One-Punch Man Vol 4 by ONE

Illustrated by Yusuke Murata
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Genos, as a Class S hero, gets called away to save City Z from a giant meteor, but he finds another Class S hero, Silver Fang, who says it’s too late and there is no way to stop it. Genos decides to try out a new super-powered weapon against it, but he is interrupted by Metal Knight, another hero trying a new weapon.  Metal Knight's rockets are not enough to blast away the meteor. Genos tries his special weapon, and it is also not enough. Saitama comes and explodes the meteor with one punch, of course, but sends smaller meteors crashing down all over the city. The citizens are outraged and blame Saitama for destroying their town, and none are thankful to at least have their lives.

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This novel introduced us to two more heroes from the Hero Association, and neither one made a lasting impression.  Gramps was slightly interesting, but we didn't get a lot of time with him to be someone I'd care about. I’d like to see more of Saitama and less of all these other heroes, but I suppose when your main character ends a fight in one move, you have to sprinkle in other characters.  I did appreciate that Saitama's actions have consequences.  Often, he destroys something or kills the bad guys effortlessly, when he should be devoting some of his energy to thinking about how this will affect the world around him.  In volume one, he punches a titan of a man, whose dead body falls down on the city, but we don't really see the repercussions of that decision.  Hopefully, this incident with the meteor pieces will make Saitama think about how his strength might be hurting others.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Rating: Grades 7-12

​Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: January 5, 2016​
ISBN: 9781421569208 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Superheroes, Action Adventure, VIZ Media