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The One Punch Man series has given the animanga world some of the most exciting and complex characters that fans have enjoyed. Aside from the high-octane action that made the series popular, its character-driven narrative has made the series a favorite among many. One such character whose popularity skyrocketed in season 2 of the anime series was Garou.
Garou was introduced as a villain in the second season of the series. However, as the manga chapters progressed, his role seemed to shift gradually. The Monster Association arc is quite exciting because it really explores Garou's character development in the series.
Eventually, he ended up becoming one of the best anti-heroes in this particular medium. Thus, many fans have debated why Garou is an anti-hero, while others have observed certain qualities that make him stand out in this particular role.
Disclaimer: This article contains massive spoilers for the One Punch Man manga chapters.
One Punch Man: Understanding why Garou is a great anti-hero
In order to assess whether or not Garou is truly a good anti-hero, one must take a look at certain qualities that make an anti-hero stand out. One of the most important qualities that one can see in anti-heroes is that they are all complex characters. Much like the real world, not everything is black and white. Concepts like morality have grey areas, and anti-heroes usually explore such concepts and have moral conflicts every now and then.
Anti-heroes also have a ton of internal conflicts. While their instincts might dictate them to do something a certain way, they are usually conflicted because of certain values that they have to uphold. Garou checks all these boxes, which fans will only witness when the third season of the anime series makes its debut.
As stated earlier, anime-only fans might identify Garou as a villain. His nefarious activities continue and a lot of what he does has to do with his past. Garou decided to stand up against heroes because he was bullied by his classmates who believed in heroes. The concept of heroes was flawed to him, and those who believed in them hurt him.
Every time he wants to inflict pain, we can see Garou having an internal struggle. There are plenty of instances where Garou has shown that there is a good side to him. One of the earliest examples was his interaction with Tareo, one of the children who was sitting in the park. He could see himself in the kid and ensured that the kid remained unharmed.
Even when he fought against Bang, there were moments of hesitation. This is because Garou’s ideals revolved around him hunting down every hero and every monster, eventually becoming the symbol of fear.
However, the reason for this is so that all heroes have a reason to unite against a common enemy, ending unnecessary things like inequality and bullying. The only thing that humanity would worry about was surviving and this was his goal. Yet, he also hesitated to hurt Bang, who was his former teacher.
Eventually, Garou realized all the things he had done wrong in the manga and eventually accepted them. After nearly 100 chapters of facing internal conflict, he finally came to his senses and realized everything he did wrong. There was a gradual transition from a pure villain to someone who had internal struggles with the very ideals that put him on this path.
He eventually turned over a new leaf, and decided to apologize to those he hurt. Garou was then officially adopted by Bang. His journey is the perfect example of why he was a good anti-hero in the animanga series.
Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2024 progresses.
Related Links:
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