Over the next three weeks, the two animated adaptations, Hunter and Echoes of the End, gave the Japanese animation industry a firsthand lesson in what "constant reversal" really meant.
Not only did both series consistently break the 6% viewership mark, they effectively took turns occupying second place in the quarterly ratings.
If Echoes of the End delivered a particularly strong episode that week, it would edge out Hunter by a narrow margin.
When Hunter struck back with a standout episode, the positions flipped again.
Overall, however, the ratings for both hovered just below 6.1%, locked in a dead heat.
Towering above them was One-Punch Man.
During the same period, it was utterly unrivaled.
The climactic battle between the Hero Association's S-Class heroes and Psycho-Orochi.
Genos's eye-catching performance as the so-called "Funding Warrior."
And above all, the overwhelming visual experience made possible by the anime's staggering investment.
Even in manga form, this arc had been shocking. Its artwork was explosive, dense, and relentlessly expressive, especially the battle between Tatsumaki and Psycho-Orochi. It was the kind of "draw-until-you-collapse" style that stunned even readers unfamiliar with manga.
For fans long accustomed to perfunctory art from rushed weekly schedules, Murata's drafts were something you couldn't unsee. After witnessing that level of craftsmanship, going back felt impossible.
Naturally, translating such detail and intensity into animation demanded massive funding.
But Rei had no intention of stretching the Psycho-Orochi plot indefinitely.
The Monster Association Arc had only three true pillars:
Early stage: the battle against Psycho-Orochi.
Middle stage: the heroes' struggle against the Dragon-Level Monsters.
Late stage: Saitama versus Garou.
He couldn't, and wouldn't, faithfully reproduce every minor detour from the original manga.
For instance, cutting away from a life-or-death battlefield to linger on Suiryu lying in a hospital bed, agonizing over his desire to become a hero, added little to the core narrative.
Some scenes simply had to be cut.
And so, as July drew to a close, One-Punch Man's ratings began climbing again, slowly but steadily, like toothpaste being squeezed from the tube.
Thanks to the relentless intensity of the final two weeks' battles, viewership surged to 6.93%.
By the end of July, the fifth episode of Season 4 aired.
After three consecutive episodes focused on the heroes' hard-won victory over Psycho-Orochi, a new nightmare descended on the battlefield.
A group of Dragon-Level Monsters from the Monster Association.
Evil Natural Water.
Black Sperm.
Fuhrer Ugly.
Homeless Emperor.
Tatsumaki collapsed from exhaustion after back-to-back battles.
Sweet Mask was so revolted by Ugly Fuhrer's appearance that his mental state shattered instantly, leading to a swift and humiliating defeat.
Even an S-Class powerhouse like Super Alloy Black Light had his fighting spirit crushed after encountering Garou, spiraling into emotional collapse and complete incapacitation.
Genos fared no better.
All four of his limbs were severed, leaving him a broken figure sprawled on the battlefield, unable to rise.
Of course, there had been far too many scenes of the "Unbeatable Legend" and "Funding Warrior" losing spectacularly for audiences to be shocked anymore. His defeat was met with grim acceptance.
By the midpoint of the episode, most of the remaining S-Class heroes were injured, exhausted, or barely standing.
The episode even showcased the infamous scene of Black Sperm, alone, holding off four S-Class heroes simultaneously.
Before the Dragon-Level Monsters had even begun to exert themselves, the Hero Association's elite had already fallen.
From beginning to middle, the fifth episode was drenched in despair.
Viewers watching knew exactly what this meant.
They were waiting for that man.
That's right.
Saitama.
But if this hopeless situation were resolved simply by Saitama appearing and sweeping everything away, then his identity as an overwhelming trump card would be laid bare.
Many viewers worried that revealing his true strength too directly would rob the story of its tension.
Just as that anxiety peaked, the ending theme faded out.
Then, the preview for Episode 6 dropped.
And with it, the fandom exploded.
The preview was absurdly simple.
One sentence. One image.
"At the moment the Hero Association faces life and death, the one who arrives on the battlefield is that person.
The Strongest Man on Earth, King!"
The image showed King in a plaid shirt, standing at a commanding height, gazing down with oppressive calm at the fallen S-Class heroes below.
When the surviving heroes saw him arrive, their faces broke into smiles, expressions of absolute certainty, as if victory were already secured.
Another colored still depicted the Dragon-Level Monsters reacting in shock, their expressions twisting as though confronted by an unimaginable threat.
No further explanation was needed.
The preview said everything.
"Holy crap, it's actually this development?"
"That's evil. Teacher Shirogane, I'm already laughing."
"King saving the day? King, who's been slacking off for twenty chapters, is this really his stage?"
"Why would you cut it off here? This is torture!"
"What's King going to do? Any one of those Dragon-Level Monsters could kill him instantly!"
"I don't know… is Saitama about to show up as a summoned beast again?"
"Something's off. How could Saitama appear here? If he actually shows up, his strength gets fully exposed. In that case, what's the point of bringing King in at all?"
"Yeah, that'd be completely redundant!"
"Then what else could it be? There's no way King can actually defeat that group of monsters, right? Forget Evil Natural Water and Ugly fuhrer, Black Sperm alone is insane. So many clones, and they can even merge into Yellow Sperm. That's completely broken! It feels like Black Sperm by himself could wipe out the entire Hero Association!"
"You're overrating Black Sperm. I don't think he could beat Tatsumaki one-on-one. After what the Monster Association Arc has shown, Tatsumaki's strength is definitely not below Boros."
"That's nonsense. Tatsumaki is absolutely weaker than Boros."
"Why are you two suddenly arguing about Tatsumaki versus Boros? Weren't we talking about how King is supposed to resolve this crisis?"
"And if we're talking about the strongest below Saitama, why isn't Orochi even in the conversation?"
"Who?"
"Orochi."
"Hahaha, Orochi? You're joking. That trash?"
"Mindless monsters are all trash. Psycho-Orochi too. He only survived by relying on sneak attacks and dirty tricks. If it were a clean fight, Tatsumaki would've soloed him."
"Ugh, Teacher Shirogane is too good at edging people. I feel miserable right now. There are still seven days until the next episode, how am I supposed to survive this?"
"I just hope the next episode has amazing character development. Honestly, the biggest reason I'm still watching is King."
"Same. I'm way more excited to see King face those Dragon-Level Monsters than Saitama fighting Garou."
"Who isn't? To be honest, my favorite character isn't even Saitama anymore, it's King. Only his storyline gives me a real sense of immersion."
"Exactly. Everyone else is either a cyborg, an esper, or some superhuman freak. King's the only normal person."
"Alright, see you all next week."
"Talking here won't change anything anyway, we just have to wait seven days. Ugh… I'm going to spam Teacher Shirogane's account."
"Count me in!"
After the fifth episode of One-Punch Man Season 4 finished airing, it didn't take long.
That very night, the hot search
"King Is Rushing to the Battlefield!", shot straight to the top of the trending lists across major anime forums.
The Monster Association Arc had been building momentum for over half a year, packed with countless iconic battle scenes.
Whether it was Orochi or Psycho-Orochi, every major confrontation had been absurdly expensive to animate.
Yet none of them had sparked discussion on this scale.
Only King.
Within the One-Punch Man fanbase, King occupied a status unlike any other character.
Across the entire original work, aside from the protagonist Saitama himself, King was the character with the densest concentration of running gags, the sharpest humor, and, at least in Rei's eyes, the most successful side-character development.
And now, King's most iconic scene from the original workwas finally about to debut in this Japan.
...
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