I really like this image from the manga.
Genos looks so young here. There is no doubt we’ve seen him progress quite a bit since his introduction. In this picture Saitama’s expression seems to be a bit, shall I say, worried? We’ve seen him actively trying to help Genos ‘calm down’, ‘relax’, ‘have some fun’.
Genos is not looking at anything in particular he’s processing, as usual, desperately trying to solve *the* problem. Effectively, how to be ‘good enough’, though in his mind ‘strong’ is unattainable.
Saitama and him almost live in two entirely different worlds even though they live together. Saitama experiences a world full of unpredictable inconveniences, rude people, stray pets, bureaucracy, a mostly mundane life. Genos lives in a world of monsters, threats, and a simple errand could be a life or death scenario, (more like the exciting experience of reading the manga or watching the anime the viewer has).
He’s already said he has no interest in being a hero but he has a strong sense of justice. So what could be in store for our divided hero, ‘Demon Cyborg’?
The guy literally does not believe it’s possible for him to obtain what he believes he’s searching for but he pursues it anyway.
It seems to have been established that in the OPM universe people have the power to obtain what they truly desire, what they believe in, or what becomes their obsession.
You’d think with the amount of time Genos spends thinking about and studying ‘strength’ or ‘power’ he’d have obtained it by now?
Genos and Saitama spend so much time talking past each other. For one thing, Genos is having a hard time understanding why or accepting that ‘fun’ can be a legitimate reason to do something. That not everything has to be ‘training’ related. Unfortunately, that inability to recognise the importance of ‘fun’ may be a key contributing factor to his inability to understand the source of Saitama’s true strength. After all, Saitama is a “hero for fun” first and primarily.
Genos is an extremely successful hero, a proficient fighter, strong as hell. But he’s so fundamentally unhappy. He’s so wound up he can find danger around every corner. When we do things for fun we’re not so fragile, we’re happy to make mistakes because it’s a part of the process, and eventually -even if we’re made fun of in the beginning- we become proficient in the things that give us joy.
Kind of makes one wonder what would make him happy?
Would he actually be happy if he was able to defeat the cyborg that destroyed his village? (doubtful)
Is protecting people really what makes him happy? (possibly that has been hinted at on a few occasions)
Hope he figures it out someday.
