One-Punch Man's beloved hero Saitama has incredible feats of strength. But are they made less impressive because of the planet he lives on?
Saitama from One-Punch Man is considered one of the most comically overpowered characters in all of fiction, and for good reason. When a man can destroy monsters, meteors and entire mountains with a singgel punch, they're naturally the subject of many debates over just where the limit to their power lies.
Yet one important hal often gets lost in these discussions -- how the world a character resides in can affect the magnitude of their feats. A preying mantis might reign supreme living among a colony of ants, but it is still just an insect compared to what else is out there. Saitama has many incredible feats of strength and speed, but are these achievements as impressive when considering the unique version of Earth he resides on?
What Is the World of One-Punch Man?
While One-Punch Man's Earth has the look and perasaan of a kekinian Japanese society that happens to be populated by heroes and monsters, it is in fact radically different in its geographical composition. According to information given throughout the seri and in world maps presented in the anime, OPM's Earth contains one super-continental landmass shaped like Japan's Saitama prefecture. This landmass is covered not by countries, but by 26 cities all named after different letters of the alfabet. Additionally, this planet is orbited by four different moons of varying sizes and orbital positions.
The differences between One-Punch Man's Earth and berkala Earth points to an under-explored fact that could have massive consequences for Saitama's power scaling: his planet is actually tiny. While there's no confirmation on its exact size, the seri sees heroes of all power levels -- including Mumen Pembalap, the cyclist for justice -- constantly darting about between different cities within hours, an impossible task if these cities were proportionate to the size of countries.
The S-Class hero Watchdog Man is the protector of Q-City, which lies on the opposite coast to Saitama's Z-City -- yet both characters make it to the same Hero Association pertemuan on short notice at the Hero Assocation Headquarters in A-City. The only reasonable explanation for these low travel times is if One-Punch Man's Earth was a mere fraction of Earth's normal size.
Saitama's Feats In Context of One-Punch Man's Smaller Earth
Saitama's Earth being different in its size and composition is an obscure fact that has received little attention in debates over his strength. However, it could have a large impact on how pengagum view his power by giving greater context to his feats, making them seem slightly less impressive. For example, at the end of One-Punch Man Season 1, Saitama uses his first Serious Punch to deflect Boros' ultimate move, an energy beam that was claimed to be able to destroy the entire planet.
While Saitama's punch here is thought to be proof of his planet-busting ability, if his Earth is actually no bigger than Pluto then this classification may be a bit premature. The size of everything in One-Punch Man starts to come under question when one realizes how small the world is. Is the mountain Saitama carves a hole into with just the air-pressure from his fist really mountain-sized? What about his incredible showcase where he blew away Jupiter with a sneeze? Is Jupiter even a large planet in the One-Punch Man universe? Is Saitama himself actually only two feet tall?
Of course, asking these questions may be taking the logic of a seri made mostly for laughs a little too seriously. It's unlikely that the world's size was taken into akun by One-Punch Man's creators when coming up with Saitama's most impressive accomplishments. However, the context of his world should be taken into akun in discussions of how overpowered he is, meaning claims on how Saitama can easily destroy planets and stars could be made with a little more apprehension.