One Punch Man: Was Garou's defeat anticlimactic?

The last few chapters of One Punch Man have been a roller-coaster ride. Undoubtedly, Yusuke Murata is one of the best manga artists in the industry, and with each publication, he manages to exceed the fanbase's expectations. Since the anime's second season has ended, fans have wanted to see Saitama duke it out with Garou. The latter wanted to be known as the symbol of absolute evil. Surprisingly enough, he ended up reaching that status during the course of the manga.

The dual between Saitama and Garou was a much-awaited one. There have been numerous discussions surrounding their fight, and fans have taken to social media platforms to react to the chapters as well.

Let's dissect the One Punch Man chapters, which featured the fight between Garou and Saitama to understand how it was treated and whether or not the ending was satisfying.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the manga. All external media belongs to their respective owners and Sportskeeda claims no ownership of the same.

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Taking a look at Saitama vs Garou in One Punch Man

After Garou's monsterification, he became exceptionally strong, which led him to take on some of the most powerful opponents he had faced earlier in the manga. This included defeating his master, Silver Fang, which shocked the entire One Punch Man fanbase. However, he didn't stop there as he challenged Saitama next. He was thoroughly overwhelmed by the Caped Baldy. Garou's growth in power was proportional to the rage he felt when he was defeated repeatedly. Just as he was about to give up, God intervened and granted him powers.

His most powerful form came to be known as Cosmic Fear Mode. Garou was able to endure not one, but multiple Serious Punches. He was the only character in the manga to have lasted this long in a fight against the Caped Baldy. This was because Garou was so powerful that he understood the flow of all the energy and forces, allowing him to implement nuclear fission in his attacks. His very existence was a threat to humanity, which made him the symbol of absolute evil. This gave him enough confidence to kill Genos, bringing out Saitama’s true powers.

Saitama’s limitless growth allowed him to overpower Garou no matter what he constantly did. The fight concluded with the Hero Hunter admitting his defeat. This incident also made him realize that he was the reason why Tareo died in One Punch Man. Garou wanted to get back at the entity that made him this way, so he taught Saitama how to travel back in time. Saitama perfected the time-traveling ability and went back in time to defeat Garou. By doing so, he saved all the heroes that died from radiation in the other timeline where Genos was alive.

From a technical standpoint, Murata perfectly executed the fight after drawing some of the most beautiful panels in this sequence. This battle between the two also explored Blast's abilities, providing the fans with more information to dwell on.

There is no doubt that the ending of this fight was far from unsatisfactory. The entirety of the One Punch Man fanbase loved how the fight turned out. There was a ton of action, and the recent chapters had fans worried about Genos’ death, but everything turned out to be fine in the end. Fans capitalized on the tension they had created while reading the series, which led them to focus entirely on the fight. Fortunately enough, the chapter ended on a good note since Genos was alive and fans were happy to see the master and student reunite.