One-Punch Man Gives Another Glimpse of Garou as a Child

Garou has managed to make quite a name for himself with both the Hero Association and the Monster Association, earning his label as the “hero killer” by battling hero after hero. After getting stomped by Saitama again in a recent installment, Garou found himself surrounded by a number of “A-Class” and “B-Class” heroes as he attempted to heal from his wounds. During this battle, we got a better inside look into Garou’s childhood and where his afinity for monsters came from.

In the recent installment of One-Punch Man, we saw Garou as a child surrounded by faceless children, all discussing how easily it was for a hero to defeat the “Crab Demon”. Garou, connecting more with monsters than with humans, stuck up for the “Crab Demon”, inquiring why no one was on his side and how unjust it was that he was the only one sticking up for the monster.

We don’t necessarily know a lot about Garou’s past, though looks into his childhood like this one give us a much better look into his character. When he started as a disciple of Bang and when he decided to turn against the other heroes of the Hero Association is still unknown, but Garou has certainly managed to make himself a threat to heroes around the world.

Garou’s affinity for monsters has even gained the attention of the Monster Association, as their ranks attempted to help the “hero hunter” in his fight against Genos. The monsters did little to stop Genos but Garou took on a new appearance that brings him far closer to a monster than he had ever been before. The latest installment ends with Garou squaring off against his former mentor Bang, promising a season finale of epic proportions.

What do you think of this recent scene showing off a childhood memory from Garou? Who do you think will come out on top of in the battle between Bang and his former student? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

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.”