Hi otaku readers of MANGA.TOKYO! This is manga and anime writer Mokugyo. It’s still summer in Japan and we’ve been having very hot days. Personally I prefer hot weather to cold and I always welcome summers, but it’s annoying to get sweaty and thirsty.
The One-Punch Man anime is as hot as summers. I adore the power of Saitama who can beat anyone with just a single punch. The anime will soon air its second season and various advertising campaigns have already started. Both the original manga and its anime adaptation are so great and I can’t wait for the second season.
One-Punch Man has many superheroes. In this article, I’d like to talk about Blast, the top hero in the S-class, who is not revealed much in manga nor anime yet.
SPOILER WARNING
This article contains manga spoilers both for the webcomic by ONE and the remake by Yusuke Murata for chapters that are not yet adapted into the anime. Please stop here if you do not want to be spoiled.
Blast is the Rank 1 superhero in the S-class. Among the plenty of superheroes in One-Punch Man, he is recognized as the best and the most powerful hero by the Hero Association. His identity is currently unknown and it spurs all sorts of speculations.
Blast finally appeared in the 106th chapter of ONE’s webcomic. Until then, we only knew of his existence from others. Now we know that he actually exists and he is acquainted with Tatsumaki (Tornado). His face was not clearly shown, but we learn that his hair is short and he wears a hero costume with a cloak. His cloak is reminiscent of Saitama, but unlike our hero, he does have hair.
Tatsumaki was used as a guinea pig for psychic abilities 18 years ago when she was little and was isolated in a special institution. One day she lied that she couldn’t use her psychic power and got locked up in a cell. Then a chimera went out of control, attacking people in the institution. Tatsumaki couldn’t do anything but stare at the monster, and Blast suddenly showed up in front of her to save her. He defeated it and preached her not to expect someone’s help when the crunch comes. This encouraged her to become a superhero and she is now the Rank 2 hero in the S-class.
The mysterious superhero has influenced Tatsumaki’s life. Who is he? Let’s examine his identity.
Some speculate that Blast is Saitama’s father, because Blast in a flashback scene looked like a young man. Saitama is now 25 years old, and the flashback was from 18 years ago when Saitama was only a seven-year old child. Therefore, Blast cannot be Saitama. Blast, however, claims that his hero activity is just for fun, just as Saitama always says. His dialogue reminds us of Saitama. Considering his age, this theory is quite plausible.
Let us suppose that Blast is Saitama’s father and he had Saitama at the age of 25. Blast would have been 32 years old at the time of the flashback. If Blast is still alive now, he could be 50 and Saitama 25. It is possible that Saitama’s father is also a superhero that can defeat anyone with a single punch. It sounds exciting that Saitama could be heir to his father’s power. We might be able to see a father and son joint battle in the future.
Blast! From One Punch Man!! pic.twitter.com/g8KXiFURfG
— -Victor- (@Titan_TK) May 21, 2017
Some speculate that Blast is actually Saitama with memory loss. Saitama might be suffering from amnesia for whatever happened in the past, but he just assumes and says he is 25 years old without thinking, probably because he doesn’t remember his exact age. He managed to achieve his incredible superhuman strength with his own training because his body remembers his battle experiences before losing his memory. This sounds plausible too. Saitama is pretty sloppy and it is possible that he makes an irresponsible statement about his age.
Let’s say Blast was 20 years old 18 years ago. Then Saitama who once was Blast would be actually 38 years old! His face is very simplified in the drawings and he can be old enough to be in his late 30s. I personally think it would be very fun to read about Saitama getting reminded of his memory as Blast in the future.
(Next Page: Theory 3: Blast imparted his power to Saitama?)
The first season of the new year is just one month away from its finale. It was a great start with many amazing titles that made these past months worth the extra hours we put in front of our sets. Now, it is time for the cold wind to give way to the pink hues of the sakura tree and for the Winter 2018 season to give the anime baton to Spring 2018.
