I wish I could say the sequel for one of the most popular anime of this
year to be good. I really wish I could. One Punch Man’s release back in
2015 made headlines with its high caliber animation quality and ultra
comical character cast. The manga itself is also very popular. Ask
anyone who’ve read the series will tell you that it’s more than just
your usual battle shounen. Known for its top notch quality comedy and
unorthodox storytelling, it’s a sensation. But this…second season is
nothing short of a horror story. It’s the type of horror that scared me
to realize how far
this anime has fallen. What did the second season go wrong?
Well for starters, there’s the change in the staff. Director Shingo
Natsume left this season and responsibilities were handed to Chikara
Sakurai. One of their previous project was Majimoji Rurumo, a show that
probably most people has forgotten by now. One Punch Man has already
established itself beyond the anime medium and with a growing
popularity, it tries to aim higher. However, fans coming into this
season shouldn’t have any high expectations especially if we take a look
at the promotional material. While the key visual doesn’t turn heads
away, the preview will. With the J.C. Staff in charge of this sequel,
this raised a lot of red flags. In respect, the animation quality
severely suffers in quality. Rather than a sharp, crisp quality
animation with stylish aesthetics, we get static-like power point
slides. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but this second season’s quality is
easy to point fingers to. Unfortunately, it seems J.C. Staff couldn’t
handle the job of making this into a sensation again. They already have
their hands full with a lot of projects this year after all.
Storytelling itself doesn’t improve much either if we talk about the
main plot. Again, I really wish I could say the opposite but this sequel
proves itself to be a tragedy. From the rushing of certain content to
underwhelming delivery of some of the important fights, I felt no impact
from this season at all. Zero. Early on the in season, we also meet
Fubuki (Blizzard) who leads the B-Class hero group. At first, I was
ecstatic to finally see her gain some relevance. However, the fight
between her and Saitama passed like a flash. There’s almost no charisma
besides Saitama’s heroic speech and attitude. Even on a comedy level, it
didn't draw much popcorn entertainment. Similarly, many of the
dialogues this season sounds very scripted. As a manga reader, I wanted
to see much more than characters speaking their lines. What I got
instead is just words and words coming out in a desaturated manner.
Saitama is still the bald caped hero with unstoppable power. The first
season captured the magic of his character while this sequel didn’t move
the needle. What I mean is Saitama’s fight against adversaries this
season isn’t even near the caliber as the previous season.
But it’s not always fair to compare the previous season with this
continuation, right? Truth to be told, season 1 did set the bar high.
Known for its visual dynamics and ONE’s creative writing, One Punch Man
has always done all it could to be its own special series. Here, it’s
lost the fire. People made memes out of One Punch Man because it was
comically entertaining in a genuine way. Here, there’s worthy made
besides weak impressions. Even the hero hunter Garou didn’t make much of
an impact. As a foil character to Saitama, I expected his personality
to be a bright flair. However, Garou ended up being someone that I
forgot easily. Perhaps it’s because the overall directing of the show as
several events takes place at once this season. There’s the fighting
tournament involving various heroes, the invasion of the monsters, and
Saitama living his day as usual as a hero. The joke of being one punched
is far over after we’ve seen it so many times. The monsters themselves
are hardly worth writing home about. To be honest, does any antagonist
this season even contain an ounce of charisma compared to Boros? That
fight from season 1 was legendary.
On the hero side, we do have some characters making reappearances. Names
like Genos, Metal Bat, and Tatsumaki are a few I’m sure fans remember.
Unfortunately, their roles this season has degenerated to little value.
New faces like Suiryu brings in some excitement although he can hardly
carry this season. In fact, the Super Fight Tournament arc felt like one
big talent show of weirdos gathering together. I didn’t feel the stakes
were impactful nor did the results feel satisfying. I mean, the show is
One Punch Man. Who else is going to dominate this tournament?
Oh how the mighty of fallen is the easiest way to describe One Punch Man
Season 2. The first season was a juggernaut that exceeded expectations.
Fans still embrace what became a blockbuster. It’s 2019 now and we’ll
have people talking again One Punch Man again. Unfortunately, people
will quote more from the manga than recommending this sequel. Trust me,
One Punch Man Second Season is a mistake. A grave mistake.
