Saitama is the main protagonist of the popular anime and manga series One Punch Man. He is depicted as an average-looking bald man who possesses incredible strength and speed. Saitama underwent an intense training regimen that allowed him to gain his unbelievable power. He became so strong that he can defeat any opponent with a single punch. This led many fans to wonder – with his immense power, can Saitama walk on water like some superheroes are able to?
Saitama’s Abilities
Saitama possesses extraordinary physical abilities as a result of his intense training regimen. Some of his demonstrated powers include:
- Immense strength – Saitama possesses seemingly limitless physical strength. He has been shown to obliterate powerful monsters and villains with a single punch.
- Incredible speed – Saitama can move and react at extremely high speeds. He can quickly close large distances in the blink of an eye.
- Immense durability – Saitama’s body is highly resistant to damage. He can withstand powerful blows and impacts without injury.
- Enhanced senses – Saitama’s senses of hearing and vision are heightened beyond normal human levels.
- Invulnerability – Saitama has yet to encounter anything that can harm him or injure his body.
While not explicitly stated, Saitama’s abilities seem to be magical or supernatural in nature rather than coming from science-based origins. So in theory, abilities like water-walking could be possible for him.
Precedents in Anime/Manga
Several characters in anime and manga with similar impossible or magical-based powersets have demonstrated the ability to walk on water. For example:
- Ninja characters like Naruto and Kakashi in the Naruto series can channel chakra to their feet to walk on water.
- Son Goku and other powerful martial artists in Dragon Ball are shown running atop bodies of water due to their ability to manipulate their ki.
- Alucard from the Hellsing manga can defy gravity and physics at will, allowing him to stand on water.
So characters who seem to break the laws of physics are sometimes depicted as being able to walk on water in the world of anime/manga. Considering his similarly impossible powers, it is plausible Saitama would share this skill.
Saitama’s Interactions with Water
While Saitama has not explicitly been shown walking on water, he has had a few noteworthy interactions with water in the One Punch Man story so far:
- He was able to leap from the top of a building into a lake while fighting monsters, landing unharmed in deep water.
- When fighting the villain Carnage Kabuto, Saitama was knocked into the top of a water tower, destroying it and sending a jet of water into the sky.
- Saitama was submerged underwater when fighting Asura Rhino and emerged afterward with no issues.
So Saitama clearly has no issues operating in aquatic environments or being submerged in water completely. This further supports the idea he could plausibly possess the ability to walk on water without falling through the surface.
Logical Argument
Looking at it logically, if Saitama can:
- Leap incredible distances almost like flying
- Move faster than the human eye can see
- Deflect and withstand planet-destroying attacks without harm
It follows that the ability to walk on water, which requires much less power, should be trivial for someone of his capabilities. The density of water should pose no issue for Saitama’s strength and speed to overcome.
Counterarguments
There are a couple counterarguments for why Saitama may not be able to walk on water:
- He has no need to – Saitama is powerful enough to leap immense distances, essentially flying over bodies of water. So he may have never tried or needed to walk on water.
- It could be an arbitrary limitation – His powers have few defined limits, but water-walking could be an arbitrary exception.
- Comedic effect – Saitama humorously lacking more “standard” superhero abilities like water-walking could be used by the writer for comedic effect.
However, these counterarguments do not conclusively disprove he has the potential for this skill if needed.
Conclusion
While Saitama has yet to demonstrate the ability to walk on water in the One Punch Man series, all current evidence points to his powers being more than sufficient if he chose to do so. Given his immense strength, speed, and leaping capabilities that allow similar water-walking feats, it is very likely this skill is well within Saitama’s potential abilities. Short of the writer arbitrarily limiting Saitama for plot or comedy purposes, there seems to be no physical or logical barriers preventing him from walking on water like other powerful anime/manga characters.
References
One Punch Man manga by ONE and Yusuke Murata
Naruto manga/anime by Masashi Kishimoto
Dragon Ball manga/anime by Akira Toriyama
Hellsing manga by Kouta Hirano