One-Punch Man Season 2
Alternate Title
ワンパンマン(第2期)
Synopsis
Season 2 continues the ongoing story of impossibly strong and bald Saitama AKA One-Punch Man. Previously, in Season 1, Saitama had dispatched terrifyingly powerful villains such as Deep Sea King, Carnage Kabuto, and Vaccine Man with, as you may have guessed, one punch. Purchasing groceries on a budget and rising in the ranks of the Hero Association proved to be more challenging for OPM than the aforementioned enemies. Season 1 also introduced Saitama to Genos, a cyborg-type hero who decided to appoint himself as the bald powerhouse’s disciple. This next set of story arcs in Season 2 will undoubtedly cover more of the pair’s mundane day-to-day lifestyle, dive deeper into the backgrounds of supporting characters within the Hero Association, and reveal even tougher villains who will be obliterated in one punch by Saitama.
Background
One-Punch Man was originally created as a webcomic by prolific author ONE (Mob Psycho 100). It was later adapted into a manga series by Yusuke Murata. Studio Madhouse released a 12 episode anime adaption in 2015 that was directed by Shingo Natsume and written by Tomohiro Suzuki. The anime was highly praised for its incredible action sequences, quality animation, and sense of humor. An additional six short OVA episodes were bundled with the Blu-ray/DVD release.
The long-awaited season 2 of OPM is finally set to air during the Spring 2019 anime season. While most of the voice actors are reprising their roles from the first season, animation has been taken over by studio J.C. Staff (Food Wars! series and Akame Ga KILL!) with Chikara Sakurai acting as the new director. Stylistic differences from the first season, if any, have yet to be revealed. Rock band JAM Project is once again producing the opening theme song, titled "Seijaku no Apostle" (Quiet Apostle).
Characters
Saitama (Japanese: Makoto Furukawa / English: Max Mittelman)
The main character. He does not actually refer to himself as The One Punch Man. He has a blindingly shiny bald head and wears a one-piece yellow suit with red gloves, red boots, and a white cape. He lives in a small apartment in City Z. Saitama, once an ordinary human, has grown to be quite possibly the strongest being in the series. Despite this incredible feat, he is designated only as a B-class hero by the Hero Association (a lower rank than heroes of A- and S-class) by the end of Season 1. He does not do hero work for admiration, status or glory as many other heroes do. He dreams of one day fighting an opponent who can actually put up a good challenge against him physically because every villain he fights tends to die from one punch.
Genos (Japanese: Kaito Ishikawa / English: Zach Aguilar)
Once an ordinary human, Genos’ life was changed when a mysterious cyborg killed his family. A scientist named Dr. Kuseno modified Genos so that his body was almost entirely cybernetic. Visually, he has metallic arms, pale artificial skin, and short blonde hair. He can produce extremely destructive and fiery explosive blasts from his hands. His body parts are modified and upgraded throughout the story.
For several years, he has searched for the mysterious cyborg who killed his family in order to take revenge, destroying any villains in his path. Eventually, he meets Saitama and recognizes Saitama is much more powerful than him. Genos then decides to become Saitama’s loyal disciple so that he may learn how to become stronger. Genos is a S-class hero at the end of the first season.
Sonic (Japanese: Yuki Kaji / English: Erik Scott Kimerer)
Sonic, or Speed-o’-Sound Sonic, is a deadly ninja capable of super fast movement that the average human can not detect. He uses an array of kunai and sharp objects that can slice through enemies easily. In his first encounter with Saitama, he loses (his nether regions land on Saitama’s immobile fist accidentally), and declares that Saitama is his rival. He vows to defeat him one day.
Tornado (Japanese: Aoi Yuki / English: Marieve Herington)
A 28-year-old short green-haired ESPer. She is 2nd Rank S-Class, making her nearly the highest level hero of all in the Hero Registry. However, because of her size, Saitama mistook her for a sassy lost child when the two first met. Being told she is small or ignored triggers her and she’ll often respond by using her powers angrily. Tornado possesses immeasurable telekinetic abilities and can fly. She once pulled a meteor from outside of the earth’s atmosphere to land directly on the giant Ancient King monster and kill it with one blow. Her younger sister is Blizzard.
Bang (Japanese: Kazuhiro Yamaji / English: Will Barret)
Bang, AKA Silver Fang, is the 3rd Rank S-Class hero from the Hero Association. Visibly a meager old man, he is actually a master of martial arts capable of amazing feats of strength and endurance. He is wise and patient compared to the other S-Class heroes, and he recognizes Saitama’s power when they first meet. Silver Fang runs a dojo, but his former student, Garo, nearly shut it down by harming or scaring away almost all of his other students.
Atomic Samurai (Japanese: Kenjiro Tsuda / English: Kyle Hebert)
The 37-year-old 4th Rank S-Class hero after Bang. He wears a kimono and can swing his blade hundreds of times in quick succession without getting tired. He has several followers, including Iaian, who joins the battle against Mezelgard in Season 1.
Child Emperor (Japanese: Minami Takayama / English: Sara Cravens)
A ten-year-old boy genius and 5th Rank S-Class hero. While not physically powerful, he uses his intellect to create advanced technology and robots that fight for him.
Metal Knight (Japanese: Tessho Genda / English: Taylor Henry)
Metal Knight is 6th Rank S-Class by the end of the first season. He moves up a spot from 7th Rank after having appeared to help stop the meteor that was falling on City Z. Metal Knight is actually a remote-controlled series of robots made by Dr. Bofoi. Bofoi likes to do hero work safely away from actual danger. When Metal Knight meets Genos for the first time, Bofoi prioritizes testing his new weapons in the field over stopping the oncoming death and destruction that the meteor would cause. Also, Bofoi did not help fend off the alien invasion at the end of Season 1. He instead sent a robot to assess and procure the advanced alien technology after the battle was already won by the other S-Class heroes. While his methods seem cowardly, he has also helped the Hero Association by creating its nearly impenetrable fortress-like headquarters.
King (Japanese: Hiroki Yasumoto / English: Rich Brown)
King is considered the strongest man on earth and respected by most other heroes. However, in the face of the alien invasion, he quickly believes there is nothing he can do to aid the situation. He has claw scars over his left eye.
Zombieman (Japanese: Takahiro Sakurai / English: Vernon Dew)
8th Rank S-Class hero who can regenerate from any damage. He once was stabbed through his body by Tornado when she was drunk but was unharmed. Puri-Puri Prisoner finds him attractive.
Drive Knight (Japanese: Yoshi Ueda / English: Todd Haberkorn)
The mysterious 9th Rank S-Class hero. Drive Knight is a skinny dark metallic cyborg with one eye. He secretly warns Genos that Metal Knight is Genos’ enemy, although it is yet to be seen if this is true. He did not actively participate against the alien invasion but was present after the aliens were defeated.
Pig God (Japanese: Daisuke Namikawa / English: Marc Diraison)
An extremely obese hero that is ranked 10th in the S-Class. He can devour his enemies. Pig God is usually hungry and did not participate against the alien invasion because he wanted to go home and eat.
Superalloy Blackluster (Japanese: Satoshi Hino / English: Zeno Robinson)
11th Rank S-Class hero. He is bald and muscular. His hero outfit is a tiny black pair of speedos. Superalloy Blackluster is vain about his strength and looks, but he is cautious not to get one the wrong side of other S-Class heroes as he fears their abilities.
Watchdog Man (Japanese: Yuji Ueda / English: Arnie Pantoja)
The powerful 12th Rank S-Class hero who protects Q City. He wears a white dog cosplay that covers his entire body except for his face. During the alien disaster, he prioritizes protecting his own city over aiding the other heroes fight. His abilities include super strength and incredibly keen senses.
Flashy Flash (Japanese: Kosuke Toriumi / English: Lex Lang)
The arrogant 13th Rank S-Class hero. Flashy Flash has long blonde hair and a pretty face for a male. He uses a katana but his abilities have yet to be seen in the anime.
Tank-Top Master (Japanese: Katsuyuki Konishi / English: Patrick Seitz)
The 14th Rank S-Class hero. Tank-Top Master is the leader of the other Tank-Top characters in One Punch Man, such as Tank-Top Tiger and Tank-Top Black Hole. Although Tank-Top Master is their master, he proves to be more patient and not as rude as his subordinates. He is strong enough to hurl large concrete debris as projectiles.
Metal Bat (Japanese: Wataru Hatano / English: Sam Regal)
The 15th Rank S-Class hero. Metal Bat speaks and dresses like a high school delinquent. His weapon is an extremely durable metal bat. He has a short temper and doesn’t back down from fights. He also has a little sister who plays piano that he cares about very much.
Puri-Puri Prisoner (Japanese: Masaya Onosaka / English: Ray Chase)
The 16th Rank S-Class hero that falls behind Genos to 17th Rank. He wears a prison outfit, has curly black hair and is attracted to men. While his hero ability is mainly the use of his physical strength, he also knows how to fight analytically. His special move is “Angel Dash,” a combo of super strong physical hits to his opponent.
Amai Mask (Japanese: Mamoru Miyano / English: Ben Lepley)
The narcissistic 1st Rank A-Class hero. He is a model, singer, and actor, and often puts those jobs before helping others as a hero. He prefers not to move up to S-Class so that he can act as a gate for any lower rank heroes that might move up to that rank. After S-Class heroes defeated Boros’ forces, he reprimanded them for letting City A be destroyed, despite the fact that it happened in one blast while they were all inside the Hero Association building for a meeting.
Blizzard (Japanese: Saori Hayami / English: Laura Post)
A B-Class hero and leader of the Blizzard Bunch, a faction of employees within the Hero Association. She is the younger sister of Tornado. Although she seems confident and intimidating, she actually suffers from an inferiority complex because of her sister.
Mumen Rider (Japanese: Yuichi Nakamura / English: Robbie Daymond)
Originally the top C-Class hero, he falls behind Saitama. His hero moves including riding his bicycle slightly faster than a normal human. While weak compared to most other heroes, he never gives up in his duty to help others. Even in the face of death against the Deep Sea King, he kept getting back up to fight. Saitama saved Mumen Rider from the Deep Sea King, and Mumen Rider thanked Saitama even when the rest of the public accused him of being a fake.
Garo (Japanese: Hikaru Midorikawa)
A former student of Bang, Garo’s goal is to be the top villain. He is only spoken about in the first season as the man who nearly killed his classmates in Bang’s dojo. His strength and abilities have yet to be seen. He is confirmed to appear in the second season.
International Streaming
- VVVVID (Italy)
- Hulu
- Animax Asia (Southeast Asia)
- Anime Digital Network (France)
- Anime on Demand (Germany)
- AnimeLab (Australia & New Zealand)
Official Links
Staff
- Original Creators: ONE, Yusuke Murata
- Director: Chikara Sakurai
- Series Composition: Tomohiro Suzuki
- Character Designer: Chikashi Kubota
- Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
- Music: Makoto Miyazaki
- Opening Theme Song Artist: JAM Project
- Animation Production: J.C.Staff