User blog:TCalderon/Infinite Source's Saitama vs All Might - An Unbridled Rage

I decided to watch Infinite Source's Saitama vs All Might... and now I wanna have a rant. So here we go.

For those of you who don't know who Infinite Source is... Ah, who am I kidding, if you're on this wiki, you know who Infinite Source is. He's a rap battle creator who's become infamous for more or less making the most generic and samey battles you can find in this community. His shit is pretty much the same, but I can't help but be a little fascinated by his career in this community. Mostly because I was there when his channel reached the current state that it's in. I used to be a fan of his rap battles back during the early years of his channel (back when he was "InfiniteSource360" and his series used to be called "Epic Rap Battles of Cartoon History", and Captain Planet was in a battle. Yeah). True, even back then, his battles weren't particularly "good" and were nowhere near ERB's quality, I actually found his stuff to be rather enjoyable, especially compared to the utter shitstain that was the early ERB fan community. Most non-ERB rap battles at that time were poorly edited, had garbage sound quality, and the rapping and writing almost consistently sounded like they came from someone without a clear grasp on the English language. It was a dark time for someone who wanted to get their rap battle goodness from a different source (heh) during the breaks between Epic Rap Battles of History's uploads. But, the thing is...

It's 2019, now.

All those unnamed rap battle creators that I just trashed on? They all grew up and perfected their craft (that is when they haven't retired, turned out to be a dick, or both), with better flows and voice work, better editing, clever and funny lyrics, and just a higher standard of quality overall. Hell, a select few battles could even compete with ERB!

Whereas Infinite Source basically found a formula that clicked with his fans, and never really... strayed away from it. You can kinda see it start to form in his battles starting from Goku vs Superman up to Zelda vs Peach (the latter being the first time he used the iconic blue background for every one of his thumbnails). You know how it goes! The spinning globe, the obnoxious and talkative announcer, the "It's the"s, the gameplay footage, and the matchups consisting of exclusively comic book characters (almost always a DC or Marvel character, sometimes to coincide with a big superhero movie release), video game characters (almost always a Smash Bros or a Mortal Kombat character) and anime characters (almost always a Shonen Jump character, almost always a character from Dragon Ball Z and Naruto, almost always Goku, Vegeta, Naruto, and Sasuke, no exceptions). That last is particularly egregious for me, who's running an anime rap battle series on this wiki. It's been this way for years, and it don't look to be changing anytime soon.

But this particular matchup, Saitama vs All Might, intrigued me. For one, it's not the characters I listed above, and it's representing One Punch Man and My Hero Acadamia; two shows I hold near and dear to my heart. Now this guy is stepping on MY territory! This time it's personal. Let's see how he portrays these two characters. (God, I wrote a whole paragraph worth of words and I haven't even gotten to the battle itself. I really AM mimmicking MauLer, huh?)

The original battle: [//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xtat9ptGrY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xtat9ptGrY]

ANNOUNCER:

It's time for a Source Rap Battle

(Can it not be?)

It's the powerful Saitama

Goin' up against All Might

Who's gonna take the win?

(Pause)

'''Ha! Let's go!'''

(Took you long enough.)

Caped Baldy:

Give it for Mr. One Hit Quit, take a lesson

(Aaaaaaand he doesn't even try to do an impression. In fact, he doesn't try to emulate the original character at all! Saitama is supposed to be, more or less, a regular dude who just so happens to be the strongest hero in his world. He can take on godlike threats to the world, but he still goes grocery shopping, and gets annoyed by misquitos and such. He's supposed to have an unlikely demeanor, but here, Source tries to make him sound... I dunno, monotone? Wise? It kinda reminds me of his voice for Mewtwo, honestly. I guess this just an excuse for Source to not give any actual emotion to his delivery, like usual. Granted, Saitama is usually monotone, but he CAN be expressive, y'know?

Started out as a hero, but just for fun, never stressin'

(Bitch, you're still a hero, whatcha talkin' 'bout?)

You'll recognize me coming through, sleek with my cape on

'''I see him flexin' over there. That deserves a facepalm'''

(That line deserves a facepalm, alright. And how is All Might supposed to "recognize you", exactly? No one aside from the other heroes even knows who you are, and when citizens DO see you, they typically think you're just an asshole.)

The Mighty Saitama, and yes I can, like Obama

(*snickers* Okay, that was funny.)

I keep it lowkey unlike this almighty drama

(I like the premise behind this line (basically saying that Saitama doesn't really care about fame and fortune by the end of season one of One Punch Man, whereas All Might is incredibly famous and well known in the My Hero universe) and I like the "almighty" pun, but the wording is weak and not as hard hitting as a line like that, which creates a direct contrast between these two characters and their idealogies, should be. Plus it's vague as hell, so I might've just invented the meaning of that line for you!)

Sidekick Genos rolling with, though I never need assistance

(That line gives me nothing to really work with, so I think it's time to bring up the visuals for Saitama's parts here. Usually, Source likes to exclusively use gameplay footage for whatever character he's using, but since there is no One Punch Man game... *cough*ATTHETIMEOFTHISBATTLE'SRELEASE*cough* Source instead opted to use clips from the actual show! And it's boring. Look, I'm not asking for CMRB or Skeeptiel levels of editing here; just gimme more interesting clips to look at that fit with whatever line you're applying it to. Just compare this snoozefest to Alex Keyblade's Midoriya vs Saitama, and watch as the differences are made. Or just watch that battle instead, anyway. It's in Spanish, but it's still a much better battle featuring these anime than this.)

Potentially the most powerful being in existence

(Shrek, Big Chungus, Farmer with a Shotgun, Ricardo Milos, and Shaggy would like to have a word with you... There, I acknowledged them. You memers happy now?!)

Muscle Man:

The number one hero and the symbol of peace

Give hope to those in trouble while you scrap in the streets

(Yep, yep, that's what you are, All Might. Also, this voice sucks. All Might has a deep voice, yes, but he's supposed to BOOMING and full of confidence when in his buff form! This guy sounds like he's ready to snooze. And he does the "laugh in the background" thing again. At least it's in character, this time.)

'''Beloved by all. I teach foundational studies'''

(...Wha?! Dude, you're a teacher at a school for superheroes. I doubt that reading and writing or other studies at a regular school are necessarily gonna help when battling a dangerous supervillain.)

And under different circumstances, bet we could've been buddies

(What's stopping you from being buddies, though? You're both strong. You're both heroes. I know I said that your views on fame and shit was different, but you two are still ultimately on the same side. Unless Saitama is actually the U.A. traitor! Can't wait to see that in season 4!)

My fame and recognition fly while I chill at U.A. High

(You don't seem very chill, you're beating the shit out of poor Ochako! Dude, what did my gravity-baby do to you?!)

Don't be jealous, little B-Class, I'm that guy

(I like how the words flash up like that's supposed to be some hard hitting diss. I mean, it could be a hard hitting one (Saitama being unknown whereas All Might is the number one hero), but the wording isn't there. And even if it was, the delivery wouldn't be there either.)

It's Toshinori Yagi, always have a smile on my face

(Fun isn't something one considers when watching a Source Rap Battle.)

It's One For All, and you're one big disgrace

(Gah, even if these lyrics were interesting, this beat is doing the matchup no favors. I know I shouldn't expect for Source's battles to be catchy, but this is particularly egregious considering how both of these anime have such banger soundtracks! Check out the opening theme to One Punch Man, any of the My Hero opening themes, as well as their kick-ass background music! It's the definition of hype! This is not hype. This is snooze. And your laughing isn't gonna change that!)

Caillou Shippuden:

A registered member of the Hero Association

(An association where most of the top members don't respect you much and don't recognize your talents. Your role in the assocation is basically what would happen if Superman was a janitor for the Justice League.)

I've yet to beat a foe that brings me any elation

(I mean, holding back or not, Boros sure gave you a challenge. So there's that at least.)

No one is on my level, sorry, that includes you

You're just a big blue and yellow fool for me to go through

(I mean, I'm no powerscaler, but I figured he'd give you at least a little challenge.)

Z-City champion, best of the best

'''You have a speech? Then keep the word count to 20 or less'''

(Oh hey, it's an actual reference to the source material! In case you don't know, there's a joke in OPM where Saitama gets really annoyed with Genos' long origin speech, and makes him shorten it down to, indeed, 20 words or less. That's... yeah, that was unexpected for Source to pull a line like that.)

'''Yoshinori is inadequate. Try to battle, you're bad at it'''

My hero game's miraculous, that's why my records immaculate

(Okay, you get one more point for the rhyme scheme there.)

Japanese Johnny Bravo:

'''It's One For All. Just give All Might the ball'''

(You already referenced One For All. And what are we, playing football now?!)

I'll show Mr. Clean here just how far he can fall

(One minute and forty three seconds until you made a joke about Saitama being bald. Not bad. But you lose points for already using the Mr. Clean reference in Naruto vs Aang... Yeah, I checked.)

Gran Torino taught me everything I know

A golden age hero and the mightyest pro

(Hey, is anyone gonna mention All Might's small form? Y'know, the result of his injury that's slowly making him lose his hero status? The form he's in for almost half of his appearances in the show? Kinda the reason why he was looking for an heir to pass One For All to? The reason why he's training Deku to be his successor, the whole premise of the show?... no? Alright.)

Saitama is no match, you don't want me to hit the gas

(What, are you gonna fart on him?)

A focused straight chop, end him with a Missouri Smash

(The Missouri Smash is in fact a powerful chop, so points there. Not the ultimate finishing move I would go for, but whatever.)

Superhuman skill, just ask my students, they all know

(A little off topic, but is it me, or do some of the students in MHA look like god damned adults? I mean, Deku and Ochako and a couple of others are definitely teens, but Momo looks like she's twenty five, and Iida could pass for someone's dad. I dunno, I'm just looking to make conversation at this point.)

Taking Mr. One Punch Chump down in one blow

(Gunshot)

'''Ho man! That was ruthless!'''

(Keep telling yourself that, buddy.)

Who took the win?

(Ochako took the win; she needs it to pay for her hospital bill)

Who the hell is next?

(Superman, Batman, Goku, Vegeta, Sonic, Deadpool, Scorpion, Naruto-)

This was a Source Rap Battle

(Kill me)

S-Source Music

(Kill me now. Dew it.)

-

So that was Saitama vs All Might by Infinite Source. I dunno what I expected, honestly. It's more or less the same shit as all the rest, and I'm getting pretty sick of it. And so are Source's fans, from the look of it, seeing how the views on this battle and on the other more recent ones have been basically dead, never peaking beyond fifty thousand or so when he used to have a hundred thousand to a million on his battles! Future's not looking too bright for the guy. I should feel bad, but then I remember that he basically scammed his fanbase on two occasions. And now I feel nothing.

So, that was first Rap Battle Review! I'm not sure if this'll be a regular thing for me, but it was fun to write regardless! Feel free to gimme any criticisms you have, and I'll be sure to take note. My next proper battle will be soon. As will my verses for the Compliment Tourney. Take care! :)

If I do another review, what should I tackle next? Skeep Tieel's Spike vs Steven Universe Anime Rap Battles' Natsu vs Edward Elric Moleman's Epic Rap Battles (I'm thinking Aang vs Ben 10 or Peter Parker vs Seth Brundle)