There's a lot about Saitama that most fans just can't believe. These things about him make no sense.
There are many shonen anime that have come around and made a major impression on audiences, but the level of popularity that One-Punch Man has reached is on a whole other level. The self-aware action series brilliantly deconstructs the superhero genre in a way that’s not just humorous, but is also full of extremely satisfying fight scenes.
One-Punch Man is full of powerful heroes and villains that exceed expectations, but Saitama is the apex of that and his strength is often too vast to comprehend. Saitama can easily win in battle, but he’s a character that’s more complex than many people realize, with a lot of the details about him defying common sense.
10. His Hero Association Ranking Is Only B-Class
Saitama begins at the bottom of the C-Class, but has slowly moved up to Rank 7 in the B-Class. Even still, he should easily be an S-Class fighter and despite Saitama’s humble nature, his low standing still annoys him.
One of the most enjoyable running gags within One-Punch Man is that even though Saitama is clearly one of the most powerful heroes on the planet, he still struggles to play the bureaucratic games of the Hero Association and struggles to make an appropriate impact with his hero ranking.
9. How He Lost His Hair
Saitama is a hero who is often underestimated because his rather unassuming appearance allows many to think that the hero doesn’t pose a real challenge. It’s incredible to watch Saitama in action, but when he’s stationary his most defining trait is easily his baldness.
What’s fascinating about this detail is that Saitama doesn’t shave his head. Instead he’s stated that the intensity of his training caused his hair to fall from the extreme nature of it all. It’s a strange explanation, but one that doesn’t make any sense.
8. He Can Jump To The Moon
One-Punch Man’s Saitama is predominantly recognized for his excessive strength, but he’s above average in many categories, some of which make less sense than others. Season one of One-Punch Man pits Saitama against Boros, a fight that’s so over the top that it sends Saitama to the moon and back. Saitama is able to not just jump to the moon with zero difficulty, but he’s able to hold his breathe in space to a degree that indicates he must also have superhuman lung capacity. The sheer experience of leaving Earth’s atmosphere with no protection should destroy Saitama.
7. He's Immune To Extreme Temperatures
In One-Punch Man, there are plenty of heroes and villains that have special superpowers that allow them to annihilate the competition in painful ways. Saitama is very strong, but this shouldn’t mean that he’s completely invulnerable to these kinds of elements, but Saitama claims that’s the case because he trained without the use of an air conditioner or heater. Repeated instances have shown powerful flame abilities leave Saitama unharmed, while his clothes burns to cinders. Even Orochi’s fire attacks, which destroy cities, don’t affect Saitama. Adversely, Withered Sprout’s freezing attacks also prove to be useless against him.
6. His Training Regimen
Perhaps the best joke in all of One-Punch Man revolves around how Saitama achieves his superhuman strength in the first place. Saitama attributes his power to his grueling training regimen, which turns out to be incredibly average. Saitama engaged in 100 daily push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and 10km of running for a year and a half. It makes no sense why this routine would make Saitama this strong or why he’s even more powerful than the House of Evolution’s mutants who are specifically bred to exceed humanity’s limitations.
5. He has superhuman teeth
As important as physical strength is for a hero in One-Punch Man, it’s only one factor in battle and often speed is shown to be even more vital. Speed-o’-Sound Sonic is one of the faster heroes in the series, but Saitama can hold his own against him. One of the crazier altercations between these two involves Sonic coming at Saitama with a sword. Saitama defends against the attack by biting the sword, which not only leaves Saitama unscathed, but it also destroys Sonic’s sword. There’s no reason why Saitama’s powers should also extend to his teeth like this.
4. His Oversensitivity To His Baldness
Saitama makes for such a fascinating superhero protagonist because despite his immense strength, he’s a very humble character who’s content without the spotlight being on him and exhibits an enjoyment over the simpler pleasures in life. Most insults just roll off of Saitama’s back, but the one area in which he’s sensitive is his baldness. For what’s such a significant trait for Saitama, it seems like he’d be a little more at peace with this detail about himself. Even the hero name that he’s given, Caped Baldy, irks him and he prefers to just go by Saitama.
3. He's not past stealing
The moral responsibilities for superheroes can be too much for some to handle. There are many shades of grey regarding whether superheroes can bend the rules. Saitama’s moral compass usually isn’t in question, but he’s still not perfect. Saitama is frequently subjected to financial woes and is usually frugal with his spending. When Saitama encounters some gold in the Monster Association Headquarters he has no problem with stealing it and is actively upset when he loses the loot. Admittedly, there is a Robin Hood-esque quality to this act, but it still shows that Saitama is willing to cross certain lines.
2. He Can't Remember Anyone's Names Or Faces
Saitama is shown to be a very competent individual, even if he does repeatedly sell himself short. Saitama has a difficult time playing the games associated with superhero politics, but his level of oblivious towards the other heroes around him is especially surprising. Something that consistently plagues Saitama is his inability to remember who other characters are, with him either forgetting their faces or butchering their names, like with Fubuki. This is rather ironic since Saitama’s own look and name are so basic and it’s not like he’s suffered a lot of head trauma that could affect his memory.
1. He Doesn’t Just Constantly Destroy Things Due To His Strength
Saitama’s strength has not just made it possible for him to successfully defend himself and his friends, but it’s also saved the entire planet on a handful of occasions. Saitama’s powers are highly important, but being this strong can also be a severe burden for some individuals. With the level of strength that Saitama exhibits it seems like even simple gestures would lead to destruction or hurting other people. Clearly he’s figured out how to control his power, but it still seems like he should face more difficulty in this department.
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