There are spoilers coming for One-Punch Man chapter 148! Genos from One-Punch Man has looked to Saitama for guidance on his journey to strength for a long time, but the real lesson he’s learnt is one that is less combat-oriented.
After a few months’ hiatus, the One-Punch Man manga returns to the action-packed conflict between the S-class heroes and the Monster Association’s remaining elites in the latest chapter. A excellent reminder of just how far some of these characters, such as Genos, have come as a result of the influence of their mentor Saitama is provided by their deteriorating position.
While the most of the latest chapter is devoted to the conflict between Bang and Garou as master and pupil, chapter 148 takes a minute to check in on Genos and Tatsumaki (Aka Tornado), who haven’t been doing so well lately. When Tatsumaki pushes herself to the edge in order to fight the Monster Association’s secret commander Psychos, she is rendered defenceless, making her an easy target for the opposing monsters.
Despite his best efforts, Genos has been unable to save her. Faced with the hive-mind army of the filthy Black Sperm, he is actually being torn limb from limb, and still Genos’ nearly helpless body continues to try to protect his tired comrade despite his deteriorating condition.
Genos’ actions and demeanour in this episode stand in stark contrast to his behaviour in his other appearances in the series. The possibility of losing the struggle against Mosquito Girl motivated him to attempt to self-destruct, under the notion that it was more necessary to get rid of the monster, no matter how many people were killed in the process.
Genos, confronted with a losing position, determines that it is more vital to protect Tatsumaki than it is to kill the monsters, even if it means sacrificing both of their lives. This represents a significant shift in the cyborg’s perspective of what it is to be a hero. Fubuki’s efforts to stop his core overload a few chapters earlier, which required her to put herself in danger in order to do something she wasn’t even sure would work, may have served as an inspiration for him at the time, if only for a moment. In that context, protecting her sister as a way of repaying the favour seems only logical.
Although it is true that there is more to it than simply repaying a favour, Genos himself points out that there is more to it than that. This decision signifies a sea change in his way of thinking, as he is now placing a higher value on not only the lives of others, but also on his own.
The fact that Fubuki (AKA Blizzard) was willing to put herself in danger for him is a clear indication that his life has significance beyond just being a monster-killing machine. After spending time with Saitama and the others, the Genos has realised that he has far more to contribute than he realised when he initially stepped on the scene.
He hasn’t acted on this realisation, though, and instead has chosen to submit to some really painful suffering induced by those creatures in the hopes that he and Tatsumaki would both survive. Genos’s behaviour has changed dramatically as a result of Saitama’s influence, and it is mostly because to Saitama’s influence that Genos has progressed thus far in his development.
The war with the Monster Association has proven to be a particularly nasty one, with the heroes suffering far more casualties than they could have anticipated at this time. While Saitama has temporarily withdrawn from the battlefield, he is still having a favourable impact on the outcome of the conflict just by virtue of the lessons he has taught Genos and the others… even if they were taught in an unintentional manner.
Genos, like the rest of the world, is expecting that One-Punch Man himself will appear soon to save the day, which means that their primary focus must be survival for the time being.