Manga Review: One Punch Man Vol. 11

By: MithrandielA gigantic centipede monster may be attacking the city, but Hero-Hunter Garo will not be dissuaded from his journey as he attempts to wipe out the Class-S heroes one by one!The volume opens with a threat level Dragon monster wreaking havoc and monumental destruction on the city as Class-S hero Metal Bat wonders aloud how he'll battle such a beast. After giving it a few tries, the monster knocks him away, directly into the path of Garo.The clash that follows is brutal, bloody, and damn satisfying; even though Metal Bat fails to gain the upper hand, his ability to surprise Garo with his superhuman endurance provides a number of nail-biting panels.We also get to peek a bit behind the curtain into Metal Bat's persona and motivations. Whenever we get the chance to learn more of these mysterious heroes, it's always worth the trip. I hope we get to revisit Metal Bat, as he seems like one of the coolest and most hard-boiled heroes of the bunch.While Metal Bat and Garo clash, monsters are appearing all over the city - and dangerous ones at that. The Hero Association is overwhelmed by the appearances and the calls as some of their most powerful heroes are MIA, including King.Furthermore, an up-and-coming villain named "Martial Gorilla" is also on a mission to defeat high-ranking heroes in order to improve his nefarious reputation.Amidst the chaos, our clueless protagonist is enrolled in a fighting competition. When a fellow participant informs him that the fighters are placed depending on how strong they look, it's revealed that one of his first opponents is an extremely talented martial artist named Zakkos. Of course, as is tradition, Saitama disposes of him with a single strike. A slap, no less.The volume continues to thrive in pandemonium and chaos as the narrative switches between the relentless monster assault on the city and the various fighters squaring off in the stadium.Garo proves that he is indeed a threat to be reckoned with, nearly finishing off Metal Bat and making quick work of numerous high-level monsters on his quest to discover another Class-S hero to fight. It will be interesting to see how he stacks up to some of the more powerful members of the S division, including Watchdog Man and Genos.And of course, I eagerly await watching Saitama crush the spirit of all the arrogant fighters in the competition.In short, this volume is a feverishly paced adventure that conveys the manic nature of a city-wide monster attack. Thankfully, we've got volume 12 on the back-burner and will be posting that shortly! Stay tuned![yasr_multiset setid=7] Note: VIZ Media provided us with a digital copy of this manga in exchange for our honest review.