One-Punch Man

[shinta|hikari]

Well, sure. But a parody only works because the audience knows the original. Any parody, when seen without prior knowledge of what it is parodying, will seem to be just an ordinary story. Seem is the operative word, because it doesn't change the fact that it is a parody, and was made to be that way.

[Abdula]

Didn't see your post Shinta

@MFauli
But we have knowledge of Kamen Raider that is the point, parody imitates something preexisting. Therein lies the problem with your definition of genre. I have this same problem with music all the time. It is largely subjective and you seem to be of the opinion that because it contains elements of one genre it cannot be another, which is simply false. A shonen parody would naturally have genuine shonen elements that does not mean it is not a parody. Are you a Weird AL fan how would you define what he does?

You are the one asserting that OPM is not a parody and thus you are the one required to provide evidence substantiating that assertion. Thus far all you seem to be saying is that because OPM has serious elements it is therefore a serious shonen and thus not a parody. Which is ridiculous because you are completely ignoring all the elements of parody which by your own logic would make it a parody. Unless you require every show that has elements of one genre or another to also be labeled as such which would completely defeat the purpose of having genres.

Anyway I mentioned Weird Al to make the point you are missing which is overall intent. You seem to be determined to view this as a serious shonen and want to have a serious explanation of all the minutiae, good for you. You are going to be very disappointed but that is your prerogative. What I don't get is why you want everyone to indulge you. To reiterate your own point, you try to take this as a serious shonen series and it doesn't work as you have stated over and over again with your requirement of an explanation for Saitama's power yet you still insist that this is not a parody.

Beautiful argument that if you remove or ignore all the parody then this series is not a parody

[MFauli]

I´m not saying OPM is not a parody, please read more carefully. From the beginning I said that without the ridiculous origin of Saitama´s power, we could very well watch this anime as a parody OR a serious shounen show. Both works. That´s why scenes without Saitama don´t necessarily feel like parody, because there´s no element during that time that wouldn´t also work for a serious shounen-show. Again, see Boku no Hero no Academia. It also has a lot of parody characters (the shining savior that everyone admires), but I don´t see people call it a parody anime. It could be one. Along the same lines, give us a proper explanation for Saitama´s power, and you COULD watch the entire anime as a serious, albeit funny, shounen anime. You COULD also watch it as a parody. Both would work. Right now it´s leaning strongly towards parody, because the ridiculous explanation for Saitama´s power allow no other point of view.

That´s all I´m saying.

[Abdula]

Yeah and to reiterate.

I stated in my initial post you are simply a contrarian and are arguing for the sake of arguing, no problem with that. Remove all evidence of parody and it is no longer a parody, naturally. Again how you choose to interpret this series is your prerogative. You still didn't address something though which is if everyone simply agreed to label Boku no Hero no Academia a parody would that satisfy you and if so why argue over a simple matter of a label. From your very first post in this thread you seem to want this series to be something it isn't which is a very serious shonen series with an explanation of all the minutiae and you want everyone to indulge you. The question is why?

[MFauli]

It isn´t about what I want this anime to be. It is about what it could be viewed as. That´s pretty much my reason for arguing, not because I wanna be contrarian for debate´s sake (which I enjoy, too, but this is no such case). You´re overly simplifying my argument when you say snarkily say "remove all evidence of parody and it is no langer a parody, naturally". The point is that there is one, exactly ONE element that entails the parody-label. Which is the explanation for Saitama´s power.

If you want to make this about me, then yes, I´d prefer OPM to be a "serious" shounen series because I like the characters and the great animation. There aren´t enough good "serious" anime with that level of animation.

[Kraco]

How on Earth could it ever be a serious fighting show with an MC like Saitama? It's irrelevant if his power is explained or not. Saitama basically ruins everything that could make it a traditional, progressive shounen (or seinen) action show. The fact not a single other character in the story seem to understand or accept that is a part of its charm.

[KrayZ33]

It isn´t about what I want this anime to be. It is about what it could be viewed as. That´s pretty much my reason for arguing, not because I wanna be contrarian for debate´s sake (which I enjoy, too, but this is no such case). You´re overly simplifying my argument when you say snarkily say "remove all evidence of parody and it is no langer a parody, naturally". The point is that there is one, exactly ONE element that entails the parody-label. Which is the explanation for Saitama´s power.

Only.... one?

[Buffalobiian]

There are multiple points that make OPM a parody. It stems from the fact that this uses shounen tropes to the point of making them funny by either following them to ridiculous levels, or outright showing that they shouldn't/don't work. (ie parody)

Examples include:

-I'm a hero for fun. Stuff all the mighty altruistic reasons.
-I'm the dumb brother in a Pinky-and-the-Brian duo. I'm so dumb I kill my partner and blame the MC for it.
-I'm strong because.. I do normal training. (that's one reason)
-I have a robotic monkey voice.. just because it's cool. Not because I'm actually a cyborg.
-I have to beat this monster because the supermarket is closing, not because it's the right thing to do.
-"Angel Dash!" ("Don't just say it, run") "ANGEL DASH!!"

Those are some examples from flicking through screenshots. You parody the tropes by blowing them out of proportions, or show how stupid they are for the lolz.

Saitama's entire existence and his behavior in the anime constitutes this show as parody. The way he beats up people sometimes is parody. The way other people act is sometimes parody. The series does have serious parts too. It has to, if it's to make fun of them.

On the other hand, if you were to argue "This world is so well built, that if you had replaced Saitama with another <generic shounen hero> we could have had a great, serious shounen anime.", that's another matter.

Even if we later learn that Saitama got this strong because he ate a one-of-a-kind Devil's Fruit (or enter some other typical reason), it doesn't change how the rest of this story is presented.

Mfauli, Bill and I had this issue before when we discovered our definitions of words were different and we simply decided, well I did anyway can't speak for him, to concede the point.

I have no recollection of this.

[KrayZ33]

[QUOTE=Buffalobiian;558466]
-I have a robotic monkey voice.. just because it's cool. Not because I'm actually a cyborg.

[QUOTE]

I want to point out that the Robot-monkey is a Robot monkey in a Robot suit!

It's freaking hilarious. He says he's using a Robot-voice because it's cool, yet when Saitama looked away his "scalp opened up" and he beep-booped his master about their failure. He's a box inside a box inside a box.

[MFauli]

Buff, I don´t want to anger you, BUT ("i´m not a racist, but ...", yeah, yeah :P) all of your examples, sans Saitama´s power, could happen like that in a serious shounen, too. Again, I am NOT saying that OPM is not a parody. That´s what some of you seem to believe. All I´m saying is that without that certain one exception, one could watch OPM and not take it as parody at all. You have the example of a hero doing something just because it´s cool. That´s exactly what happens in Boku no Hero no Academia when they get their hero costumes. And there are many other examples.

You claim that these side characters in OPM are parody. One could just as well call them stereotypes. Or even less positively: generic. It´s all about perception. Here´s the thing: A typical parody would fall completely flat for an audience that has no knowledge of the source material. That´s what makes it a parody, what makes it funny: You know the original, you see the absurdism added to it in the parody, you laugh. In OPM, we have a story that works for BOTH. If you know about the connotations, then it is a parody for you. If you don´t know about those connotations or don´t care about them, then you STILL have a nice, serious albeit funn shounen anime. With the exceptions of Saitama´s power´s origins.

I don´t know how to better explain it at that point, it feels like we´re going in circles. Again: I´m not saying OPM isn´t a parody. But it doesn´t have to be one, would it not be for Saitama.

[shinta|hikari]

The thing is, even normal shounen shows can have parody elements in it, like One Piece. They just aren't classified as a parody show because there aren't that many parody jokes in them. Many shounen shows also subvert shounen tropes, which is a big part of what OPM does as a parody show.

You're basically comparing OPM minus Saitama's absurd power (which makes no sense since that is the crux of the show, but I digress) to other shounen shows which actually contain parody elements and say that they are similar. Well duh.

By the way, any parody, if no one knows anything it references, can and will be treated as a normal show. It's not limited to OPM.

[MFauli]

I´m not talking about Saitama´s power, but his power´s origins. Otherwise Mob would also be parody, which it isn´t.

[Edort4]

In OPM there arent 90 seconds without some form of gag, pun, joke, parody, satire. Its a too much clear example of what a comedy (with a big/major relevance of parody) is.

Mob psycho is a comedy too. Probably more satire than parody. At least the few episodes I watched was way more comedy than anything else (drama, action...).

ps: if Gintama is officially classified as parody there is no way OPM isnt.

[shinta|hikari]

I honestly think that the reason Mfauli is still asserting this stance is because, and I mean no offense here because humor is subjective, most of the jokes in OPM went over his head. That, or he didn't recognize those jokes as parody even if they actually are. They got lumped into the higher category of comedy.

[MFauli]

You say you mean no offense, but you do anyway. Ofc I see that certain characters a parody, if not all. Matter of fact remains: You can watch all of them as if they were serious characters. You cannot with Saitama´s power origins.

[DarthEnderX]

Why are you people still arguing about this? He doesn't get it. He's not going to get it. You're wasting your time and my bandwidth. None of this is sweet OPM news.

[MFauli]

Stop spreading bs, darth. I get why people see OPM as parody. I´m saying that is not a necessity.

[DarthEnderX]

Well, I still agree with you about the world itself.

Outside of Saitama, OPM is a typical shounen world. No, it's not completely serious, but none of the big shounen series I watch are either. Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece. Those worlds are all goofy as shit at times. And they're the ur examples of shounen series.

Of course, the idea that the series isn't a parody is of course ridiculous. Every scene of Saitama interacting with this world is a parody of the standard shounen tropes, and the entire series is Saitama interacting with this world.

[shinta|hikari]

@Mfauli - I can watch anything and perceive it any way I want. Everyone can. Of course watching OPM as a parody isn't a necessity. But that doesn't change the fact that it is a parody. Heck, I can watch Scary Movie and be terrified from all the gore. Doesn't make it real horror.

@Darth - Ever get the feeling upon seeing a small kitten wandering the road, ready to be hit by a car, that you kinda wanna save it even if it's a pain and you gain absolutely nothing? No, that is not how I feel about arguing with Mfauli. It feels a lot more like a wrong in the world that you wanna correct because it dangles in front of your face.

[MFauli]

Well, I still agree with you about the world itself.

Outside of Saitama, OPM is a typical shounen world. No, it's not completely serious, but none of the big shounen series I watch are either. Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece. Those worlds are all goofy as shit at times. And they're the ur examples of shounen series.

Of course, the idea that the series isn't a parody is of course ridiculous. Every scene of Saitama interacting with this world is a parody of the standard shounen tropes, and the entire series is Saitama interacting with this world.

That´s what I´ve been saying forever now. Thanks for agreeing.