One-Punch Man’s Redrawn Chapters Are Beautiful but They’re Testing My Patience

One-Punch Man is set to have a big 2025, with the third season of the anime returning to the small screen after five years of anime fans waiting for Saitam’s return. Despite the JC Staff production being on hiatus until this October, the manga has continued to release new chapters on the regular. Unfortunately, the manga currently has a serious problem when it comes to its “redraw” problem and I’m at the end of my rope when it comes to the printed story continuously mining this troupe that is halting Saitama from making progress in his superhero journey.

To start, let’s break down what a “redraw” is. Typically, artist Yusuke Murata or writer ONE might not be satisfied with a battle or an overall chapter that arrives in One-Punch Man. Rather than gritting their teeth and moving forward, Murata himself will typically return to change the details of the art that the creators aren’t satisfied with. In my opinion, there has never been art that was released focusing on the “hero for fun” that necessitated the need in the manga to waylay the overall story and push back new chapters moving forward. I can understand being a perfectionist but the methodology in these redraws feels unnecessary. With that being said, let’s talk about other possibilities for how redraws could work taking examples from other mangaka.

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One Redraw Man

While manga chapters for series arrive on a typical weekly basis, chapters are normally compiled into manga volumes. It is here that not only can new manga material be added but artists will typically take this chance to redraw panels that they weren’t happy with from the start. This approach feels like the best of both worlds but there’s another issue that I should address.

Just because Murata takes the opportunity to redraw a chapter, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is completely taking the place of a new installment of the manga. The stories of Saitama take time to weave and the redraws could work as something of a stopgap as ONE forges ahead. Even keeping this in mind, however, the redraws’ existence outside of arriving in manga volumes feels unnecessary, especially when it comes to slapping new chapter numbers onto them. It’s almost as if the creators are dangling a carrot in front of readers and then pulling it away.

Why, Redraws, Why?

In a previous foreword, Murata did explain why he feels redraws are necessary for One-Punch Man. Yusuke stated, “When I see the finished product in the magazine later, the feeling is always, ‘it’s not quite right here’ or ‘I should have done that there.’ I would have regrets every week and it feels like part of the job. That’s not a situation I enjoy very much. One-Punch Man is a top priority of mine during its serialization. Once the manuscript has been submitted, any revisions I make it simply a way for me to decrease the amount of regret I have as a stubborn person.” While Murata’s drive to make the manga pop as much as possible is notable, I can’t help but think that his mindset aligns more with the phrase “perfect is the enemy of good.” The artist killing himself in trying to create a better output might do harm to the overall series, the readership, and even himself.

This isn’t to say that the redraws aren’t gorgeous, as Murata does make good use of his time in recreating big battles but the cons tend to outweigh the pros throughout much of the manga for readers. There isn’t a redraw that goes by where One-Punch Man fans don’t either let out a silent sigh or share their negative thoughts online and you can count me amongst those folks. Murata has several options on the table when it comes to how to perfect Saitama’s manga adventures and I’m personally crossing my fingers that One-Punch Man will make the redraws a thing of the past in the future.

Want to see if redraws will plague Saitama’s life in the future? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on One-Punch Man and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.