One-Punch Man Creator and Animator Pay Tribute to Season 2 with New Sketches

One-Punch Man season 2 will forever live in anime infamy, thanks to the major change in production [...]

By Kofi Outlaw

One-Punch Man season 2 will forever live in anime infamy, thanks to the major change in production between season 1 and season 2. But while fans are still debating (read: complaining) the results of One-Punch Man season 2, the series creator and one of its top animators are instead celebrating the completion of the season by releasing some new art!

First, check out this Saitama sketch from One-Punch Man creator, ONE:

This sketch captures the more humorous side of One-Punch Man and its protagonist, Saitama. The sketch clearly is a metaphor for the One-Punch Man anime, with Saitama essentially punching his way out of the TV screen. It's definitely a fitting metaphor, as One-Punch Man has surged in popularity with the release of the season 2 anime - despite the "controversy" of the series moving production from Madhouse to J.C. Staff. A lot of fans dogged season 2 with criticisms that J.C. Staff's character re-designs and animation frames were not up to par with either ONE's manga art, or the work that Madhouse and director Shingo Natsume accomplished in season 1 of the anime. It's no surprise, then, that fans have already started petitioning for One-Punch Man season 3 to happen, and for the third season to be returned to the hands of Madhouse and Natsume's guidance.

This second sketch was done by Chikashi Kubota, who as served as chief animation director on One-Punch Man seasons 1 and 2. It perfectly captures the (anti-)climatic moment of season 2, when one of the top S-Class heroes, King, lures the season 2 big boss bad Centipede into a trap, wherein the humongous monster comes charging at King for a kill strike, only to find Saitama waiting to deliver his trademark one-punch of destruction.

For fans of the anime/manga, this moment Kubota captures is especially rich and amusing. After all, season 2 revealed that King is in fact a total fraud, and has no real power at all, despite his title of being "The World's Strongest Man." In fact, King has been a guy in the right place at the right time, often being rewarded for heroic acts that Saitama accomplishes. The two struck up a touching friendship in season 2, and in the finale moment, King finally uses the combination of his rep and Saitama's power to actually save the day for real. But as Kubota depicts, King's cowardice still hasn't evaporated in the face of his newfound bravery.

One-Punch Man Season 2 is now 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 will run for 12 episodes, and Viz Media has licensed the season for an English release.

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