10 Concerns We Have About The Live-Action One-Punch Man Movie

The upcoming One Punch Man live-action movie will adapt the beloved superhero anime into a tangible feature film, but faces some alarming pitfalls along the way. Confirmed to still be in development with Justin Lin set to direct (via Hollywood Reporter), One Punch Man will have the difficult task of morphing the high-flying spectacle of the original webcomic’s world into real sets and performances. The script is being re-written by Dan Harmon and Heather Anne Campbell of Rick and Morty, Community, and Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame.

As far as live-action anime adaptations go, One Punch Man won’t be a walk in the park. The colorful character designs, jaw-dropping spectacle, and unique sense of humor all point to an adaptation nightmare. However, the same thing could be said for One Piece before Netflix was able to nail a live-action series based on the legendary manga. Heather Anne Campbell being a fan of the series since 2015 provides a further ray of hope, but there are many mistakes the writers and directors could make in attempting to bring One Punch Man to life.

10 One Punch Man Might Not Nail The Series’ Sense Of Humor

ONE has a very particular brand of comedy

One Punch Man is a series with inherent humor. Between the knowingly-ridiculous hero and monster names and origin stories, the intersection of mundane real-world problems with city-destroying threats, and commentary on Japanese corporate culture, the series has an eclectic mix of low-brow jokes and matter-of-fact dry humor. There’s a very real danger that the unique comedy of One Punch Man‘s original author, known by the pseudonym ONE, will be the first thing to be lost in translation.

Obviously, both Dan Harmon and Heather Anne Campbell have some serious comedy chops, having worked on some of the most beloved Adult Swim riots like Rick and Morty and The Eric Andre Show. But the pair of writers would do well to avoid using the same types of jokes in their previous work for One Punch Man, which isn’t known for sarcasm, or breaking the fourth wall. As absurd as One Punch Man can get, the characters are never quick to point out the inherent comedy of the surrounding chaos, instead drawing laughs from subverted expectations and dramatic irony.

9 One Punch Man Can’t Rely On Comedy Too Much

Funny though it can be, One Punch Man allows itself to be dramatic when necessary

Contradictory though it may be, comedy is by far the only thing keeping dedicated fans of One Punch Man coming back after over fifteen years. In fact, the wecomic, manga, and anime all allow themselves to be shockingly poignant when need be, unafraid to inject genuine character development and tender moments in the midst of the bloody chaos of One Punch Man‘s destructive world. Hopefully, the producers will recognize this before over-relying on the series’ silly surface.

Dan Harmon has admittedly done an amazing job balancing comedy with serious moments in Rick and Morty, painting a hopeful picture of the film’s ability to manage tone. If an over-reliance on humor was to come from anywhere, it would likely be a studio note, or under the direction of Fast and Furious director Justin Lin. If the lighthearted romps of the turbo-charged franchise are anything to go by, One Punch Man could be in danger of having its depth sucked away in favor of mindless entertainment.

8 One Punch Man Will Have To Balance A Large Cast

Where and when the film makes cuts will be a delicate balancing act

Compared to Netflix’s One Piece, the One Punch Man movie will have the drawback of being a feature film rather than a sprawling live-action series. This means that the story will likely have to be far more condensed, having to cut certain characters and sub-plots for the sake of brevity. Considering One Punch Man‘s huge cast of characters with relatively equal screen presences, the movie will have a difficult time picking and choosing what to keep.

Despite Saitama being the protagonist, he spends surprisingly little time as a perspective character. More often than not, in the first season, it’s the cyborg Genos who is given more of a viewpoint character status, with other minor heroes like Mumen Rider or even villains like Speed-o’-Sound Sonic taking center stage with their thoughts. Even just sticking to the first season of the anime, a One Punch Man movie will have some tough decisions to make regarding which mini-arcs are in the story.

7 Saitama’s Origin Story Needs To Stay The Same

Explaining his power any better would be a cardinal sin

One of the most compelling mysteries of One Punch Man is the actual source of Saitama’s power. Despite being the undisputed strongest hero in the universe by anyone to actually witness him fight, Saitama has no especially grand origin story explaining the source of his incredible feats of strength and speed. According to him, he was just a lowly office worker who became a hero for fun, attaining godlike levels of strength after sticking to a daily workout routine — “100 push-ups! 100 sit-ups! 100 squats! And a 10 kilometer run!”

Of course, it’s utterly nonsensical that even a rigorous body-weight exercise routine would grant Saitama the ability to unleash planet-scale attacks, and fans certainly have their own theories regarding Saitama’s strength. It’s easy to imagine the filmmakers being unsatisfied with this answer, however, and outsourcing Saitama’s power to some other fantastic origin as a way to placate curious audiences unfamilair with the source material. This would be a grave mistake, as part of the charm of Saitama’s strength is its championing of the relentless human spirit.

6 The Costumes Could Make Or Break The Visual Design

One Punch Man should avoid MCU character design

One Punch Man certainly doesn’t rely on flashy or over-designed characters to keep audiences invested. In fact, many of the series’ biggest names have quite understated outfits. From Saitama’s simple yellow and red jumpsuit to a high-ranking hero being literally named Tanktop Master, the designs of most of One Punch Man‘s heroes are subtle, to say the least, something Hollywood historically hasn’t been especially fond of.

The upcoming One Punch Man will have to avoid overcomplicating the simple, but effective designs of the main cast. It’s easy to see a world in which the film falls prey to the MCU’s style of superhero costumes, with needless complex lines, 135 degree angles, and overly-varying textures plaguing what could be a clean character design. Hopefully, the film’s costume designers will know better than to try to fix what isn’t broken.

5 The Special Effects Will Need To Be On Point

One Punch Man has quite the unbelievable world

Like many live-action anime adaptations, One Punch Man will have an intimidating workload when it comes to portraying the fantastical world of the franchise. From colossal monster villains to dazzling hero powers and even the sheer scale of the urban sprawl of One Punch Man‘s megacities, the special effects budget will need to take a priority. If the film’s CGI isn’t on point, the entire premise is in danger of crumbling.

One Piece proved that even the most larger-than-life anime settings were capable of being brought to live action thanks to the miracle of modern special effects. But the giant monsters of One Punch Man will require levels of CGI artistry on par with Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse in order to look remotely good. Many of these non-human characters are also incredibly important to the story as well, with the alien invaders of the first anime season’s last moments being particularly critical in establishing Saitama’s true strength.

4 The Fight Scenes Will Be Difficult To Adapt

One Punch Man has to live up to his name

Like a good deal of anime, one of the biggest draws to One Punch Man has always been the lovingly-rendered fight scenes. Painstakingly hand drawn with gorgeous frame-by-frame animation, the spectacular battles of the series never fail to get the blood pumping, whether its Genos fighting for his life against an opponent he’s hopelessly outmatched against or Saitama tearing through a monster with a bored look on his face. These fight scenes all have a quality that might make them particularly difficult to bring to life in live-action.

The dynamic lines, lighting, and impact of every blow in One Punch Man‘s fights might make them nigh-impossible to replicate on the big screen. Granted, Justin Lin is no stranger to unbelievable action scenes thanks to his work in the Fast and Furious movies, but even the high-flying stunts of the action powerhouse pale in comparison to the sheer scale of battle in One Punch Man. With powerful heroes and villains exchanging blows strong enough to shatter the Earth’s atmosphere, conveying the carnage of the original art in live action won’t be easy.

3 The Soundtrack Needs To Live Up To The Hype Of The Anime

Sticky legal situations may prevent a faithful OST

One of the greatest additions the One Punch Man anime made to the source material was the injection of a phenomenal rock soundtrack. With two incredible openings from hall-of-fame anime artist JAM Project, as well as its own incredible OST penned by Makoto Miyazaki, the musical themes of One Punch Man have always been able to keep up with the unbelievable animation and earth-shattering fights with an energizing soundtrack of pure adrenaline. This will be a tough act to follow for the live-action movie.

It’s unclear as to whether the film adaptation could legally use the same songs from the anime, with copyright stickiness possibly locking out the amazing original music. Despite how well-known One Punch Man has become for its phenomenal sound design, there’s a very real chance that the film incarnation could be forced to fend for itself musically. From the driving techno beat of Genos’ theme to the terrifying impact of tracks like “Monster,” living up to the raw power of the first season’s OST in particular will be a tall order for even the most seasoned of Hollywood composers.

2 Saitama’s Casting Can’t Rely On Star Power

The hero for fun is no A-lister

Casting Saitama might be one of the most surprisingly difficult tasks for Hollywood to accomplish when adapting One Punch Man. Whoever does get the honor of playing the titular hero will have to balance off-beat comedy with unrelenting power, at once a relatable everyman and an unkillable god of battle. It doesn’t help that Saitama literally has two faces depending on how serious he is at any given moment, his features morphing from soft and cartoony to a sharp, shadowy traditional anime protagonist.

Above all else, Saitama is supposed to be a regular guy who was simply willing to step up and be a hero. To play this up, the film would do well to cast an unknown in the role, as the prospect of a Saitama with the recognizable face of an A-list actor would be too much cognitive dissonance to bear. It goes without saying that One Punch Man shouldn’t fall into the whitewashing habits of older movies, including anime adaptations like Ghost in the Shell and Dragonball Evolution, and actually fill out its cast with Japanese or East Asian actors and actresses.

1 Dan Harmon’s Story Circle Could Upend The Plot

One Punch Man isn’t a traditional hero’s journey

An incredibly respected writer, Dan Harmon is known for his insistence on using a circular story structure that walks a narrative through a classic hero’s journey. The circle essentially describes a protagonist who enters into an unfamiliar situation in pursuit of something, only to be irrevocably changed once they get it. While a solid device for building many stories, this structure crumbles when applied to One Punch Man.

Rather than being a classic hero who wants something, Saitama is forced to languish in the knowledge that he’ll seemingly never get what he wants. Despite being relatively comfortable in stasis, Saitama’s desire for a worthy challenge and utter boredom at having achieved godlike levels of power are a universal constant of the series. It’d be dangerous for Harmon to apply this favorite technique as a writer on One Punch Man, possibly morphing the story into something completely unfamiliar.

Sources: Hollywood Reporter