One-Punch Man's Latest Episodes Showcases Best Fights of Season 2

One-Punch Man season 2's latest episode "The Varieties of Pride" saw Garou the Hero Hunter having the tables turned on him, as a group of A Class heroes ambush him at his hideout. What next ensued was a series of battles that are One-Punch Man season 2's best fight sequences yet!

In episode 23, the group of Class A heroes take advantage of the fact that Garou's injuries from Saitama and Watchdog Man have left him injured. Under the leadership of Death Gatling, the group of heroes (including Chain Toad, Shooter, Gun Gun, Wildhorn, Stinger, and Glasses), works in coordination to wear Garou down with Poison arrows and hard hits, and soon it looks like the villain will be going down for good.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Garou is the most dangerous when he's cornered, and the battle proves to be far from over.

The step-by-step precision with which Garou takes out Death Gatling's Class A hero squad is one of One-Punch Man's finer action sequences, showcasing a variety of hero fight styles and attacks, as well as Garou's intuitive and acrobatic counterattacks. If one man taking out a group wasn't action-packed enough, Garou and Death Gatling get a moment for an epic standoff, with the arrogant Class A hero trying to prove he is as mighty as any Class S hero. Ultimately Death Gatling fails with his all-or-nothing special move, and Garou takes the victory.

...Of course the win is very short-lived for Garou, as Glasses manages to get off an alert to the Hero Association, requesting Class S hero backup. Backup arrives in the form of the recently upgraded version of Genos, and One-Punch Man then proceeds to deliver the standout fight of season 2 (so far): Genos vs. Garou!

Garou's weakened state proves to be a sub-par match for Genos' new upgrades - though Genos toys with a villain a bit before making that fact abundantly clear. Genos might've been able to finish Garou, but two things get in his way: an ambush by the Monster Association, and a timely intervention from martial arts masters Bang and Bomb. The monsters are there to recruit Garou (forcibly or otherwise), while Bang and Bomb are there to set the scales right, by finally taking care of the student that became the Human Monster.

It's a lot of attention being paid to Garou, and just enough to get in the way of Genos doing what needs to be done. Still, the fight animation by J.C. Staff is one again impressing in its translation of the manga, despite some early doubts. Now, the stage is set for an epic battle between Bang and Garou next - and Saitama seems to be finally gearing up to join this fight, as well.

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 Shippudenepisode 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.