'One Punch Man' season 2 release date news 2016: MadHouse Productions confirms second installment

"One-Punch Man" season 2 announcement imageTwitter/opm_anime

"One Punch Man," since it launched in Japan with its premiere season in December 2015, has become a cult phenomenon for anime fans worldwide. MadHouse Productions, the studio behind the anime adaptation, has now officially announced season 2.

Posting on Twitter, the studio announced that season 2 is indeed on the way and that production is already ongoing. However, the post did not reveal how far along it is and when the second season may launch. The post also did not showcase any sneak peek photos, neither did it hint at the season's story.

It was previously reported that an announcement is due, given that the English dub version of season 1 had just finished airing on Toonami in the U.S. This rumor has since been proven true, and it is now widely speculated by fans that season 2 may launch in Japan by December this year.

If this proves true then the U.S. launch may be delayed until 2017 given that Toonami often has to wait for the show to finish airing in Japan and then the studio needs to finish the English voice work. The first season started airing on Toonami this past July, and it is possible that season 2 will air in the U.S. by July 2017.

Season 1 ended with Saitama defeating Lord Boros, although the latter was not killed. It is hinted that Boros will fight Saitama again in season 2 and new villains like Garou and Amai Mask may become the primary antagonists for the show. It is also rumored that Genos may betray Saitama and become a villain for some time as well.

As reported by Gamespot, "One Punch Man" started as an online manga created by an anonymous writer known only as ONE, alongside Yusuke Murata. The series gained popularity and MadHouse Productions moved forward with adapting it into an anime series. ONE has also made the manga series "Mob Pscyho 100."