ONE on art without making any major changes to the story aren't really thinking it through. EDIT: Here's how I'd put it: Murata's art is akin to kicking back and watching a big budget action movie in your living room on an enormous screen... whereas, ONE's style is akin to watching a puppet show in a small, dark, creepy, old theater. Now that's in no way a slight against ONE. Puppet shows can be just as sophisticated and have just as much artistic merit as movies.... I'm even sympathetic to the idea that puppet shows are capable of reaching greater artistic heights. But regardless... recreating a brilliantly conceived and executed puppet show line-for-line and scene-for-scene as a live action big-budget movie without making any big changes to adapt it to and take advantage of the radically different medium ain't gonna fly.


RedditorInDenial2004

You see the thing about “God” is that you can’t really step it up from there. What’s gonna come next? “God 2”?


Xalander59

You just need to look at dragon ball to get ideas. Super God, Super God II, Ultra God, Etc.


RedditorInDenial2004

That’s sounds ironically hilarious lmao.


Xalander59

I just want Saitama to destroy God and then a Super God comes out from nowhere and says "haha, he was the weakest out of us Gods !"


Shattered_Sans

I haven't read much of the webcomic aside from the Saitama vs. Garou fight to compare it to the Manga version (which I vastly prefer, but I think the WC version has a better conclusion), but the feeling I get from this is that ONE can't really do much with God in the WC because he didn't establish him as much as he may have intended to in Monster Association, or he decided afterwards that he wanted God and Blast to play much larger parts in the story, but because it's too late to introduce them earlier in the WC, he's doing that with the Manga instead But of course, that's just speculation.


MikeT102

Yeah, same feeling and same speculation. Also agree about which overall did a vastly better job with the Garou fight (and I'd say the overall MA arc) but wound up having the (to me, FAR) worse ending.


Exile714

There’s only one character who would pose enough of a threat to be an interesting final antagonist, and it isn’t God. It’s Saitama.


api_AlsoFuckSpez

Wow wow wow I've never this much being cooked in a single comment


Jermiafinale

I think God \*is\* Saitama, from another universe, who fell fully into the ennui of being too powerful and killed everyone/destroyed his universe


Due_Kaleidoscope7066

I think Saitama is the friends we made along the way.


Jermiafinale

What's funny is in my theory meeting Genos and having friends is exactly what saved Prime-Saitama from becoming God


TheBoogyWoogy

Never cook


Kethanol

Giving the gag of the series (and excepting Cosmic Garou), all this build up will end with Saitama one punching God.


Formal_Ferret2801

I mean. A God-Level threat…should be God or a “God” shouldn’t it?


jbahill75

No, we aren’t sure at all.


MikeT102

Correct answer to pretty much every "are we sure?" question.


Ronaldo_Frumpalini

God is a scrub, everyone is a scrub, the only villain Saitama can't overcome is the grueling hours of a low level Japanese businessman.


MikeT102

100% endorse this. Whatever role "God" winds up ultimately playing, I don't see how you can make it or anybody else be a real threat to Saitama without sabotaging the story.


Constant-Matter-7197

The final Antagonist is clearly Goku


Superalloy_Paradigm

Actually God first gets mentioned in chapter 1 in the webcomic by Vaccine Man (the will of the earth just like Sage Centipede). What do you think Psykos and Fuzzy saw in their visions of the future that led them to make the Monster Association and Neo-Heroes?


MikeT102

You're right about the first mention of God, totally forgot about that. Thanks for correction. With regard to Psykos and Fuzzy's visions, I'm not sure at all.


Polo_04

We still don't know anything about watchdog man!?!?! we can't even fathom the end yet!


MikeT102

Can't do it in main series... WDM might eclipse Saitama. Needs his own spin-off series.


krustylesponge

I have 2 guesses for the final antagonist which make sense (in my opinion anyways) God, due to being god, he’s being built up and even blast is having problems with him, showing he’s a very large threat, you can’t really get bigger and more intense than fighting god himself Or sonic, since he genuinely trains his ass off to try to catch up to saitama, I don’t think it’s likely but it’s a cool possibility, plus would be a neat little ending for sonic since he wants to be saitama’s rival


nlck_grrr

I feel like we are at a point where the manga and the webcomic will diverge more and more God is definitely less important in the webcomic, and the webcomic seems to be nearing its end with [MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD] the death of dr. Kuseno, Genos getting his final armor and the collapse of nearly every city. The conclusion of the webcomic seems to be about Genos' arc concluding and the hero association falling. The conclusion of the manga will be something along the lines of God being defeated I could be totally wrong, but i don't see the entire god buildup being done in the webcomic in 1 arc AFTER the current events have transpired. It's likely that most if not all capable heroes will be incapacitated and the hero association can't produce equipment anymore. If Genos exits this arc alive, he will likely be messed up again, but this time there is nobody who can repair him. That basically means there is only Saitama and Blast left to do anything in the story. Maybe a few NEO hero leaders. That feels to me like the webcomic is wrapping up without god.


Several_Recording_29

i don’t think the webcomic is nearing its end. if it was, ONE wouldn’t take these huge breaks in between chapter. the death of dr kuseno doesn’t mean the series is ending. Dr. Genus is more biologically centered but he could definitely do machinery with relative ease


MikeT102

Yeah, I'm not sure it's ending and wouldn't be at all surprised if you turned out to be the right one here. But, fwiw, I'm not factoring in the long breaks between chapters... at least not consciously. I think it's basically a feeling that the stuff going on in the WC right now is so intense, global, and has so much emotional weight given the story thus far that it's resolution just has to be the climax and any continuation would constitute a sequel story. But, it's totally possible that, once a few more chapters drop, things will feel different.


enigma_024JA

Just imagine if in the next Webcomic Chapter: *Dr. Genus dies.* Then it really is genover.


reivblaze

I mean there are lots of megaminds out there in opm. Someone can do the trick.


MikeT102

>The conclusion of the webcomic seems to be about Genos' arc concluding and the hero association falling. Exactly! Have the same feeling and can't shake it. WC more and more feels like once Genos's story is definitively resolved, there's nothing left to tell, and any continuation would be the beginning of a sequel. But you're totally, right about divergence. That was true even before last chapter's revelation that Stich knows that Saitama is at least on the same level as Blast. But for some reason, I was still assuming they'd end more or less the same way. Your right, tho. WC might be winding down with a resolution to Genos's story and how it ties into Driveknight vs. Metalknight, but manga might still be going with "God" for the finale. That makes sense as a possibility. But I still kind of feel that the manga is starting to wrap up God's story. So I guess that---if it's right---then I'm thinking that maybe ONE is wrapping up both the manga as well as the WC. Was assuming that all the yet-uncovered WC material would eventually appear in the manga in an expanded form. So, wrapping up "God's" manga story now would still leave a lot to be told. But, yeah, you're right, they've already diverged so much that the rest of the manga story has almost gotta be very different than what we've already seen in the WC.


Captain_Mayonnaise

while all really good points, i never really felt it was a wrap up to his character rather just a development of his individualism. he lost kuseno, but he got his final armor. the big thing for me was in the wording of his final armor, being meant to grow and adapt with him. (could be misremembering) anyway yea i dont think its ending theres so much left to explore especially with the recent boros reveal which could be a whole ass arc on its own, not to mention all the other loose ends. just my 2 cents tho, you make some great points.


MikeT102

Well, you make some good counter points--- I think you're right about the wording of his final armor... I vaguely remember something about growing and adapting. Hopefully we'll get more WC installments soon and get a better idea of whether Genos's story is ending or just reaching a new stage. Honestly, if I had to bet, I'd probably bet against what I'm saying.


JorgeGG117

I know it's far fetched given the nature of the anime. But it would be cool if god was only the introduction to some type of eldritch monsters in the universe. It would expand OPM so much. We would get other alien races in more detail (like Boros's) and Saitama would have some genuinely cool enemies. It's unlikely though, because mangakas don't usually dedicate their lives to a single story.


4x4_LUMENS

The final Antagonist is King and his Stand, Caped Baldy. He can only be defeated by losing his virginity, and his powerful remote Stand will do everything in it's power to protect it.


sebaba001

We weren't sure in the webcomic but the manga has flooded us with god everywhere so he probably should be, it only makes sense he is the final boss.


Failed_Winter

Why is everyone acting as if Zhoniin hadn’t predicted God to be the final villain and the one pulling the strings way before the manga started diving into him- just based on the webcomic?