One-Punch Man Season 2 Surprises With Some Gorgeous Garou Animation

One-Punch Man's second season has had some mixed reviews, but one thing fans definitely agree on [...]

By Nick Valdez

One-Punch Man's second season has had some mixed reviews, but one thing fans definitely agree on is the strong focus on the new addition to the series, Garou. Garou the Human Monster has evolved to main character status with the shift away from Saitama, and he's been in some fierce fights throughout the season thus far. While not all of them have been great to watch, it seems like the second season is giving Garou some time to shine at last.

The latest episode saw Garou taking on a group of heroes looking to make a name for themselves by taking Garou down, but this fight stood out more than fans expected since it featured some outright gorgeous Garou moments.

What is most likely due to a rushed production schedule, many of the action scenes this season have been drowned in shortcuts. Ghosting effects, blurred images to depict speed, and flickering still images have been prominent in each fight. Though sometimes it did result in a good sequence such as Garou's introductory fight this season, it's clear that this scene has a particularly strong direction.

Characters are laid out in a clear way, interesting shot choices emphasize how surrounded Garou is, and it's not hard to pinpoint where the characters are in reference to one another. This definitely is a great step in the right direction as the action scenes thus far have been intelligible, and hopefully the second season can round itself out in an equally great way.

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.

Viz Media describes One-Punch Man Season 2 as such, "Saitama is a hero who only became a hero for fun. After three years of "special training," he's become so strong that he's practically invincible. In fact, he's too strong—even his mightiest opponents are taken out with a single punch. Now, the great seer Madame Shibabawa's prediction about the Earth being doomed seems to be coming true as the frequency of monster incidents escalates. Alongside Genos, his faithful disciple, Saitama begins his official hero duties as a member of the Hero Association, while Garou, a man utterly fascinated by monsters, makes his appearance."

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