One Punch Man: Does Saitama remember Genos' death? Explained

One of the most shocking moments of the One Punch Man manga to this day would probably be the time when Genos died a brutal death at the hands of Garou in the Monster Association arc. It was a moment that took the entire Internet by storm as fans worldwide mourned the beloved character's death.

Fortunately, Saitama managed to traverse time and space in order to go back to the past before the final fight between him and Garou actually took place. In doing so, he managed to save the world, especially his trusted apprentice, Genos.

However, the outcome of all the previously transpired events took an unexpected toll on Saitama, whose memories of the future were seemingly altered.

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One Punch Man: Saitama loses his memories of Genos' death following a devastating battle against Garou

Chapter 166 of the One Punch Man manga shocked readers when it killed off Genos, an S-Rank Hero and Saitama's closest friend, at the hands of Garou. At this point in the story, Garou has become the greatest threat the world has ever faced, particularly after acquiring his cosmic powers. Garou was nearly impossible to beat in his new form, as his power dwarfed that of even the strongest S-Rank Hero, Blast.

With no one else capable of opposing him, Garou sought to push Saitama to his limits by killing Genos, his closest friend and disciple. As such, Garou smashed his fist through Genos' body, grabbed his core, and tossed it to Saitama. Upon witnessing the death of his trusted apprentice, Saitama finally got serious and used his Serious Punch against his opponent. On the other hand, Garou copied Saitama's power and struck back at him with another Serious Punch.

Realizing that Earth would not be able to handle the impact of their attacks, Blast transported the two away from the planet. The recoil from their punches landed them far away from their home planet, as both of them landed on one of Jupiter's moons.

Genos as seen in the One Punch Man anime (Image via Studio Madhouse)

However, this situation allowed Saitama to finally let loose against an opponent who could keep up with his attacks. Holding Genos' core in one hand, Saitama overwhelmed Garou with his immense power.

The latter's attacks and powers could not make a single dent in his opponent, as the true extent of Saitama's powers was finally brought to light. He managed to grow even stronger during this fight, as his strength and speed far surpassed that of Garou, whose ability to imitate Saitama's powers proved to be completely ineffective against him.

Towards the end of their fight, Saitama and Garou managed to find their way back to Earth, as the former punched the latter all the way down to where their fight began. After the gravity of his actions finally caught up to Garou when he realized the sheer destruction he brought upon Earth, he decided to transfer his most powerful technique to Saitama to travel back in time to stop this ominous future from ever taking place.

Saitama and Garou as seen in the One Punch Man anime (Image via J.C. Staff)

After traveling back in time and reaching the exact moment where Garou first got his cosmic powers, Saitama threw one last punch at him, enough to put him down. Immediately after this, Garou's cosmic powers started to drain from his body, whereas Saitama's future self and his current self collided together in chapter 168 of the One Punch Man manga.

As a result, Garou reverted to his normal self, which made him an easy target for the rest of the heroes fighting him. On the other hand, Saitama, who was still holding Genos' core in his hand, seemingly had no memories of the future.

However, Saitama traveling back in time to this particular point in the story meant that Genos and every other hero who had previously died during the battle against Genos were alive.

Saitama as seen in One Punch Man (Image via ONE/Yusuke Murata, Shueisha)

After Saitama showed the core to Genos, the latter activated it and gained access to all the memories that resided in it. As such, he realized that Saitama had managed to avoid the ominous future and save everyone on Earth, including him.

That said, Saitama had no recollection of the future where he fought Garou after witnessing his disciple's death. It might have resulted from the collision between the two versions of himself, erasing all the future memories that he had managed to prevent.

In any case, fans are grateful that Saitama managed to prevent a devastating future. This future featured the deaths of countless beloved heroes and would have likely spelled the end of the One Punch Man series itself had Saitama failed in his mission.

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To conclude

In the end, Genos is the only person in the One Punch Man series who is aware of the future where he and most of the heroes die at the hands of Garou. As such, he is also the only one with knowledge of what Saitama had to go through in order to prevent that future, which became one of the many reasons behind Genos' admiration for him.