One Punch Man: What are the major differences between the manga and webcomic? Explained

One Punch Man stands out in the manga industry due to its peculiar origin as a webcomic created by the writer, ONE. The initial success of the webcomic prompted a manga adaptation with the help of artist Yusuke Murata. The rest is history, with the series becoming a household name because of the amazing first season of the anime by Madhouse, and Murata's incredible art has been praised a lot as well.

However, the differences between the One Punch Man manga and its webcomic go beyond just the artwork. With the second opportunity to shape the narrative, ONE introduced impactful variations, maintaining several plot points and characters while creating diversions in crucial aspects. These differences add a layer of uniqueness to each rendition, offering readers distinct experiences.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Punch Man series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

---

Explaining the main differences between the One Punch Man manga and webcomic

The first notorious difference between the One Punch Man manga and the webcomic is the art style, with ONE having somewhat amateurish drawings and Yusuke Murata's rendition being extremely detailed and of the highest quality. However, while the character designs and the plot are almost the same, the manga takes some creative liberties from the webcomic's established story.

There are some minor differences in the manga compared to the original story, such as the webcomic not showing the effects of Saitama's punch when sparring earlier in the story, Boros doesn't kick Saitama to the moon, and Puri-Puri doesn't have his Majestic Angel Wings. The Holy Order of the Sword, who are connected to Atomic Samurai, and the entire Orochi arc are not part of the webcomic and are manga-exclusive.

Monster Cells were also not part of the webcomic, and it actually showed different ways to turn into a monster, while the manga also had other differences, such as Blast never meeting Saitama and Flashy Flash. The Super Fight Tournament is exclusive to the manga, and some of the most memorable battles, such as Tatsumaki vs. Psykos and Saitama vs. Garou, were expanded in that medium as well.

---

The value of both One Punch Man versions

The One Punch Man manga (Image via Shueisha).

While there are specific differences between the One Punch Man manga and the webcomic, there are also broader variances in terms of creative directions. The manga is a lot more action-focused and has a lot of visual spectacle due to Murata's amazing artwork, while the webcomic is a lot more focused on the story and has more layers of humor, which was the original idea of the franchise.

The webcomic version could be considered the most canonical one in the franchise since it is entirely written and drawn by the author of the series, ONE. On the other hand, the most-known version of the story is the manga drawn by Murata, which has also served as the basis for the anime adaptation and is bound to be a lot of people's entry point because of the amazing artwork.

People can't go wrong with either version, and it is fair to say that they are different interpretations of the same story, which means that they have their own values and approaches. So it mostly depends on every reader's personal preference when it comes to consuming a story and what they are looking for.

---

Final thoughts

There are considerable differences between the One Punch Man manga and the webcomic, with the former being a lot more action-based and having a lot more visual spectacle, while the latter is a lot more concentrated on the humor and the story itself. The webcomic is widely regarded as the canon version of the story since it is written and drawn by the author, ONE.