There have been rumors circulating about the second season of the wildly-popular anime "One Punch Man" ever since the first season ended in December. Indeed, with a spectacle as grandiose as the first season, it is no wonder that fans are clamoring for more.
Murata Yusuke, creator of the "One Punch Man" manga remake, previously announced that the anime's second season has already entered its initial development stages. He did not, however, state the tentative date when the next season is slated to start.
Of course, since that announcement, rumors have been abounding about what the contents of the second season would be. After all, the grand finale of the first season, Saitama's fight with Lord Boros, ended with such a flourish that it raised the bar for the anime's second season significantly.
Among the most persistent rumors going around right now is the speculation that Amai Mask, the anime's Rank 1 Class A hero, would have a special role in the second season. In fact, many have even speculated that Amai Mask would cross fists with Saitama, and it would be one of the highlights of Season 2.
If that happens, the second season of "One Punch Man" might be in trouble.
One of the things that made the first season so great was the fact that it stayed true to the manga, both in heart and in spirit. In fact, many of the action scenes that fans fell in love with were practically transposed from the manga frame-by-frame. Thus, one of the appeals of "One Punch Man" is that it stays close to the source material.
This, of course, raises a problem if Amai Mask does fight the anime's titular character in the second season. After all, a one-on-one showdown between Amai Mask and Saitama is yet to happen in the manga.
While it is true that Amai Mask dislikes Saitama immensely, his dislike for the anime's titular character has not warranted a fight in the manga, primarily due to the fact that the Class A hero looks down on Saitama because of his low ranking. Apart from this, Murata's remake still features Saitama as a B-Class hero, so Amai Mask being involved in his promotion to S-Class in the anime seems very unlikely.
If the anime does indeed attempt to feature a fight between the two, the anime might compromise a significant portion of its plot. Amai Mask is one of the franchise's characters that is very powerful and mysterious, and his actions in the original webcomics remain quite cryptic up to this day.
Even though the second season of "One Punch Man" is all but certain to be successful, the creators of the anime must keep in mind the main reason why the franchise has been such a huge success in the first place - it was unwilling to sacrifice its quality over issues of convenience.
Having Amai Mask be one of Saitama's opponents in the second season is indeed one of the most convenient decisions that makers of the anime could make.
