2015 had many shows that broke the norm such as "Snow White with Red Hair" being a retelling of the classic fairy tale, but making her a more powerful female figure. "Death Parade" brought the message that people have the ability to change and can be forgiven, no matter the circumstances, and there was a reboot of the 1999 show "Digimon" that has fans clamoring for more in 2016.

(Top left: Snow White Top right: Death Parade/ Bottom: Digimon Adventures Tri)

All of these brought about new stunning animation styles that hadn’t been seen, but their stories were something that left more to be desired. (As of this writing, "Snow White with Red Hair" has gotten a second season so there is more story there) One show, however, broke the records for an idea that couldn’t possibly work, and shattered every expectation. The top show from 2015 that you may have missed is a little gem called One Punch Man.

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This is the same show surprisingly enough

As the title says, the story focuses on the character Saitama, who quite literally, defeats every villain he encounters with one punch. You might be asking, “Why is this so interesting?” The simple answer is that it is amusing to have the villain prepare for his 10-minute monologue for world domination to only be punched into billions of pieces by Saitama cause he was about to miss the sale at the grocery store. The long answer is that the show knows that it is absurd and plays with that theme. As a reflexive show on the genre of superheroes, "One Punch Man" knows how absurd the ideas of superheroes are, calling out Superman and Goku on this argument.

No one poses a challenge to the main character because he is simply “too good at his hobby being a hero.” Arguing that Goku from DragonBall Z and Superman are stronger than Saitama sets itself up that Saitama wins every time. Goku is a representation of a man who has limits set and is constantly trying to surpass them (this happens frequently within the DragonBall mythos) while Superman is a representation of a man with no limits at all. Saitama is a combination of these two characters and simply goes with the flow because he is bored. In essence, Goku is a man who has limits ( the struggle of man), Superman has no limits ( the ideal of man), Saitama broke every limit and doesn’t care (comedy of the stupidity of overpowered characters).

Way to get super analytical about this...

Animation wise, this show is top-notch gorgeous frames. From something as goofy as the webcomic to being something I have never seen in the likes of anime before, it simply astounds me that projects such as this have small budgets compared to other animation studios who put in a fortune to get such beautiful frames.

One Punch Man had a good size budget but nothing big

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works had an enormous budget and is about the same quality.

The opening itself prepares you for the absurdity of the show, getting you pumped up and wanting to punch something yourself you have so much adrenaline. In conclusion, "One Punch Man" is a reflexive show on the absurdity of super heroes and is able to tell a compelling story of one man who wants to save the world one punch at a time all before dinner time.