One-Punch Man has a long history with anime fans. Years ago, the show debuted to huge success thanks to director Shingo Natsume. The production helped turned Madhouse Studios into an overseas success, but things took a turn with season two. Now, Natsume ism,opening up about the second season, and the director did not seem impressed with where the anime’s legacy has gone.
Recently, Natsume showed up at Anime Fest to talk about his latest work. It was there the director answered fan questions, and someone asked about his thoughts on One-Punch Man season two. It was there Natsume admitted the wanted to helm the series, but he wasn’t able to do it in the end.
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“I personally of course wanted to do it, but that could not be done despite myself,” the director said. “I cannot do everything I wanted to do.”
Continuing, Natsume did not say anything specific about the work director Chikara Sakurai oversaw. Instead, the original director said he wished the anime’s new studio had done more with One-Punch Man.
“I wanted J.C. Staff to do way more [with the show],” Natsume admitted.
Of course, the director is not alone in that regard. In fact, most of the anime fandom shared similar critiques when One-Punch Man season two went live. The show made its return to TV back in January after years on hiatus. After the show moved to J.C. Staff, fans began worrying over the studio’s production schedule as episode after episode turned over shoddy animation. In the wake of season one, this new season let so many down, and many hope Natsume will be able to redeem One-Punch Man with a third season.
What did you make of One-Punch Man season two earlier this year? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
One-Punch Man Season 2 is streaming on Hulu, and on Crunchyroll outside of the United States. The season is directed by Chikara Sakurai (Naruto Shippuden episode director), for new production studio J.C. Staff. Yoshikazu Iwanami serves as sound director, and Chikashi Kubota contributes new character designs. The second season ran for 12 episodes and follows a hero named Saitama as he tries to find a challenging villain to fight now that he’s become the world’s strongest hero.
