Why exactly is Saitama a hero?

Question

Saitama, who trained for three years only doing 100 push-ups, 100 squats, 100 sit ups, and ran 10 kilometers every day, became a "superhero for fun", but what does he mean by that.

Is he really only doing it "for fun" or did he have motives but then forgot? Because normally a hero does it for a reason like to protect the ones they love, to defeat all evil, to prove that their strong, to protect something like humankind, etc.. Or is he really just doing it "for fun" because he's bored. Or is there actually a deep meaning for those words?

Did you actually read the manga/watch the anime? Its spelled out litterally. — JS Lavertu, Jun 03 '16 at 03:37

score 14 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 03 '16 at 09:01

Saitama's real reason to be hero was intended to be satire over common cliche reasons of most heroes.

If you think about it, it can be literally rephrased as "Does one really needs reason to help another people", which itself is actually nice idea for manga to show, if you are looking for some deep meaning.

score 4 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 17 '20 at 09:17

I'm not really sure what the confusion is here. Before he is a licensed hero, he was a literally a superhero by the sheer virtue of him both being a superhuman and a person who does benevolent deeds. A simple definition taken from Mirriam Webster shows that a hero is:

a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
b : an illustrious warrior
c : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities
d : one who shows great courage

He meets B, C, and D. He is a warrior because, well, he fights things as his trade. He is admired by Genos. He shows great courage by shrugging off his opponents.

We can theorize that he also wanted recognition for his work since that is his whole reason for joining the Heroes Association.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 03 '16 at 18:42

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He is a hero for fun or at least Saitama thinks like this but what he really wants is the appreciation as well as respect from people.

answered Jun 03 '16 at 18:42

Roisul

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This is the exact answer to the question. He do it just for fun. Even in the latest manga episodes, he still says, he's a hero for fun – Syed M Zulqarnain Feb 23 '17 at 06:06

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Sep 26 '17 at 18:34

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He became a hero to help people, not for someone's appreciation. He joined the hero club just for fun. He had a desire inside him to help people, not for name or something. He just needs to help people that are helpless. He is someone who thinks about problems of people and helps them, but he will not tell anyone about it. He knows what he was doing. He seems as funny, but deep inside him, something let him do it for no matter what.

edited Sep 26 '17 at 18:34

Aki Tanaka

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answered Sep 26 '17 at 18:23

akhil333

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This isn't really right and disagrees with the story. Since losing his hair, when has he demonstrated helping people to be his motivation? I've seen "you're making bald people look bad", "my registry requirements", "you look tough", and "because you messed up my favorite grocery store" but never "because deep down I want to help people", – kaine Sep 26 '17 at 18:45

score 0 · Answer 5 · edited Aug 06 '18 at 13:37

In the world of One Punch Man, we see the many different types of heroes:

We see Amai Mask, an idol, a person who sees the world as black and white, a hero nonetheless but not in the sense of virtue.
Genos, a person who seeks vengeance against evil, young but still learning.
Silver Fang, an old but strong martial arts master. They are "heroes" because they fight monsters but with a sense of self-purpose.

Then we have the heroes like Saitama and Mumen Rider:

Mumen Rider went all out and never quit fighting the Deep Sea King. He was not afraid of the monster, and he always does his best regardless of the odds. He knows he could die but still helps.
BUT THE MOST NOTABLE IS SAITAMA. He was originally a "hero for fun." He originally did it to become stronger. But when you take away the fun we see the bald Saitama. He is still a hero even though there was no one left to give him a thrill. He saved a little girl's life. He saved a suicidal man who was gonna jump off the roof (manga) even though he was bored, gave the police the credit for his own actions. In the theme song, it says, "I'm not here for fortune and fame. Instead, I'll fight knowing nobody knows my name."

To me, that says a lot. The heroes in One Punch Man mostly fight for something, a purpose. Saitama has none, but he still does good things. He's not seeking attention like Amai. He has no vengeance unless you steal his fries. He is just a man, not trying to find purpose, but hanging with his new friends is slowly giving him one. He's a hero because many of the other heroes who crave some form of attention seeking. While he genuinely does it for others.

Why exactly is Saitama a hero?

5 Answers5