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Garou is a villain that has been on the minds of countless One Punch Man fans for quite some time, and for good reason. Garou introduced us to our first true villain of the series, but Garou is a character that is much more complex then a typical anime villain. I decided to write this article to shed light on Garou and explain his motivations, intentions, overall power. I’ll also be answering some popular questions such as: is Garou stronger than Boros, is he an antihero, and is he stronger than Saitama?
Thank you in advance for reading and I hope you enjoy my explanation of Garou.
Who Is Garou?
Garou is a martial arts prodigy and disciple of the S-class rank hero Silverfang or Bang. Garou studied under Bang for many years and one day felt he learned all he could and attacked Bangs other students. It’s clear Garou didn’t kill any of them, but he did beat them up so badly that many quit or have psychological trauma from the event.
Garou’s Hatred Of Heroes
Why did Garou snap you might ask? We’ll the answer to this question has quite a bit of depth to it. In short, Garou was severely bullied as a child. In flashbacks, we come to learn that Garous bullying came in the form of a game where children pretend to be either monsters or heroes. Garou was always forced to be the monster and was never given the choice of becoming a hero. The other kids brutally beat Garou both physically and mentally, with the excuse of the heroes always win simply because they are heroes. Overtime Garou began to side with the monsters, and noticed the flaws in the society as it relates to heroes.
Garou argues that heroes are always late to the party while monsters take the initiative. He feels that monsters have things they desire and want whether good or bad, but the hero’s are unjust and simply must win just because they have chosen the side of the hero and monsters are all bad simply because they have the title of monster.
One overarching theme in the One Punch Man series is what truly defines a hero. Is it raw strength, power, heroics, popularity, or something else that defines what it means to be a true hero?
Garou’s Hero Hunting
Shortly after Garou leaves the dojo, he begins hunting heroes and starts on his journey to become a true monster. Garou’s primary motivation is to become what he calls Absolute Evil, which is him becoming such a massive threat the world must rally together to fight him. Through this Garou hopes to end all conflict and unite the world in fighting him which will bring about world peace.
In the beginning of Garou’s journey we see him fight heroes of various rankings. Some of these battles Garou is able to win with little to no effort, but Garou’s more interesting fights are with the S-class heroes. These fights show us Garou’s talent, tenacity and sure willpower to achieve his goal. During this time Garou isn’t really taken seriously as a threat by many heroes, but as Garou evolves and interacts with more monsters and heroes it’s clear he will eventually have to choose a side.
Is Garou An Antihero?
Is Garou an antihero, I’d say initially yes. What makes Garou such an interesting character is how far he is willing to go to achieve his goal. When he’s first introduced, he beats heroes up badly and even uses phrases like “slaughter party” when facing them. Several heroes suffer broken or dismembered limbs after facing Garou, but Garou doesn’t have the intention to kill them.
When Garou faces monsters he has no issues killing them during their encounters. In fact, he even goes so far as to save an innocent boy several times during his character journey. It’s not until Garou is possessed by the monster, God that Garou actually attempts to kill a hero or civilian. This leads me to believe that Garou really wanted to be a hero or his vision of what a hero should be, but maybe just took a different path then most to achieve the same objective.
How Strong Is Garou?
Since Garou is now towards the end of his journey in the One Punch Man manga, I think it’ll be fun to talk about the strength of Garou.
Garou has risen through the ranks of power in the series. He’s fought S-class heroes and monsters of numerous disaster levels, and currently he’s reached a level so high that very few characters in the series could even challenge him. So let’s start with Boros, which is a fan favorite character.
Is Garou Stronger Than Boros?
Now we haven’t seen Boros and Garou fight each other and we probably never will, but just from what we’ve seen of the two against Saitama it’s clear that Garou would likely come out on top. Boros does have the raw strength, speed and durability, but Garou’s ability to copy the fighting techniques of others would sure make this an interesting match up. I do think this fight would go the distance, but I think Garou would eventually overpower Boros especially in close quarters.
Is Garou stronger than Blast?
We’ve actually seen Garou fight Blast in the manga and the two seemed somewhat even. Blast was able to keep up with Garou’s speed and land quite a few shots on him. Garou does mention that Blast attacks, although strong didn’t have much affect against him. It’s clear that Blast didn’t break a sweat here, so it’s possible this fight could’ve been much more close had it been aloud to go further. So at this point it’s really tough to say if Garou would’ve defeated Blast. Personally I think Blast would come out on top, especially with the ability to send Garou to different dimensions in a matter of seconds.
Is Garou Stronger Than Saitama?
As I am writing this article Saitama and Garou’s fight hasn’t ended, but Saitama hasn’t even been injured while fighting Garou. Garou claims he and Saitama are evenly matched, but Saitama clearly hasn’t been trying to hurt Garou this entire fight. A common theme in One Punch Man is that villains prejudge Saitama and think they’ve either one or are winning against him. Then Saitama decides to get slightly serious and the fight ends so quickly that Saitama can’t get any enjoyment out of it. Unless the writer decides to do a complete 180 degree turn, Garou’s fate will likely end similarly. So the short answer is no, Garou is not stronger than Saitama.
Now it’s time to hear from our community. Did you learn something about Garou in this article? Let us know below your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
