Anime audiences have become savvy enough that there are an increasing number of subversive series that deconstruct the genre — One-Punch Man being one of the best and most ridiculous examples. The anime exists in an exaggerated world where monsters and heroes run rampant, but the series’ protagonist is someone who is actively frustrated and bored by how powerful he’s become.
One-Punch Man is a fun twist on standard shonen staples and showcases an eclectic cast who are sometimes even more interesting than Saitama. Many of the anime's heroes are memorable, but Tatsumaki is an especially dangerous individual capable of great things, although she's still largely viewed as a mystery.
10 Tatsumaki Is The S-Class Rank 2 Hero, Directly Below Blast
One-Punch Man features an interesting ranking system that consumes all of the heroes in an attempt to add some order to the chaos that frequently occurs. The Hero Association has built a rigid system that rewards the accomplishments of heroes while also letting the public know who the most competent defenders of justice are.
S-Class heroes represent the very best and the characters that are best equipped to take out the severe threats that plague the world. Tatsumaki isn’t just an S-Class hero, she’s Rank 2, which means that she’s truly one of the most valuable and competent members of the Hero Association. Only the mysterious Blast is ranked above her.
9 She Makes Her Younger Sister, Fubuki, One Of Her Priorities
One-Punch Man is full of colossal demonstrations of power, but it’s the human connections between the characters that really make the show work. Saitama is someone who forges together his own family of friends, but Tatsumaki has a younger sister, Fubuki, who is often her priority.
Tatsumaki lets her softer side out around Fubuki, which highlights a very different version of the character since she is typically prickly with most people. Tatsumaki clearly loves her sister, but she’s also overprotective, keeping Fubuki on a tight leash.
8 Tatsumaki Is The Most Powerful Esper In The Series
Heroes and villains turn to different sources of power in One-Punch Man. Tatsumaki isn’t the only esper, but she establishes herself to be the most powerful wielder of psychic powers. She casually employs psychokinesis, flight, telepathy, and even the construction of psychic barriers.
Tatsumaki's psychic abilities surpass the notorious Geryuganshoop and her skills have psychically stopped an attack from Boros’ spaceship. In addition, she has been able to lift the entire underground Monster Association base to the surface. Tatsumaki is easily one of the most powerful heroes in the series and someone that can do legitimate damage to the planet.
7 Her Parents Sold Her To Be Experimented On As A Child
Characters in One-Punch Man come from a wide range of backgrounds. Tatsumaki has had intense psychic powers ever since she was a child, which actually led to her adoptive parents selling her at age 7 to scientists who proceeded to experiment on her.
Tatsumaki has a horrible adolescence in captivity where the development of her powers make her feel increasingly at risk. She is rescued by Blast during a monster outbreak, but she continues to resent anything that reminds her of her dark childhood, especially monsters who bring kids into the equation.
6 Tatsumaki's Hero Alias Is The Tornado Of Terror
One-Punch Man contains lots of thrilling battle sequences and dazzling superpowers, but the anime tries to explore the full spectrum of the bureaucracy that surrounds these superheroes. A special hero name is an important factor and the story features some truly absurd titles that do a good job in undercutting a hero’s strength.
Tatsumaki’s Tornado of Terror moniker, however, is one of the more intimidating titles — the Hero Association specifically tries to cultivate this image in her. In fact, they expect her to add “Terror” to her name in order to better reflect her devastating power.
5 Her Accumulative Hero Association Rating Is 65
The Hero Association puts its members through various tests to develop a baseline and determine how powerful everyone is in a typical setting. The Hero Rating is determined with a maximum weightage of 80 points — there are eight categories that include intelligence, endurance, power, popularity, and so on.
Tatsumaki is slotted into the psychic division and her total score is a 65, with perfect or near-perfect marks in most of the categories. Stamina is her weakest area, where she only scores a five, but it is understandable considering the toll that her psychic powers take on her body.
4 ONE Claims That Tatsumaki Is Stronger Than Mob From Mob Psycho 100
ONE, the creator of One-Punch Man, is also responsible for Mob Psycho 100, a story that deals with psychically powerful characters as opposed to brute strength. Mob Psycho 100's explanation of psychic espers features a brief cameo from Tatsumaki, which hints at some connectivity between their worlds.
ONE has gone one step further and weighed in on the topic, saying that Tatsumaki is basically a stronger esper than Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama, which is quite impressive. However, ONE has also clarified that if Mob unleashes his full power then it could be anyone's match.
3 She May Be Of French Descent According To Yusuke Murata, The Manga Artist
Yusuke Murata is the artist responsible adapting One-Punch from ONE's popular webcomic into a manga format. He has helped One-Punch Man's visual style evolve in fundamental ways that are carried over into the anime series.
One-Punch Man clearly exists in a heightened alternate world, but on a few occasions Murata has attempted to explain how these characters would fit into the real world without such a manga aesthetic. He has said that he sees Tatsumaki and her sister, Fubuki, as characters with French descent. This fact isn't exactly canon, but since it has been incorporated into Murata's artwork, it might eventually come into play.
2 Tatsumaki Is 28 Years Old, Although She Doesn't Look It
Some of the more superficial details that surround characters might not seem very important in a series where superpowers and destructive monsters are par for the course. Many of the heroes in One-Punch Man can feel more like stereotypes than real people, so applying an age value to them almost seems impractical.
Tatsumaki is an interesting exception because she’s 28 year old and characters often assume that she’s younger than she is, often even younger than her 23 year-old sister, Fubuki. A large portion of Tatsumaki’s life is taken away from her and it makes her age feel even more inaccurate at times.
1 She's Afraid Of Ghosts
Tatsumaki is one of the more steadfast and fearless characters in One-Punch Man and she’s brazenly faced some of the series’ biggest threats. Most of the characters in the series have interesting quirks that add shades of vulnerability to their immense power.
There’s an audio book installment of One-Punch Man, in which Tatsumaki mistakes Saitama for a ghost. Her powers don’t seem to work on Saitama, which instills the idea in her mind that ghosts are resistant to her powers. This turns into a ghost phobia, although it’s not something that becomes a serious impediment for Tatsumaki.