Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Let’s talk about One-Punch Man. ONE’s most popular work. While Mob Psycho 100 was the fan favorite, there’s no denying that One-Punch Man was the popular story. The idea of a superhero beating all of his opponents with one punch on paper sounds like a boring idea, but ONE executed the idea so well that he made magic. The build-up to each punch was fantastic and there was a great cast of characters. Despite being an OP character, Saitama had a likable personality. He could be silly but still get excited whenever a strong opponent would appear. He was easygoing but wouldn’t put up with people’s shit. He has this overwhelming power but could still get annoyed by a fly who won’t leave him alone. Safe to say the series was a hit and only got bigger with the anime that came out in 2015. With Madhouse throwing their all into the animation, the anime would go on to become AOTY. With the success of the anime everyone was excited for season 2 and when it was announced for 2019 people were happy. We couldn’t wait to see Madhouse blow the roof once again and- *Article showing Madhouse not working on season 2 pops up* GAHHHHHH~! In keeping with their we don’t do season 2 policy (except for Overlord), Madhouse was out and passed production of the anime to J.C. Staff (DanMachi). Fans were not happy about this. Now with all due respect to J.C. Staff, they have done good animes with solid animation but nothing on the caliber of Madhouse and if that wasn’t bad enough they were covering a boring part of the manga. Yep, the cards were stacked against them but J.C. Staff didn’t back down and produced the anime. How’d they do? Well let’s find out. This is One-Punch Man S2.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening is “Seijaku no Apostle” by JAM Project. I didn’t care for this opening. Mostly because I can’t understand anything they’re saying. And no it’s not because of the language barrier, I really have no idea what they’re saying. I will say the instrumental is good and the foreshadowing in the animation was nice.
The ending is “Chizu ga Nakutemo Modoru kara” by Makoto Furukawa. It’s a beautiful song and the fact that it’s sung by Saitama’s VA adds more weight to it. He just has the right pitch and emotion here.
Episodes 1-4
So we start the season off by focusing on the hero known as King said to be the strongest human in the world (the Shazam of this universe). We see how his mere presence makes every villain he comes across give up in fear of him but in truth, he’s not like that at all. The real King is a 29-year-old antisocial unemployed video game otaku with no powers at all who spends his free time playing videogames and is just an average human (sounds roughly like the average internet troll). So why does everyone think he’s so strong? Well, have you wondered why Saitama hasn’t received any recognition for his past deeds? Look no further. Through the power of bad luck (and because the author demands it) King was always at the place where Saitama would be fighting. Since Saitama never stuck around to claim he did it and King was the one standing over the corpse of the destroyed villain when everyone arrived, he received credit for Saitama’s deeds. The Hero Association made him an S-rank hero because of this and like an idiot he didn’t come out and tell the truth (he’s like Hercule from DBZ minus the delusions and male bravado). As King is returning from the video store, a giant robot challenges him to a fight to test its strength. King makes up the excuse to go to the bathroom and bails on the fight scared for his life. Genos appears (all shiny like a toy on Christmas morning) and fights the robot while King goes home to play his new game (asshole move but I get where he’s coming from). Saitama followed him back to his place where he saves King from a giant monster bird that crashed into his apartment (it happens to the best of us) where King’s secret gets exposed and Saitama isn’t mad at him. He instead says he’ll come back to play videogames with King, tells King to get stronger, and takes his leave. Meanwhile, Genos defeats the robot all by himself (it’s a miracle) and takes some of the parts back to the doctor that turned him into a cyborg and the hopes that he can use these parts to make himself stronger (man, the new Megaman is a lot darker than I originally thought). Back at the Hero association there’s a rise in dangerous threat levels happening in all the cities. In order to combat this threat, the Hero association has reached out to villains in the hopes of asking them for assistance (we don’t need their scum). Sonic is there but quickly leaves as he was only there to look for Saitama (dude, you’re one of the few people who survived a fight against Saitama. I would call that a win and go home) and it turns out Blizzard is also looking for Saitama.
Episode 2 starts us back at the Hero Association where the heroes on standby are totally against the idea of working with villains (that’s a little prejudiced) and one man among the villains named Garo calls out everyone in the room to fight him. Garo is neither a villain nor a hero, he’s a monster who craves destruction for everyone around him (and he’s one of the main highlights in the upcoming arc). He easily defeats the heroes on standby in bloody fashion and then defeats all of the villains in no time flat before taking his leave saying that he’ll return in 6 months stronger than ever. We then cut to Saitama who receives a visit from Sonic who wants another fight (are you a masochist Sonic?) but Genos gets to him first and the two go off to fight each other. 20 minutes later, Blizzard arrives with her lackeys and tells Saitama to join up with her faction or else. For those of you who don’t know, Blizzard, is the number 1 B-ranked hero as well as Tornado’s little sister (and just like Tornado she’s a brat) meaning she’s an esper too. Throughout her whole life she’s never been number one at anything because of Tornado but is determined to one day surpass her sister and claim her spot at the top. Saitama refuses her invitation so she sics her lackeys on him (you sent them to their doom), but Saitama beats them with one punch (they’re still breathing. He held back). Blizzard attacks him but none of her attacks do anything to Saitama who berates Blizzard for using such cowardly tactics. Their fight soon gets interrupted by Genos and Sonic where Genos shows his amazing speed where he’s only half a second slower than Sonic who shows off the results of his training by moving so fast that he creates afterimages of himself. Saitama finally steps in to fight Sonic where Blizzard believes he’ll lose but gets the shock of her life as she sees Saitama take down Sonic with sidesteps (never underestimate the sidesteps). With the fighting done they go back to Saitama’s place to talk where Blizzard tells them her goal and how she refuses to go up to A-rank for two reasons. The first reason is because 3 of the top 4 A-rank heroes are heroes trained by S-rank hero Atomic Samurai (so?). The second reason, Amai Mask is the top-ranked A hero who is crazy strong and doesn’t want to move up to S-rank. He considers himself the gatekeeper of the S-rank heroes and won’t let anyone he deems unworthy to become an S-rank no matter what (and after what we saw in the first season, I say he’s the kind of guy who would kill another hero without thinking twice about it). King drops by to get back his game that Saitama stole from him and Blizzard is shocked once again at how Saitama has so many connections to S-rank heroes.
Nothing much to say about episode 3. We focus primarily on Garo who we find out was a pupil of Bang until he was banished from the dojo for being so weak (every monster has a Dr. Frankenstein). Garo goes on a rampage defeating heroes left and right such as Tank Top Master, Mumen Rider (you will pay for that), the rest of the Tank Top gang, an associate of the Hero Association, some C-rank heroes, A-rank heroes, and even Bang’s apprentice Charanko falls victim to Garo. We see how other heroes recognize him as a human but can sense a monster deep within him (I would make the argument that he’s worse than a monster. A monster just relies on its strength to win fights. Garo, he actually takes the time to analyze his opponents and come up with the best counters to win. He’s a monster that knows how to think and adapt). He eventually does meet his match at the hands of Saitama who knocks him out not knowing that Garo is a wanted man and continues to a wig shop to buy a wig in order to enter a martial arts tournament disguised as Charanko.
In episode 4 we start off by looking into Garo’s past. As a kid he always found himself cheering for the monster instead of the hero (which is understandable. Monsters had the cooler designs than the heroes and had more variety from a character standpoint. They could be loud and over the top, devious and subtle, maniacal and destructive, or even sentimental and relatable). To him, monsters just like heroes had goals and ambitions that they were working hard to achieve but they would always get stopped by the hero who would always win. After that flashback, the episode shifts to Saitama who has entered the martial arts tournament under the disguise of Charanko and then we focus primarily on the S-rank hero Metal Bat (the Yankee with the bat who you will say is a Jojo reference). We see him get stuck with playing bodyguard to a sponsor of the Hero Association and his son (they’re both ugly). They’re eating at a sushi house when all of a sudden they get attacked by monster bugs (or creepy crawlers if they were actually scary). Metal Bat manages to beat the bugs (who needs bug spray when you got a bat) but their senpais show up to fight so he has to fight them all by himself in a fight that’s. . .very underwhelming (in the manga this fight was very cool and badass. It made readers become fans of Metal Bat who at this point was just seen as a Yankee with a bat. Here, the guy is literally facing dragon-level threats one after another and he’s not backing down at all. He’s more worried that his little sister is mad at him for not taking her shopping). The new bugs do manage to beat up Metal Bat quite a bit but he bounces back up and manages to defeat them both. Just when it looks like he’ll have a breather the biggest centipede the world has ever seen arrives and Metal Bat not only has to fight him but he has to deal with Garo who has just arrived onto the scene and wants to fight (give this guy a break).
Episodes 5-8
Nothing much to say about episode 5 except one word, monsters. Monsters have invaded all the cities. They’re fighting heroes and winning (just goes to prove that the Hero Association favors quantity over quality. Always go for quality). We do see Metal Bat fight against Garo where Garo is able to dodge all of Metal Bat’s amateurish attacks and beat him. Just when Metal Bat plays possum and has an opening he gets stopped by his sister Zenko who went out looking for him. Promising to never expose his sister to violence, Metal Bat stops fighting and Zenko tells Garo to leave which he does (wow, next to Saitama she might just be the strongest character in the show). Garo gets approached by some monsters who were impressed with his skills and invite him to their association, but he’s not interested. While all of this is going on, the martial arts tournament has begun where Saitama is in the weak block and wins the first round easily (at this rate, Saitama is gonna learn nothing about martial arts).
We start episode 6 with the next match in the tournament which is the A-rank hero Lightning Max taking on last year’s champion and crowd favorite, Suiryu (this dude looks like the protagonist of every hero in a martial arts manga. (Yin-Yang): Correction. You’re a dude. This is a man. A very beautiful and handsome man. (Nitsuj): Your tail is wagging eccentrically). Suiryu makes quick work of Max and advances on in the tournament where he goes on to face Snek and we find out he’s a lazy guy who believes in the survival of the fittest. He’s not fighting to get stronger or to find worthy opponents. He just fights for the money so he can live a good life (Yin-Yang: I take it back. He’s a scumbag with a pretty face. (Nitsuj): Your tail is still wagging. (Yin-Yang): It’s my body). Saitama also wins his next match by defeating another fan favorite competitor, Bakuzan. Genos finds out about the monsters and goes to fight them where he does a good job defeating the monsters in the area. We get to see Tornado save Blizzard from a monster and Blizzard sees Saitama’s words come back to haunt her.
In episode 7 the S-class heroes finally start to make their move and they start to clear out the monsters. Back at the martial arts tournament, Saitama reaches the finals where he faces Suiryu (was there anybody else you were expecting to see in the finals?). They have their fight where Saitama gets exposed and is disqualified (boo~, let them fight) but Suiryu keeps on fighting to prove he’s the strongest. He hits Saitama with everything he’s got which doesn’t faze Saitama in the least (man, he’s like The Undertaker back in the late 80s and early 90s. He doesn’t sell for anyone). Saitama hits Suiryu with a hip attack to knock him out and runs away before security catches him as Suiryu sits there in disbelief as for the first time ever he’s been defeated.
We start episode 8 with the end of the martial arts tournament where Suiryu is declared the winner but the place finally gets attacked by monsters and last year’s champion Gotetsu who became a monster as well. He brings out monster cells and gives the fighters a choice to either die or become a monster by eating the monster cells (they taste like salmon). Some of the fighters eat the cells and become monsters with Suiryu fighting and beating them in order to take a girl on a date (yep, that’s good motivation). However, he knows he’s no match for Gotetsu who outclasses him in everything. As he lays there with his body broken and about to die he cries for help (for the heroes he mocked earlier) and gets saved by Saitama (you guys are dead).
Episodes 9-12
In episode 9 Saitama defeats Bakuzan who turned into a monster in order to avenge his loss from earlier. Saitama then goes to fight Gotetsu much to Suiryu’s distress as he doesn’t want Saitama to die (oh that’s cute he’s worried about Saitama when he should be worried about the monster). He’s finally found someone he can call a hero and he doesn’t want anything to happen to him. Saitama of course beats Gotetsu and then heads out into the city to fight more monsters only to find that they’ve retreated with the sponsor’s son as a hostage and a few others. As Saitama walks the streets he begins to wonder what it is he’s doing anymore. Despite becoming a hero he’s still bored (and awesome) and hasn’t come across a worthy challenge yet (you have become the Ryu of this series). He runs into King who gives him words of encouragement and as they walk the empty streets together, they get spotted by Garo who tries to attack King only to get kicked away by Saitama (today has not been his day. Now that I think about it, it hasn’t been anyone’s day). In another part of the episode, Sonic gets approached by 2 other ninjas like him who invite him to join the Monster Association. They give him a monster cell to eat and he decides to eat it. Not because he believes in their cause, but because he wants to defeat Saitama. Rather than eat it raw like everyone else, he cooks it and gets diarrhea (wow, the first food where you’re encouraged to eat it raw). Next up is Zombieman, an S-class hero who’s tailing one of the monsters only to witness it get knocked out by an all too familiar face and he decides to start trailing them instead.
Nothing much happens in episode 10. It starts with the Monster Association sending a message to the Hero Association. They have the arrogant brat hostage and give the heroes 3 days to come and rescue him. The goal of the monsters is to get all of their strongest heroes in one place, wipe them out, and force humanity into extinction (Attack on Monster. The anime writes itself). We focus on Garo who got injured from Saitama’s kick last episode and is hurting pretty badly. He takes up shelter at a shack but a number of heroes find him and attack him where they each got him locked down in CQC, mid-range and long-range combat, and he’s too injured to out-run them so his only option is to overcome these odds and come out on top.
Episode 11 is an action-packed episode from beginning to end (sadly, it also features some of the best animation from the season). Garo overcomes the odds and manages to beat all the heroes one by one but one of them sent the call out for backup and the one who answered the call was Genos. Genos and Garo have a short fight before it gets interrupted by the Monster Association who has come to back up Genos (do monsters have bad hearing? He said no). Garo once again refuses to join them and Genos takes them out with ease. Just when the two are about to resume their fight, Bang and his brother, Bomb, show up where Bang takes over ready to kill his former student.
In the final episode we start with Bang beating the shit out of Garo who has no defense against Bang’s attack. Just when it looks like Bang is about to end this, Garo causes the ground to break with his fighting spirit (are we sure this guy isn’t from DBZ?) and this allows a monster from the Monster Association to come to his aid and fly him to safety much to his protest. A giant centipede monster named Centichoro comes out and attacks Genos, Bang and Bomb to cover Genos’s escape. Bang and Bomb hit Centichoro with their ultimate attacks to destroy the body but Centichoro molts his skin off to survive (and if you think watching a normal insect molt is disgusting, try watching a giant insect molt. It’s much worse). Genos decides to get reckless and attack Centichoro head on only to lose a foot and almost get digested. With all their moves exhausted, Bang decides to sacrifice his life so that the others can get to safety until King lures Centichoro to him where Saitama delivers his punch to destroy Centichoro (seriously, Saitama just Thanos’d that guy).
Final Thoughts
And that was season 2 of One Punch Man. It’s by no means the banger like its predecessor but not entirely bad either. This season had the unfortunate job of covering the boring parts of the manga and serving as a build-up for the huge battle to come against the Monster Association but there are a few good moments scattered throughout the season. The designs of the monsters are creative, we get to see more heroes and how strong they are, and seeing Saitama one shot his opponents will never get boring. If I had to name the highlight of this season it would be Garo. The writing for this character is great. He’s not a villain he’s an anti-hero/monster who wants to prove that he’s the strongest out of everyone whether they be hero, villain, or in-between. Despite his crusade against heroes he doesn’t team up with the monsters because his goal isn’t to destroy humanity. I love how he analyzes his opponents, adapts to them, and comes up with strategies to defeat them on the fly. Next to Saitama he might just be the most dangerous person in this anime and I look forward to the confrontation between these two down the road.
The animation is a huge step back from Madhouse’s animation. Let’s be honest, we all knew this was coming when the change in studios was announced but give J.C Staff credit they did the best they could for this anime. The fight scenes are decent. Garo’s fights were the best as he kept on studying and adapting to defeat his opponents. Even when he loses he doesn’t despair. He escapes, analyzes what he messed up on, an comes back ready to fight. And of course seeing Saitama one punch everyone is always satisfying. Again, you would think it be boring and old quick but nope, it’s still fun to watch.
Final Score
The final score for One-Punch Man S2 is a 6/10. Not the best follow-up to an amazing first season but the team behind it did follow the manga and did the best they could. They were behind an eight-ball. No matter what they did they were going to get flack for it. I am excited to hear a third season is finally on the way and it’s being done by the same studio. Hopefully, they’ll be able to deliver a great season better than this season. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next on Project Nitsuj.