OVA 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Shingo Natsume ( Director on Space Dandy)

Storyboards: Nobuhiro Muto ( Key Animator on Casshern SINS episodes 5, 6 and 12 / Key Animator on Btooom! episode 1 / Key Animator on Garo: Honoo no Kokuin episode 6 / Key Animator on Death Parade episode 6 / Key Animator on GANGSTA episode 5 / Episode Director on SoniAni: Super Sonico the Animation episode 2)

Script: Tomohiro Suzuki ( Script Writer on Lupin The Third 2015 episodes 2, 4, 8 and 14)

I hope that my readers are enjoying the new style with the episode production at the top of each post.  If anyone has feedback please let me know.

A 13 minute short that’s included with Blu-ray Volume 1.  Each disc following afterward will receive an extra OVA (Original Video Animation) episode penned by the original author of ONE-PUNCH MAN, ONE. It’s one of the few times an extra like this is subtitled in English!

Following right up after the events of Mosquito Girl–Genos decides to tail Saitama in hopes of discovering the secret to his power.  I like that there is a mystery behind how Saitama became strong–we as viewers get it but people within the show don’t.  It’s simple yet very effective.  He’s a normal guy that overreacts to the Alien vs. Stalker film and this builds nicely into how curios Genos is about him.  This OVA escapes the absurdity of giant monsters for the most part and gives us a taste of what normal life is day-to-day.    Loved that fries scene because it illustrates how meticulous Saitama is about his own life.

The Esthetician Man was the turnaround to show how clueless Saitama can be.  He doesn’t know after saving Genos’ life from Mosquito Girl in episode 2 that anyone would want to understand the power he’s gained until the very end.

I wish this could’ve been longer but nonetheless this was a nice treat to have on the retail discs plus with English subtitles!  Which never happens for bonus material on Japanese releases!

ED: “Saitama no One Punch Ondo (サイタマのワンパン音頭)” by Saitama (Makoto Furukawa)

Directed by: Shinichiro Ushijima

Storyboards: Shinichiro Ushijima

Animation Supervisor: Kenichi Shima ( Key Animator on Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu episode 1 / Animation Supervisor on Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu episodes 3, 8, 14, 20 and 24 / Key Animator on Redline film)

This is a song that’s far away from the peaceful ending of the TV series.  It’s heavy beats of taiko drums roots itself back to the sounds of Japan quite well.  Not really a favorite ending of mine but it does provide some funny scenes using chibi versions of the cast from ONE-PUNCH MAN; Mumen Rider giving the thumbs up, Saitama dancing and Genos banging on the taiko drums was hilarious to see.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 7/10

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Episode 2 Production Details

Episode Director: Shinichiro Ushijima (Episode Director on Hunter x Hunter 2011 episodes 96, 109, 115, 122, 129, 136 and 143 / Episode Director on Death Parade episode 4 / Storyboards on Ore Monogatari!! episode 8)

Storyboards: Shingo Natsume ( Director on Space Dandy / 2nd Key Animator on Naruto Shippuuden episode 167 / Producer and Key Animator on FullMetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos)

Script: Tomohiro Suzuki ( Script Writer on Lupin The Third 2015 episodes 2, 4, 8 and 14)

Just a side note before I begin these screenshots are taken from my ONE-PUNCH MAN Blu-ray discs.  The TV broadcast of this series was pretty to look at but the Blu-rays are an improvement in characters’ facial expressions down to the background designs.

Fluid movements over consistent artistic detail.  I’m sold on this show.  Mosquito Girl’s design was fascinating and just one of many monsters that showed up in this episode of ONE-PUNCH MAN.  This anime series is as creative in it’s conceptual designs of its creatures as Space Dandy is–every one of them has unique abilities!

Genos’ dynamic movements as a cyborg trace back to the first episode’s general flow–it’s ridiculous but extremely cool.  Typically, anime series tend to throw their budget way up for the first episode but not this show.  It runs on an average budget of around $150,000 per episode.  Studio MADHOUSE is known for distributing their money out to the fast-paced battle scenes rather than the slow moving ones.  Which is why Saitama’s design from the manga works exceptionally well on this budget.  I recently got a chance to be a part of a live stream event chatting session with Bartender’s and Ben-To‘s TV anime producer Tatsuya Ishiguro and I’ve had the chance to learn a lot about what goes into an animated production.

ONE-PUNCH MAN‘s success stems from the collaborative efforts of its producer and how he works with Shingo Natsume on approving scenes from the manga that would translate well into anime format.  The closeup shot of Mosquito Girl as Genos lights up her minions of mosquitoes was amazing.  The fire animation throughout this episode highlights the difference in power between Saitama and Genos.  The comedy didn’t let up here either–Mosquito Girl gets slapped rather than punched and I like how it’s that scene without music that throws Genos for a loop.  He’s a hero that’s pretty well grounded in his ideals and it’s great to see that his pride as well as his body is destroyed by Mosquito Girl.  He’s willing to sacrifice himself in order to save humans and the sacrificial trope is dismantled by a slap from Saitama!

Saitama saves his life and it’s funny how Genos’ backstory is a quick introduction from him–really spells out the fact that he’s a robot. I’m not usually a fan of backstory’s but this was quite funny.

This show didn’t let up on the action either!  More monsters getting wiped out by Saitama it’s about time that Genos takes one of them out!  The story goes from serious to comedic in an instant and I like how this episode manages to flow these two elements together smoothly!

Miyuki Sawashiro’s voice is so incredible in this episode.  Popular seiyu are cast throughout this series–Vaccine Man from the first episode was the same actor that voiced famous villain Frieza from Dragon Ball Z.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 9/10

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