With the franchise's massive fan base, the upcoming second season of the hit anime series "One Punch Man" is looking to be a title that will become highly popular, even before being released. Plot-wise, however, the direction of the storyline is still subject to speculation.
Considering that the anime has so far followed the plot of the manga very closely, fans are speculating that the next season of the anime would follow the action-packed, somewhat dramatic and undoubtedly epic Hero Hunter Arc.
In that arc, the Hero Association finds itself under the threat of an unfamiliar enemy in the form of Garou, a man who has taken it upon himself to destroy the strongest heroes, and the Monster Association, the Hero Association's darker counterpart.
Recent rumors, however, have emerged that suggests the next season would feature a plot that diverges slightly from the manga's canon. For one, "One Punch Man" Season 2 would allegedly be covering the titular character's past, which was not elaborated on much, even in the manga.
It is quite notable to dedicate a part of the second season to Saitama's backstory, since his past is largely unknown. If any, the only part of his past that has been covered so far was the moment when he decided to become a hero, in which he defends a kid against a monster bare-handed. Apart from that, the manga, as well as the anime's first season, only showed a few scenes of the non-bald Saitama training in various locations.
With the second season rumored to run for at least 19 episodes compared to the first season's 12, it would make sense to explore a bit about Saitama's background. After all, it would really be interesting to see how Saitama actually manages to break his limiter to become the monster that he is.
Apart from Saitama's backstory, the second season is once more rumored to be released late this year. Considering that a few episodes might probably be dedicated to the backstory, the second season would probably not become very pressured to wait for the manga's progression.
Currently, the original manga is in the middle of an extremely important arc, which saw Saitama facing off with his strongest enemy to date, Garou, who manages to make Lord Boros look like a foot soldier. The clash of the two human monsters, Saitama and Garou, was indeed a spectacle to watch.
Of course, much of this is speculation for now, but considering the anime's reputation so far, as well as the hands-on approach of the manga's creators with the series' production, these rumors almost assure the fact that "One Punch Man" Season 2 would be a worthy title to watch.
