It’s been four really long years since we saw Saitama
beat the ever living crap out of Boros and save the world. You know, it’s surprising the world of Anime
has had to wait so long for the return of One Punch Man. One would think that, after it hit the ground
and destroyed it, that the studio would be chomping at the bit to churn more
out ASAP. Part of me suspects that the
Manga wasn’t nearly along enough to do such a thing, so a long waiting game has
been played. Since then, My Hero
Academia has stepped up to fill the void left in Saitama and Genos’
absence. But with Hero Aca not back til
later in 2019, it looks like the time is right for Saitama’s epic return.
Like everyone else, I was a little concerned that the
sudden change in production staff for Season Two of One Punch Man would affect
the show big time. It’s rare that a
first season of any Anime does so much so right and is a legend in its own
right (FLCL, Psycho Pass for example). I
am happy to report that despite the moving on of Production I.G., Season Two of
One Punch Man has lost none of what made the first season so special. In fact, it’s back in spades, all of it: the
action, the outrageous personalities that inhabit this fun little world, and,
of course, Saitama’s simple take commentary on life, the universe and
herodom. His laid back and nonchelante
reactions to everything around him have been sorely missed. From giant monsters appearing to realizing
that a top notch hero is just a loser taking credit for his wins, Saitama takes
it with the greatest of chill and the most optimistic of attitudes. Indeed, in a world in chaos, Saitama’s just
doing his own thing and not much else and that’s perfectly ok. I do wish we’d gotten to see him fight a
little. Most of the action of the first
episode is left to Genos, which hey nothing wrong with that at all, the metal
bad ass has still got it.
As the final minutes of the first episode and the new
intro suggest, it looks like we’re going deeper into Saitama’s world than ever
before. We got to see familiar faces
like hilarious ninja Speed Of Sound Sonic and brand newcomers like Blizzard
(who I think might be sister to the always awesome Terrible Tornado Tatsumaki). We also got a tease that something big is
coming this season, a promise of doom for the world based on the new high level
threats coming to look for Saitama. It’s
hard to imagine something greater than Boros coming to cause our guy trouble. But if One Punch Man knows anything, its how
to ramp up the action and scope to unbelievable levels. I’m excited to see the return of other fan
favs like Mumen Rider and my gal Tatsumaki, while getting to know new false
hero King and Blizzard, and seeing how they get mixed up in Saitama and Genos’
next adventures.
Damn, it is so good to have One Punch Man back. Saitama’s level of humor, strength and chill
has been greatly missed. Yeah we had to
wait four years and a few things have changed but I still feel this is a great
companion piece to My Hero Academia and still as entertaining as it ever was in
Season One. One Punch Man’s potential to
do amazing things has never been doubted in my mind and Episode One of Season
Two has set the table nicely for a new level of insane action and gut busting
humor. Welcome back Saitama and Genos.
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