Overview
- Garou’s early experiences of bullying fueled his animosity towards heroes and his quest for strength.
- A perfectionist mentality and hunger for power drove Garou to attack heroes, viewing them as obstacles to conquer.
- Corruption within the Hero Association provided Garou with a rationale for his violent actions in pursuit of becoming a formidable force.
When audiences first encounter Garou, the self-styled hero hunter in One Punch Man, his motives may initially appear perplexing. A former disciple of Bang, Garou considers himself a monster, relating more to creatures classified as antagonists than to human beings. This mindset fosters an intense loathing for heroes, culminating in his desire to defeat them utterly.
Although Garou’s motivations may be straightforward for fans of the series, there’s a deeper story to explore regarding the origins of his extreme disdain for heroes. This article delves into the complexities of Garou’s character, uncovering what has shaped his fierce outlook.
Garou’s Backstory
A Unique Perspective
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First Mentioned |
Season 1, Episode 10 (By Bang) |
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First Appearance |
Season 2, Episode 1 |
In Season 2, viewers are glimpsed into Garou’s troubled childhood, which elucidates his fixation on hunting heroes. As a child, he found himself captivated by a conventional superhero series featuring a character named Justice Man. However, instead of cheering for the hero, Garou aligned himself with the villains, feeling angered whenever Justice Man thwarted their plans. To Garou, the villains represented the underdogs—a perspective that clashed with the typical narrative of good versus evil.
In stark contrast to his formidable adulthood, Garou’s formative years were marred by helplessness. He endured bullying, often being cast as the villain in role-playing games by his peers. These experiences imbued him with a belief that heroes were self-righteous hypocrites. A particularly notorious bully named Tacchan enjoyed popularity and goodwill, further entrenching Garou’s disdain.
As he grew weary of his powerlessness, Garou developed an intense resolve to transform his life. This motivation led him to seek martial arts training under Bang, an S-class hero. There, he discovered an innate talent for combat, quickly becoming a top disciple.
Quietly Sharpening His Blade
Garou’s Transition from Student to Destroyer
As Garou honed his fighting prowess, he grappled with intense perfectionism, driven to attain unmatched power. This fixation soon morphed into a relentless need for self-improvement. During one training session, his Master Bang pointed out that despite breaking several ceramic plates, Garou had still missed one, causing him great frustration.
Ultimately, this frustration ignited a drastic decision: he resolved to confront all of his fellow students, believing he could no longer derive any further knowledge from training alone. This moment marked the genesis of his obsessive pursuit of strong adversaries, intertwining with his childhood resentment toward heroes. In his view, heroes were cowardly oppressors unworthy of their title, as they exploited their powers over others—an outlook that served to bolster his motivation to challenge them.
To cultivate his skills, Garou entered a martial arts tournament incognito, seeking to face increasingly stronger opponents. His trajectory led him to launch a direct assault on the Hero Association in Season 2. Much like in his dojo days, he ruthlessly defeated a gathering of heroes assembled by Sitch, an officer of the Hero Organization. This pivotal encounter solidified his ambition to evolve into the strongest “human monster”while systematically targeting heroes.
At the essence of Garou’s turmoil lies a consistently reinforced negative worldview. Throughout his childhood, he lacked supportive authority figures during his bullying experiences. Consequently, he perceived violence as the only means to navigate his struggles—a perspective that society in the One Punch Man universe not only acknowledges but also rewards. The narrative starkly highlights the pervasive corruption within the leadership of the Hero Association, as well as among several high-ranking heroes. This reality enables Garou to rationalize his violent crusades, believing that he is fulfilling a greater goal through the same brutality heroes impose on others.
Fans can catch up with Garou’s journey and the unfolding events of One Punch Man on Crunchyroll.