One's "One-Punch Man" had a humble beginning, starting off as a simple self-published web comic in 2009. The antics of protagonist Saitama quickly gained in popularity, and the comic went viral, inspiring a digital manga in Shueisha's "Young Jump Web Comics" in 2012 and an anime in 2015.
The anime was just as popular as the manga and web comic that came before it, possibly even too popular, as when it ended on Dec. 21, fans were already ready for a second season.
Fast forward to today, and now we're left in our current predicament. The interest from the fans is there and has been there from the very beginning, but can the same be said about Yusuke Murata, the illustrator behind the manga series? Yes. Murata announced last December that he would work with Madhouse Inc., the studio behind the adaptation, to make the second season a reality.
2期も作っていただけるように頑張るぞっと！
— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) December 13, 2015
To fulfill the requirements as stated by the studio, Murata's team was tasked with coming up with 100 sketches, 100 inked pages, and 100 storyboards along with 10 hours of editing works for the second season.
However, it's one thing to try and meet the requirements, and it's another thing to actually meet them and move forward, and a lack of info on that front had led many to believe that the anime would be delayed - or worse, never come at all.
Reports have recently surfaced that suggest One and Murata have already begun working on the initial requirements to kickstart production of the anime series. The news apparently came from a source that is allegedly close to the situation, but not only do the reports fail to give a name (likely due to the information being given on the condition of anonymity), but there is no link, so it's difficult to determine the veracity of this news. As such, take this alleged development with a grain of salt.
In the meantime, there is still some stuff for "One-Punch Man" fans to enjoy. Even though the webcomic suddenly got halted on chapter 106.3 at the start of the "Civil War" arc, Murata recently released a new issue of OPM in Young Jump last week. The 35-page special chapter focuses on Saitama's fascination of working with a group of heroes who can emulate the teamwork shown throughout the Super Sentai franchises.
The lack of published content could possibly suggest that work is being done towards a second season of "One-Punch Man," or it could mean that work is being done on the anime adaptation of "Mob Psycho 100," another one of One's and Murata's creations, which is slated to air in July 2016.
Either way, we'll have to wait until we get official confirmation from One, Murata or Madhouse until we know anything about Season 2 for certain.
