10 Best Anime Like One-Punch Man Every Fan Needs to Watch

The best anime like One-Punch Man are a must-watch for fans of Saitama’s wacky and exciting adventures. These series cover a diverse pool of distinct themes and atmospheres, despite revolving around the shonen genre. Overall, One-Punch Man has four content areas that keep fans hooked and wanting more: an overpowered protagonist, a hero-based society, a straightforward comedy structure, and riveting action-based art.

When breaking these factors down, many anime series will incorporate one or two of these ideas, but the shows that fall closest to the vibe and satisfaction that comes from watching One-Punch Man will have multiple of these factors and will utilize them for similar purposes. For example, Saitama is not only overpowered, but he is unreasonably strong to the extent that his power is a cause for not only humor but contemplation of the world’s societal systems and institutions. One-Punch Man has its own perspective on heroes, comedy, and art as well.

10 Overlord Constructs a Perfectly Reliable Protagonist

Produced by Madhouse, based on the light novels by Maruyama Kugane and So-bin

Overlord is a prominent fantasy isekai anime produced by Studio Madhouse, the same studio that brought classic series such as Hunter x Hunter, and Death Note, as well as the first season of One-Punch Man. With many of the same staff working on Overlord, there is definitely a noticeable overlap in terms of artistic structure and style, but the protagonists are also depicted very similarly.

Ainz Ooal Gown is a player who gets trapped in a game within the body of his max level avatar, giving him all the power to casually take the NPC world by storm, giving audiences a similar feeling of confidence as when watching Saitama’s battles.

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9 The Seven Deadly Sins Is a Medieval Hero Reconstruction

Produced by A-1 Pictures and Studio Deen, based on the manga by Suzuki Nakaba

The Seven Deadly Sins is a popular shonen that takes the fantasy concepts of knights and demons to the extreme. Although the first two seasons were produced by A-1 Pictures and a shift to Studio Deen producing season three led to one of the worst adaptations of a manga of all time, according to fans, as a whole, the concepts present in The Seven Deadly Sins are very similar to those in One-Punch Man.

Firstly, the series provides an overpowered protagonist, Meliodas, who is also a central figure in the progression of the anime’s comedy, although Meliodas’ humor veers quite a distance off from Saitama’s. Also, the anime builds a fascinating world that isn’t too similar to One-Punch Man’s on the surface, but relies on similar power dynamics and system structures.

WATCH ON Netflix

8 Gintama Masters Laid-Back Humor

Produced by Sunrise, based on the manga by Sorachi Hideaki

Produced by Studio Sunrise, Gintama has established itself as one of anime’s leading comedy series, as it takes absurd worldbuilding and situations and combines it with gag comedy of the highest level. The story follows a former samurai who relies on doing odd jobs to make a living in a post-Edo period Japan that’s been colonized by aliens called Amanto.

Such a unique premise and world structure provide the perfect platform for both serious moments, though there are not many, and hilarious knee-slapping jokes and references. On this front, the humor is very similar to One-Punch Man’s, as Gintoki, the protagonist of Gintama, acts as casual as Saitama, and creates similarly jaw-dropping situations with the actions he takes throughout the anime.

WATCH ON Crunchyroll

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7 My Hero Academia Is the Superhero Standard

Produced by Bones, based on the manga by Horikoshi Kouhei

My Hero Academia has been one of the most popular shonen anime of the recent decade, as the series produced by Studio Bones, the same studio that produced Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Mob Psycho 100, is a wonderfully creative depiction of a heroes society. The story follows Midoriya Izuku, a boy who is born without powers, which are called quirks in the My Hero Academia universe, but still dreams of becoming a professional crime-fighting hero.

Through a series of chance encounters and monumental moments of perseverance, Midoriya eventually makes his way to U.A. High School, one of the most competitive hero schools. Although Midoriya’s character is not very similar to Saitama’s, their origins and path to strength follow a similar contour. Furthermore, fans of One-Punch Man’s hero-centric society will enjoy the world that has been created around heroes and villains in My Hero Academia.

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6 The Disastrous Life of Saiki K Shows Indifference in the Face of Power

Produced by J.C. Staff, based on the manga by Asou Shuuichi

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K is primarily a gag comedy anime, but this series produced by J.C. Staff, the same studio that produced One-Punch Man’s second season, also plays with the role of an overpowered yet apathetical protagonist. The anime follows Saiki Kusuo, a high school boy with psychic powers so strong that they throw a wrench in the normal life that Saiki wishes to lead.

Similar to Saitama, Saiki is a character that drives a straightforward type of humor. Similar to how dramatized side villains are easily dispatched by Saitama in hilarious fashion, Saiki often performs jaw-dropping feats of supernatural ability, from altering an entire population’s DNA to rewinding time to stop the impending end of the world. However, despite all the seemingly high stakes, Saiki K, much like One-Punch Man, is a story more about exploring innate human emotions than defeating enemies.

WATCH ON Netflix

5 Mashle: Magic and Muscle Puts Saitama in a Harry Potter World

Produced by A-1 Pictures, based on the manga by Koumoto Hajime

Mashle: Magic and Muscles is a shonen fantasy anime that takes an awkward twist to the genre, as the main character, Mash, is born with no magic powers in a world where those without magic are exterminated. Produced by the same A-1 Pictures that adapted the recent Solo Leveling and classics like Your Lie in April and Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Mashle is a series similar to One-Punch Man on many fronts.

Firstly, Mash fits the overpowered protagonist archetype, and offers similar styles of humor as One-Punch Man’s. Mash has trained his physical prowess to a point that he can perform feats of strength that can disguise themselves as magic. This leads to many gags where other characters cannot fathom Mash’s actions, much like with Saitama’s punches. Even Mash’s appearance somewhat resembles Saitama’s, with both of them sporting the same deadpan face. The only difference is that Mash has hair.

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4 Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious Pulls All the Stops

Produced by White Fox, based on the manga by Toyota Saori and Tuchihi Light

Produced by White Fox Studios, Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious is a new generation isekai anime that takes the overpowered protagonist trope in an ever so diverging direction. The series follows Ryuuguuin Seiya, a hero summoned from Earth to save a fantasy world. The twist is, Seiya averts all tropes of the typical isekai hero archetype, instead opting to train himself to be strong enough to perfectly prevail on every battle, no matter how small.

Although Seiya’s intentions are different from Saitama’s original thoughts on becoming a hero, both paths lead to the same point of overwhelming strength. As a result, both series lead to funny situations of overly confident enemies being effortlessly handled. Furthermore, Cautious Hero also builds a societal hierarchy that portrays Seiya similarly to how One-Punch Man portrays Saitama.

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3 Solo Leveling Is Proof of Saitama’s Training Regimen

Produced by A-1 Pictures, based on the manhwa by Chugong, Jang-Sung-rak, and Disciples

The recent manhwa adaptation phenomenon, Solo Leveling, has been raising waves on all sides of anime, from the shonen fantasy genre to controversial directors’ decisions. Produced by A-1 Pictures, Solo Leveling follows Sung Jinwoo, a young hunter who stands at the lowest rung of the profession, E-rank, in a world where one’s “awakened” powers have no chance of improvement.

However, no shonen anime is complete without a twist toward an advantageous situation for the main characters, and Sung Jinwoo follows this trend as he is graced with a system that allows for the growth of his abilities. One feature of this system is performing a set of daily exercises that very much resembles the training regimen that Saitama described in episode 3 of One-Punch Man. Although the detail is small, symbolically, it ties together a lot of the ideas and themes that both series share, from overpowered abilities to an impeccably structured urban fantasy world.

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2 Tiger & Bunny Perfects Hero Society Depictions

Original series produced by Sunrise and directed by Satou Keiichi

Produced by Studio Sunrise and later Bandai Namco Pictures, Tiger & Bunny is a mature take on the superhero anime, subverting expectations of young protagonists with fast growth and fleshing out a surprisingly modernized superhero system. The series follows a pair of professional heroes in a world where heroes are treated more like entertainers. Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks Jr. team up to show that both the young and old have potential in a world of heroes and villains.

The biggest similarity between Tiger & Bunny and One-Punch Man is the society that it creates, as Tiger & Bunny takes the idea of corporate revolution in a world of heroes to the next level. The mindset of the characters and the themes that the story leans towards are also similar to the way the hero system in One-Punch Man is exposed for having flawed ideology. Lastly, Tiger & Bunny does not disappoint with its art and action animation.

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1 Mob Psycho 100 Caters to the Exact Same Audience as One-Punch Man

Produced by Bones, based on the manga by ONE

Produced by Studio Bones, Mob Psycho 100 is arguably one of the best anime of all time, as it follows Kageyama Shigeo (aka Mob), as he tries to progress through ordinary school life with some of the strongest esper powers in existence. Luckily, Mob is able to meet a somewhat questionable but reliable mentor in Reigan, a self-proclaimed psychic who inevitably teaches Mob to ethically control and utilize his powers and emotions.

With its source material created by the same author of One-Punch Man, ONE, Mob Psycho shows glaring similarities to the latter on the surface, even though ONE claims that Mob Psycho and One-Punch Man are meant to be complete opposites. This mostly refers to the themes and overall message relayed through the narrative, but ultimately, both anime serve as two opposing lenses to the same complex conversation of power and misused authority.

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