English Dub Review: One-Punch Man “Return of the Hero”

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)
A new hero who goes by the name of “The King” is introduced right away. His power is supposedly unworldly, leading to much fame and recognition among the public. However, he doesn’t seem too keen on fighting any baddies. It turns out that his disinterest in fighting the villains is because…he simply can’t! The King lures in villains like a magnet, but before he has to commit to fighting them, another hero does the duty before him! Yet, The King ultimately receives all the credit for the victory.

Once a robotic drone from the Association appears to test his skills, King runs off, claiming he’ll make the test data inaccurate due to not being able to exert his full power. The reason? He really has to take a crap. Thankfully, Saitama and Genos witness this event, leading to Genos to take action against the robotic foe.

With Genos wanting to take on the beast alone, Saitama trails the fleeing King back to his home. Whilst there, Saitama finds out the truth regarding King. Saitama, being his usual self, isn’t really bothered by it much. Before he departs though, he offers one piece of fatherly advice to King on what to do next: get stronger.

Genos ultimately wins the battle between the robot. He takes the robot’s decapitated head to his creator in order for his creator to make him stronger. His creator is concerned, however, that Genos has forgotten his goal of finding the cyborg who destroyed his village. However, Genos is more determined than ever to find him and make him pay for his unrighteous deeds.

Meanwhile, at the Hero Association, a meeting between the head of the Association and the criminals of the underworld is commencing. His goal is to recruit these criminals to help stop a dark force that is prophecized to awaken within the next six months. However, the criminals (including the return of a familiar face from last season, Speed O’ Sound Sonic) laugh off his proposition.

Throughout the city, two groups of people (the aforementioned criminal Sonic and a new hero, Hellish Blizzard) are beginning to take notice of Saitama’s unusually strong powers. Saitama better keeps his guard up, as they’re coming for him through any means necessary.

Our Take
I had some concerns going into this season of One-Punch Man, mainly due to some comments around the inter-webs stating that the show’s overall quality had taken a major hit. Thankfully, the first round of Season Two did not disappoint.

The comedic aspects of the episode were top-notch. Comedy is a pretty huge staple to this franchise, and it does not miss a beat here. I was laughing at several points throughout the episode, perhaps more times than I ever have before with this show! The action pieces were a little non-existent this round for the most part. That may be for the best though, as the episode feels like a light-hearted introduction to the season and not a gritty action-packed showdown.

The animation throughout looked well done throughout to my eyes. I’m honestly not sure why there were people complaining over the animation quality dive-bombing this season. The show’s signature art style is still present, and the animation is pretty fluid throughout. While it may not look at excellent as Madhouse’s animation at times, I think JC Staff did a great job so far with the beloved series. With any luck, the season will continue to look as great as it did here.

I have to also commend the English vocal talent on a job well done. The returning players did a great job in their roles, and the newcomers were excellent as well. Each character sounds realistic, with perhaps the exception of The King, who sounded a little Seth Rogan-y to me at times. I’m sure the voice will grow on me though overtime. I personally found Robbie Daymond being cast as Magicman to be quite humorous. The character’s appearance is practically a dead-ringer to Tuxedo Mask, a character from Sailor Moon whom Robbie Daymond also voices in the re-dub of that series. I’m not sure if the choice was intentional or not, but he does a great job during the few lines he had during this episode.

I found it quite interesting that they’ve added a sort of foil to Saitama this season. The King is a false hero, somehow finding his way to the big leagues and gaining all the credit. Saitama, on the other hand, is the most powerful man on Earth yet barely leaves a mark in public reputation (thankfully, that seems to be slowly changing, though perhaps non-beneficially for Saitama)! It’s an interesting dynamic, with one not wanting anything to do with being a hero, while the other is a hero for fun! With the two seemingly forming a sort-of bond together by the episode’s end, I look forward to how this dynamic develops throughout the season.

The conversation between Genos and his creator was interesting to hear. I honestly had forgotten about Genos’ initial mission from the previous season, so it was nice to have a refresher here. I’d be interested in seeing this plot point gain some new developments throughout the course of this season. While the cliche of hero wanting to stop a villain who inflicted tragedy onto them has been done time and time again, this case seems to be worth exploring more. If anything, it should showcase some development in Genos’ character flaw of wanting revenge rather than justice. I’d certainly be interested to see how he ultimately handles and possibly overcomes his flaw.

The set-up to this season’s over-arching plot definitely seems enticing. Is a looming threat so sinister that the Hero Association is forced to recruit criminals to their ranks? That threat must be pretty badass to scare the Association that badly! With the S-Class heroes swamped with villains, this season feels like it will be one hell of a ride. It makes me wonder, will Saitama be able to handle this threat? Probably, but it may be quite the challenge for him, one that I’m sure he’ll adore.

Saitama finally earning some recognition for his strong power is a refreshing sight to see. However, it seems like it might spell some trouble for our favorite bald superhero. Either way, I’m sure Saitama is up for whatever is coming to face him. While heroes may not need recognition for their deeds all the time, Saitama certainly deserves some already! I sincerely hope it continues in little batches throughout this season.

Overall, the second season to One-Punch Man is off to a fantastic start. This episode shows that so far, the crew behind the scenes knows how to handle this beloved series. With numerous threats lurking in the distance, I’m definitely excited to see what this season has to offer.