The One Punch Man Season 2 Anime is Pretty Bad.
First, I have not read the manga of One Punch Man. When the news first came that a second season was coming not developed by Madhouse, I was a bit concerned but after seeing the trailer and the first episode I had the initial thought of, "Yeah, I can work with this." I didn't really think it would disappoint me that much, I had pretty low expectations and expected atleast a decent production.
ONE is an incredible writer, his stories are always fun to watch, as seen in his works like Mob Psycho 100.
One Punch Man Season 2 was no different. It had a good story, compelling characters, charming development from the main cast, and leaves you wanting for more. Saitama finally makes more friends, hurray!
Which is why it was such a disappointment when you consider everything else in this anime adaptation.
By god, the way this adaptation was handled is upsetting. The pacing did not fit the story AT ALL. Sometimes it was too fast, sometimes it was too slow. The direction was so bad, that there was even music that I didn't realize was a recreation because it didn't have as much of an impact when the old version of the track was used back in Season 1.
( Spoiler warning, This is what I'm talking about)
Now obviously, there's complaints about the animation being bad. And while I do agree to a certain extent, there's still moments here and there that are surprisingly animated really well. But most of the time.. Nah.
If you come into Season 2 expecting the same glamorous fights you get in Season 1, you'd be extremely disappointed. One Punch Man Season 2 offers you one frame attacks, while sometimes it offers okay to decent fight choreography.
The only reason for you to keep watching is because of the story. But really, as an anime-watcher who hasn't read the One Punch Man manga by Yusuke Murata, I guarantee that the manga would be a much better experience if you're just in it for the story. Judging from the panels I've seen, it's a feat that Madhouse even made their adaptation work.
One Punch Man Season 2 had to carry all of that. It had to give justice to Yusuke Murata's artworks, ONE's storytelling, it had to be the greater follow-up for its first season which had beautiful backgrounds, direction in multiple areas (art direction, fight direction, music direction, etc.), a stellar soundtrack... You know, that's a lot to ask for a studio. So I'm left wondering why J.C. Staff decided to carry the mantle and clumsily drop it. I don't blame them for dropping it, but it is questionable why they took on this challenge knowing the circumstances.
What else can I say that hasn't been said already? If you see it as its own thing, you'd appreciate it a lot more. But as a follow up to One Punch Man? It's disappointing.
24 out of 38 users liked this review