monsters premise and then takes great joy in gleefully manipulating and aping each stereotype and convention. Indeed, perhaps the series’ greatest strength is that it sets up a generic hero vs. It’s perhaps worth mentioning at this point then, that One-Punch Man is as much a satirical comedy piece as it is an action one. Indeed, with the strong, morally-conscious protagonist, a conveyor belt procession of villains for him to fight and an inherently untrustworthy organisation in authority, you’d be forgiven for initially writing the series off as a generic fighting anime constructed using a mould hundreds of others have previously utilised. Given such a description, it’s difficult to see how One-Punch Man would stand out in such a saturated industry. Though the series initially takes on a monster-of-the-week style format, it doesn’t take long for a world of shady organisations, crazy professional superheroes and maniacal alien monsters to reveal itself and really crack the world of One-Punch Man wide open. Our protagonist’s frustrated existence is soon invigorated by the arrival of Genos, a revenge-seeking cyborg who witnesses Saitama’s overwhelming strength and seeks to become his loyal and diligent student, much to our hero’s dismay. After three years of not-really-that-intense training, Saitama finds he has become outrageously strong, able to defeat any enemy with a single punch and when the series begins, we find Saitama extremely bored with the lack of challenge his enemies pose. The story chronicles the adventures of Saitama, an inconspicuous-looking, bald twenty-five year-old who, after struggling to find a regular job, decides to fulfil his childhood ambition and become a superhero. More recently, Attack On Titan has succeeded in attracting anime newbies and connoisseurs alike with its brand of gore-centric action sequences, intriguing mysteries and fist-pumping soundtrack. Likewise, it’s no coincidence that Hollywood is currently in the process of churning out live-action versions of Death Note and Ghost In The Shell whilst rumours of an ambitious Akira project continue to swirl. Channels, and even casual television watchers are likely familiar with at least one of those franchises, if only because of the “it’s over 9000!” meme. Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon and Pokémon all found homes on international T.V. Now and then however, a series will come along with crossover, mainstream appeal that seeps into western pop culture and introduces a new generation of viewers to the world of anime and manga. Alongside Genos, his faithful disciple, Saitama begins his official hero duties as a member of the Hero Association, while Garou, a man utterly fascinated by monsters, makes his appearance.Anime may have developed a loyal and feverish following outside of Japan since the dawn of high-speed internet but in reality, fans will likely always have to contend with looks of bemused, quiet judgement when their grandparents ask why they’re watching “those funny Asian cartoons again”. Now, the great seer Madame Shibabawa's prediction about the Earth being doomed seems to be coming true as the frequency of monster incidents escalates. In fact, he's too strong-even his mightiest opponents are taken out with a single punch. After three years of "special training," he's become so strong that he's practically invincible. Viz Media describes One-Punch Man Season 2 as such, "Saitama is a hero who only became a hero for fun. The second season will run for 12 episodes, and Viz Media has licensed the season for an English release. Yoshikazu Iwanami serves as sound director, and Chikashi Kubota contributes new character designs. The season is directed by Chikara Sakurai (Naruto Shippuden episode director), for new production studio J.C. One-Punch Man Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu, and on Crunchyroll outside of the United States.
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