Warning: contains spoilers for Chapter 167 of One-Punch Man
The words "One-Punch Man" just took a whole new meaning during Saitama's brutal clash against Garou. Finally facing an opponent who is on the same level of strength, Saitama can no longer end the battle with one punch, however, he is still using only one hand to fight but for a completely different reason.
As the name of the manga implies, the whole premise of One-Punch Man is that its protagonist, Saitama, is so strong that he can defeat any opponent in one punch. This unique reversal of the common shonen manga tropes is what made the comic created by One and drawn by Yusuke Murata stand out. It also defines Saitama to his core, as his awesome strength means he is constantly bored by the lack of challenges. Things changed, however, after the Hero Hunter Garou received an impressive power-up from the mysterious villain called God. Garou is now able to fight on par with Saitama, and to provoke the hero to fight using his full strength, he went as far as killing Saitama's best friend and disciple, Genos, in front of his eyes. Angry and disappointed at himself for letting his friend die, Saitama gets serious for the first time in the manga. He picks up Genos' core, where the personality of the cyborg is stored and attacks Garou without holding back.
In chapter #167 of One-Punch Man, the two contestants are blasted by their own energy all the way to Io, Jupiter's moon. Before resuming the fight, Saitama looks at Genos' core, thinking he has to protect it. He quickly discards the hiding of tucking it into his clothes, because they will likely get destroyed: "I better keep a tight grip on it", he says, in a beautiful splash page that perfectly relays Saitama's loneliness and sense of failure. For the rest of the chapter, the hero actually fights using only one hand, which gives "One-Punch Man" a whole new meaning (and it also likely means that he is still much stronger than Garou).
By giving Saitama a completely different reason to fight using only "one-punch", the authors highlighted the deep changes that the protagonist experienced over the past couple of chapters. Saitama admitted that he is not actually a hero, because he was too late to save his best friend due to his careless attitude. If there is still hope to save Genos by preserving his core, it means that Saitama is no longer fighting out of boredom, as the "hero for hobby" used to do, but to protect something he holds dear, even if it means taking a handicap in the battle. This is a complete change for the character, but it's also what heroes do, meaning that Saitama is finally evolving.
The epic battle between Saitama and Garou has given the authors the chance to push One-Punch Man into a new direction. One-Punch Man's Saitama is an iconic character but he remained essentially the same since the beginning of the manga. His recent evolution means that Saitama is becoming an actual hero, giving the words One-Punch Man a whole new meaning.
You can read One-Punch Man's newest chapter now from Viz Media.
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