SAITAMA AND THE MASTER’S ENIGMA

Abstract

The present work seeks to analyze, from a philosophical perspective, the hero Saitama, the main character of the anime and manga series One-Punch Man, his quest to become a hero and his role as master of the cyborg Genos. At first glance, to say that the relationship between the two does in fact constitute that of a master and a disciple seems somewhat exaggerated: despite being seen like a master by Genos, Saitama does not believe that he has any knowledge to teach to his self-titled disciple. Moreover, despite all his strength, Saitama is constantly tormented by a deep boredom, result of his inability to find new challenges as a hero. However, we believe there is more to Saitama than just “the strongest hero”. As we turn to our history, we see that one of humanity's greatest teachers also believed he knew nothing; Plato's Socrates constantly asserted his own ignorance. We are thus left with a question: How can the master’s image, which represents human knowledge, be linked to men who do only recognize their own ignorance, and in Saitama’s specific case, nothing to teach?