One-Punch Man vol. 24

There’s some quality work with the various members of the Hero Association throughout this volume.  It starts off with three of the sword guys and one of the mercenaries tracking an escaped monster to a vault that houses one of the Monster Association’s most powerful assets.  Things go about as well as you’d expect for them, but the expected plot beats are hit with an efficiency that makes them enjoyable nonetheless.  Then we get to see Tornado flex her powers as she takes on Gyoro-Gyoro while her sister Blizzard, along with Silverfang and Bomb, mix it up with Lady Super S where the supervillain dominatrix finally gets some of the payback she’s been due for a while now.  Even King gets a good moment as creators One and Yusuke Murata show that his joke of being the one superhero with no super-powers still has a little bit of life left in it yet.  Amai Mask even… well, actually he doesn’t get anything good as his chapter can best be described as “problematic” as it implies there are some villains which are just too ugly to be heroes… or even good

All of this work pales in comparison to the second chapter in this volume as the creators finally get around to featuring someone who we haven’t seen a whole lot of in a while now:  Saitama.  That’s right, the title character finally gets another chance to shine as he mixes it up with the Monster Association’s head monster, Orochi.  You’d think that this fight would be the one to finally cap off this storyline, but that’s not the case as Saitama’s efforts to discipline Orochi’s dog draws the monster’s attention.  This leads to a fight deep underground, at a temple containing a terrible prophecy, and the monster drawing on the power of the Earth’s core to take out his opponent.  How does Saitama respond to all this?  By schooling Orochi on the necessities of bathtub etiquette.  It’s every bit as great as you’d expect it to be.  I’d say that there should be more of this in the future, but as long as the work with the other members of the cast continues to be as solid as it is here I guess I can live with it.