History Characters / OnePunchManMainCharacters

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see Serious Series: Saitama]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/opm_saitama.png[[/labelnote]]]]

* {{Cap}}: Dr. Genus believes that Saitama's power comes from overcoming the limit set by the universe on his growth potential. By doing sit-ups, push-ups, squats and running, or rather, because he was so dang determined to become the best through his constant, mundane exercise routine, he broke all the limits that could ever hold him back, ''including the laws of reality''. Now his power grows unchecked to absurd, and possibly infinite, levels.

* CursedWithAwesome: He's [[SuperStrength insanely powerful]], [[SuperSpeed ridiculously fast]], and [[NighInvulnerable practically immune to damage]], to the point of shrugging off ''anything'' that is thrown at him and defeating ''anybody'' that he fights in, well, [[RunningGag one punch]]. This is exactly why he's so depressed about his superhero job, because there's literally no challenge for him no matter how strong and seemingly invincible his opponent is.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Slightly so, Saitama in the manga has a few events in which he comes of as less emotionally stunned than the webcomic, in the manga he is seen in new and expanded scenes sincerely appreciating good deeds done by other heroes and police officers, and he shows just a little more care for Genos with uplifting words when Saitama meets him again in the manga version of the final segments in the Monster Association arc; in short, the manga is more overt in showing Saitama is not completely devoid of sincere care for others, while the webcomic is more reserved about it.

* CripplingOverspecialization: When it comes to battles or anything that involves his physical abilities, Saitama is practically invincible. When being challenged outside of that ("Hit! Cover! Rock, paper, scissors!, Udon challenge, video games, etc.")? He ranges from being average to nearly helpless.

* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: [[spoiler:This is heavily implied to be the source of his power, but it is not confirmed for sure. His physical workout didn't make him strong, it was his single-minded dedication to becoming something greater that caused him to break through [[{{Cap}} reality's power limiter]], allowing him to grow in strength indefinitely. It even caused his hair to fall out. His SimpleMindedWisdom and lax attitude to his life may also indicate he has achieved some form of spiritual enlightenment.]] Also PlayedForLaughs. Saiatama's story of how he got his powers plays off elements of religious practice in Japanese Zen UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} (removing all your hair, engaging in repetitive action to ascend to a higher plane). Both are treated as degrading and silly by Saitama and other characters however.]]

* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: [[spoiler:This is heavily implied to be the source of his power, but it is not confirmed for sure. His physical workout didn't make him strong, it was his single-minded dedication to becoming something greater that caused him to break through [[{{Cap}} reality's power limiter]], allowing him to grow in strength indefinitely. It even caused his hair to fall out. His SimpleMindedWisdom and lax attitude to his life may also indicate he has achieved some form of spiritual enlightenment.]]

** A hero who is motivated by BloodKnight tendencies will give up on heroism if it stops being thrilling for them, no matter how much good they would do. Whereas these heroes will intentionally drag out a fight to make it more thrilling for ''them'', the closest Saitama gets is when he fights Boros and drags out the fight because he pities his NotSoDifferent opponent and wants to make it more thrilling for ''him''.

* NotSoDifferent: Realized that Amai Mask could have been him if it weren't for Saitama.

* BornUnlucky: Genos has the misfortune of never being able to catch a break. His home was destoyed by a cyborg, his upgrades are never enough, and despite his immense strength, he can't put away powerful enemies.

* RedOniBlueOni: Despite being TheStoic, he's red to Saitama's blue due to his aggressivity and him being more likely to act before thinking.

* UnskilledButStrong: In combat, Genos mostly relies in as much firepower and mass destruction weapons he can use to destroy his enemies. While somehow skilled with his cyborg functions and experienced in his own, Genos rarely bothers to use actual tactics while fighting, and he tends to lower his guard a lot, allowing enemies to land critical damage on him. Lastly, he also refuses to learn martial arts from Bang, since as he puts it, he "searchs not for the art of self-defense but destructive power". '''Saitama''' shows more skill with his powers than Genos does with his mechanic upgrades.

** While he did only agree to being Genos' master on whim, Saitama feels bad that he can't really offer the cyborg any valuable lessons to strengthen himself, and feels like he is scamming the poor guy.

* RankUp: Slowly but surely Saitama has been able to move up the ranks (having started out at '''C-Class: Rank 388'''), although the fact that Saitama doesn't particularly care whether the Hero Association knows how strong he is, [[spoiler:while [[FakeUltimateHero King]] getting credit for his victories,]] prevents him from advancing as quickly as he should. Over the series, he goes through the following promotions:

* WholeCostumeReference: His costume is a color-inverted version of that worn by another bald superhero, Franchise/{{Anpanman}} (switched the colors of the gloves/boots and body, white cape instead of black).

* {{Expy}}: Of the children's character Franchise/{{Anpanman}}. Saitama in his hero costume is basically a PaletteSwap of the character. Further, the phonetic transcription of the Japanese name of the series is "Wanpanman."

*** Saitama serves more as a {{deconstruction}} of the Man of Steel, since [[BlessedWithSuck he’s tired of being so powerful]] and becomes a superhero as a hobby rather than out of a genuine desire to help people. Though it is revealed Saitama does believe in TheCape.

* SimpleMindedWisdom: Saitama is chock full of this. He's a modest and down to earth kind of guy and often points out how complicated other people tend to make a situation. While he might not be the best intellectually speaking (he only just passed the hero exam due to his terrible written section), he's got the emotional IQ of Stephen goddamned Hawking.

* BerserkButton: People commenting on his baldness tends to irk him, which doesn't help with the fact the Hero Association gave him the [[RedBaron Hero name]] "Caped Baldy". But a much grander button for him is heroes who act cowardly. Also he clearly didn't like Suiryuu's [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech speech]] about the heroes.

* PreAsskickingOneLiner: The two words you don't want to hear from him are [[LetsGetDangerous "Serious Series"]]. It means he is going to unleash a multi-megaton can of whoopass and turn your arrogant ass into paste.

* RankUp: Slowly but surely Saitama has been able to move up the ranks (having started out at '''C-Class: rank 388'''), although the fact that Saitama doesn't particularly care whether the Hero Association knows how strong he is, [[spoiler:while [[FakeUltimateHero King]] getting credit for his victories,]] prevents him from advancing as quickly as he should. Over the series, he goes through the following promotions:

** [[spoiler:'''A-Class rank 39''' after defeating [[HeroKiller Garou]].]]

** While he did only agree to being Genos' master on whim, Saitama feels bad that he can't really offer the cyborg any valuable lessons to strengthen himself, and feels like his scamming the poor guy.

* StrongAndSkilled: Saitama is the most powerful character in the whole series, perphaps even the whole universe. His godlike strength, speed, agility, durability and senses are unmatched. He is also surprisingly skilled with his powers, with enough control to avoid killing a human and enough cunning to have his own sheet of "techniques" where he uses his superhuman abilities in multiple ways. And even though his fighting style is basic, he is a experienced combatant who can fight smart if he wants to. Using brute force is just a preference for him.