ONE, the anonymous webcomic artist behind the hit One-Punch Man franchise, is one of the most successful manga creators currently in the industry. One-Punch Man, along with My Hero AcademiaDragon Ball Super and others, are all part of a renewed wave of anime interest in the West and are even more popular back in their native Japan.

However, OPM, as well-liked as it is, may not be the creator's most popular series. That honor might actually go to Mob Psycho 100, at least, according to a popularity poll on Tumblr. The site's annual Fandometrics for 2019 ranked Mob Psycho 100 second only to the aforementioned My Hero Academia, whereas One-Punch Man was only number 25 in the poll out of a total of 50 different series. Even more impressive is that Mob Psycho 100 skyrocketed 28 places up from its 2018 spot on the same list.

Let's take a look at what each of these popular titles are all about, and why readers and viewers seem to be preferring ONE's psychic series to his superheroic one.

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MOB PSYCHO 100

Mob Psycho 100 II

Mob Psycho 100 tells the story of Shigeo Kageyama, an everyday teenager who's so quiet and boring, he's nicknamed Mob (meaning background character) by his classmates. In actuality, this reserved nature belies Shigeo's burgeoning psychic powers, which he fights with each passing day to maintain control of.

To hone his abilities, he works with a phony exorcist, Reigen, who lacks even a fraction of Shigeo's strength. Shigeo's power inevitably begins attracting trouble; compounded by the threat of what will happen when his emotions finally reach 100%.

ONE-PUNCH MAN

One-Punch Man takes place primarily in City-Z, a world filled with giant monsters and dastardly supervillains. Combating these threats is a conglomerate of deputized superheroes, who work for the world government. Not among the official top ranking of these is protagonist Saitama, who simply does the fantastic for fun. In spite of this seemingly flippant attitude, he is extremely powerful, having trained his body to the point where he can defeat enemies with a single punch.

Towards the start of the story, he befriends the cyborg Genos, who seeks both his mentorship and revenge for his family's murder. Together, the two more than competent heroes bumble their way through the Hero Association, facing an increasing number of deadly foes.

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WHY FANS PREFER MOB PSYCHO 100

Though it's an easy target, especially in the West, the idea of "superhero fatigue" could explain why One-Punch Man has been superseded in popularity by Mob Psycho 100 for a certain section of anime viewers. Superheroes are literally everywhere at the moment, and even manga and anime aren't safe.

This recent increase in Westernized superhero stories in anime arguably started with Tiger & Bunny and continues in the current popularity of One-Punch Man and My Hero Academia. The latter, however, is not only more popular on the aforementioned poll, but it actually ranked as the most popular of any anime series this year. Though this weakens the superhero fatigue argument, there may still be some credence to it. For instance, Saitama is a parody of seemingly invincible, overpowered superheroes like Superman and Dragon Ball's Goku, and the idea of him being unbeatable is played to the extreme. Meanwhile, the heroes on My Hero Academia are shown struggling much more often, and not in the comedic ways that Saitama is. Readers, therefore, might have more of an issue relating to the intentionally obtuse Saitama.

Mob Psycho 100 also has a ridiculously strong protagonist, one who shares many mannerisms with Saitama, in fact. Visually, Shigeo and Saitama both carry ONE's love of cartoonishly deadpan character faces. In the former's case, however, this is actually a part of his personality and struggle, and not just a quirky design element. Shigeo is a quiet, reserved and emotionless person, partially because of his personality, but also due to having to keep his emotion-based powers under wraps. Saitama, on the other hand, is just flippant, only showing emotion or interest in otherwise mundane things. One protagonist is shown struggling with both his powers and day-to-day life as part of his character, whereas the other is so frivolous with them that he has become bored by them.

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This can be seen as similar to characters you find in superhero properties like X-Men, whose members' powers are many times a curse, and some of the more two-dimensional portrayals of Superman, Wonder Woman and other DC heroes. Saitama is already at the characterization dead-end that some critique Superman for.

There's also the fact that the second season of the One-Punch Man anime, which aired this year, was deemed by many as being a steep downturn in quality from its first, particularly where the animation was concerned. For some fans, this lackluster continuation may have lessened their interest in the series in general. Much of the criticism for the season was the lessened focus on Saitama, who is a deliberately standout character in a world otherwise populated by more common-place hero archetypes. Conversely, Mob Psycho 100's biggest draw has been the progression of Shigeo's character. Mob Psycho also has a more diverse tone, which allows its shtick to not grate as quickly as that of One-Punch Man. Consistently incredible animation from Studio Bones hasn't hurt its success, either.

As funny and entertaining as One-Punch Man is, its premise and protagonist may have become too one-note too quickly, while Mob Psycho 100 offers fans loads of emotional beats and story paths that have kept them enthusiastically coming back for more.

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