You’d have to forgive me if there were times when I almost felt One Punch Man was a more interesting show when Saitama wasn’t on screen.  It’s the oft-noted trap that ONE/Murata (in whatever combination they’re handling the story) have written themselves into – the guy is so strong, that even he’s bored by his fights.  When Saitama is being funny and OPM is largely focused around the angst he’s dealing with as a dude so strong he’s turned his life into a chore, everything clicks.  But when it becomes strictly a fighting series, as it has been for most of this season, Saitama is largely a narrative cul-de-sac.

But by the end of this episode, I was anxiously awaiting his return to action – which I guess says that it did a damn good job of shaking things up.  The Super Fight and kaiju arcs finally overlap in a big way (though Garou is still out there on an island, pretty much), with the arrive of ex-Super Fight champion and now monster Gouketsu on the scene.  He comes bearing wounded martial artists, monster cells, and an ultimatum – eat these, become monsters and join us, or die.

It’s kind of depressing how many choose the first option – and how quickly – but then most of these competitors were pretty clearly zaku anyway.  Suiryu – who’s certainly the focal point of the episode – doesn’t take that route.  But while he’s certainly stronger than the lower-level henchmonsters Gouketsu has brought with him, he’s no match for Gouketsu himself.  Eventually he pleads for help from Bakuzan, but he proves what a small person he is by taking the easy way out himself.  That leaves things looking especially grim for Suiryu. though Sneck and Max do show up to quixotically offer some aid.  Because you know, heroes.

Again, I find myself a but unsure as to just where One Punch Man is trying to go with all this.  Suiryu is strong, certainly – probably strong enough to be an S-class hero if he so chose – and he never seriously considers joining the monster side himself.  And he certainly fights gamely, outmatched as he is by both Gouketsu and post-monster cell Bakuzan.  But when it’s clear that Suiryu has no chance, he ends up screaming and pleading for help from a hero.  What are we to make of all this?  Are we supposed to think Suiryu is pathetic, a coward?  Or are we simply supposed to see all this as a refresher course on why heroes really are different than guy who fight for prize money and the adrenaline rush?

Of course Saitama does show up in the nick of time to save Suiryu – and Sneck and Max, too – so that question can be set aside for the moment I suppose.  I do wonder if Garou is going to end up being a sort of fulcrum character, a very strong human who idolizes monsters but has never taken the steps to actually turn into one.  His obsession with fighting heroes has been one long ego trip, really, an orgy of self-gratification from a guy who has no idea what’s really going on in the world.  Maybe the real question at the heart of this season will be what Garou decides to do when he comes to see just what kaiju really are – will he remember his humanity (and his training) or become a true big bad at last?