With the spring anime season coming to a close over the next few weeks, I thought I should go over one of the more divisive shows this season and explain what happened to One Punch Man from the start of Season 1 in October of 2015 until now.
After the release of the original web-series blew up, mangaka Yusuke Murata redrew the original series for Shonen Jump. Shortly after, it got picked up for an anime adaptation. The first season was set up for success by powerhouses in the industry. The first season was produced by Madhouse, the same studio who produced Mob Psycho 100. Shingo Natsume directed the first season, who also worked on Space Dandy and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The studio hired many freelance animators to help with the first season. All this made for a great first season, complemented by the great music and voice acting.
Two years after the end of the first season, JC staff was given the role of producing the second season in place of Madhouse. It was announced that Shingo Natsume was not going to work on One Punch Man season 2 in order to work on Boogiepop. In his place, Chikara Sakurai, who worked on several of the Naruto: Shippuden movies, was hired. With all these changes it isn’t surprising that One Punch Man season 2 differs from the original. The anime industry generally working their animators to the bone must not have helped either.
What are your thoughts on the latest season of One Punch Man?
