What would happen if someone trained like the characters in battle manga do? That's what Ayashimon from Yuji Kaku explores in its first chapter. Released by Shonen Jump, many fans are already drawing comparisons to One Punch Man, as the main character trains to the point that he's stronger than an average human. However, unlike Saitama, Maruo Kaido didn't train to fight monsters in particular. He just thought that Goku and other characters looked cool, especially after the fights when they were all bandaged up. He followed their training regimens because he wanted to become a manga protagonist. However, the results are more lackluster than he initially anticipated.
Throughout the chapter, Maruo goes from place to place looking for a job, but his strength is to the point that he can't even pat someone's shoulder without causing them pain. He's been expelled from school for beating up an entire student body, and nobody will hire him because he can't control the strength he worked so hard to gain. On top of having an abusive father, things haven't been easy for him.
However, things begin looking up when he has a manga-esque encounter, saving a girl being chased by a gang of thugs. He's then hired by the girl, who's revealed to be the head of a monstrous yakuza group -- literally. Known as Ayashimon, they are a group of supernatural beings that move within Japan's gangs. This only excites Maruo, who accepts Urara's job offer and becomes a member of her gang.
One parallel that fans are drawing is that Maruo trains and fights for the excitement of it, much like Goku does in Dragon Ball. Both sought to become stronger, but ultimately, it was unfulfilling in daily life. It doesn't matter how much training you go through, strength doesn't mean you'll be happy. Maruo's strength interferes with his ability to interact with other humans. He's kicked out of every gym and dojo he goes to because he ends up destroying the machines and knocking out all the other fighters. He can't even get a bakery job because he damages all of the bread. He fights for excitement, but the rest of the world doesn't operate on that kind of mentality.
That's a lesson Goku has to learn as well. While there are professional fighters, being the strongest person on the planet doesn't matter. Fighting for the sake of fighting doesn't pay the bills, and nor does it bring true happiness when there's no new challenge ahead. Once at the top, all that's left to do is look on as the rest of the world tries to catch up. It's a hard lesson to learn for those who spend their entire lives trying to achieve a singular goal and focus on nothing else. It may be fine in manga and anime, but in the real world, there's more to life than being strong.
