Does One Punch Man have romance?

One Punch Man is one of the most beloved series of all time, captivating fans with its unique blend of parodic comedy and intense action. Although the series begins by following the hilarious Saitama, a bored hero who can defeat any opponent with one punch, it soon takes a more serious turn as the expansive cast and dangerous antagonists are introduced.

Given the wide range of genres that the series covers, as well as the large and memorable quantity of female characters, fans may naturally be curious about whether it ever delves into themes of love and romance.

Up till the latest chapter of the series, One Punch Man has not featured any sort of romance. Apart from casual flirting from characters such as Suiryu and the shipping culture within the fandom, the writer himself has not chosen to include any storyline about relationships or feelings of attraction so far.

Why fans believe One Punch Man may have romance

Although One Punch Man does not have any romance, this has not stopped fans from pairing up characters and even speculating on who Saitama will end up with. Although a serious turn to emotional maturity and exploring the complexity of feelings would be unusual for the protagonist, the characters around him have displayed a keen interest in him.

Notably, the B-Class hero Fubuki has been chasing after the protagonist for a long time in the series. Her attractive design and strong personality have made her a fan-favorite “waifu,” but have also led to countless theories about her relationship with Saitama.

However, as mentioned, One Punch Man is yet to evolve this bond into anything more than a connection built on mutual trust. While Fubuki was originally only interested in adding Saitama and other powerful heroes to the Blizzard Group, she grows into a dependable person who puts her life on the line for the sake of those close to her.

Therefore, even if Saitama may not acknowledge it, Fubuki considers him to be a dear friend. Apart from Fubuki, her sister, Tatsumaki, has recently risen up to the top of the list of characters who are shipped with Saitama.

This is mainly due to the battle between the two during the Neo Heroes Saga, where Tatsumaki could go all out with her powers and formed a close connection with the protagonist despite her generally harsh demeanour. Apart from Blast, Saitama also becomes the only person whose words get through to Tatsumaki.

In particular, the scene where the two of them involuntarily hugged each other sent the fandom into a spiral, with many assuming that the development of their relationship was all but confirmed. However, it is far too soon to judge whether this really has the scope to evolve into romance or not.

Since Tatsumaki was raised in a harsh environment that forced her to be strong, there are very few people she can let her guard down around. After testing Saitama’s strength and durability, she has judged him to be one of them and has even gained a degree of respect for him.

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While this could certainly lead to a tight-knit friendship between the two heroes, any form of love between the two may come off as unnatural, especially given their personalities. Apart from Saitama’s pairings with Fubuki and Tatsumaki, there are also those born out of fan fantasies rather than having any realistic scope of occurring, such as Saitama and Genos, and even Saitama and King.

Therefore, while the One Punch Man fandom does not hold back in expressing which characters they ship, the story itself does not leave much room for romance to be brought into the life of the protagonist. Nevertheless, as the series progresses, there remains the possibility that a side character could find the love of their life through an intricately written subplot.

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