One Punch Man (2019)

[ワンパンマン]

Volume 20

Author: ONE
Artist: Yusuke Murata
Publisher: Jump Comics

Synopsis:
The S-Class heroes assemble to launch their attack on the Monster Association's headquarters.

Story/Characters:
This volume is mostly warmup for the big rescue mission. We see the heroes squabbling as usual. It's ironic that Child Emperor is the most mature of the S-Class heroes. Amai Mask shows up to be an insufferable douchebag as always, but Tatsumaki goes up the rankings in my book for telling him exactly what we're all thinking. We get a new batch of A-Class and B-Class heroes who are on the support team and they work pretty well, both as characters and as a more even challenge for the Monster Association's low-rankers that are sent out first. I particularly like Captain Mizuki and One-Shotter. As things heat up, Rhino Wrestler shows up and I like his gimmick of scoring his opponents' attacks.

Meanwhile, King is having a rough time of it. His interactions with the S-Class heroes are particularly amusing. Also, on a related note, it's amusing how Fubuki takes over Saitama's gang as the New Fubuki Group. (You can imagine how effective her control is.)

Art:
It isn't until the second half that the action starts, but even though we're mostly just fighting mooks, it suitably impresses. (Naturally, things get kicked up a notch when Rhino Wrestler shows up, but we also get some nice large-scale destruction at the start with Jagan vs. Tatsumaki.) Some of the new character designs are pretty nice. If you like your women tall and muscly, Captain Mizuki is the girl for you. The table of contents features Tatsumaki and Fubuki in a Goth Loli getup, so thank you for that, Murata-sensei. I'm digging Genos' redesign as well.

As mentioned in the previous volume, the covers for Volumes 19-21 form one big poster, or two, strictly speaking. You get an epic hero group shot on the front and fanservice on the back.

Other:
We get a brief side chapter where the support heroes talk about their weapons and such.

Conclusion:
Although this is mostly just building up to the main event (perhaps taking a little too long for some people's tastes), I fully enjoyed this volume. Giving the new heroes a chance to shine was nice. Amai Mask can't die in a fire fast enough, but I don't think I'm going to get to see that anytime soon. If you've been collecting the series, you'll want this too, but at very least, it's worth a read.

Rating:
Own It