1st theory
What a broken limiter really is.
A broken limiter is existing beyond the realm of logic and reason. What most consider as absolutes and logic but they no longer apply, "Fuck Reasons" - Metal bat. Saitama-King-WDM and Metal Bat are the only ones who have done this and gained different types of powers.
When an individual breaks his limiter he exist outside the realm of reason and logic. Certain limits are lifted to some areas of their being. So they can reach Infinity in those areas where limits no longer apply. All those who have broken their limits are Deus ex Machina.
King having gained the most powerful ability of all. He can win fights without even fighting. Luck/gag/plot armor or in other words bullshit powers. I think King is even more powerful than Saitama.
Saitama the most practical and plot relevant ability, One Punchman.
WDM I believe has gained agility and dog like abilities like senses, tricks and loyalty to his master (Q City).
These three are for sure the most powerful limit breakers.
Finally Metal Bat. I believe he too is a limit breaker who exist beyond reason and logic. He has gained Infinite strength and stamina. No matter what he won't go down and just continue to get stronger. Pain, blood lose or any reasonable and logical thing doesn't apply any longer. He exist outside this realm. He has broken his limiter being limitless in other words INFINITY.
You might be thinking why have I excluded Metal Bat from being included with those three when I've said he is one of those who have broken the Limits. I think his Broken Limiter is less impressive than the other threes and it takes time for it to develop unlike the other three who either instant kill or dominate their opponent. Metal Bat is still stronger than all the other characters in the manga, including Boros and Awakened Garou with enough "fighting spirit".
All those who have broken the limiter are on an even field which is Infinity or limitless so technically if they ever fight (which i think they won't) the fight will never end. I still divided the limit breakers into ranks due to how powerful each of their abilities are even though they are all equals.
They exist outside the realm of logic and reason and their imminent victory is certain. They are limitless-Infinite (aka broken their limiter). So the only way to make sure they don't come along and destroy all bad guys is that you have to place restrictions on them.
Let me give some examples.
King literary can walk up to Boros for example and somehow some illogical bullshit will occur and he will literary win the fight. King is actually really weak and scared shitless who doesn't even know he is one of the 3 most powerful person on the planet. So his fear and for plot purpose King will be prevented from addressing the dilemma to the plot. This is Saitama's job anyway to have him address all those issues I've mentioned in my theory "Saitama Ideology Crusher" Down Below.
Also King's ability is not action based but luck or gag based. I don't know what it is that King has lost when he broke his limiter but that doesn't matter, since its Saitama who seems to have issues with having lost his emotions with breaking his limits; whereas the other limit breakers don't seem to have any issues with what they've lost. Kings issues with breaking his limits may have already been addressed when Saitama first met him. It was his sense of guilt but Saitama helped him overcome it. So now King is doing the same to help Saitama over come his depression.
Example with WDM
WDM can defeat Boros since his stats on his agility, dog like abilities, senses, and tricks are INFINITE. Reason and logic are out the window. Since he clearly has restrictions placed on him he will not show up and be able to defeat the big bad.
Example with Metal Bat
Metal Bat can defeat Boros with his Infinite stamina and strength. No matter how much of a beating Metal Bat takes he will not die or be defeated. "Fuck Reasons" as he says. He will continue to get stronger and reach a point until he will smash his opponent away. Metal Bats restrictions are his promise to his sister and a Broken limiter that doesn't completely dominate his opponent until he gets going.
Take the slight hints that ONE is giving about Metal Bat that His strength is Infinite and the outcome of Monsters Headquarters arc would be different if Metal Bat was there.
We know for a fact that Saitama is a limit breaker and we all agree on that.
So lets examine the others I mentioned a little further on why I think they are limit breakers as well.
First and foremost let me explain what the limit breakers besides Saitama have in common.
The most important trait is the tease from the author.
ONE teases us with King with his Luck powers we've seen countless times. This ability is equal to if not greater than Saitama's powers.
ONE teases us with WDM toying with Garou; Garou who is one of the most powerful close combat fighter in the series. ONE allows Garou to walk away from this with the restriction he has placed on WDM as I've explained. At the same time putting us in suspense by having Garou imply that he isn't suited or knows how to fight non-humanoid type fighters. Which may or may not be true but that is a good tease and good story telling.
ONE also TRIED to tease us with Metal Bat when his sister (who is a restriction placed on Metal Bat like Q city is to WDM) interrupted the fight. Trying to keep us in suspense by having Garou implying that he doesn't know what would have happened had that hit landed but Murata spilt the beans (look at the quotes below.)
ONE teases us with Metal Bat plenty of times. His case as a limit breaker is the easiest to make actually. Lets start with actual quotes from ONE and Murata.
ONE has said When the intensity of Metal Bat's anger reaches its maximum, his power approaches infinity.
ONE has said that Metal Bat wasn't joking when he said, "He could take care of a dragon level threat"
ONE has said the situation against the Monster Association would have changed if Metal Bat was around.
Murata stated that Garou would have probably died if Metal Bat's Bat connected had his sister not arrived as a fun fact on his stream.
So many teases but lets just focus on the first quote.
The choice of word that ONE uses to describe Metal Bats power is "Infinity" in other words limitless in other words "Broken limiter". This is the greatest and biggest tease that ONE has given us that implies exactly what I'm saying in my Broken Limiter theory.
Few things to keep in mind before proceeding.
Metal Bat's case is different from Saitama, King, and WDM. Metal Bat unlike the other three isn't in the broken limiter state all the time. He needs to raise his anger or fighting spirit.
Also don't confuse Metal Bat with the Hulk. The angrier Hulk gets the stronger he gets; whereas Metal Bat has a Cap or limit to his anger or fighting spirit while Hulk doesn't so in other words Hulk will never acquire Infinite strength. So when Metal Bat's anger or fighting spirit rises he gets closer and closer to entering the state of the limit breakers until it reaches It's maximum and he exist in the same plain as Saitama, King, and WDM.
As I've explained above Metal Bat would just continue to raise his fighting spirit or anger until it reaches it's maximum and then "Fuck Reasons". All logic and reason no longer apply. Certain limits are lifted.
"I'm not that easy to kill. I fight until I win!" - Metal Bat
2nd theory
Gags and explaining their gag's.
I think these three Saitama, King, and WDM are the most powerful characters in the series.
I believe there are many things to compare between these three characters.
Saitama defeats him with Pure strength,
King with plot/gag. He always wins even against all odds including Saitama.
WDM with Cuteness/Suspense/Reserved-Carefree/mystery ( in other words keeping him out of scenarios where he can come and beat all the bad guys and also placing restriction on him and a sense of unknown's in his character.)
They share a similar role, each dominating in their role/gag, which the audience loves.
Let's Start with Saitama.
We all know Saitama is the Strongest. Saitama exist to troll all the Monsters/Villains/Those who need a wakeup call(Garou, Suiryu, King, Dr. Genus etc...). He destroys all sense of rationality and logic that the villains conceive and pretty much the jokes on them.
As for King plot/gag/jokes will always be by his side. King exist to troll the characters in the manga. I hope I don't need to expand upon King. His role is quite obvious to most of us. Pretty much the Joke is on those who try to challenge him including Saitama.
And WDM has this sense of /suspense/mystery/reservation/carefree attitude/similarity(to Saitama in expression etc.) surrounding him. WDM exist to troll maybe us readers and or even Saitama, who maybe can give Saitama what he wants but we will never get to see it happen.
As I've explained ONE is playing jokes on the characters in the manga with King with plots and gags,
Saitama with people needing a change in Ideology
and WDM is a joke on us and Saitama.
WDM is a joke on us in a sense that he will always remain a tease for us. Like how ONE is using the gag trend with King where he will appear to be the Strongest Man on Earth to the characters in the manga. The characters in the manga will never know Kings secret and therein lies the joke. With WDM ONE will continue using this off screen/playful/expressionless/suspense/silly restriction placed on WDM etc.. and continue this trend to make us pull our hair out trying to figure out how strong he really is and ONE will never tell us at least until the end or near the end of the story. Hence the Joke is on us, ONE is teasing us and killing us with this suspense. This is the defining trait of WDM's character and it will be so throughout the story no matter his opponent.
However these subtle hints his dropping should be enough for us to figure out that WDM is 1 of the 3 most powerful and special characters of this manga. (Saitama, King, and WDM).
3rd theory
Saitama Ideology Crusher
Just about every character is struggling or conflicting with fears or has so many ambitions and desires. So these characters base their life and goals to confront or accomplish these goals. In the end what all these characters do is fail or their ideology fails and it is Saitama that shatters all that they consider as absolute. This has always been the theme of the manga. Saitama has been changing people whenever they discover his way of life. The way they look at life changes.
Examples:
Dr. Genus with all his life work studying then genetically modifying to perfect and create the most superior being only to see it destroyed in One punch. Realization/Wakeup call/end of the line/ or whatever you want to call it etc...
Hammer Head – Ideology Changed
Suiryu – Ideology Changed
Garou – Ideology Changed
Soon we will see it happen to Tatsumaki, Amai Mask, Blast, Metal Knight, and Psykos.
He will change all these peoples ideologies and logic and concepts of fear(Psykos), Prophecy (Hero Association), beauty(Amai Mask), power(Metal Knight) and Friendship-Reliance (Tatsumaki-Blast) or whatever it is. It humbles some and gives others goals to achieve. It gives them a new and better outlook on life.
4th theory
Why Saitama will never get the fight he wants.
At least that's what i feel when i read this Q/A from an interview.
Question: When Saitama always finishes off enemies in one punch it's really exhilarating and feels good, but on the other hand, isn't it hard to make a new kind of development that still ends in the punch every time? Is there something that you keep in mind when you're creating these plots?
ONE: To be honest, I never actually thought this was hard..... It was when someone else pointed this out to me when I realized for the first time, "Is this setting too hard for me to continue with?" But in the end, even to this day I hadn't thought that writing the plot was hard. Thinking of a plot that involved a lot of thinking and cleverness for the main character to get over any obstacle requires a lot of experience and knowledge, so I think it's a bit too hard for me. In Saitama's case, all I have to do is have him show up to punch the problem away so I don't have to think too much about it. In the world Saitama lives in, monsters show up frequently, so he gets to utilize his strength to the fullest, so I can feel comfortable making my plot. If anything happens, I can always count on Saitama. The story will be interesting as long as he's on the move. The difficulties Saitama encounters are for the most part really common problems like making it to the next supermarket sale, and since I solve these problems myself, it's easy to write about them. The only hard part is to make his allies seem not too weak.
As I've quoted ONE's answer from his interview that I believe Saitama will never find a match for him in battle and that his problems will be like making it to the next supermarket sale. So he will never fulfill his dream of a thrilling battle. Using this answer from ONE I base my understanding of future characters and their hype knowing full well they will be easily defeated by Saitama no matter how strong they are portrayed to be.
I'll list the one's that people might think can live up to the hype but in reality they can't and I'll explain why; mainly being the reason from the Q/A and a few other reasons.
Blast.
As similar as Blast can be to Saitama they are just as much different especially in ideology. If you reread the chapter with Tatsumaki's flash back in which Blast appears and remember in what context is Tatsumaki remembering this. Tatsumaki's is forcing her sister to adapt to her way of thinking and go Solo and not rely on anyone. To break bonds and depend only on your own strength. She remembers Blast's saying "Don't expect someone to come and save you". She was protective of her sister thinking that people will use her like how she was experimented on and afraid for her. so she adopted that Ideology of Blast. On the other hand in that same chapter Saitama was showing Tatsumaki the power of an "Acquaintance" and Fubuki's subordinates were ready to sacrifice themselves for her. They were preaching the exact opposite message. This leads me to believe that Blast will have a conflicting opinion with Saitama in the near future and they will surely fight and as I've explained before Saitama will never find an equal or a close match. Blast will be powerful but not enough to give Saitama the thrill which he desires.
"God"
Unlike human opponents who survive fights with Saitama. "God" will get killed showing the heroes of OPM who will most definitely get massacred until Saitama comes and ends it with everyone looking on with little to no difficulty. It's just how this stories been and that's the beauty of it. The thrill and excitement doesn't lie in the struggle of the main protagonist battling against rivaling foes but in the reactions of the those who were struggling and trying to defeat this foe thinking all hope is lost only to see someone with the lamest hero name and looks, the most half ass boring character setting (from their perspective) come and effortlessly kill it.
What separates Blast from Saitama, WDM, King and to a lesser extent Metal Bat is conflict in his ideology and Character. As I've explained in my theory "Saitama Ideology Crusher."
What a broken limiter really is.
A broken limiter is existing beyond the realm of logic and reason. What most consider as absolutes and logic but they no longer apply, "Fuck Reasons" - Metal bat. Saitama-King-WDM and Metal Bat are the only ones who have done this and gained different types of powers.
When an individual breaks his limiter he exist outside the realm of reason and logic. Certain limits are lifted to some areas of their being. So they can reach Infinity in those areas where limits no longer apply. All those who have broken their limits are Deus ex Machina.
King having gained the most powerful ability of all. He can win fights without even fighting. Luck/gag/plot armor or in other words bullshit powers. I think King is even more powerful than Saitama.
Saitama the most practical and plot relevant ability, One Punchman.
WDM I believe has gained agility and dog like abilities like senses, tricks and loyalty to his master (Q City).
These three are for sure the most powerful limit breakers.
Finally Metal Bat. I believe he too is a limit breaker who exist beyond reason and logic. He has gained Infinite strength and stamina. No matter what he won't go down and just continue to get stronger. Pain, blood lose or any reasonable and logical thing doesn't apply any longer. He exist outside this realm. He has broken his limiter being limitless in other words INFINITY.
You might be thinking why have I excluded Metal Bat from being included with those three when I've said he is one of those who have broken the Limits. I think his Broken Limiter is less impressive than the other threes and it takes time for it to develop unlike the other three who either instant kill or dominate their opponent. Metal Bat is still stronger than all the other characters in the manga, including Boros and Awakened Garou with enough "fighting spirit".
All those who have broken the limiter are on an even field which is Infinity or limitless so technically if they ever fight (which i think they won't) the fight will never end. I still divided the limit breakers into ranks due to how powerful each of their abilities are even though they are all equals.
They exist outside the realm of logic and reason and their imminent victory is certain. They are limitless-Infinite (aka broken their limiter). So the only way to make sure they don't come along and destroy all bad guys is that you have to place restrictions on them.
Let me give some examples.
King literary can walk up to Boros for example and somehow some illogical bullshit will occur and he will literary win the fight. King is actually really weak and scared shitless who doesn't even know he is one of the 3 most powerful person on the planet. So his fear and for plot purpose King will be prevented from addressing the dilemma to the plot. This is Saitama's job anyway to have him address all those issues I've mentioned in my theory "Saitama Ideology Crusher" Down Below.
Also King's ability is not action based but luck or gag based. I don't know what it is that King has lost when he broke his limiter but that doesn't matter, since its Saitama who seems to have issues with having lost his emotions with breaking his limits; whereas the other limit breakers don't seem to have any issues with what they've lost. Kings issues with breaking his limits may have already been addressed when Saitama first met him. It was his sense of guilt but Saitama helped him overcome it. So now King is doing the same to help Saitama over come his depression.
Example with WDM
WDM can defeat Boros since his stats on his agility, dog like abilities, senses, and tricks are INFINITE. Reason and logic are out the window. Since he clearly has restrictions placed on him he will not show up and be able to defeat the big bad.
Example with Metal Bat
Metal Bat can defeat Boros with his Infinite stamina and strength. No matter how much of a beating Metal Bat takes he will not die or be defeated. "Fuck Reasons" as he says. He will continue to get stronger and reach a point until he will smash his opponent away. Metal Bats restrictions are his promise to his sister and a Broken limiter that doesn't completely dominate his opponent until he gets going.
Take the slight hints that ONE is giving about Metal Bat that His strength is Infinite and the outcome of Monsters Headquarters arc would be different if Metal Bat was there.
We know for a fact that Saitama is a limit breaker and we all agree on that.
So lets examine the others I mentioned a little further on why I think they are limit breakers as well.
First and foremost let me explain what the limit breakers besides Saitama have in common.
The most important trait is the tease from the author.
ONE teases us with King with his Luck powers we've seen countless times. This ability is equal to if not greater than Saitama's powers.
ONE teases us with WDM toying with Garou; Garou who is one of the most powerful close combat fighter in the series. ONE allows Garou to walk away from this with the restriction he has placed on WDM as I've explained. At the same time putting us in suspense by having Garou imply that he isn't suited or knows how to fight non-humanoid type fighters. Which may or may not be true but that is a good tease and good story telling.
ONE also TRIED to tease us with Metal Bat when his sister (who is a restriction placed on Metal Bat like Q city is to WDM) interrupted the fight. Trying to keep us in suspense by having Garou implying that he doesn't know what would have happened had that hit landed but Murata spilt the beans (look at the quotes below.)
ONE teases us with Metal Bat plenty of times. His case as a limit breaker is the easiest to make actually. Lets start with actual quotes from ONE and Murata.
ONE has said When the intensity of Metal Bat's anger reaches its maximum, his power approaches infinity.
ONE has said that Metal Bat wasn't joking when he said, "He could take care of a dragon level threat"
ONE has said the situation against the Monster Association would have changed if Metal Bat was around.
Murata stated that Garou would have probably died if Metal Bat's Bat connected had his sister not arrived as a fun fact on his stream.
So many teases but lets just focus on the first quote.
The choice of word that ONE uses to describe Metal Bats power is "Infinity" in other words limitless in other words "Broken limiter". This is the greatest and biggest tease that ONE has given us that implies exactly what I'm saying in my Broken Limiter theory.
Few things to keep in mind before proceeding.
Metal Bat's case is different from Saitama, King, and WDM. Metal Bat unlike the other three isn't in the broken limiter state all the time. He needs to raise his anger or fighting spirit.
Also don't confuse Metal Bat with the Hulk. The angrier Hulk gets the stronger he gets; whereas Metal Bat has a Cap or limit to his anger or fighting spirit while Hulk doesn't so in other words Hulk will never acquire Infinite strength. So when Metal Bat's anger or fighting spirit rises he gets closer and closer to entering the state of the limit breakers until it reaches It's maximum and he exist in the same plain as Saitama, King, and WDM.
As I've explained above Metal Bat would just continue to raise his fighting spirit or anger until it reaches it's maximum and then "Fuck Reasons". All logic and reason no longer apply. Certain limits are lifted.
"I'm not that easy to kill. I fight until I win!" - Metal Bat
2nd theory
Gags and explaining their gag's.
I think these three Saitama, King, and WDM are the most powerful characters in the series.
I believe there are many things to compare between these three characters.
Saitama defeats him with Pure strength,
King with plot/gag. He always wins even against all odds including Saitama.
WDM with Cuteness/Suspense/Reserved-Carefree/mystery ( in other words keeping him out of scenarios where he can come and beat all the bad guys and also placing restriction on him and a sense of unknown's in his character.)
They share a similar role, each dominating in their role/gag, which the audience loves.
Let's Start with Saitama.
We all know Saitama is the Strongest. Saitama exist to troll all the Monsters/Villains/Those who need a wakeup call(Garou, Suiryu, King, Dr. Genus etc...). He destroys all sense of rationality and logic that the villains conceive and pretty much the jokes on them.
As for King plot/gag/jokes will always be by his side. King exist to troll the characters in the manga. I hope I don't need to expand upon King. His role is quite obvious to most of us. Pretty much the Joke is on those who try to challenge him including Saitama.
And WDM has this sense of /suspense/mystery/reservation/carefree attitude/similarity(to Saitama in expression etc.) surrounding him. WDM exist to troll maybe us readers and or even Saitama, who maybe can give Saitama what he wants but we will never get to see it happen.
As I've explained ONE is playing jokes on the characters in the manga with King with plots and gags,
Saitama with people needing a change in Ideology
and WDM is a joke on us and Saitama.
WDM is a joke on us in a sense that he will always remain a tease for us. Like how ONE is using the gag trend with King where he will appear to be the Strongest Man on Earth to the characters in the manga. The characters in the manga will never know Kings secret and therein lies the joke. With WDM ONE will continue using this off screen/playful/expressionless/suspense/silly restriction placed on WDM etc.. and continue this trend to make us pull our hair out trying to figure out how strong he really is and ONE will never tell us at least until the end or near the end of the story. Hence the Joke is on us, ONE is teasing us and killing us with this suspense. This is the defining trait of WDM's character and it will be so throughout the story no matter his opponent.
However these subtle hints his dropping should be enough for us to figure out that WDM is 1 of the 3 most powerful and special characters of this manga. (Saitama, King, and WDM).
3rd theory
Saitama Ideology Crusher
Just about every character is struggling or conflicting with fears or has so many ambitions and desires. So these characters base their life and goals to confront or accomplish these goals. In the end what all these characters do is fail or their ideology fails and it is Saitama that shatters all that they consider as absolute. This has always been the theme of the manga. Saitama has been changing people whenever they discover his way of life. The way they look at life changes.
Examples:
Dr. Genus with all his life work studying then genetically modifying to perfect and create the most superior being only to see it destroyed in One punch. Realization/Wakeup call/end of the line/ or whatever you want to call it etc...
Hammer Head – Ideology Changed
Suiryu – Ideology Changed
Garou – Ideology Changed
Soon we will see it happen to Tatsumaki, Amai Mask, Blast, Metal Knight, and Psykos.
He will change all these peoples ideologies and logic and concepts of fear(Psykos), Prophecy (Hero Association), beauty(Amai Mask), power(Metal Knight) and Friendship-Reliance (Tatsumaki-Blast) or whatever it is. It humbles some and gives others goals to achieve. It gives them a new and better outlook on life.
4th theory
Why Saitama will never get the fight he wants.
At least that's what i feel when i read this Q/A from an interview.
Question: When Saitama always finishes off enemies in one punch it's really exhilarating and feels good, but on the other hand, isn't it hard to make a new kind of development that still ends in the punch every time? Is there something that you keep in mind when you're creating these plots?
ONE: To be honest, I never actually thought this was hard..... It was when someone else pointed this out to me when I realized for the first time, "Is this setting too hard for me to continue with?" But in the end, even to this day I hadn't thought that writing the plot was hard. Thinking of a plot that involved a lot of thinking and cleverness for the main character to get over any obstacle requires a lot of experience and knowledge, so I think it's a bit too hard for me. In Saitama's case, all I have to do is have him show up to punch the problem away so I don't have to think too much about it. In the world Saitama lives in, monsters show up frequently, so he gets to utilize his strength to the fullest, so I can feel comfortable making my plot. If anything happens, I can always count on Saitama. The story will be interesting as long as he's on the move. The difficulties Saitama encounters are for the most part really common problems like making it to the next supermarket sale, and since I solve these problems myself, it's easy to write about them. The only hard part is to make his allies seem not too weak.
As I've quoted ONE's answer from his interview that I believe Saitama will never find a match for him in battle and that his problems will be like making it to the next supermarket sale. So he will never fulfill his dream of a thrilling battle. Using this answer from ONE I base my understanding of future characters and their hype knowing full well they will be easily defeated by Saitama no matter how strong they are portrayed to be.
I'll list the one's that people might think can live up to the hype but in reality they can't and I'll explain why; mainly being the reason from the Q/A and a few other reasons.
Blast.
As similar as Blast can be to Saitama they are just as much different especially in ideology. If you reread the chapter with Tatsumaki's flash back in which Blast appears and remember in what context is Tatsumaki remembering this. Tatsumaki's is forcing her sister to adapt to her way of thinking and go Solo and not rely on anyone. To break bonds and depend only on your own strength. She remembers Blast's saying "Don't expect someone to come and save you". She was protective of her sister thinking that people will use her like how she was experimented on and afraid for her. so she adopted that Ideology of Blast. On the other hand in that same chapter Saitama was showing Tatsumaki the power of an "Acquaintance" and Fubuki's subordinates were ready to sacrifice themselves for her. They were preaching the exact opposite message. This leads me to believe that Blast will have a conflicting opinion with Saitama in the near future and they will surely fight and as I've explained before Saitama will never find an equal or a close match. Blast will be powerful but not enough to give Saitama the thrill which he desires.
"God"
Unlike human opponents who survive fights with Saitama. "God" will get killed showing the heroes of OPM who will most definitely get massacred until Saitama comes and ends it with everyone looking on with little to no difficulty. It's just how this stories been and that's the beauty of it. The thrill and excitement doesn't lie in the struggle of the main protagonist battling against rivaling foes but in the reactions of the those who were struggling and trying to defeat this foe thinking all hope is lost only to see someone with the lamest hero name and looks, the most half ass boring character setting (from their perspective) come and effortlessly kill it.
What separates Blast from Saitama, WDM, King and to a lesser extent Metal Bat is conflict in his ideology and Character. As I've explained in my theory "Saitama Ideology Crusher."
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