#one punch man chapter 168

[cathianemelian]

PLEASE MURATA-SENSEI GIVE IT TO US

[opmedits]

"This is insane! What the hell is this monster!?”

One Punch Man 168

[eisenartworks]

POV: You just got into One Punch Man and you wanna understand the main dynamic

[elenasparks1305]

ONE PUNCH-MAN FANGIRLING THOUGHTS: AN ESSAY

It’s been such a long time since i even posted anything here. This is kind of like a summary to the vent session(s) I had with my friend about the latest chapters. She suggested I post it here so here goes.

First of all.

Loved it.

Loved that so much.

It was right down my alley.

I know some people didn’t like how some things were done, that’s fair, you can’t please everyone. I was kinda bummed by how things were wrapped up too to be honest. I’ll get to it later.

But the things they did with Saitama’s character? A masterpiece. The artwork? Godly.

I am a sucker for metaphors in art and the latest chapters were just chock full of them.

Of course the fight scenes were ungodly amazing too, don’t get me wrong. But the metaphors? *chefs kiss *

Let’s get to the rants.

Here’s a list of the beautiful symbolisms that I managed to glean from reading the final chapters in both English and Japanese.

————————————

1. The fallout rain

It’s a natural phenomenon that has happened before in Japan during the world war. How they executed the phenomenon, though, was perfection.

(Absolutely loved this page)

Loved how they used the rain as a metaphor for the sadness that somebody important just died, but also since it’s in bnw, you can’t really tell if it’s blood, or some people had assumed it was oil from Genos, or if it was what it really was: the fallout rain.

But it fits all the symbolism in my opinion, since it was basically all of them. It symbolises the blood (or in Genos’s case; oil) that’s in Saitama’s hands. It symbolises the consequences to his action (or inaction).

Saitama decided to spare Garou and not deal the finishing blow to him when he had the chance. He was responsible for Garou being able to have contact with the god thing, and therefore become the cosmic horror. Saitama is indirectly responsible for the deaths, and most importantly, Genos’s death.

I also loved how Murata drew the streaks down his eyes, like he was crying. Quite sure that it’s intentional.

I loved Saitama’s expression. I can see the disbelief, the despair, and utter shock in his face. I believe that’s called a shell-shocked expression?

To me, his expression seems to cry out, “Why did everything end up becoming like this?”

It was genuinely heartbreaking to see that in his face. Murata is a true artist for portraying that so expertly. That expression of utter shock was incredibly fitting for someone like Saitama. I’ll explain why I think so.

All this time Saitama has never bothered to put his heart in any of his fights, cuz he’s basically invincible. He has no stakes in any fights and this one was no different. Unlike other heroes, he never had anything to lose in any fights cuz he’s always going to win. He knows that.

So it’s just so fitting because of his character’s portrayal; someone who’s lost touch with the real world and his emotions. He is basically invincible, and was so alone he really didn’t have anything to lose.

That is, until he did.

Up to this point we’ve been showed crumbs of how Saitama cares about Genos (pretending to be his teacher, running to his aid first thing after getting out of the MA lair, ignoring Garou, and let’s not forget the core touching scene lol).

All in all, we are shown bits and pieces how much Saitama cares about Genos, and I think Saitama does know that he cares about Genos (maybe not as aware as to how much he cares tho). Thing is, up to this point, I don’t think Saitama has ever seriously considered Genos actually dying. It’s fair since he always comes back even after getting brutally beat up like in the Seaking arc.

So in this instance I think it genuinely rattles Saitama to the core to realize that Genos can actually die.

And that he actually does have something to lose after all.

The usage of the fallout rain as a symbolism was perfect for this one. I absolutely love it.

2. The Face Swap

Let’s not forget this one.

The way Saitama has a black tone all over his face and Garou has a light colored one is a very deliberate symbolism.

I’ve seen a lot of people calling this one out too and I agree with what they call it.

Saitama is the hero in this story, but at this moment, he is the one who doesn’t give a fuck about anything and anyone else but the object of his revenge, which, if I recall correctly, is what we call a villain.

Meanwhile we have Garou, the guy who calls himself the villain, yet at his heart of hearts, is actually not evil.

Some people have mentioned that Saitama is the hero with villainous tendencies and Garou is the villain with heroic tendencies. I do agree with that.

Some people argue that Saitama did not intend to destroy the earth and while for some reason I do believe destroying the earth itself wasn’t the intention, the lack of caring of what’s going to happen in the aftermath of that serious punch is undeniable.

We have seen the devastation of what a serious punch can cause during the early days of one punch man series, when Saitama sparred against Genos. Imagine that kind of devastation inflicted upon the already broken down area. It would’ve been atrocious. If the other heroes there weren’t already dying, they’d surely be dead if they got caught in the aftermath of that punch. Especially because if I recall their positioning correctly:

Yup. Directly behind Garou and Blast.

And I doubt Blast could tank the aftermath of a serious punch enough to protect everyone else, sorry Blast.

Had Garou not return the serious punch, the destruction of the whole area would still be imminent.

And Saitama did not care.

So yeah, villain. A hero with villainous tendencies sounds about right.

While Garou was his opposite; the villain with heroic tendencies. Polar opposite fists sounds about right. That, couples with how ONE had once mentioned that Garou is the anti-Saitama? I do believe that explains everything quite well.

3. Jupiter

The Jupiter scene is incredible. Period.

This whole scene depicts just how far behind Garou is compared to Saitama. Jupiter behind Saitama seems to symbolise just how massive the storm in Saitama’s heart is, and plus it depicts what an ominous presence Saitama currently was. Compare that to how small Garou is in the lower part of the screen. The result of this fight has been clear from the start.

Saitama is drawn at the top is already symbolic of how far above of Garou he is. And Jupiter’s surface behind him is drawn like an eye, which I’m pretty sure is symbolic too about how he stands as the eye of the storm.

Which as we all know, is the calmest part of the storm.

He did look calm didn’t he?

At least on the outside he did.

The storm behind him symbolises the storm brewing inside, waiting to release its fury on Garou.

4. The Core holding scene (not that one)

I have not seen anybody talk about this one yet. This one is a bit less obvious and I only caught on because I read the Japanese version. So I’m gonna be posting the picture in Japanese.

Here Saitama was talking shit to Garou, which was already rare coming from Saitama. But what he said in Japanese made me realize why this picture was made in that composition.

Here Saitama said “そのためなんだろ？” which was translated to “isn’t that the whole point of this?” In the english version. It’s not wrong. But in my opinion it fails to capture the nuance of why the picture was drawn like that.

What Saitama said could also be roughly translated as: “what you did was for this right?” Which, when we look at the way they put emphasis on Genos’s core in that picture, seems to want to say “you killed him for this, right?”

It hurt me when I realised that but also

That’s how you do composition in storytelling. Honestly I’m kinda sad more people didn’t catch on. Some animators even made awesome fan animations and I saw a few failed to include Genos’s core in that scene, which saddens me even more cuz the animations were great otherwise.

To be fair it’s a very nuanced thing, which sometimes get lost in translation. I get that.

So here I am trying to explain away one of my favourite pages lol.

—————————

And while we’re on the topic of translations, let’s talk Japanese. And by that I mean let’s talk about the original Japanese dialogue. This is gonna be me nerding out about the original Japanese phrases in the manga so be warned.

Let’s start from the top.

This page is really heartbreaking.

Basically here, what Saitama said was actually closer to: “I really do not have what they called a hero’s instinct at all huh……”

He’s not questioning whether or not he has a hero’s instinct. He’s admitting that he does not in fact have a hero’s instinct, at all.

It hurts for me to read that because that’s a very defeated phrase to say for someone who already, in the previous chapters, stated the doubts he had of his own heroism. It shows just how hurt he was at this scene. It kinda justified how he basically threw all caution to the wind and went for the overpowered punch right after that…

Let’s take a break from the sad.

This one is, in fact, very correct. The English translation has Garou say “later then lol”.

It is in fact what he says.

He did say “w”, which is the abbreviation for “wara”, which in Japanese is 「笑」. It means “laugh”. It is the Japanese word for ‘lol’. It’s usually a chat thing though, not a spoken word but it’s super common even my bosses at work uses it regularly.

So this one is, in fact, not a mistranslation. They got it 100% correct on this one.

Let’s go for another sad.

The clinging word here is pretty accurate in my opinion. However the word they used for this in Japanese was 縋る (sugaru). I went to the dictionary for more context and I got it. Let’s see if I can convey the whole meaning in English. It be difficult this one.

This word is very emotional, as it has the meaning of “to clutch really strongly on to something or someone, that is the sole dependable/trustworthy figure in times of pain or hardship”.

The dictionary mentions that this word is closely related to 頼る(tayoru) which means to lean on someone for support. But the former put a far stronger emphasis on the dependence and trust placed in the something or someone than the latter.

That one hurt me.

To realize that Genos and Tareo were depicted as the sole emotional support to Saitama and Garou respectively that they trusted and depended on. It was almost enough to make me tear up.

If Garou was comparable to Saitama, Genos is comparable to Tareo in terms of what they are to each of their respective idols.

They even share the same bald spot <3

Let’s wrap this up with a sweet one.

This moment when Genos thought he needed to tell this story to the people who needed to know? The Japanese is admittedly a bit ambiguous. It is written 人間, which directly translates to human. However, this word is used pretty regularly in lots of different meaning (singular or plural both) depending on the context. Which led me to believe that, Genos is not trying to tell this to “the people” who needed to hear.

He meant he needed to tell just one person. And he did it immediately after that.

It wasn’t about any other people.

It was just about Saitama.

And that’s so like Genos.

Saitama was the person who needed to hear that yes, he actually did make it in time. Yes, he did manage to save everyone including Genos. Yes, he is a hero despite all his doubts.

I think it’s so sweet of him and so in character of Genos to be thinking of Saitama first. It makes sense too, because he made that promise to himself during the seaking arc that he wouldn’t interfere if Saitama chose to play the role of a bad guy but he’s gonna be there for his Sensei whenever he’s in a pinch.

It’s like a throwback to the aftermath of the meteor where he voiced his solid appreciation and devotion to his Sensei after that public lynching to support and make Saitama feel better.

It’s so like Genos to take it as part of his role as Saitama’s disciple to protect his Sensei and remind him that he is appreciated. Especially after thinking he’s just giving up the acknowledgment for the sake of other heroes again (he just doesn’t remember tho lol).

Protective Sensei is a force to be reckoned with.

Protective borg is a sweet borg.

Too bad Saitama doesn’t remember so he honestly doesn’t understand Genos was being sweet.

It’s ok Genos, we know.

Hopefully Saitama will too.

Anyways, I can go on and on about my take on their relationship but I’m running out if space for this one (I’m on phone) so I’m gonna wrap this one up.

Maybe I will write another one if I feel like it.

Cheers~

[fuckmesaitama]

You have NO IDEA how happy it makes me to see Saitama and Garou working together as a team and properly acknowledging (while smiling at the another!) each other’s capability and strength/skills to contribute to rewinding this big mess, and also understanding both of their vulnerabilities despite that strength, they understood each other!!

Especially because until this point, it felt like most of the time they’re mostly and constantly being accidentally disrespectful everytime they were together onscreen, (trying to fight/beat up the other, and then don’t even remember the other, regularly taunting each other during their fight) like two north pole side of magnets that are the same but still only repel each other.

I’m so happy I could cry… 😭😭😭😭

I’m not shipping them but I’m so SO happy to see this happen. 😭😭😭❤️✨✨

[rants-about-opm]

Something Ventured, Nothing Gained

I’m not the biggest fan of the latest chapter. It feels like we’re skipping too much, like Murata and ONE got bored and said “We’ll just skip ahead a couple chapters and come back when we feel like writing it”, but then they never bothered to add the missing bits. 

I dunno, it feels like just last week I was defending the redraw as a chance for the characters feelings and emotions to play out in a more natural way as opposed to them jumping right into being good, and yet here we are now and Garou is just roaming the streets with Bang acting like almost nothing happened.

Not to mention, the whole bit about forgetting his technique is just silly to me.

Getting over the whole time travel schtick was hard enough, and now we just have to accept that these two highly improbable things happened all at once to give us this exact, minute result. I know a lot of people prefer this route as we see more of Garou, but I can’t help but feel that “getting back my fist” is a rather shallow stand in for a goal, especially when it comes to someone so goal oriented and hyper focused as Garou. Without something meaningful that he feels is worth working towards, his character feels reduced to only his senseless petulance. The webcomic path may not have seemed quite as outright hopeful, but to me it felt like Garou had more potential to change. Manga Garou gives off an air of disinterest, he’s only here to relearn what he’s forgotten, and any apologies he’s given out are a result of being forced to do so. This redemption feels more like Bang’s task than something he’s undertaken all his own.

I want to know what Bang said to convince Garou to return and be “rehabilitated”. The fact that he wanted to be found doesn’t say much, for all we know he was waiting for Bang to come and kill him. I don’t see how Garou’s headspace following his defeat could have lead him to return. He’s clearly still very passionate about the beliefs he had while monsterized.

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like this new path isn’t viable for Garou achieving any real growth, at least not on his own terms at his own time.

[snownyann]

Saitama travels back in time. Coloring by me (requested by a long time supporter of mine)

I do not usually color panels with many coloring but I honor her request as she supported me when I barely had any followers at first.

[no1monstersimp]

I need to get my frustrations out about God so..

God not getting what he wants, makes me cackle. Rest easy future Garou and Homeless Emperor.

Now for the ranting part,

Excuse my language :D.

Fucking hate that son of a bitch, I hope he fucking dies soon. Coward. Taking advantage of people who are so mentally drained and on the verge of giving up. I want to tear him apart with my own hands. I want to watch him suffer. I want him to feel the pain they had to.

I HATE HIM so so much.

JUST DIE FR. YOURE GONNA GET FUCKED UP SOON ANYWAYS.

[ryujin-zanba]

not garou’s ‘type’ resembling a version of his mother that would be kind to him 😭💔

[nii-chan-tamer]

[opmedits]

"You said you were gonna copy me when I’m serious and surpass me, didn’t you? Go ahead and try”

One Punch Man 168

[demifiendrsa]

One Punch Man chapter 168 color pages

[lordtraco-fanfics]

Thanks to a bunch of One Punch Man Spoilers, I have FEELS. Here's a tiny happy post-chapter-168 moment to ease my heart.

........

"You were dead. I had everything I'd ever wanted, but you were dead." Saitama held the core close to his heart and ran his other hand through the sleeping cyborg's hair. Genos looked content in the gentle light of the moon that snuck past the blinds.

Saitama knew to keep his voice down. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with Genos. He barely wanted to have it with himself. But the memories kept nagging him in his dreams, showing how impossibly strong he could become if the one napping on him was ever ruthlessly torn away.

The stinging feeling behind the eyes hurt, but there were no tears to cry. Genos was right there. Right there. Breathing softly, smiling at some unknown dream. Saitama couldn't even find it in himself to be jealous of a nice dream. He just kept carding through Genos's hair, willing the thoughts to quiet.

"You're my most important person, Genos. I…" even now in the dead of night, he couldn't say it. There was too much to say and yet no words to voice it. Instead, he pressed a little kiss to the core he held. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he pressed a kiss to Genos's forehead.

…

Genos let a smile creep to his face as he gently woke to the soft voice and touch of his sensei. His best friend. His favorite person. Lounging in the liminal step before true wakefulness, he didn't quite pay attention to the words.

That was until he heard his name. Genos roused slowly, opening his eyes just as Saitama grew closer and pressed a kiss to his forehead. At any other moment, such affection would set his electronics ablaze with the imperfect approximation of adrenaline. Now, however, it just felt nice.

"Go to sleep, Sensei." He mumbled, voice thick with fatigue. "I'm here."

He didn't hear a response but did feel the small motion of Saitama plopping back. Almost immediately, Saitama started to snore. Genos loved the sound. It meant everything was safe and well.

Genos opened his mouth to voice the words he longed to say but found them lacking. Instead, he resolved to return that forehead kiss the next opportunity he had. With the goal in mind, he drifted off to sleep once more.

[wcwit]

One-Punch Man Chapter 168 Written by ONE Art by Yusuke Murata

[ladysunamireads]

I Don't Want to Lose You Ever Again

I don’t want to lose you ever again by Bluejayeuphoria

Saitama was able to turn back time and Genos is back, safe and sound.

So why was his heart still aching so badly?

Words: 1668, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: ワンパンマン | One-Punch Man

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Saitama, Genos

Relationships: Genos/Saitama

Additional Tags: Heavy spoilers of chapter 165-168, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Adorable Genos, Protective Saitama, Fluff and Angst, Genos is back and alive

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40457028

[wotakugo]

One Punch Man Chapter 168 is finally in line for a release this week. The latest chapter made its way to the screens like a surprise. The fans had not been expecting a surprising release this week. But the latest chapter brought a lot of new insight into what the comparison of Saitama’s powers to Garou is. The recap has all the details of what happened in the last chapter. Here is everything you need to know about the next outing. In the upcoming storyline, fans will be able to catch up with how Garou plans on iterating all the moves that Saitama is making. But even he is unsure if this plan is going to work in the future or not. One Punch Man Chapter 168: What Will Happen Next? The title and raw scans of the chapter are yet to be out in the public domain. Fans had been expecting that Saitama would end Garou’s rage in a single punch. But then, the fight stretched for longer than this. It was seen that Garou was able to take a lot of punches. It is also possible that Saitama was putting all his efforts into the fight at once. Thus, he might need a little more push in order to bring an end to all the chaos. During the fight, Saitama did say that he was getting a bit of De Ja Vu while being on the planet. This only means that he is going to reenact one of the fights from the past. One Punch Man Chapter 168 will bring a lot more to the table than just Garou’s defeat. Previous Chapter Recap! The title of One Punch Man Chapter 167 was “I.O.” The chapter started with Blast looking at Garou and Saitama and thinking that these two need to be sent to a different dimension in order to safeguard Earth from eternal destruction. This was the moment when the Beast King and his team appeared and told Blast that they would take care of safeguarding Earth. Within a single move, both of the heroes were sent to a land far away from Earth. This was I.O., one of the moons of planet Jupiter. Only for a few moments did both of the heroes stop to think about where they had landed. But then, the fight had begun once again. Saitama took a look at the last remains of Genos. He charges straight at Garou, making it the finishing move for him. This was followed by a series of punches that led to Garuo flying in different directions from various portals. By the end of the chapter, Garou charged the Serious Punch on Garou. The chapter came to an end with Garou deciding that he would have to copy almost every move of Saitama if he wanted to win this battle. One Punch Man Chapter 168: Release Date The release date of the next outing is yet to be revealed to the fans. However, they are sure that the chapter will not take longer than two weeks to come to the screens. So, One Punch Man Chapter 168 will release this week without much of a break. The final release date is July 22, 2022. Fans will be able to read all the chapters of the manga only on the official pages of ONE or One Punch Man’s website. At last, keep an eye on WotakuGo to get all the updates right here. After TheAnimeDaily