One Punch Man S2 Specials

Oh well. Still no news of a third season. So I have got to do with One Punch Man S2 Specials for now. It might not be much but I guess it’s better than nothing. It might have been a while but personally the kind of cliff-hanger ending for the second season was somewhat disappointing and unsatisfying even when I think back about it today. So hopefully watching these 10 minute specials will help soften that bad aftertaste in my mouth. Hopefully. I hope.

Special 1
A group of small time baddies meet up for the first time and plan to do something real shady. There is a fourth guy but they think it is Saitama who just came out from the toilet. But when he points out he is a hero, looks like they’re not going to let him get away after hearing their plans. As we can see, their powers are weak and pathetic. Heck, they accidentally doused each other with their own power while trying to put it out! Eventually Saitama puts a stop to it all. The baddies come to terms that they’re just mediocre. However, Saitama isn’t pleased. He thinks they are hero wannabes and was just testing their powers on him. Could it be they are his fans?! Just then, some earthworm monster tries to attack them. Of course Saitama easily stops the threat. Genos comes running by but sees Saitama taken care of it all. The baddies recognize Genos and think he is the one who stop the danger. With Saitama explaining what’s up with these dudes, Genos isn’t too happy. Hence they make up excuses they want to become heroes. Saitama misinterprets this as they are actually his secret fans. Genos cautions him that if they become his disciples, they might move in and live with him! Well, he is talking from experience. The baddies act disappointed and try to leave. However not so fast. Saitama thinks they don’t have what it takes to become heroes because with those mediocre skills, they’ll never survive. In short, he is going to train them! And so Saitama becomes their Spartan instructor as the baddies rue their luck. Yeah, should’ve just stayed as some small time unknown. No talking! Move your body! No rest! Next training! Can’t stop now…

Special 2
Bang and Atomic Samurai are fishing on a tranquil lake. It has been 1 week since the alien incident and nothing much has happened since. Meanwhile Licenseless Rider and Chain Toad are tracking down a monster that has entered the lake. We continue hearing the old guys talk about their disciples as well as the new generation of heroes. They feel disappointed that many have lost sight on what it means to be a hero. Licenseless Rider and Chain Toad try to fish out the monster without getting those ‘fishermen’ involved. However the monster is too great and even swallows up Chain Toad. As he turns his attention to those old guys, Licenseless Rider will not allow it and tackles him head on. The old guys are impressed with his guts but note that this is not enough to make him a great hero. One also needs stength! Hence it’s their turn to show off and easily destroy the monster without cutting much of a sweat. So easy. But Bang hints that there is a hero who might be very promising (Saitama). Atomic Samurai can’t put his finger on it although Bang hints he has already met him.

Special 3
As Saitama is opening a bag of chips, too much force and the chips fly all over. In his lightning speed, he grabs all the chips but during one of his attempts, he hits Genos’ face hard. When Genos wakes up, safe to say that he has amnesia and his mind demoted that of a child. However he becomes mad when Saitama tells him he is his disciple. Not believing that crap! Genos can’t understand why his hand blaster starts activating. When Fubuki arrives, she sees the place in a mess. Saitama stopped it in time or else… Genos tries to hit on Fubuki but looks like she has another idea as she calls her men to assemble. Later, Genos cannot understand as his body moves itself to a warehouse. Fubuki’s men start attacking him but Genos manages to block. Fubuki praises him that his body still remembers and tries to recruit him into her gang. However Genos gets scared and thinks she got the wrong person and runs away. As he ponders about his lost memories, a monster attacks. Reluctant Genos tries to fight it and lures it to the warehouse. Too bad Fubuki and co aren’t there anymore. Genos takes a pounding. Fearing for his life, he runs but takes more beating. But thanks to that, his memories return and now it’s payback time. The monster is incinerated with no mercy. Genos later apologizes to Saitama for what happened and of course the master doesn’t mind. To make amends, here is some monster meat. Okay. Whatever.

Special 4
Saitama and Genos are at a convention where a fighting video game tournament is being held. You bet Saitama is going to join when he hears the winning prize is 5 million yen! Oh yeah. As players have choice of using controllers or VR headset, Saitama thinks he has got this one in the bag because of his superior skills. Too bad the video game can’t translate his superior one punch as he goes down in the first round in seconds!!! There goes his 5 million… The semi-final pits Garou and Suiryu. Both using the VR headset and it looks like they’re having fun fighting each other. However, perhaps the game can’t handle Garou’s quick moves so his character ultimately glitches and freezes, allowing Suiryu to win. He moves on to the finals but against everyone’s expectations this is going to be an awesome fight, he goes down in seconds! How anti-climactic! In fact, his opponent is the one who defeated Saitama. Suiryu reasons that his opponent who pulled off such amazing moves, it must be that he too is using a VR headset and an even better martial artist than he is. So when the winner collects his prize, looks like those who know him are disappointed. Because he is King and he was just using the controller! Yeah, he’s too strong for everybody. Life so unfair…

Special 5
Because some monster is spotted near the prison facility, Prisoner does a jailbreak to go apprehend It. As explained by veteran prisoners, nobody is going to do a jailbreak because based on the security system, the security personnel will be here in a minute and take down all those who tried. However with Prisoner accidentally taking down the power lines, the security is delayed and hence some convicts take this chance to escape. By the time Prisoner fixes the power, 10 have already escape. Fearing that a cute security guard boy will get fired, he takes it upon himself to hunt them down. The escaped convicts hole up in some house as they hear rumours of Prisoner coming to get them. Yeah, it’s a fate worse than death since his gay kisses are enough to knock you out! Prisoner has caught a few already but Sonic who also escaped during the incident wants to help out. However Prisoner declines because he notes Sonic broke out with his own power. The house the convicts is holing up turns out to be the base of a monster. He is going to eat them but here comes Prisoner. He easily defeats the monster with his naked submission moves. Now he turns to those convicts and if they haven’t repent, they will get what’s coming. Just then, the monster gets up. He won’t lose. Not after his modesty being outraged like that. The convicts feel for him and support the monster to beat Prisoner up. Alas, the monster goes down easily. Oh well. The convicts change their mind and heart. They’re all willing to go back to prison like the good boys they are.

Special 6
Child Emperor, Zombieman, Metal Bat and Blackluster are trying to hunt a monster. However they get caught up in a blizzard and decide to stay in a cabin nearby provided by the Hero Association. But in this cabin are Saitama, Genos and Flashy Flash. Sonic is also here but waiting outside for Saitama to be alone so he can get his revenge. Too bad that didn’t happen quickly enough so he froze up and crashed in. After tying him up, everyone returns to their rooms. Soon, Sonic frees himself and tries to sneak from underneath. Too bad Genos catches him. Both fight and Genos’ blast incinerates the area. The cold has Saitama sneeze and at the same time the living room where Zombieman in explodes! Oh no. Zombieman dead? Not another murder mystery! Luckily, Zombieman didn’t die as the rest deliberate who is the culprit. It could be one of them since they detect no other life forms. Because they think there is a monster who could mind control them or even shape shift and pretend to be one of them, hence they try to figure out. However with their weak alibis, all is still a suspect. The tension starts leading everyone to accuse every one of the slightest suspicion. When Hero Association sends images and details of the monster, it then occur to them it has no mind control or shape shifting abilities. Then it hit Child Emperor. He realizes what happened and explains. When Genos incinerated the place, dry dust particles filled the air. Saitama’s sneeze blew them into the living room. Because everyone was using their appliances, this puts a load on the electricity. And when Zombieman lights up the lighter, boom! So yeah. Mystery solved. Everybody was the culprit. Then the monster enters to brag about defeating the heroes but I guess the heroes beat him down and end the mission.

Pulling No Punches
As expected, the specials are short and silly and have no bearing on the real plot and story in the season. So don’t worry about getting confused where the timeline this should’ve heck happened. Some showcase a few other heroes and while that is a good thing, as you may know there are lots of other heroes and it isn’t possible to feature them all here. So too bad Tatsumaki fans, her single nose hair isn’t seen anywhere here at all. But honestly, I prefer Fubuki as she’s more hot and prettier. Really. Ahem. Getting a little distracted here. Anyway, Saitama and Genos stay pretty much the same. It’s both good and bad thing because we can expect more or less the same thing without some shocking plot twists. Every day is just a mundane normal ordinary day for Saitama. Can’t use his single punch to end fights. And Genos still continuing to be his disciple who doesn’t really listen. All in all, the shorts are for short term chuckles and I don’t blame you if you feel bored (WTF?! A pseudo fishing episode?!) and expected something better (can we do away with the Zombieman murder mystery already?). After all, we all have high expectations of Saitama, right? So, season three when?

One Punch Man S2

It’s finally here! 4 years later! That’s right. But better late than never because with all the hype and anticipation for One Punch Man S2, it better deliver. Yeah, a hero always makes his late entrance. So you never heard of this guy? You know. The superhero that ends everything with just a single punch, hence his eponymous hero name. Yeah, that would hardly be any fun. But fun enough to have garnered many followers to warrant another sequel. So how many more can he add to the body count list of defeating his enemies in a single punch? We’ll just have to see.

Episode 1
A villain thinks he can harass the women in public. However with the arrival of King, he grovels and begs for mercy. You see, the people is happy that he is one of the strongest S-class heroes and they’re so happy he is back! After doing his errands, some giant robot challenges him. But King tells him to wait as he needs to go to the toilet. Can’t fight at full strength if he is holding it in, right? But in the toilet, we see King’s true nature. He is actually a coward. Although he attracts bad luck, before he knows it, the enemy is down. He didn’t anything. Somebody else always did. Because he didn’t deny, one thing led to another and now he is in this sh*t. That’s why he wants to quit being a hero! The only way left is to run. What about the robot? Don’t worry. Genos is tackling it. King goes back to relax but WTF why is Saitama here?! He saw him bought some video games and is interested to play with him. He plays along until Saitama asks if he is so strong that he doesn’t want to fight anymore. Yeah, he saw him running away. Oh sh*t. How to answer? Then a monster crashes into his place. Time to prove it? King remembers how always gets dragged into such mess but somebody was always there to clean it up. Hence he always ends up running away. Was Saitama the saviour? Yup he was and still is. Saitama easily destroys the monster. King repents his action. Although Saitama doesn’t care and doesn’t want to lecture him, he wonders if he is going to continue lying to the public. Genos meanwhile barely defeats the robot threat and sends the parts to Kuseno in hopes he can do something to help his upgrade. But he is reminded to find clues about the cyborg that destroyed down his home and went on to destroy countless of towns and lives. Don’t worry. Genos will also get to that. That’s why he needs to undergo training from a master. Meanwhile Sitch, the minister of justice for Hero Association has gathered lots of ruffians at HQ. He plans to seek their help with heroes to fight against the foreboding omen. It is gaining ground as there are more disasters happening every day. As Sonic is among the group, he is disappointed that Saitama is not here and leaves. He is not going to play hero with them. Meanwhile Fubuki and her team also target Saitama and they’re going to move in now. What’s Saitama doing? Playing video games with King!

Episode 2
Sitch continues his briefing but among them is Garou who claims he supports monsters. He wants to know who the strongest is here and will kill them all. Some of the heroes attack him but they are easily killed. Then he goes off to kill all the other ruffians. He lets Sitch live since he has had enough warming up. He warns he will return stronger in 6 months so be prepared. Sonic is outside Saitama’s door. Genos confronts him and won’t let this pipsqueak do as he wishes. Hence an epic duel begins. Meanwhile Fubuki and her team ring Saitama’s door. They try to be intimidating and to cut all that threat short, she is offering her to join her faction. Of course he declines. When she orders her men to attack him, they are easily repelled. Fubuki gets serious to fight him but Saitama lectures her that she doesn’t know what it means to be a hero. She is not cut out to be one since she is more interested in factions and crushing newbies. That’s why she gather weak lackeys so that she feels stronger. The fight is interrupted with Genos-Sonic accidentally cutting in. Fubuki is shocked and confused to see Genos calling Saitama his master. This S-class cyborg calling this B-class hero his master? Genos continues his fight with Sonic but Saitama stops him since Genos is going to destroy the whole place just to take out Sonic and his speed. Hence Saitama shows him how it’s done. Sonic relishes this rematch and does his special ability of moving so fast that he cloned himself 10 times. But Saitama does his side step so fast and cloned himself 100 times!!! OMFG!!! Yeah, Sonic lost. Fubuki explains her situation. She remains as top of B-class because A-class has got lots of crazy heroes whom she can’t control. As we know Tatsumaki is her sister, she is always number one. Hence being number one of B-class is the only thing she can. She thinks manipulating factions isn’t wrong until King waltzes in. Friends with Saitama? WTF is this super strong group? She wants to join!!! Oh man, looks like she joined another faction. Meanwhile Sitch is disappointed that the committee is more interested in giving heroes their nicknames instead of addressing Garou’s threat. They think other S-class heroes can handle it when they are up to the task. Speaking of Garou, he is on a hero hunting spree.

Episode 3
Bang mercilessly beats up his best disciple, Charanko and exiles him from his dojo. Charanko talks to Genos about this and the latter deduces Garou might be behind this. You see, Garou was once Bang’s student and with that incident at Hero Association HQ, Bang is distancing himself from his students to avoid bystanders getting hurt if there’s an intense battle. On the way home, Charanko spots Garou trying to pick a fight with Licenseless Rider. But Tank Top Vegetarian who was recently defeated by Garou, brings back his brothers and S-class master, Tank Top Master to give his due punishment. At first it seems Tank Top Master owns Garou and could have defeated him had Licenseless Rider not stop him to spout crap that Garou is still human. Garou turns the tables and defeats them. He is going to kill the rest of them. Of course they all lose and when Charanko decides to enter the fray, no surprise upset either. Saitama visits Licenseless Rider and Tank Top Master recuperating in hospital to find out about this Garou dude. Despite being human, Garou seems to be a master in martial arts. All attacks were dodged, parried and blocked well. Even his strikes to the joints and vital points were brutal. It’s like he was able to read his moves. Unlike monsters who let lose all their strength in a rampage, Garou has special techniques to break people. Visiting Charanko, he gives Saitama a participation ticket for a martial arts tournament. Since he is injured, he can’t participate. Oh sh*t… 3 million yen prize money… Meanwhile Garou continues his hero hunting by facing off with Golden Ball and Spring Mustachio. Once he learns their moves, it is easy to bring them down. After all, he also knows all their trump cards since earlier on a kid lent him a guidebook on all the known heroes. Later Garou stumbles into Saitama. Thinking the latter is some low level hero trying to get some fame, Garou strikes first but Saitama is hard!!! I mean, real hard!!! Then Saitama just chops him down and Garou loses all strength and passes out!!! OMFG!!! Don’t get in my way of shopping! So why is Saitama buying a brown wig? So it’s not to permanently cover his head as Genos worries that the baldness may have got to him? Nah. It is to impersonate as Charanko at the tournament.

Episode 4
When Garou was young, he loved monsters but found it baffling the heroes always win despite the monsters also tried their best. In that case he will become the ultimate monster and won’t lose to anyone. Garou wakes up in the dumpster, not remembering what happened last night. With Garou targeting not only heroes but Hero Association as well, it is suggested that S-class heroes become their bodyguards. King was called but he is busy ‘fighting a boss’. Yeah. Playing video games. Hence Metal Bat now babysits an executive and his son. When an attack occurs, it isn’t Garou but some monsters. As Saitama waits for the tournament to story, some cocky guy who seems to know Charanko talks to him. He talks about last year’s event where somebody impersonated a participant and went on to win the tournament. That is why this year all disguises and aliases are banned. Otherwise you get sued and even banned permanently. Oh sh*t. The guy believes that impersonator was Garou. One day he got tired of training and decided to beat the crap out of everyone while Bang was away. Though he badmouths Charanko, Saitama calls him a coward since he quit his dojo but Charanko fought Garou one on one. After Metal Bat defeats the monsters, looks like bigger monsters (even monsters have seniors?) attack him. It might seem Metal Bat is having a hard time fighting them but after he pumps himself up, it becomes easy as pie. But it’s not over yet because giant grandpa monster is here! It seems the monsters are targeting the executive and it’s a good thing Metal Bat has been able to hold his ground. With the city under evacuation, Garou is glad to hear Metal Bat in the vicinity. Metal Bat is already busy trying to take down this behemoth and Garou is itching to have a fight with him? He’s serious. Here it comes! Don’t make Metal Bat mad. Because he’s going to bash your crazy head in!

Episode 5
Metal Knight comes to deal with the grandpa centipede monster as Garou fights Metal Bat. However the more damage Metal Bat takes, the stronger and faster he becomes. It somewhat ends only when Metal Bat’s little sister, Zenko intervenes. She forbids the men from doing more violence so I guess nobody can defy nor hurt a loli so that’s that. Some monsters are watching Garou in action. Phoenix Man approaches Garou and invites him to Monster Association. However he is not interested. Phoenix Man leaves for now but believes they will be seeing each other again as long as he is targeting heroes. Once they’ve got the executive’s son, the monsters retreat. However monsters in other cities are still running rampage and many A-class heroes have fallen by the wayside. Meanwhile the martial arts tournament is about to begin and we are introduced to lots of the weird participants. The highlighted ones include defending champion, Bakuzan and an unrivalled contender who has returned after many years of absence, Suiryu. Saitama faces off with the cocky Zakkos who thinks he is hell of a strong. Too bad just one slap is enough to put him down! Damn, is Saitama that strong? Rather, Zakkos is that weak! Yeah, you can hear the crowd in the background laughing like as though this is some sitcom!

Episode 6
Suiryu instantly takes out his opponent. Meanwhile monsters are popping up everywhere and a few are close to the martial arts tournament. Bakuzan doesn’t want the organizer to announce or it will cause panic. If any are close enough, he’ll take care of them. But it is of course Genos who goes to take care all of them before Saitama’s next match. But he is going to miss it since some of them are pretty tough. Because Saitama is now facing off with Bakuzan. The latter thinking he is some newbie with no ambition so he brags what he is going to do to him. Then in one punch Saitama sends him flying out of the ring! OMG! An upset! Genos has finally taken care of the last monster but something fast takes him out. Meanwhile Fubuki is fighting a monster babe who can turn others into her zombie slaves with her whip. She intends to use Fubuki to lure out Tatsumaki but don’t need that because here comes Tatsumaki to clean up Fubuki’s mess. Monster babe can tell she is dangerous and uses her zombies for her escape. She only succeeds since Fubuki doesn’t want Tatsumaki to hurt her zombie-turned subordinates. Suiryu’s next opponent is Snek. The latter contemplating how he has gone weaker and not being able to protect the people like before. He gets riled up hearing Suiryu’s reason for being strong just for the money and to have an easy life. He also believes in survival of the strongest. Because whether there are heroes or not, humans will still survive even if there are monsters or not. That’s how nature works. And in 1 kick, Snek is defeated. Meanwhile we see the king of Monster Association, Orochi. He is pleased with the reports of the rise of their Monster Association and sending panic waves to Hero Association.

Episode 7
While more monsters pop up, don’t fret because S-class heroes are fighting back. Those we see in action include Drive Knight, Child Emperor, Pig God, Flashy Flash (?!) and Tatsumaki. Atomic Samurai discusses with his other sword buddies on taking down Garou before Bang gets defeated. But one of them has betrayed the human race and ate monster cells to become one. He wants them to eat them too or die. Unfortunately for him, Atomic Samurai’s slash is so fast that he disintegrated before he could move. Back to the tournament. After a few boring rounds that end in a single hit, we are now here at the finals. Saitama versus Suiryu. Suiryu starts off with a feint but powerful kicks. This is just warm up, you know. Saitama isn’t fazed and he is more concerned in holding down his wig! Must not get busted. They come to an agreement that Suiryu will teach him martial arts in exchange to be entertained. So a few more powerful moves but it is clearly Suiryu is holding back. And Saitama still holding down his wig. Not until Suiryu starts badmouthing the Hero Association that it hits a nerve in Saitama. So when Suiryu does a surprise kick on Saitama and his wig fell off, Saitama doesn’t give a damn. So if Suiryu wants to have fun, shouldn’t he not get any stronger? Luckily Saitama holds back or else Suiryu would have died. But the force was enough to blow away his shirt! The officials have disqualified Saitama because he broke the rules and declare Suiryu the winner. But the crowd doesn’t want this exciting match to end. So does Suiryu. He gives it his all as he slams and punch all he’s got into Saitama. So after all that Saitama is still okay? But Saitama has learnt something about martial arts. It’s all about the flashy moves, right? And just with the swing of his hips, Suiryu is flung to the other end of the arena! OMFG!!! Cue for Saitama to escape since the officials are going to capture him. Suiryu is in shock that he lost for the first time. Not so fun now, eh?

Episode 8
Suiryu is being awarded and he doesn’t look too happy. Suddenly monsters storm into the arena. One of them being Goketsu. He was previously this tournament’s winner and was rumoured to have been killed by monsters. On the contrary, he was captured and given a chance to eat monsters cells. Now he is stronger than ever. He wants all of them to eat monster cells or die. Those who are weak or desire power eat them and quickly evolve into monsters. However they are easily taken down by Suiryu. Goketsu finds it a waste to kill him and gives him a chance to change his mind. It sure sounds tempting he can enjoy life and do as he wishes but Suiryu passes. He doesn’t want to end up looking ugly. Suiryu fights Goketsu but realizes he cannot even make a scratch on him. As he gets puzzled, he sees Bakuzan and asks for his help. Bakuzan then admits Suiryu is stronger than him but has now given up on being the strongest human after seeing the irony of him having a hard time fighting these monsters. Hence Bakuzan eats all the monster cells to transform himself. But his body can’t handle it and he collapses. To Suiryu’s surprise, Snek and Lightning Max return to help. They easily defeat the monster subordinates but Suiryu is shocked the duo is going to fight Goketsu. Suiryu uses this chance to run as the duo gets pummelled but Suiryu is also hammered by Bakuzan. Looks like his monster activation was delayed. Goketsu leaves and tells Bakuzan to come to their base. But first, Bakuzan torments Suiryu and enjoys every moment of it. On the verge of death, that is when Suiryu sees the importance of heroes. He realizes he needs them and desperately calls out for help. Bakuzan is going to stomp other unconscious participants but they are quickly whisked away by Saitama! IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU SHOWED UP!!!!!!!!!! He thanks Suiryu for holding out and he came after hearing his cries. IT’S ABOUT TIME WE HAVE SOME ONE PUNCH MAN ACTION!!!!!!!!!!!

Episode 9
Bakuzan mocks Saitama. He should’ve sensed something wrong when his punches and kicks have no effect. And then Saitama does his specialty. One punch and he is dead!!! Suiryu informs him what is going on outside as well as Monster Association and those monster cells. He is devastated that Saitama is going to face off Goketsu. He believes he is destined to save more people than die here. But surprise! A decapitated head of Goketsu!!! Suiryu is so impressed that now he has a new goal: He wants to be a hero. Oh Saitama, I know you’re being realistic but please don’t be a wet blanket. How does Suiryu becoming his disciple sound? No way! With the monsters suddenly disappearing, Saitama is left to think deep. He has been bored and this recent events and even joining the martial arts competition out of curiosity, nothing has changed. He talks to King about this empty feeling and how he can’t grow anymore to be strong. Hence he is so bored. For once, King says some mind blowing things. Saitama refuses to do things, take up challenges or stimulate himself but yet he complains. If he wants to see something new, he must open a new path himself because life is an endless journey. If he thinks becoming strong is the end goal, he is mistaken. The endgame of a hero isn’t that simple. Being courageous and taking action for the sake of others is what give heroes their meaning. In that sense, he is still not the ultimate hero. After hearing all that, Saitama is even more bored! Meanwhile, a shocking surprise as Garou barely escaped and is covered in bruises after picking a fight with S-class hero, Watchdog Man. He believes he still has a chance to grow stronger and will test that when he sees King. He is charging at full power when Saitama kicks him away, thinking he is one of those punks trying to earn a name for taking down a hero. Sonic is being confronted by comrades from his village, Tempest Wind and Hellfire Flame. It seems they have joined Monster Association and want him to do the same so they can take down Flashy Flash. Sonic refuses but they give him a monster cell in case he changes his mind. Sonic contemplates on turning into one because his goal is to defeat Saitama and his humanity side already died when he lost. Is he going to eat it? Based on Drive Knight’s info, Hero Associations discuss about Monster Association and their initial ploy is to play along before finding a way to destroy them. Then a message from Monster Association arrives. We see Sonic eating the monster cell. But not after he cooks it well because he is disgusted to eat it in its raw form. What does he feel? A super diarrhoea coming up!

Episode 10
Gyoro-Gyoro negotiates to the Hero Association that the monsters want to be left alone and promise will not rampage anymore. Hence the recent rampage was just to show them their power and hopes both humans and monsters can live in harmony. When one of the executive agrees and puts down his gun, he is shot and killed! So this is just a joke by Gyoro-Gyoro. The real deal is this. He wants Hero Association to gather all their heroes and come to their base to rescue the hostage. Once the message is done, the parasite monster is going to kill them all but S-class hero, Superalloy Blackluster easily squashes it. Gyoro-Gyoro addresses the monsters that this plan is to gather all the heroes and destroy them all once and for all. Once this happens, they can easily take out the rest of the humans. Some monsters aren’t impressed to pledge their allegiance to Orochi. Hence Orochi shows his fearsome tyranny by eating losers, monsters who lost their fight during the rampage. Noticing that Goketsu isn’t around, Gyoro-Gyoro checks about and sees his corpse. Uh oh. Things aren’t going too well. Genos has been given a new body by Kuseno and advised not to rush in. Monster Association makes an official war declaration on Hero Association. Child Emperor is mad that Metal Knight wants out of this operation. The latter thinks this plan will only bring forth more casualties. He has sent in the proposal once they find the Monster Association’s hideout, they should just nuke the damn place and forget about rescuing any hostage but since the executives are thinking about their funding, they rejected his proposal. Hence he doesn’t want anything to do with this mission. Garou takes a rest in that secret shack of that guidebook kid. But other A-class heroes led by Death Gatling have surrounded the place and want him to surrender. Of course Garou won’t do that so they start fighting. As Garou is weakened, he cannot effectively defeat them. Furthermore, the heroes are in sync working well to take this guy down. Eventually Garou gets hit by a couple of poison arrows and is losing strength. Last chance to surrender.

Episode 11
Death Gatling talks about the hierarchy among heroes and that S-class heroes are treated differently. Something that irks him and many other heroes because there are many other talented heroes ignored. Hence he gathered these other Hero Association heroes to make a name for themselves and prove they aren’t just second rate heroes. Garou thinks some would be disappointed in that kind of thinking. Amazingly despite his weakened state, Garou manages to fight back and take out all the heroes. He has learnt their pattern and timing. He even went as far as protecting the shack from Death Gatling’s all-out firing. Yeah, all the bullets had no effect on him. After Death Gatling’s defeat, the poor kid got so scared of Garou that he runs away. Before Garou could take a breather, Genos pops up. Apparently one of the heroes called for backup. With renewed and upgraded power, Genos goes head to head with Garou. Meanwhile Saitama loses his consecutive 81st video game match with King! Damn. Maybe he’ll take out some steam with those monsters rampaging near his place. King asks about Genos because he hasn’t been back and might be taken out by Monster Association. Nah. Saitama believes that guy will be okay. On second thought. Maybe he’ll go check on him. We continue the epic power fight between Genos and Garou. The latter trying to mimic Watchdog Man’s moves for a surprise attack but Genos is still better. Suddenly monsters pop up to tackle Genos. They are here with orders to assist Garou and to bring him to join Monster Association. Garou doesn’t appreciate the help, though. Of course Genos rebounds and kills all the monsters. Just before Genos can finish off Garou, here comes Bang. Time to put an end to this.

Episode 12
Time for master to give his disciple a beat down punishment. Garou tries to flee but Bomb (Bang’s older brother) stops him and joins in the beat down. So great the beat down that it looks like Garou’s life flashes before his eyes. The point in time whereby school kids were playing heroes and they made him the monster. Not that he has any problem with it nor the most popular kid in class, Tatsu playing the hero. It was rather he learnt of the injustice because all the kids ganged up, played unfairly to let Tatsu dominate over Garou that he had no chance to fight back. Even when he did, he was scolded by the teacher that he went berserk and owed everyone an apology. Garou was mad. Unforgiveable. Hence becoming this hero hunter was to make such people feel the blow of the weak. Garou revives and is about to get real when Phoenix Man snatches him away. He lets grandpa centipede handle those pesky heroes. Garou is frustrated and doesn’t acknowledge this because it is meaningless if he doesn’t do it himself. But Phoenix Man tells him he only has himself to blame for not being strong enough to finish this off. We see Bang and Bomb use their martial arts to break the centipede’s exoskeleton. However it moulted and revived. Genos decides to handle this and against the old dudes’ advice not to throw away his life, he does so anyway. Even with all the firepower and innovations he has, including burning the monster from inside out, the centipede is still breathing. At this point Genos is close to defeat. He has tried everything in his book and yet he cannot defeat this monster. He is starting to question his own worth. Bang and Bomb take other heroes for safety but when they realize they will bring the fight back to the city and there would be more casualties, Bang is going to sacrifice himself? Don’t worry, that won’t be. Because King makes a brave announcement to the monster that he has brought Blast (the S-class hero whom this monster has a grudge with). After throwing more insults, the centipede charges at King. Any time now… Saitama!!! This baldy pops up and destroys this monster for good in one punch!!! IT’S ABOUT TIME!!! Genos then asks his master what he is lacking. Uhm, maybe power? And Genos is now enlightened and realizes the path he should strive for! Time to go home.

Own Pace Man
WTF… With that cliff-hanger ending, a third season is very most likely although no news of it has been said. But I’m very sure of it. There’ll be a third season. Very sure… Because if it does not happen, it will surely leave a bad after taste in the mouth. There will be many disappointed fans and angry viewers alike who have come to expect so much and this is what we get? Oh come on. You can do better than that. Why didn’t they expand and make this into a double cour season in the first place? Not enough original and interesting material? Not enough budget? Not enough interest (NO WAY!!!)? Maybe there were reasons but I guess there are somethings behind the scenes that we will never know.

No doubt that this season is also great, I can’t help feel there are mixed feelings while watching this season. You see, there were times when I felt that the martial arts competition as well as introducing the antihero called Garou felt more like time wasting although I believe that it eventually helps in contributing to the bigger picture overall plot. Because of Saitama being away for the martial arts tournament, this contributes to Saitama making somewhat less screen time this season. Yes. This feels somewhat strange seeing he is supposed to be the star of this series. However when I think about it, Saitama being away at the tournament and oblivious to the Monster Association’s rampage, this gives other heroes of Hero Association more screen time to flex their muscles. Remember, Saitama can literally win a battle with just one punch! What was his name again? Therefore had Saitama not participate in the tournament and went on the fight the monsters, it would have been one rather monotonous (although not necessarily boring) affair. After all, so far nobody has ever lived long enough to take his second punch if Saitama is serious in throwing his first punch. So yeah. Saitama racking up the monster body count might be good for Saitama and all you Saitama fans and supporters. But this means other heroes would not get that much needed screen time and some of them might not be even introduced. Then yours truly will complain about this show should do away with all the other characters and just let Saitama and the few be the only heroes in this city.

Then there is the other interesting side plot of introducing another strong character, Garou. At first having this hero hunter felt like also filling in the time and void since showing Saitama participating in the tournament would be just absolutely boring as you know it won’t take up as much screen time. Garou proves to be formidable and what makes him more interesting is his support for monsters. This does not necessarily mean he wants to become a monster but merely he cheers on for them. Many of us never question why we support the heroes and always undermine the villains based on our simple thinking of because they’re the good guys or bad guys. This is natural for many of us so what happens when you have an irregular like Garou? Because of his different opinion, he is shunned and that is probably what drives him to become strong and prove others wrong and that monsters can also become heroes. Sure, many monsters live to destroy humans, etc but not all of them. We don’t really question why they attack those with valid reasons of attacking humanity and thus Garou is out there to prove that point. Maybe they just want to get along? Nah! Garou’s reverse support sometimes reflect reality. You know, when you’re a kid you support all those heroic heroes. But as you grow older into an adult, you realize and connect better with the villains. Yeah, monsters here could have earned the sympathy of some viewers had not they look so hideous. Had they look like those cool mutants in X-Men, well, maybe. Garou does have a valid point to prove. Just that he might be going about in the wrong way. So remember kids, remember who you bully back in elementary school. It’ll definitely come back to bite you if you’re not careful. Despite Garou making his name around as the hero hunter, I don’t think he’ll have the last laugh just yet.

As mentioned, thanks to the martial arts tournament as well as Garou the hero hunter, these help give other heroes some of the spotlight and introduce some that we have not previously heard of. While I have no complaints about the heroes, sometimes I feel that this is just one big convention of weird cosplayers. You know, heroes seem to have this unwritten code of wearing really odd clothes to supposedly match their ridiculous and odd powers. I guess there are so many heroes that sometimes it becomes a chore to really differentiate them. It’s like whatever ideas you got here, please throw them in and we’ll call that some A-class or B-class hero. Some even so lazily named like Megane because he wears glasses. Not that I can see how his power comes from there either. Then there is this typical cowboy westerner who shoots with his twin pistols. What’s he called? Gun Gun. Yeah… And there is this punk who has a Mohawk hairstyle so he is called, you’ve guessed it, Mohican. Damn. These heroes sometimes feel more like jokers and seeing them when they are first introduced it serves up to make you smile and laugh. If you want more laughs of the kind of lazily named heroes, you can look up the internet. Yeah, you’ll find plenty of such hilariously named known heroes for now…

But for all the other characters that have appeared in the first season, some are a hit and miss. Hits like Genos who seems to be trying to improve himself battle after battle so as Saitama’s disciple, he seems to be making quite a steady progress despite still having a lot more room for improvement. That is why the much needed final episode to have some Genos drama to doubt his own abilities. And just like that his insecurities are assured thanks to Saitama’s whimsical (and possibly honest) answer. Even Metal Bat is cool going so far as to have an episode named after him! Some misses like Tatsumaki just making that one short stinking cameo appearance and it feels like Fubuki has more screen time than her. Albeit that is just the start of the season and when the real sh*t starts to hit the fan, she’s like back into the shadows. Same for Sonic and from the looks of it, I think his revenge match against Saitama will yet be put on hold again. Though, I have a feeling that Sonic will eventually team up with Saitama and the heroes. I may be speculating wrongly but this baddie isn’t just a baddie and for him to still be alive and come this far, he’s got to have more than that. I know this series isn’t over by a long shot yet but it’s sad thinking that many of such beloved characters are somewhat ‘forgotten’ and ‘not heard of again’ by the end of this second season. Damn, I really starting to hate how this season’s cliff-hanger ended.

Talking about the star of this series, Saitama seems awfully side-lined this season. But remember what I said about him easily defeating his opponents. Having him do that for this entire second season may not be so fun. That’s why even the final episode we see some other action and drama from other characters before Saitama shows up his short cameo and ends everything. Are we supposed to be happy or disappointed with that? Because you know sh*t is going to happen if Saitama takes more than one punch to defeat his enemies, right?! Hence we see him being absolutely bored at the martial arts tournament as well as hanging out with King and playing video games with him. The irony is that he never wins against King and this might be a sign that says if Saitama doesn’t end his fight in one punch, could he have actually lost the battle if the fight requires the enemy to take many hits before keeling over? This is really food for thought. Even much more than the thought of why his gloves are still intact after his one punch specialty. Because if the monster wears the same material from his gloves, will they be safe from his punch?

Saitama being the strongest character (though not officially in this series’ setting) means that he is just bored with everything and there is nothing more that could challenge him. This explains why he sounds so monotonous and so mundane in everything he does. Like as though he doesn’t care. Actually he does. Somewhat. But he views it as troublesome rather than something excited to look forward to. We can see it from both sides of the coin. While he does look like he has reached the pinnacle of supposedly being strong, this might look like an insult to those who have been trying so hard but never reached a fraction of his strength. Essentially both are right and wrong. Nobody is perfect. Not even Saitama is because although he is definitely super strong, he isn’t quite happy. He has been questioning his life’s goal and purpose but thankfully he still has stuck to his heroic qualities. He might sound half-hearted in shelling out his motivation to many of those heroes he stumbled into and saved, but I’m sure he also means it. I mean, I’m sure he isn’t just saying it for fun that if you have time to be depressed, you should use that to move forward and improve. And because he is at the peak of being strong, he certainly can’t see what ordinary people see. So sometimes it is also good like for King to give a good pep talk to try and bring him down to perspective. So keep trying harder in those video games.

With Saitama having this line of thought, there is this scary thought that he might just screw being a hero and join the Monster Association or become a solo entity like Garou and just go around killing others for thrill. Because he is the main hero and character and what we have been invested seeing in him so far, it is not very likely he will turn into that but as the chances aren’t zero, there is still that dangerous small probability. I know I won’t like it to see Saitama turn out like that and I am very confident the producers won’t (lest they want to anger everyone with this sick twist) but still, sometimes you can’t help worry about this small minor unimportant stuffs.

Saitama may not have realized it but he does change a few people’s lives that he has touched. As we see from last season why Genos decided to follow him and become his pupil. This season we are introduced to Suiryu who is probably a frog in the well. He thinks nobody else is stronger than him until he actually meets one. And the irony was how he viewed heroes with disdain and doesn’t really care much about them until his own life was in peril. It goes to show that a man can change. It would be really even more awesome if Suiryu actually becomes Saitama’s follower and I am betting that he would. Otherwise it would be a waste to just introduce this character and then toss him away like he never existed. Then Saitama’s exclusive club of strong people will continue to grow…

Just like the heroes, the monsters are equally, uhm, is diverse the correct word? Sometimes I feel that designs of characters who are ‘ugly’ enough are to become monsters instead of heroes. And you’ve guessed it, some of them even weirdly and hilariously named. Like Black Sperm… Seriously?! And did Sesame Street’s Big Bird moonlight as Phoenix Man or his distant cousin or something? So last season we had an alien coming all across the universe just to fight the best. Now we have a local antagonist and with the introduction of Monster Association, we can see that things are really heating up and sh*t probably to hit the fan another time. Interestingly the monster cells seen that can turn humans into monsters should have been fleshed out better but I guess they might want to leave that for next season and I hope they do. Are there cells to turn monsters into humans? Well, I certainly don’t see humans making this technology. They might have created the most advanced and destructive weapons but I don’t see them doing so in this medical and biology thingy. Orochi being the ruthless king of the monsters, let’s hope he would give Saitama a much better run for his money than last season’s Boros so that we are all entertained.

This season’s action bits are still top-notched and it is the driving factor why this series continues to be popular. All the ridiculous and overpowered moves from the characters are still fun to watch no matter how freaking fast or absurdly strong they are. You can say the firepower packs a punch. You think that they are strong enough? Wait till another character shows up and shows us another stronger move! So earth shattering. If monsters don’t destroy the city, the impact of these monstrous heroes would do the job. These heroes sure put those in Dragonball to shame. It’s not merely just over 9000! It’s over 9 billion may not be even enough! And then of course, Saitama’s specialty of ending it all with just a single punch that makes him look like making no effort whatsoever (and making other heroes slog like hell with their skillsets and firepower), I don’t know if we are supposed to be glad-cum-entertained with everything ending so fast.

With last season’s seiyuus retained, new ones are added to the already bloated casts. Yeah, a lot more heroes here so I believe the list is twice as much. But I’m going to mention the notable and main ones. Heh. Not much. Those I recognized include Hiroki Yasumoto as King and Takehito Koyasu as Gyoro-Gyoro. The rest are Hikaru Midorikawa as Garou (Lancer in Fate/Zero), Masaya Matsukaze as Suiryu (Ren in Jigoku Shoujo), Atsushi Ono as Orochi (Giriko in Bleach) and Kenji Nomura as Goketsu (Ushiyama in Golden Kamuy). Maintaining the absolutely epic style of last season’s opener, JAM Project returns to sing again this season with an equally epic hard rock Seijaku No Apostle. Don’t you just feel the power welling up in you right now?! And that totally epic metal hard core scream at the end of the song! YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!! Also following last season’s trend, the ending theme is also a slow ballad, Chizu Ga Nakutemo Modoru Kara by Makoto Furukawa (voice of Saitama). Though, this song doesn’t feel as empty and hollow like last season’s. Damn, Saitama belting out this piece? If he wasn’t a hero, I bet he is a good crooner!

Overall, this season still rocks but because of the cliff-hanger and Saitama not in action in so many scenes, some felt like this season is a downer and did not live up to its amazing first season. Sometimes I too get caught in that thought and that it could have been much more epic even though there was an onslaught of heroes vs monsters action. That is the danger when you have built up so much hype and expectation that you become too big to fail. If Saitama knows all this and could break the fourth wall, he would have told us all off to stop b*tching our lazy asses because the producers and staffs worked really hard to bring you this epic entertainment! So at least be grateful you can watch this season in comfort without having to worry monsters suddenly come stomping in your neighbourhood and all animes on air have to be temporarily suspended until further notice! Yeah, that would suck a lot. Look at all the monsters that the anime industry has created. Now it is coming to bite them back with toxic fans and complacent viewers now complaining about how ‘inferior’ this season is. The only heroes that are going to save this series and the anime industry is to make better animes!

One Punch Man

How many episodes does it take for Super Saiyan Goku to finish his fight with his arch nemesis, Frieza? Well, don’t be surprise it will take at least a minimum of 10 episodes! Oh no! Why so freaking long?! Well… One episode to arrive on scene, one episode to scream and shout at each other, one episode to power up, one episode to show off all that warm up, two episodes for flashback, one episode for warming up fight, one episode to shout out for another power up to the next level, one episode for another flashback and then ten episodes for the actual fight and another five episodes to end it. Yikes! That went over 10 episodes!!!

What am I saying? You know why superheroes take some time to defeat their enemies, right? That is because there has got to be a lot of fighting and punching in between to weaken the enemy before defeating him. Am I right? But let’s say that what happens if all that could end in just a single punch. Say what?! How can you defeat an enemy in just a single punch?! Where is the fun in all that? It will be all over too soon before we even get to sit down and warm up our seat to watch the awesome fight! Yes people. It is true that there is a superhero that could end it all in just one freaking punch. One Punch Man. The titular hero is so freaking strong and could end any fights with just a single punch that he himself has become bored and mundane. Where’s the challenge? Yeah, even he is struggling to cope with his seemingly boring ordinary daily life. There are other challenges to overcome, you know. Ah yes, whoever said being a hero is easy?

Episode 1
The city is under attack by… Purple Piccolo???!!! Oh my. Who is going to save the day? Who is going to save this poor kid about to be squished by this DBZ knockoff? Don’t worry. Here comes Saitama. This bald dude is going to save everything? Laughable! And then… One punch! Piccolo clone explodes into smithereens! OMG!!! Flashback reveals Saitama was an ordinary salaryman. Actually he is still trying to find a job and unsuccessful for the umpteenth time. He still had hair then, though. He bumps into this Crablante monster who is killing everybody in his path while finding a kid who drew nipples on his body. Because Saitama had suicidal tendencies, Crablante lets him live. Saitama then sees that kid. He thought of minding his own business but when he sees him going to be killed by Crablante for real, he instinctively saves him. Despite getting beaten up several times, Saitama then finds his ultimate strength to counter it all and pull out all his innards!!! Ever since then, he began training strictly for 3 years until he is so freaking strong enough to destroy anything with 1 punch. Along the way, he became bald. Sighs… Now he is living his mundane ordinary life. Buying his usual groceries at the store when suddenly a giant monster begins stepping all over the city. It is another case of a mad scientist who did several tests on his brother who wanted to become the strongest man in the world. Mad scientist dude revels in squishing people like ants with his giant brother. Saitama flies up on his shoulder and when mad scientist brother tells him to get rid of this bald dude, giant brother smacks the wrong shoulder! OMG! He just killed his own brother! Well, he might be strong be he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Giant brother feels empty after his brother’s death and before he could go on a rampage, Saitama defeats him with a single punch.

But Saitama has been plagued with personal issues lately. He doesn’t feel the same before when he started becoming a hero. He doesn’t feel the thrill in fighting anymore. It is like he has become an emotional robot. Because all he needs is one punch to end everything. Where is the fun in that? So he thought at least living his mundane life and doing the little things he enjoy would be okay. Then suddenly the underground people destroy his home. These Subterraneans are going to make the surface their home since the underground has been overpopulated. They are going to do this by wiping out the surface dwellers. As Saitama fights the ugly hordes, he could feel his adrenaline rushing. They put up a decent fight and this has been the thrill he had been seeking for so long. He takes on all of them and even kills off the big king. Yes! This is it! This is the exhilaration that he wants! Then suddenly… He wakes up! Damn dream sequence! But that dream may be a foreboding omen because those Subterraneans are here. Unfortunately they look pathetic. And when Saitama finishes off one of them and dares for them to come at him, the rest decide to cowardly go back and live underground forever. Yeah, they even said sorry for invading. What a letdown. Yeah, he became too strong alright.

Episode 2
Saitama might be the strongest dude but he still has a hard time trying to swat a mosquito! OMG! Is this a joke? Meanwhile the city is under curfew because of a swarm of mosquitoes sucking the blood of anything in its path. They are actually under the control of Mosquito Girl who is using them to collect blood as her food. Genos the cyborg has been tracking her down and fights her. Knowing she cannot best him, she flees to buy some time. That is when Genos stumbles onto Saitama. Still trying to kill the bug? Mosquito Girl returns with a bigger swarm to kill Genos but he burns a big radius of the city after confirming no other life forms are around. But Saitama is still alive. Only naked. Mosquito Girl has enough blood to transform into a super fast and powerful monster to rip Genos apart. Genos’ only hope is to self destruct and take her along with him. But Saitama punches her and she splatters into a big paint of blood! Seeing how strong he is, Genos wants to become his disciple and starts bugging him at his apartment. Saitama isn’t interested in taking him in but I don’t think cyborg guy is listening. He even went about telling his past of his poor but happy life till a crazy robot destroyed his town and family. He was the only survivor. Dr Kuseno performed body modifications on him and it has become his mission to find this robot but so far has found no clues. Feeling indebted to Saitama, he vows not to die before getting his revenge. Therefore he wants to study under him to obtain the greatest power to achieve his goal. His long ass story is put to a halt when Saitama screams his head off for being too long and just to summarize it in 20 words!

Meanwhile, a mad scientist, Dr Genus learns that Mosquito Girl has been defeated. But with one punch? He wants Saitama and to study him as a specimen. Before Genos can ask to start his training under Saitama, he detects presence of enemies surrounding the area. Too bad this praying mantis dude got owned by Saitama before he could finish his introduction. Then there are these weird weakling beasts outside, frog man and slug man outside the apartment, having second thoughts if this was such a good idea after all. Saitama easily knocks them underground and even lectures them about crashing through people’s ceiling. But he is also pulled under by this mole dude and confronted by cocky lion king while Genos takes on this gorilla dude. The beasts get cocky but Saitama is as his nonchalant self. He gives them a chance to apologize and go away but since that didn’t work, a single punch to kill off lion guy! Mole guy starts panicking and digs underground to hide but Saitama is waiting… How the?! Hello. Welcome to hell! Genos has defeated gorilla guy and the latter acts tough that his mouth is shut. But when Saitama brings the lion king’s eyeball, his balls shrink and will tell everything! Genus learns his beast army he sent has been eliminated. He and his clones are surprised at the turn of events.

Episode 3
Long ago, Genus was a brilliant scientist and got lots of awards. However there was a problem. None of his colleagues supported his idea of artificial evolution of humans. He became disillusioned and went on to do research on it by himself. It was till he is 70 years old that his efforts yielded results. He regained his youth, made clones and named his lab House of Evolution. Since gorilla’s summary is too long, he is told to summarize it in 20 words! In short, Genus is interested in his body. No, that is not a gay statement! Saitama wants to finish this today since tomorrow there is a sale at the supermarket. Genus and his clones detect Saitama and Genos coming towards their base. The clones become restless when Genus suggests unleashing their last trump card. They have set traps and this will only be their last resort. When the heroes arrive, Genos blasts the entire tower away! Bummer. And Saitama wanted to at least see what the enemy looked like. They find a trapdoor and an underground passage. Genus sees Carnage Kabuto. This giant beetle has been locked up underground and killing his clones. He deems himself as the strongest and most intelligent being ever although Genus sees him as a failure because he lacks humanity and is very mentally unstable. Kabuto charges through the passage and wipes out Genos. He tells Saitama to face him in a big empty underground room where it is used to test fights and such. Genos is not done yet and tries to burn Kabuto but he could easily deflect his flames. Flashback shows Genus considers everyone himself as inferior. This realization made him agonize. That is why he wants to see how this new human breed will transcend humanity.

Kabuto is cocky as usual. He is going to finish off with his super speed and strength. But when he gets behind Saitama, suddenly he starts feeling scared and backs off! Everyone is shocked with this reaction. Kabuto notes that despite his pathetic appearance, his guts is tingling that he is a freaking dangerous man. Kabuto can’t stop sweating. With everyone wanting to know how he became this strong, Saitama is going to reveal it. Listen carefully to his secret. The most important of all is to stick to your training strictly. It took him 3 years to get this strong. 100 push-ups , 100 sit-ups, 100 squads and running 10km. Every day. This is the only way to become strong instead of tinkering with genetics. But it is Genos that gets mad at his crap. He doesn’t believe in all that. This joke isn’t the reason he became his student. He wants to know his true secret. But that is all he did. Kabuto is also mad that he becomes so pissed, he transforms into his ultimate carnage form. He will not stop rampaging for a week in this mode and will kill everybody in town after he kills him. While Saitama gets pounded mercilessly, he starts thinking that if Kabuto goes berserk for a week, that means what about the damn supermarket sale???!!! This won’t do so Saitama punches and destroys him!!! Don’t f*ck with this guy! Genos says that they can make it for the sale if they run back now. So as the duo hurry out, Genus still in shock decides to give up on evolution. Screw science. He is the one who must change. Yeah. Good point. A couple of agents are investigated the burnt site where the tower once stood and they believe Genos could only do this.

Episode 4
Hammerhead (did I see this guy from Dragonball somewhere?) and his men are decrying about the injustice for the need to work like dogs and thus creating a society of imbalance wealth where the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. Nobody is listening… So their first job is to destroy the luxury apartment of the richest guy in town, Zeniru with the power suits they stole. Oops. Wrong apartment. Their terrorism is all over the news and Saitama isn’t really interested till he realized the single trait they all share: They are all bald! He fears this trend will make him be seen as a villain. So he goes out to stop them but good luck in trying to dismiss the public pointing him out as a terrorist! Zeniru sends his henchman, Sonic to take care of the terrorists. No, he is not a blue hedgehog but a crazy bloodthirsty ninja. He easily decapitates the goons like hot butter. Hammerhead is formidable but eventually gets a kunai in his head. Thanks to his thick skull, he manages to fake death and slip away. That is when he bumps into Saitama. Since he is not going to join his gang, he is going to kill him. A single punch is enough to shatter his power suit and send Hammerhead running away with his life intact but butt naked. Saitama is attacked by Sonic who mistakes him as Hammerhead’s henchman. However Saitama is fast enough to dodge all his attacks. His pride as a ninja is hurt so Sonic shows off his supersonic speed but Saitama thinks he just wants to boast about it. He knows. Look at his innocent smile. Yeah. ‘Innocent’…

Sonic is shocked he can see through his attacks even at this speed. Saitama could have punched his balls and would have been a painful death had not Sonic pulled back. There was contact but it was enough for Sonic to feel the pain. I’m sure it hurts as hell but hey, at least it is intact. He vows to go for training and return stronger to defeat him. When Genos visits after being repaired Kuseno, he sees Saitama depressed. What is bugging him? Actually he is thinking of the big problem that nobody knows him as a hero! So all those monster and bug destroying feats, nobody cared? Realizing that Saitama’s name didn’t pop up on the news and only some minor hero who took the credit for disarming Hammerhead’s gang, he wonders if Saitama is registered with the Hero Association. Oh look. There is a website you can look up. One can register at the nearest branch, take a test and once confirmed, will become a professional member to do lots of hero work and even get paid from donations. Anybody else self proclaiming as one are just weirdoes. Well I’ll be damned. Saitama never knew about this? Genos is not a member because he didn’t think it was necessary. Saitama suggests they go join and then he will take him as his disciple. Agreed. Meanwhile Hammerhead is killed off by some weird guys who purposely let his gang steal the power suits to collect data. Thanks to Hammerhead’s thick skull, he still lives. Yeah, now he has regretted his way of life and will get an honest job. So glad to be alive, eh?

Episode 5
The committee is discussing the increase in heroes entering the certification exam. However it is noted that the quality of heroes has reduced throughout the years and this year’s evaluation must be more critical. Saitama as at the exam. He is so fast and powerful that he is already done with the task when others are about to begin! Holy crap! Why is there a whack-a-mole game at the test too?! Saitama is so great that it discouraged some heroes. Yeah, going home, aren’t they? Despite Saitama’s awesomeness, he only got C-rank as opposed to Genos getting the highest S-rank. There was an interview Genos underwent. The agents asked him about the burnt down side of House of Evolution they have been tracking down. Genos didn’t hesitate he was the one behind it and immediately they pass him. Seems the duo are the only successful candidates and they have to attend a special seminar helmed by this cocky A-rank hero, Snek. He warns them about embarrassing themselves but didn’t he just put up an embarrassing pose? Even more insulting is how they’re not listening to his crap. The duo also learn a little history of Hero Association. Formed only 3 years ago, it was by Agoni, the grandchild of a millionaire who was saved from a monster by a passerby. He then used his fortune to establish this system. While Snek is complaining about those amateurs, he is being told that Genos scored perfect in written and physical tests. As for Saitama, he did poorly on the written tests. Despite his perfect score in the physical, he is only admitted based on the fact that he broke all Hero Association’s test records by inconceivable margins. It is like as though there is a god residing in his body. Snek fears he would soon be surpassed by them and out of jealousy goes to attack Saitama. He got owned in a single punch. I believe Saitama didn’t even go all out or break a sweat, that’s why he is still breathing.

Genos trains with Saitama and wants him to go all out so he too can be serious. This fight might also give him insight on Saitama’s powers since he believes his master cannot explain his secret well. Despite Genos pulling off every firepower in his arsenal that leaves burn marks on the terrains, Saitama could easily dodge them all. Genos thought he isn’t being serious so when he does, he is even faster than before! Genos thought he is done for when he sees Saitama’s punch coming into his face. But he stops inches before hitting his face. However the aftershock was huge that it turned the cliff into a huge valley! OMG! I am sure Genos is ready to call it a day since he realizes he can’t see himself coming close to this power. During lunch at the udon house, we see Saitama isn’t the strongest after all because Genos beats him in the udon eating competition. Do cyborgs need to eat? Genos is approached by a handsome A-rank hero, Sweet Mask who wants to talk outside. Genos returns shortly and there was no fight as Saitama expected. He was here to give his welcome to the association. Because Sweet Mask is quite a popular hero, several pretty girls (and ugly ones too) want to shake hands with Genos for being friends with Sweet Mask. I guess Saitama could see the different treatment between their ranks, eh? Better move up fast. Genos remembers Sweet Mask’s advice not to be too quick to be hot headed or he will get burnt. Saitama thinks he got deeper into trouble now that Genos is officially his disciple. I’m sure he didn’t count on him moving into his place as he brings all his stuffs. But after seeing Genos’ stack of notes as rental, it is a big welcome! Oh yeah. Nothing changes your stance better than money.

Episode 6
If having to think up of an acceptable training regiment is stressing out Saitama, wait till here hears how C-rank heroes must be involved in some hero activity at least once a week or they will be deregistered! Because A-rank gets to fight terrorists and monsters, C-ranks are usually reduced to catch petty thieves. Time to make up time for idling around the house. Saitama manages to convince Genos with this crap he just made up about not training his body but his mind. Then off he runs around town to find any crime. Too peaceful! Oh well, there is always tomorrow. That’s the thing with procrastination. Yet another peaceful day. Time to panic? He stumbles upon Sonic who wants to kick his ass. Saitama ignores him since he is busy. Sonic swiftly cuts him but Saitama is swifter as he breaks his sword with his teeth! Sonic couldn’t even see it coming! More trouble for Saitama when a civilian calls this hero, Tank Top Tiger to apprehend Saitama! Because he was running around with a scary face yesterday! Disturbing the peace? Sonic easily puts him to sleep with his explosive shurikens and then continue his big fight with Saitama. Yeah well, the entire town is going to be destroyed at this rate. Hope this counts as work. A committee is keeping track of reports of the various top heroes and their activities on various alphabet cities. This committee was formed because of the substantial damage to the cities and thus the need to prevent it by detecting any potential threat via investigation. City Z has the highest number of monster attacks and has been increasing over the years.

Top A-class heroes, Golden Ball and Spring Mustachio are sent to investigate this ghost town. It is natural that people fled the city after experiencing too many monster attacks. During their investigation, they stumble upon a seaweed tentacle monster. Golden Ball intercepts it but he didn’t count his bullet to be broken. Then he got owned. Mustachio takes him on but realizes the monstrosity he is. Before he is defeated, he requested backup from Hero Association. The monster is disappointed about everything. He thought he could take it all out on Saitama passing by. Bad choice. And so Saitama is going to have a nice dinner of kelp and seaweed. Yum. The report on City Z is handed in as nothing extraordinary. But it is noted despite the A-class heroes failed to defeat the monster, they fear it might be still roaming around. Even more baffling how the reinforcement heroes came and saw a freaking big devastation at the battle site. It made them feel scared about what had happened. The investigation continues and rumours start spreading to humans and monsters alike that there is a much more dangerous monster lurking there. Saitama is glad his rank went up a bit thanks to quelling that Sonic incident. But he is disheartened that despite Genos being ranked last in S-class, he is voted the 6th most popular based on appearance. I guess Saitama had to stop him from reading aloud and further all those comments.

Episode 7
Genos receives an emergency call to gather at Hero Association. But when he arrives, it is empty. Only he and another S-class hero, Bang are there. It seems a meteor has deviated from its trajectory and is about to hit City Z and affect its adjacent cities. All S-class heroes have been called to handle to problem but looks like nobody is interested. Besides, the evacuation announcement just made panicking worse. Genos goes to stop the meteor and he has no choice but to test out his prototype arms. Before he could make a move, fellow S-rank hero, Metal Knight is here to destroy the meteor. However his intention is not to help but to test his new weapons. He isn’t afraid of losing and dying since he is controlling this robot body via remote. When his fiery missiles fail to even scratch the meteor, Genos starts panicking that it is all up to him. Will his firepower be enough to stop it since Metal Knight failed? Bang is here to tell him off about worrying too much so Genos screws his thoughts and fires away. Nothing happens. Doomed. But don’t worry. It is Saitama’s turn. He jumps up to destroy the meteor in a single punch! OMG! Missiles can’t do the job but his fist can?! However… The meteor breaks up into pieces and rains down on the city. Damn… In the aftermath, it is reported that although City Z is visibly in ruins, it is not completely destroyed. Because usually the shockwaves from the meteor would have destroyed everything even if it was in pieces but Saitama was able to stop that with his punch and minimizing damage. I guess it isn’t that all bad. Plus, nobody died. However Genos is concerned that despite his heroic efforts, he knows that the ordinary people view him as a villain who destroyed their city. It is all over the forums.

Thanks to their heroics, Genos and Metal Knight move up a rank while Saitama moves up over 300 places to fifth in C-class! OMG! Unbelievable! Perhaps the only thing preventing him from being promoted to S-class is because the association thinks he got help from Genos and Metal Knight. Saitama goes to patrol the city alone. That is when Tank Top Tiger calls out to him. Yeah, he brought his brother, Tank Top Black Hole to get his revenge. But honestly, Saitama doesn’t even remember this dude. So instead of beating him up, big brother has a better idea to break his spirit. At the top of his voice, he blames Saitama as the one who destroyed the city and causing unnecessary troubles to others. With the crowd gathering and the typical ungrateful herd mentality, they all chant for him to resign as a hero. The brothers get greedy to make this as their publicity stunt as they claim Saitama wants to take out his frustrations on the people and they are here to stop him in a fair fight. But you know… Tank Top Tiger gets punched away and Tank Top Black Hole starts squirming in pain, pleading for his life and admitting all his lies! Saitama is just holding his palm. Yeah… In a surprise move, Saitama then admits he did destroy the comet. Also, he tells everyone to shut up b*tching about their inconvenience. Tell that to the meteor and see if it listens to you. So just shut the f*ck up! Genos is here to bring Saitama home before he starts blowing his top and making him even balder. Hah… Genos assures him even if the public turns against him or doesn’t appreciate him, he will always follow him for he is the most incredible person he has ever met.

Episode 8
A sea monster terrorizes another city. It could have been vicious tentacle rape had not he been taking out by a single punch. Guess who? Despite the public forums view him as strong, many believe he steals credits of others. Soon, more sea monsters (and more vicious sea tentacles) attack the city. The alert is sounded so S-class heroes stream in to fight them and the people evacuate. This Stinger dude (Lancer?) manages to defeat all the monsters till he loses to the super strong Deep Sea King. Not even Lightning Max had a fighting chance. Then here comes this macho gay hero convict, Puri-Puri Prisoner. This S-class hero is a convict? Yeah, assaulting too many handsome guys and beautiful boys. He escaped with Sonic. Prisoner and Deep Sea King are evenly matched in terms of strength. However after Prisoner pulls off all his combo punches, Deep Sea King is still standing and blows him away with a few punches. Sonic thinks his speed allows him to take him on. At first he is fast but slowly he realizes Deep Sea King is getting faster and stronger. It must be the rain enhancing his true powers. He makes a wise decision to escape for now. At the expense of his clothes. So when Genos just came running into the city, he thought he saw a pervert. Deep Sea King turns his attention to slaughter all the civilians taking shelter. He is not taking any prisoners. Some of the heroes at the shelter thought they could buy time but they got owned in no time. So much about that. Saitama runs into fellow hero, Licenseless Rider while on his way into the city. He thought he saw a naked pervert zoomed by. He goes to check it out but lost him. At that time, Licenseless Rider got word that Deep Sea King is attacking the shelter and pedals there. He dropped his handphone just when he gets a call from Hero Association. Saitama picks it up instead and hears how S-class heroes have been defeated and they stand no chance. Saitama’s serious face says otherwise…

Episode 9
Genos arrives to fight the monster. He throws every arsenal in his book but Deep Sea King regenerates and fight back. When he spits acid at a girl, Genos uses his body to protect her. Gosh, he looks worst than Terminator. All bare, uhm, bones and metal? Before he could be finished off, Licenseless Rider comes to attack. Unfortunately he too takes a beating. Another hero to bite the dust? Licenseless Rider knows very well himself that despite being a C-class hero, he cannot win this. But yet he must try. It isn’t about losing or winning. It’s about him taking him on right here, right now. The crowd is touched and cheers for him but a single monster punch is enough to knock him out. There goes the hope. Oh wait. Here is Saitama. It’s his turn now. A big punch from Deep Sea King doesn’t even move him! And he calls that punch weak? Saitama throws his usual punch enough to blow the monster away and even clears up the sky! WOW!!! Unbelievable! Sonic returns with his gear… It’s over dude. In the aftermath, Genos receives lots of fan mail. There is one for Saitama but it is a threatening letter calling him a cheat. Flashback after Deep Sea King’s defeat, the crowd is ever so grateful but a stupid jerk said the monster boss wasn’t that tough after all. Even though many heroes were defeated, their titles meant nothing and imagine if a C-class hero could beat it, they are all just talk. Since the heroes are paid with their donated money, they had better protect them and it is a good thing this one turned out well. The crowd wants to punch that jerk but that is when Saitama declares it was a good thing he was late. Because the other heroes weakened the monster for him and thus it was easy for him. Now he will claim all the credit. He wants everyone to spread the word and look after the fallen heroes otherwise his credit will be tainted. This made the crowd rethink that the other heroes were more heroic. Genos felt bad but if this is the path he wants to walk, so be it. But if the next time it happens, he will have his say. All is not lost since there is a letter thanking Saitama. Then another letter that promotes him to the top of C-class. Soon he is called by Hero Association for a promotion test to B-class. He accepts the test since it will get him out of the bothersome weekly quota. Deep Sea King’s defeat is on the front page of the newspaper. The fallen heroes must be feeling sour. But Prisoner wants their ass but they have energy to run. Prisoner sees an article calling him a failure. After a lengthy test, Saitama is now a B-class hero. Licenseless Rider treats him to oden to celebrate his promotion. He is the one who sent that thank you letter.

Episode 10
With all the king monsters gone, this dinosaur lizard king is going to claim his right to take over Earth. He is confronted with S-class hero, Tatsumaki who ignores him because she just got some call over some problem. They both ignore each other until they’re ready to fight. But dinosaur dude dies after a meteor crashes into him. Saitama and Genos are in Bang’s dojo when they receive an emergency call for all S-class heroes to assemble at the HQ. Saitama meets a few of them like Atomic Samurai. Because Saitama is not even S-class, those heroes act arrogant. But since Tatsumaki is a little brat, I guess Saitama can ignore her ranting. So we are briefly introduced to all the 17 S-class heroes. Yeah, they look more like weirdoes. Only Metal Knight and the top S-class hero, Blast are missing from this meeting. First, the heroes are to decide whether or not they want to accept this mission. If they do, they will be confined here until the disaster to avoid public panic. The great seer, Madame Shibabawa has died. Many of her predictions that befall Earth are accurate. She died choking when she saw the greatest disaster ever to befall Earth. She managed to leave a note but that is all it states. Nobody knows what it is actually. The building is under attack by tengu monsters but they are swiftly cut down by a hideous alien. A big mothership hovers over the city. And in a single powerful blast, 99.8% of the city is destroyed! OMG! Only the HQ is left standing since it was built by Metal Knight. Some of the S-class heroes engage with this multi-headed alien blob, Melzagard but it will be hard to cut him down since he can regenerate fast. When S-class hero, King who is also the strongest man on Earth says it is impossible to reach the mothership from here and should concentrate on finding Metal Knight, Tatsumaki blows her top for him being pathetic and doing nothing. She will take care of this herself. Genos wants to help but she plans on going solo. After all, Genos notes that there is no need for the heroes to work together because he knows Saitama is already inside the mothership. He is leaving a trail of dead aliens in his wake as he searches for the big boss.

Episode 11
Geryuganshoop is shocked that a lone intruder has destroyed 23% of the ship and killed half the crew! But the big Cyclops boss, Lord Boros says the ship will be fine as long as the sphere is not damage. Atomic Samurai, Bang, Prisoner and Metal Bat continue to engage in futile a fight against Melzargard. All they can do is just keep hitting till something happens. When they notice a tiny marble inside a head and smashing it means instantly melting that head, they get motivated to find it and slowly they take out the heads one by one. Geryuganshoop seeks help from Melzargard to kill the intruder but he too seeks his help to come down and fight. But they decide they will just use the artillery to bombard the entire city. Saitama is running rampage that he is lost. Geryuganshoop is desperate to get him off the ship that he will guide him to the exit. But sneaky Saitama did the opposite and ends up in the control room. Geryuganshoop uses his super telekinesis power to control gravity. Not affecting Saitama one bit. He then uses pebbles as deadly projection but Saitama views it as child’s play. Boring. A flick back at him splits the octopus’ head in half! Game over. The bombardment is set to fire now. Before the heavy missiles could rain on the city, bratty Tatsumaki uses her telekinesis to return them to where they come from. Guess who got a taste of their own medicine? Licenseless Rider and a few other A-class heroes help out with the evacuation of the city and those who are injured. Melzargard is down to his last head but Bang takes a direct hit. Saitama has found Boros’ chamber. Cyclops boss is happy he has reached here. He introduces himself as the captain of his alien pirates, Dark Matter. He is the strongest being in the universe. So strong that nobody could best him and he ravaged everything in sight that he became bored. Till a seer told him of a great warrior could match his potential. His crew think it was just a ploy to get rid of him to the far edges of the galaxy but the trip of 20 years is worth the wait. Show me your true strength! Saitama isn’t amused about his boredom crap and his single punch sends him flying. For the first time, an opponent he punches didn’t die! It only shackles his armour which seals his strength. Oh sh*t… Time to return the favour. He transforms into his true form. Since when is electrifying disco punk the trend?

Episode 12
The super epic fight begins that puts Goku’s Super Saiyan fight look like a baby! Meanwhile with Tatsumaki using her telekinesis to wrap up things on the mothership and send other aliens crying about their mama and homeland, some of the S-class heroes just went home. Drive Knight leaves Genos with an advice that Metal Knight is his enemy and should stay away from him. Melzargard is on the offensive but is surprised Bang is still alive. After seeing him regenerate so many times, Bang even knows where to get and crush his marble. We return to our epic fight between Saitama and Boros. The latter thought the fight is his and starts bragging about being the strongest and his regenerative abilities. But Saitama looks bored and just asks him if this fight is still on. Oh, it is just getting started. Saitama is punched away as far as the moon! OMG! How can he breathe? Don’t care. But he jumps back down to Earth! Hope he didn’t change the moon’s trajectory. You bet Boros is shocked that he is back and survives. He is going to be a worthy opponent to defeat. Now they are going all out that makes Super Saiyan fights look like babies. Saitama unleashes a series of consecutive punches. It blows Boros to bits but he regenerates. He then gets serious with his, uhm, serious punch (aren’t all his punches serious?) and defeats Boros for good. Saitama praises him for being a strong dude. Boros In his last breath calls him a liar because he knows he still has strength left and this wasn’t a battle for him in the first place. The mothership is going to crash so all the heroes better get running if they don’t want to become S-class pancakes.

Sweet Mask arrives in the aftermath and wants to know what happened. The heroes explain but he is not amused and calls them pathetic. Is he the one to say for arriving late and not helping? Despite so, he claims the heroes couldn’t save a brick of the city. Sweet Mask argues he never get promoted to S-class despite having the chance because he wants to prevent useless heroes from moving up. Probably a big fight is going to start between Sweet Mask and Metal Bat but Metal Knight drops into the scene. Genos realizes he has come to salvage parts of the mothership and he doesn’t deny it. He will use the parts to create better weapons. Because better weapons = better peace. Some of the captured aliens thought they could talk their way out. They are all instantly killed by Sweet Mask. He calls them evil and there is nothing else to be said. Sweet Mask views Genos as a disappointment. This act reminds Genos he was once like that, rushing to mete out justice. Saitama finally breaks out from the mothership. I guess he even got lost after that. Since master and disciple are ignoring Tatsumaki, she starts insulting them. Saitama tells Genos to shut her up but he gets owned! Bang puts a stop to their in-quarrel. Looks like Saitama has to pick up Genos’ pieces. Oops, he ripped his arm? In the aftermath, news of the alien invasion and the city destruction hog the headlines for days before it died down and forgotten. Hero Association reconstructed their base to be stronger and give those who are ranked A-class and above to live there. They have also built roads and infrastructure that would give faster access to heroes to other cities. In another city, this pig king of the underworld unleashes his terror. And you know who destroys him with a single punch, right? But Saitama doesn’t look too happy… After that awesome fight with Boros, he is not pleased of returning to one punch again! All over too fast!

OVA
An origin story because you know, Saitama still had hair. After defeating another monster, he notices his jersey is ripped again and sends it to his usual tailor to fix it. Little did he know, tailor uncle just got a last warning from a loan shark punk to come up with the cash by tomorrow or else. Uncle has taken the liberty to design a tougher costume for him. Looks hideous… Because he is so kind to do so, Saitama feels bad to turn him down. After all, he isn’t sure about this hero thing and is only doing it as hobby. Meanwhile the punk reports to his boss about the tailor. He will finally get his shop deed. It seems some inner voice tells him to destroy. Saitama walks around the abandoned neighbourhood and notices what uncle said was true that with the high crime rate, many shops have closed. But he too has his own problems because the landlady comes knocking on his door at an ungodly hour looking for his 3 months in rent! Next day when Saitama goes to collect his jersey, he sees uncle handing the punk his shop’s deed. Of course you know how extortion works and since he can’t keep up with the interest, it’s time to handover. He hasn’t called the police because the loan shark group lives in an apartment where the police cannot touch them. So with direction advice, Saitama promises to head there and negotiate to get his deed back.

He didn’t expect his landlady to be living there! Also, he encounters weirdoes from counterfeiters and underwear thieves. The only reason he got motivated to beat them up is the reward those dumb criminals mention they have. Finally he enters the room of the loan shark boss. He shows a card and explains about the law how uncle has cleared his debts and now that he is just overpaying and thus has no right to seize his deed. This causes the boss to go mad as he transforms into… A BDSM goldfish monster? Yeah, no wonder Saitama calls him a pervert. Boss shows off his power and once again his jersey gets ripped. But when Saitama hears there is a high reward on him… Landlady wonders why Saitama is at her doorstep. He doesn’t have the rent money to pay her but he has rounded up these criminals with a bounty. He has already called the police and if she turns them in, consider it as his rent payments settled. However she gets upset instead because now her main income source is gone! Oh sh*t! She is the ringleader? As a result, he gets kicked out. Uncle picks him up on the streets and to show his gratefulness for returning his deed, he has created a costume for him (his trademark costume of the series). Of course uncle says he is already getting old and was probably looking for a reason to retire and close the shop anyway. Saitama puts on the costume and feels weird about it at first but eventually gets used to it. It seems Saitama is telling this story to Genos of how important this suit is to him. But he thinks Genos hasn’t been listening because Genos thinking the essence to become a true hero is to have something important, he wants Saitama to throw away the costume so he could personally give him a new one. I don’t think that was even the point…

Specials

12 minutes special when you buy the DVDs and cannot get enough of our super strong bald hero.

Special 1
After watching a stalker movie, Saitama has a feeling that somebody is stalking him. It is actually Genos trying to know more about him as he camps across his place. Of course Genos also has to be careful because he thinks Saitama is being cautious and on his guard. At a family restaurant, he observes Saitama ordering only a kid’s meal of fries. No money… It’s a sin to be poor. Yeah, small portion too… Remember, a kid’s meal… After he returns from toilet, he notices a fry missing! He calls the waitress but do you think she can possibly explain? Yeah, she looks scared… Genos is the culprit stealing the fry and will analyze it thinking it would be the diet that made Saitama strong. Saitama believes the stalker is the one who stole his fry and will wait for him to show up. No show… To compound his bad day, there is this handsome guy monster turning people into dry skin. He reminds Saitama that they fought 6 months before and was defeated. The shock of the defeat left his skin dry and so he underwent some strict moisturizing regiment and did random stuffs to attract his attention. Saitama misinterprets all that as him being the stalker AKA French fry thief. Poor pretty guy gets owned big time for a misunderstanding. But hell yeah, Saitama still saved the day, right? He narrates about his fate of being a hero that will have others seeking grudge on him. It is not that he doesn’t want fans but at least it would be nice for someone to notice his efforts. He then remembers a disciple wannabe. Meanwhile Genos analyzes the fry and finds out to be a regular fry. Disappointed? So the next day, he takes his first bold step to ask Saitama to become his disciple.

Special 2
Genos is confronted by Don Pacino and his men. The latter have Genos’ precious key. Don wants to know his connection with this man who is from a rival gang and once he tells him, he can have the key back. It all began when Genos and Saitama at a public bath. There’s some mindless chatter on what expression to say when it feels good. Why can’t a normal “Ahhh~” do? Yeah, even Don is arguing a better way to say it. Anyway, after they are done, Saitama hand the key to his place and cautions him not to lose them since it is dangerous around these days. That is when Saitama remembers some time limited cheap sale. I wonder how he could stick so many brochures in his pocket. Because he worries he cannot cover all of them in time, Genos suggested they split up to cover more ground. Unfortunately Genos had his hands full in defeating some toilet bowl villain and because he was 2 seconds late, the store clerk turned him down. No offer. He rushed to the next store but it was closed with a notice. That is when the rival gang guy passed by as Genos sought an answer. He was told about Don as the new boss around and the shop might have closed down because they can’t afford to pay protection money. That is when Don and his men picked up Genos’ dropped key and want to talk. Don is shocked that Genos and this guy had no relation and they wasted their time hearing his useless story. Well, he asked, right? They are so mad that they pull out their guns. Genos realizes they are wanted men and have no intention to return his keys. I don’t think their bullets can match his firepower. Genos gets the keys and returns home. Saitama is already back as he has an extra set. Genos has stopped by another store on his way home and got some premium meat in which they make and enjoy a delicious sukiyaki.

Special 3
Sonic is still reeling from his trauma of his fight with Saitama. It always ends with Saitama punching his balls! Yeah, that has got to hurt. No matter how he envisions it, he cannot see himself beating Saitama. Sonic is currently living in the woods with an old hunter, Matagi. He tells of his experience of fighting a bear that give him a hideous scar on his arm. Although he survived, he feels afraid each time he thinks of that. The only way he can overcome his fear is to defeat it. The same applies to Sonic. He goes to train himself and one day saves a little boar from a giant snake. At first he sees Saitama in it but overcomes it to cut it apart. The boar sticks around him and Sonic names it Ino. Sonic continues his training until he finds his confidence. He then returns to the city while leaving Ino in Matagi’s care. Sonic’s parting advice is that if he gets confident of his skills and yet lose, the result will always be the same. That night the bear comes by and Matagi despite still shaking knows he must fight after remembering Sonic’s words. The bear tears the place apart and flings Matagi about. He is out of bullets too. Before the bear could kill him, here comes Saitama. Ino upon seeing his face flees! You know Saitama is such badass when even the bear starts feeling afraid. Dead meat. Saitama and Genos enjoy a good sukiyaki with bear meat although he would have preferred boar meat.

Special 4
Bang needs to know why Saitama’s punch is more powerful than his after that meteor incident. He goes to spy on them and couldn’t comprehend their master-disciple relationship. Sizing him up, he finds Saitama to be quite ordinary. He invites them to do some muscle training in his dojo tomorrow. Surprisingly Saitama accepts. But next day, Bang waits and they never show up. He goes to spy on them again and learns Saitama accepted only because the old fart won’t get off their back if they refused. Bang then witnesses Saitama swiftly trying to save something from an incoming truck. Luckily Genos lifted the truck but Saitama is left to rue that the cat was actually a plastic bag. And there goes his meat he bought. Bang then invites them to his dojo because he has meat for them. Yeah, that is how you ring Saitama in. Before he gives his meat, Bang wants to challenge him in a few things. Whether it is tile breaking or karuta, Saitama does it better. So it is decided to play penalty rock-scissors-paper. Saitama always loses and he always slips in reaching for the helmet. By that time Bang already knocked the toy hammer on his head. Finally after the umpteenth time Saitama wins but his hand once again slips in reaching the hammer. Bang feels nostalgic how his dojo was filled with youth. Bang realizes Saitama is going to whack him and he is wise to get out because the helmet is destroyed by his strength! Bang is shocked and left wondering what would be of him had this been a real fight. He admits his loss and gives them the meat. Then he passionately waxes lyrical about the essence of martial art, which is basically his way of trying to coax them to join his dojo. Sorry dude. Not interested.

Special 5
Fubuki and her group successfully defeat another monster. But she becomes disheartened that their efforts are nowhere mentioned in the papers. Even more depressing is how her older sister, Tatsumaki makes the headlines even without doing anything. She takes a train ride for a change in pace. Genos is also there, coming back from an errand of buying crabs for Saitama. He recognizes her as the top rank B-class hero. He receives a call that a serial bomber has put bombs on the train and will explode when it reaches the next station. Genos goes into action. Knowing her psychic powers, he has her levitate the passengers out to safety while he tries to stop the train. There is also a girl onboard who is a C-class hero. She volunteers to go find the bomb. Genos is not making any headway in slowing the train down. All the passengers have been safely evacuated and the bomb is found in the toilet. Fubuki levitates the girl out and she thinks her only way to minimise damage is to isolate the bomb. Before the train reaches the station, Fubuki and Genos are levitated away. Tatsumaki easily levitates the train high into the sky and even compresses the explosion. When the sisters come face to face, the feeling is not mutual. Fubuki walks home and the girl thanks her for saving her. She explains about being the last ranked hero in C-class and felt she was making any progress. But after today, she wants to continue becoming a hero. She hopes to rise up to B-rank and join her group. But Fubuki hints that she has already accepted her. Genos sees Kuseno and wants him to add psychic powers. Of course it is out of his field as he wonders if he needs it to fight a great enemy. Actually it is so that he would have brought crabs that won’t explode. There are crabs that won’t? Meanwhile Saitama continues to wait for his crab meat…

Special 6
A murder mystery at the hotspring inn?! One of the heroes, Zombieman is dead. Previously, Hero Association decided to treat all the heroes as reward for saving Earth from aliens with this wonderful hotspring inn relaxation. Some aren’t too happy that the reward is given to all of them despite some were blatantly missing in action during the invasion. So the usual drinking and celebrating. Before they know it, everyone gathers around Zombieman’s body at the hallway with a sword stabbed from the back. Child Emperor plays detective as he tries to deduce and narrow down the suspects. As the sword belongs to Atomic Samurai, however he does have an alibi so he wasn’t the one who went and stab Zombieman. Prisoner is also suspected as he is the only convict and thus the least trustworthy. Even more so Zombieman did have thoughts on targeting Zombieman as his sexual target! Saitama is another suspect since nothing much is known on him. Genos defends Saitama that he is so strong that he doesn’t need weapons to kill. But then Genos starts thinking maybe he could. Child Emperor asks King next since he was the first one who spotted the body. He recounts when he first saw the body, he reported it to the front desk and returned to his room. That’s all. More suspicions on him because instead of joining the rest in the hotspring, he went to soak by himself in his own room. A fight is looming when Tatsumaki warns she’ll restrain all of them if they start acting up. Just then, Zombieman wakes up! Well, his name is already a dead giveaway that he can’t die. He relates last night he was quite drunk and couldn’t remember much and just slept there when the sword stabbed him. All he remembers is the sword flying towards him from someone with aura like Tatsumaki. Is she the culprit? Tatsumaki defends herself that she knows Zombieman is immortal and wouldn’t die like this. Besides, she was drunk too and doesn’t remember much. Since it doesn’t bother Zombieman, everyone just let it go and return. Later Child Dragon is shown footage from the CCTV that Tatsumaki was the one who threw the sword at him. She was clearly drunk. But her motive remains unclear. When Saitama and Genos talk about this, Genos believes Saitama may be the reason. He teased her to stop acting like an adult because drinking is only for grownups. She got infuriated and forced herself to drink more sake. Then she took out her frustrations on Zombieman knowing he can’t die.

Sucker Punch!
Wait! What?! It ended too soon?! Just like Saitama’s one punch?! Oh, come on! I was really enjoying it and they had to put up that seemingly rushed ending, which doesn’t feel much of an ending by the way. Oh well, just like how Saitama has got to live with his devastating single punch each time he goes out to the battlefield, we must also live with the fact that this series is only one cour for now.

With so much potential for development, it is a shame that it would be a great waste if this series does not get any more seasons. Because the one thing that was the downside of this series only having a dozen TV episodes is the fact that there is not enough focus on the other superheroes. Saitama and Genos have their fair share of screen time in the initial episodes but as we get to know more and more heroes, it feels like this bunch of S-class heroes are as interesting and weird as they are. That is why personally I felt disappointed that some of the S-class heroes didn’t even get any proper screen time and only appeared just for introductions. It would be really interesting to get to know all of them.

Because in the world we live in today, being good or bad is not as obvious decades ago. Everything is such a grey area. That is why I was hoping to see ego clashes with Saitama and the other top heroes. Heck, even comic book hero groups like Avengers and Justice League have their own share of problems, right? I mean, when you have a group of very weird looking heroes (there is a pig glutton among them, am I not mistaken?), there is bound to be friction as we have already seen in some of them. Some like Metal Knight even have their own personal agenda. For all you know, the heroes are no better than villains and what makes them different is just the tag and label of hero on them.

So let me say again that if I had to point out the most disappointing aspect of this series, it would be the character development part on the other heroes. Or even other characters like Sonic who is pretty much like the villain for now and it feels wasted that he isn’t focused very much after his initial bout with Saitama. Yeah, with monsters rampaging, we have got no time for this fast ninja who seems to be more of a clown when he is not in deadly ninja mode. And Sweet Mask? There seems to be more than meets the eye to his upfront beautiful face…

But as far as our main hero Saitama is concerned, sometimes I find it unbelievable that with such simple exercises and discipline has turned him into a God-like character. Yeah, he is so strong and so fast that it is as though he has got the God cheat code on for eternity! So strong and fast that he is just bored when he fights his very cocky and enthusiastic (and soon to be dead) opponents. Like as though he was reading for the script and knows every inch and move his opponents will make. Those who survived will turn over a new leaf! Yeah, seeing his power is more fearful than meeting Satan himself. So if all that doesn’t even make him God, I don’t know what will. Despite all that, the irony is that Saitama is fairly unknown even in his own city. Like nobody cares who destroyed the monster in a single punch? Like no Hero Association members ever questioned who defeated the monsters to save the cities? Aren’t they even curious to find out who? That is why it just boggles my mind despite being the strongest, he is so relatively unknown like as though he is existence under the nose of everybody.

And at the rate Saitama destroys monsters that keep popping out from the ground, sky, space or anywhere on Earth, it is just a matter of time before these creatures become extinct. Uh huh. Maybe that is how the dinosaurs went extinct. Before you know it, Earth will once again be the world’s safest place thanks to Saitama! All hail Saitama the God! Despite Saitama’s boredom, he still tries to live a modest life and works his way up the honest way. He even questioned if joining Hero Association is the kind of hero he wanted to become. That is why it is sad that he decided to play the villain in becoming the bad guy after defeating Deep Sea King. If taking all the credits is not his style, but being the bad guy? Just think about the implications of Hero Association if he did. What will the public think about them? Will they need Hero Association when they have Saitama to do the job? But not everybody will be against Saitama as some like Licenseless Rider are on his side.

I believe Genos is trying to be a good disciple under Saitama’s wing. Mainly his role in this anime sees him observing and analyzing his master’s actions and words and then reflecting them on his own. I am not sure if there would be anything Genos can learn from Saitama because he himself is quite powerful in his own right. Just that when you compare him (and everybody else) to Saitama, they pale in comparison to his unbeatable power. Something tells me Genos is as ‘immortal’ as Saitama because there are some fights when he is beaten up so badly that he could have been scrap metal, after a few fixes by his master, he is back like new. So as long you don’t destroy, say, his heart or brain, you can fix him up always?

They mix action and comedy well in the series and it is one of the main reasons why this series is popular in its own right. You thought it would be boring with Saitama being able to finish off his opponents with just a single punch, right? Well, you’re wrong. Despite it is true that Saitama does end all his fights (except the one with Boros) in a single punch, the ensuing comedy before that which includes the enemy always bragging he is stronger, tougher, hardy, etc will never fail to amuse you. They will never ever know what is coming at them and it is always too late by then. And yes, before Saitama ends it all with his single super punch, there is wanton of destruction before that. This means you see heroes getting owned, panic across the city and the monsters running rampage before Saitama does his usual. That is why it is never boring to watch every episode. Another ‘downside’ to Saitama’s single powerful punch is that the enemy will die and you will never see him return ever again. Yeah. No rematch. Ever.

Just only one problem that bugged me after all those awesome fights: If Saitama can destroy anything with just a single punch, how come his gloves are still intact?! Think about this. I am sure that he can control the intensity of his punching strength to not give instant kill. But for those that became a victim to his super death punch, how come his gloves are still in one piece?! I have seen his costume and caped messed up a little but his gloves are still in perfect condition! Don’t tell me he can channel his energy to bypass his gloves and directly towards his enemies! Well, it is no surprise since this guy can blow your mind by doing the unexpected an impossible.

Art and drawing feel pretty fine until you realize that Saitama looks like the laziest hero and main character design ever! I know they want to make him look plain to deceive us with that boring look to hide his strength but you can’t help when looking at his face and comparing to the others who are more ‘anime-like’, Saitama’s face is so cartoonish! Even your 2 year old can draw a better face than his! But I am not saying that Saitama’s plain looks is bad but just that it is so contrasting compared to the rest. That is, until he has that menacing serious look. Then you are in real sh*t, baby! But if I want to pick a bone in the looks category, I can go on mentioning at how odd at all the heroes look themselves. I guess with super powers, it makes you look different, huh? And the monsters and aliens? Some look ferocious and some looking comical enough that it makes you think the producers called everyone to come up with a few monster designs and the rejected ones end up in laughable roles. Really. Naturally this show lacks fanservice but unless you are thinking about being gay with Prisoner, we prefer much to keep it that way. Except for Tatsumaki who seems to be hinting the haitenai phenomenon with the slips in her long black dress. All the fanservice you need?

This series has a lot of seiyuus due to the sheer amount of heroes, monsters and other minor characters. Of course recognizable ones include Mamoru Miyano as Sweet Mask, Yuuki Kaji as Sonic, Aoi Yuuki as Tatsumaki, Yuuichi Nakamura as Licenseless Rider and Rikiya Koyama as Deep Sea King. The rest of the casts are Makoto Furukawa as Saitama (Banri in Golden Time), Kaito Ishikawa as Genos (titular character in Kyoukai No Rinne), Kazuhiro Yamaji as Bang (Senor Pink in One Piece), Masaya Onosaka as Prisoner (France in Hetalia series), Toshiyuki Morikawa as Boros (Ugo in Magi), Kenjiro Tsuda as Atomic Samurai (Mikoto in K) and Tesshou Genda as Metal Knight (Soro in Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation) just to name a few. I just feel lazy to go over the rest…

The heavy rock opening very much suits the pace of this series. If The Hero!! ~Ikareru Ken ni Honoo Wo Tsukeru~ has a familiar rocking sound to it, it is because JAM Project is behind this song. So get your vocal chords ready as you try to scream out your heroic lyrics of this piece. Oh yeah! One Punch! Power! Get power! Oh yeah. That was a real good screaming. However the ending theme feels weird. Hoshi Yori Saki ni Mitsukete Ageru by Hiroko Moriguchi isn’t that bad but this slow ballad seems to have somewhat a lonely and hollow feel in it. I mean, after all that great action and comedy, when you hear this song, it makes you wonder if the producers had mistakenly put in the wrong song for this series. The special ending theme for the final episode, Kanashimitachi Wo Dakishimete no doubt is a slow pop piece, at least sounds better and very much fitting to the way it ends. It leaves you with a mix of emotions in your heart as you hear this song while the credits roll up the screen.

Overall, this is one of the few enjoyable superhero themed anime series out there. It is different than lots of recently adapted comic book superheroes and even those from the manga simply because our main hero isn’t your typical hero with a brooding past, big muscles, charismatic looks or the kind of high and mighty or super sense of justice attitude that everyone has come to expect these days. He is just an ordinary guy who is trying to live out his childhood dream of being a hero but it doesn’t turn out the way he dreamt of. Great for people who doesn’t like fights to prolong for over 20 episodes and just finish it all in a jiffy. Yeah, there are so many impatient people these days… Otherwise, I am sure this show that has fights ending too quickly would have you start appreciating fights that last longer than a single punch, right? Oh, carry on Goku. Carry on your fight with Vegeta for the next 20 episodes. We’ll savour and appreciate every single punch you throw from now on. And when you’re done with your match, we can come back again and do a rematch that lasts for another 10 episodes.