Roughly half of One-Punch Man Volume 13 is the long-anticipated battle between Saitama and Suiryu, the strongest contender in the martial arts contest. Readers with preconceptions from American mainstream superhero comics might construe the clever dialogue on these pages as the kind of banter you might read in The Amazing Spider-Man, but we should not be fooled: this is a philosophical dialogue, contrasting doing what you want (hedonism) versus doing as you will (nihilism). While Suiryu condemns the weak, and says that moral values are for sheep, that the strong are above such criteria, (yadda yadda you’ve heard as much from Norman Osborn and Lex Luthor) Saitama dismisses this claptrap, saying “Those things don’t matter…If you wanna have fun…you should avoid getting any stronger,” and to demonstrate that he is one who knows, blasts off Suiryu’s clothes with the wind coming off his flying fist.

When Suiryu wins on a technicality, he decides to advance his argument, deriding their match as “playtime,” and that he will commence with getting “real.” While he jumps toward Saitama and shatters the ring with volcanic force, his blows are alternately dodged and absorbed by Saitama’s invulnerability. Suiryu mocks Saitama, saying “don’t you wanna have fun?” but Saitama lands a killer rebuttal with the deadpan “Okay, I get it. Martial arts is a way to move all cool-like?” When the enraged Suiryu rushes Saitama, demanding that he take this seriously, he is knocked into the stands by a wiggle from Saitama’s hip.

One-Punch Man Volume 13 was a lightning-fast read even considering that I read through the battle twice to appreciate the outstanding action art. Yusuke Murata has an art style like industrial strength plastic, in that it is not only malleable but mighty enough to support whatever wild scenes he imagines. While the other arcs–which advanced the Garo and Monster Party storylines—were diverting, the Suiryu / Saitama battle contained some of my favorite pages since the equally action-oriented Volume 7. That said, I’m ecstatic that the arena arc has ended, as Saitama’s funniest moments are not verbal but situational, and I’m looking forward to seeing him back in those varying situations.

One-Punch Man Volume 13 arrived on March 6th, 2018, and if you find it sold out, you can order it through the Viz Media homepage.

One-Punch Man Volume 13

Viz Media sent the review copy.