Garou’s Dark Journey: The Truth Behind His Hatred for Heroes Revealed!

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Summary

  • Garou’s childhood, bullied and powerless, shaped his hatred of heroes and desire for strength.
  • Perfectionism and a lust for power led Garou to attack heroes as stepping stones for improvement.
  • Corruption within the Hero Association justified Garou’s extreme violence in his quest to become a human monster.

In the anime One Punch Man, the character Garou, who calls himself a hero hunter, may initially appear enigmatic due to his unusual motivations. Formerly under the tutelage of Bang, Garou views himself as a monster, even though he is human. His self-perception aligns more with monsters than humans, which has fueled an intense loathing towards heroes. This animosity drives him to the extreme desire to defeat and annihilate every single hero he encounters.

In the clear and engaging style of One Punch Man, some readers might ponder how Garou developed his strong convictions. This piece aims to shed light on the reasons behind Garou’s intense hatred for heroes.

Garou’s Backstory

A Unique Perspective

First Mentioned Season 1, Episode 10 (By Bang)
First Appearance Season 2, Episode 1

In Season 2, we get a glimpse into Garou’s past to understand his intense interest in hunting heroes. As a child, he was captivated by a typical good-versus-evil superhero series featuring the escapades of Justice Man. Unlike most viewers, however, Garou found himself cheering for the villains and growing enraged when their schemes were foiled by the hero. For Garou, the monsters represented the oppressed, worthy of support, and he resented them being eliminated by Justice Man.

In contrast to his formidable adult persona, Garou spent most of his childhood years as a vulnerable child, often victimized by peers who portrayed him as the antagonist in their make-believe hero scenarios. These experiences instilled in Garou at a young age the belief that heroes were arrogant and deceitful pretenders. A particular tormentor, a boy named Tacchan, who subjected Garou to bullying, was nonetheless admired by others for his cheerful demeanor, a fact that further fueled Garou’s resentment.

Over time, Garou grew weary of his powerlessness and developed an unyielding resolve to rectify the injustices he faced. This drove him to enroll in the martial arts school of S-class hero Bang. He eventually became one of Bang’s pupils, revealing a knack for martial arts that allowed him to thrive, ultimately earning him the title of a top disciple.

Quietly Sharpening His Blade

Garou’s Turn From Student to Destroyer

With each passing day, Garou’s combat abilities sharpened, yet this progression sparked a fixation on excellence within him, a desire to excel above all else. This relentless pursuit of power fueled his constant drive for improvement. During a training session, Garou shattered numerous ceramic plates, but his master Bang noted that he had failed to break one, leaving Garou feeling disheartened.

In summary, his martial arts training served to intensify his unfavorable character traits. This escalation prompted him to consider assaulting all the other students at one point because he felt he wasn’t learning anything more through his training. At that juncture, Garou developed a craving for vanquishing powerful adversaries, which was fueled by his longstanding disdain for heroes. This desire propelled him towards becoming a hunter of heroes. He viewed the heroes as hypocritical and cowardly, abusing their power over others, yet worthy of punishment due to their transgressions. However, he also recognized them as formidable opponents that could aid in honing his fighting skills further.

In Season 2, Garou concealed himself and joined a martial arts competition to face tougher opponents. Just as he had done with his students at his old dojo, Garou overpowered, injured, and killed a group of heroes that Sitch had convened. Following this incident, Garou resolved to achieve his ambition of becoming the most powerful human monster and began tracking down heroes deliberately.

At the heart of Garou’s perspective, a deeply pessimistic outlook, is consistently reinforced throughout his life. He doesn’t receive help from any authority figure when he’s being bullied as a child. In this world of One Punch Man, the only way he sees to tackle his problems is through self-training in violent means, which the society endorses and honors. The series deliberately portrays corruption within the Hero Association’s leadership and among some high-ranking heroes. This makes it easy for Garou to justify his rampages, as he perceives himself as fighting for a higher purpose by using the same violent methods that heroes employ against monsters and others.

One Punch Man can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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2025-04-03 04:57