Warning: The following article contains spoilers for One Punch Man‘s webcomic chapters 95, 96, and 97, as well as potential spoilers for the manga chapter 171.
Great news for all One Punch Man lovers: after a month-long hiatus, their favorite manga is finally coming back with chapter 171, on Sept. 22. The announcement was made by Yusuke Murata, the manga’s illustrator, on Sept. 8, via Twitter.
The latest chapter, released on Aug. 18, closed off the biggest and most epic One Punch Man arc thus far, the Monster Association arc. After Saitama faced off with the hero hunter Garou in the most high-stakes battle of the series and unlocked a new ability, the Zero Punch, things seemed to go back to an approximation of normalcy. Of course, surely peace won’t last long in the One Punch Man universe, it never does, but it’s hard to imagine which new antagonist could rise out of the shadows to upstage Garou. Luckily, we don’t have to imagine, as we can rely on the webcomic version of the series to predict what might happen next in the manga. Naturally, this article will contain spoilers for the One Punch Man webcomic chapters 95, 96, and 97, as well as potential spoilers for the manga chapter 171, if these predictions turn out to be correct. If you’d like to avoid any spoilers, this is your last chance to go back.
What’s next in the One Punch Man manga?
The One Punch Man webcomic, also created by ONE, is the source material for the manga, and because it precedes the adaptation, it’s further along in the story. This sure comes in handy for those that just cannot wait for the manga updates, but reading the webcomic is just not the same, and not only due to the manga’s superior illustrations. The One Punch Man manga usually tends to expand on the story, including new chapters, entire arcs, and changing some events around. Because of this, there’s no sure way to tell if the upcoming manga chapter will follow the webcomic faithfully, but we can still give it our best shot at guessing.
With an arc finished, a new one shall start, and if the manga follows the webcomic without detours, the next thing in store for Saitama and Genos will be the Neo Heroes saga, which begins with the Psychic Sisters arc. This means that manga readers will finally get a deeper understanding of the complicated relationship between the powerful sisters, Fubuki and Tatsumaki, as well as a look into their childhoods. While these two characters are predicted to make an appearance early on in the new arc, their possible presence in chapter 171 will depend on its length, and how many of the webcomic’s events make it into the manga.
Taking this into consideration, the manga chapter 171 is predicted to continue portraying the aftermath of Saitama’s latest fight, which ended up destroying his home, leading to him now residing in the apartment complex built by Metal Knight. The chapter should also feature Saitama’s new A-class hero neighbors, the S-class hero King, and the two sole surviving monsters of the latest battle, who will try to become Saitama’s new roommates and underlings. As they follow the protagonist to his new apartment, Metal Knight’s security system goes off, leading to a fight scene between Saitama and the group of robots trying to eliminate the monsters. This allows Metal Knight to estimate Saitama’s power, and conclude that it’s on the level of an S-class hero, instead of the A-class rank the main character currently occupies.
Events occurring further down the line in the webcomic are unlikely to be featured in the upcoming manga chapter, so for now these are all the predictions we will share. If you’d like to find out how right (or wrong) we are, there’s only one way to do it: you’ll have to read the manga chapter 171 for yourself, as soon as it’s made available. With less than 10 days for it to be released, the anticipation much be unbearable for some fans, so if you’d like, you always have the option to check out the webcomic. While not as polished as the manga adaptation, it’s certainly worth a read.