One Punch Man is easily one of the big shots in the comedy Shonen anime genre. When it debuted with season 1 in 2015, it manhandled every other series to rise to the top. Ever since then, it has been considered a classic. However, season 2 showed a considerable drop in quality.
There are plenty of reasons behind why the series faced such a tragic fate. But one of the major reasons is the change in director. Season 1 of the anime was directed by Natsume Shingo at Madhouse, while season 2 changed studio and staff members.
One Punch Man season 1’s director was forced to leave
Shingo Natsume created an exceptional season 1 of One Punch Man. Its quality was superb, and fans could not have asked for anything better. However, season 2 was handed over to J.C. Staff, and Chikara Sakurai became the director. Once season 2 rolled out, it quickly became clear that not everything was alright. There were drastic changes in the overall quality of the show.
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Natsume Shingo appeared at Anime Festa 2019 and clarified fans’ queries about why he left the anime. He was asked why he didn’t reprise his role, and Shingo’s tragic reply made things pretty clear that the fault did not lie with him.
I personally, of course, wanted to do it. But that could not be done despite myself. I can’t do everything I wanted to do. But I wish J.C. Staff did way more with the show.-Natsume Shingo
Apparently, Shingo wanted to continue with the project, but the change was made by J.C. Staff. His wish to direct season 2 fell on deaf ears as he was promptly removed from spearheading the series. Shingo is a freelance director, and it is possible that J.C Staff only wanted its official members to work on a project as important as One Punch Man. Unfortunately, the result of the decision was disastrous.
One Punch Man season 2 suffered because of J.C. Staff’s decisions
One Punch Man season 2 suffered after Natsume Shingo left | Credits: Madhouse
Season 2 of One Punch Man wasn’t objectively a bad anime. But it could no longer hold a candle to the art and animation of season 1. The fluid and vibrant animation of the first season was quickly replaced with more generic and bland animation. The studio also used 3D CG animation, which was not well-received by fans.
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Additionally, the series also suffered from a lack of proper scheduling, and the production time was not nearly enough. And just as less time negatively affects any anime, One Punch Man was no exception. It received an overall inconsistent animation, and the character design wasn’t nearly as satisfying as that of season 1. Natsume himself acknowledged that season 2 had various problems, and a better job could have been done.
J. C. Staff is an anime veteran with many popular series under its belt, but it could not match the genius of Shingo. Thus, fans had to deal with the less-than-perfect season 2. At the end of the day, only so much could be achieved within a limited timeframe and with a change in important staff members. Despite the overall brilliant plot, fans could not welcome the series as warmly as they did with season 1.
One Punch Man anime is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
