Anime Review: One Punch Man 2nd Season Episode 2

One Punch Man 2nd Season Episode 2

Studio: J.C.Staff

Genre: Action, Comedy

Stream: Hulu

Human-Monster Garou finally reveals himself to the Hero Association, and Class B #1 Hero “Blizzard of Hell” Blizzard (or Fubuki as she’s known in Japan and how I’ll be referring to her because it’s how I’ve read her name all this time and I’m not about to change now, dammit) pays a visit to Saitama’s place to recruit him to the Fubuki Group. It feels like the gears are finally turning and the plot is slowly moving along.

Sitch, the Minister Officer of Justice for the Hero Association, has gathered criminals from around the world to prepare “the greatest catastrophe of our time” foretold by the renowned fortune-teller Shibabawa. In the midst of his meeting with these villains, however, Garou declares himself the source of Shibabawa’s prediction. Meanwhile, due to Saitama’s swift rise in hero rank, esper Fubuki seeks him out to attempt to add him to her Fubuki Group. Oh, and did I mention that everyone’s favorite ninja Speed-o’-Sound Sonic has returned to demand a rematch from Saitama? Of course, Genos is having none of this, so the two engage in combat.

So, here’s a big positive from me: the production quality in this episode compared to the first went up… a bit. Everything, from the opening and ending animations to the mundane still shots of characters just talking look much less clean and defined than they did in season one, but compared to last week’s episode there are a lot less sloppy shots and wonky-shaped bodies and faces in the episode. What’s more, most of the action scenes actually look somewhat dynamic and at times, dare I say, exciting. Genos still looks really bad, and J.C.Staff’s decision to render all metal and armor the way they did was a huge misstep in my opinion, but even Genos’ battle against Sonic looked better than his battle with the metal monster from the last episode. I’m not going to keep harping on how this season’s production falls short of Madhouse’s, but just assume that unless I say anything is better than season one it isn’t. I’m also still not crazy about the OP or ED songs, but they work for the series fine. The actual soundtrack of the show is pretty enjoyable, however, and most of the action scenes are accompanied with songs that enhance the mood.

Like I said previously, it feels like the story is starting to progress with this second episode. Not holding that against the first episode; episode 1 was a great opening with its simple standalone story to introduce a new main character. But episode 2 feels more connected to the overarching narrative and gets me excited for the upcoming Hero Hunter arc. Also, fully introducing Garou and Fubuki, who were teased at the end of last week’s episode, gets me even more excited for things to come as both of them are favorites of mine from the manga. All in all, episode 2 feels more and more like the show I love.

As long as One Punch Man‘s second season continues to improve (or at the very least maintain) its production quality and deliver the humor and characters that we all love from the series, I’ll be happy with this show. I’m looking forward to seeing how this season unfolds in the upcoming weeks.