One-Punch Man: Saitama (ISTP)

Ti:

“There’s no sign that the evils of this world are disappearing. That hasn’t changed since before I became a hero. So I guess that means I haven’t really made any difference. I’m not necessarily sad about that, but there has been something bothering me lately.  As the days pass, my emotions grow more distant. Fear, tension, joy, anger… I feel none of them anymore.”

“If you really want to be strong… Stop caring about what your surrounding thinks of you!”

“I’m not a hero because I want your approval. I do it because I want to!”

Saitama is very clearly detached from his own emotions, and always has been, even before becoming a hero. He’s apathetic and rational, often making comments indicating that he has lost the ability to feel. In his back story, the villain describes his eyes as cold and lifeless. Saitama stays calm, cool, and collected at all times.  (Albeit, anyone invincible would find this easy to do). Saitama also doesn’t tend to get riled up, emotionally speaking. He just shows up, does his “job”, and leaves. He doesn’t have much of a natural concern for social norms or the destruction he’s causing all around him. For instance, he shows up to an S-ranked meeting in spite of being unqualified and interrupts at the beginning to ask for tea. Later in the meeting, upon hearing that they’re being attacked, Saitama decides to jump straight up through the ceiling, boring a hole as he goes, rather than use a door. He never shows remorse for any of the damage he causes. He ignores people on a whim (or accidentally), interrupts without a second thought, and is shown lying to get someone off of his back. He also asks insensitive questions like “are you an idiot?” and “is this really the cool thing you said you wanted to show us?” He once accidentally accuses a waitress of eating one of his fries. He has other such interactions through the show.  One of the main reasons I moved away from the idea of him being an apathetic ISFP is because, while he clearly possesses ideals (as every human does), they’re never the driving force behind his actions, which is why he feels completely unfulfilled by his heroism. He’s unfulfilled because he desires a challenge, and can’t seem to find one.

Se:

“I’ll leave tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow’s me.”

“Who decides limits? And based on what? You said you worked hard? Well, maybe you need to work a little harder. Is that really the limit of your strength? Could the you of tomorrow beat you today? Instead of giving in, move forward.”

“I’m just a guy who’s a hero for fun. I never lose. And the surface is guarded by me!”

Saitama is constantly bored and dreams of action. He no longer gets a thrill from battle and literally dreams of a challenge in the very first episode. He doesn’t worry about the future, and just lets things happen. Even before becoming a hero, Saitama is shown to be aimless and non-idealistic. He fights his first villain simply because he wasn’t in the mood to take a different route. He ends up deciding to become a hero simply for the fun of it, not because of any grand ideal. He considers it a hobby. Saitama also, even before becoming a hero, launches into action before realizing what he’s doing. He saves a small child and then immediately wonders why he had done that. (Although, he’s not hot headed or impulsive, which rules out Se dominant.) He’s incredibly impatient. He hates long speeches, and physically twitches when forced to endure one, even for a short time. He doesn’t really talk during battle or monologue, but just focuses on the fight. Although, he does nap in the middle of battle when the mood strikes.

Ni:

“Enough already. Just get to the point “

“Prophecies don’t ever come true.”

Saitama has a low awareness of the future and doesn’t usually think through the implications of his actions, indicating low Ni. (Aux Se and tertiary Ni go hand-in-hand, so some of this was covered in the previous section.) Since he is so incredibly powerful, this low awareness doesn’t usually come back to haunt him, although it is partially to blame for the vast amount of damage he causes in every battle. However, Saitama’s Ni does give him the means to become a hero. He latches onto a dream or vision, and makes it a reality, after dedicating himself to 3 years of training. He also cuts people off mid-sentence, emphasizing that they should just get to the point. In addition, Saitama has a terrible memory for both names and faces, which is a common Ni weakness, since Ni memory is abstract.

Fe:

“I’m not saying I need fans or anything, but it’d be nice if someone noticed all the things I’ve been doing around here.”

Although he never really shows it, Saitama is bothered by the fact that no one appreciates what he does. He’s also a bit insecure about his baldness, although he never makes any attempts to alter his appearance. He also plays the martyr for the sake of others. When a citizen starts belittling the sacrifices of all of the low level heroes, Saitama feels empathy for them and finds a way to give them the credit they’re owed. However, he villainizes himself in the process. While it’s clear this bad reputation bothers him somewhat, he is never shown to get visibly upset and keeps his emotions in check as always. He’s also usually encouraging to those who get beaten in battle.