Wednesday, October 14, 2015

One-Punch Man (episode 2) and some musings

Having watched One-Punch Man's second episode yesterday, I recall my little obligatory statement from my post and thus, feel obliged to submit this. I also will type out a rant just to fill in the space and will attempt to minimize spoilers while not having pictures so that I can avoid copyright issues with the in-show scenes.

Episode 2:
It was entertaining. The episode managed to mostly adapt the source material into visual form while having great animation for the battles that took place in the episode. The battles were intense (at least on Genos's part) and entertaining to watch with the comedy starting up once Saitama pokes his bald head into the fray.

The episode also served as a good intro to the character of Genos that showcases his cyborg battling capabilities, his human vulnerabilities (one serious and the rest comedic) and how, despite being an effective combatant, he pales in comparison to Saitama. The additional scenes made to animate the fight showcases his effectiveness in battle and looks good when viewing. 

The villain of the episode (not counting the five that appear after), Mosquito Girl, matches the Murata version's design closely and as a result, she is visually appealing despite being a horrifying hybrid of man and mosquito (the most evil beings for any insomniacs). Being voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro helps with the appeal as well. The rest serve their purpose and entertain in terms of entertaining battles with comedy mixed in for thrills. I especially like how one of the enemies in the episode changes demeanour upon realising what he got himself into (I will not spoil who or what this enemy is, you just have to see it yourself)

In terms of comedy, Saitama's presence turns all the long drawn out battles into quick, and almost satirical, curb-stomp battles. This reaches the point where the typical build-up for a boss-level encounter, or even a sacrificial victory, is interrupted by a raised fist or palm. It also helps that the only time he gets serious in this episode is against one particular opponent near the start. The impact of the gags is lesser for me but only because I have seen it in the manga. Genos also contributes on this front (rather briefly though) by having a no-nonsense personality that clashes with Saitama's casual attitude (one remark in particular is rather good). In addition, one particular gag from the Murata version of the manga is successfully portrayed in the anime which I heartily approve of.

The negatives of the episode are the cutting of some panels from the manga (not that it was a big issue here) that could rile up the obsessed fans who want a perfect 100% adaptation, lesser impact than the manga (to be fair, a still image allows the imagination to create a greater impression than compared to an animated motion picture), drops in animation quality when compared to the first episode, and the ending song still being rather dull for the show. Also, not a lot of dialogue for people who want smart banter and want less action in a series based around satirizing the shounen battles. If these sound like nitpicks, they probably are since it took me a while to even think of most of these on reflection. 

Overall, it was a fun watch and I can give it a recommendation to watch for entertainment. It may get a chuckle, a chortle or even a burst of laughter from the viewer and if you did not like it, it was not to your tastes. Not that there's anything wrong with that though; we all have our own opinions whether we like it or not. I have been looking for a show that satirizes the norms of shounen anime and One-Punch Man is delivering so far. I hope that this continues.

Musings:
The Steam Stealth sale is nice. I got all the main Thief games now and the Deus Ex: Revision mod  published by Caustic Creative (according to the ModDB page)  is out now. I can finally start clubbing more people in the head with blackjacks while knocking people out with a baton in the new Deus Ex mod (I still have my other game ongoing though I have been busy with the Baldur's Gate trilogy again). I have not found time to catch up with other anime this season and it does not help that most of them seem to be the same types of anime or over-dramatized stuff hiding a generic story (whoops, that's my opinion of Young Black Jack based on first impressions in 6 words).

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