I gotta say, this season of One Punch Man is one of the stranger anime seasons I can remember.  Everyone whinged nonstop about the animation before it ever aired (and sure, it’s been more broadly average than the first season’s consistently stellar) but it’s the narrative flow that’s been the much more jarring change.  All these semi-detached subplots, relatively little Saitama, and then there’s Garou.  All in all it’s been a very odd mix of elements that’s mostly interesting, but in a bemusing sort of way.

I’m still not really sure what to make of Garou, to be honest.  I don’t know what role he’s supposed to be filling in the story or one ONE/Murata are trying to say with the character.  But I confess I’ve come to sort of like the guy, because he’s at least colorful and somebody who pushes things forward.  Saitama has been so adrift that it’s hard to feel much with him, even when he is around – watching someone be bored all the time can often be boring itself.  Garou certainly thinks more of himself than there actually is, both in terms of ideals and power, but at least he’s got an agenda above and beyond boilerplate world domination.

Lord Orochi and the Monster Association are pretty much in the latter bucket, their current plan being to lure the Hero Association into attacking their base to rescue the hostage and then wiping them out, thus leading (long-term, now) to the extinction of humanity.  Dream big, I guess – they have no idea what they’re in for of course, which makes me wonder if maybe it isn’t such a bad thing for the H.A. to have their strongest agent labor in the obscurity of B-class.  Of course there are those who realize this is a trap and want nothing to do with it (like Metal Knight) but it’s not as if the association is going to let the child of one of its biggest benefactors be a sacrifice.

As Saitama plays video games with King, oblivious to the distress call the latter is receiving – the fake hero and the hero too bored to be bothered – Garou continues to act more like the main character.  He’s smart enough to realize that the injuries Saitama’s punch inflicted on him need a chance to heal. so he dodges Death Gatling and goes to his hideout to rest – but it also happens to be the secret base of the hero guide kid and his friends.  Once more we see in this sequence that for all that he calls himself a monster, Garou patently is not – he’s just an idiot.  He has no interesting in seeing innocent bystanders get taken out as a result of his actions, and he does everything he can to keep the kid out of harm’s way when Gatling and his posse of A and B types show up and surround the place.