So this time around, the episode
opens to a beast that suspiciously resembles dead Cthulhu dreaming in his house
of R’lyeh. Read some H. P. Lovecraft if you don’t get the reference. Rather
than being a Great Old One, this octopus headed monster is one of the “Clan of
Sea Folk.” Like the Mole-Men of the first episode, he’s come to destroy the
human race. Unlike the Mole-Men, he looks like he might actually be able to
cause a fair amount of damage. The hero Mumen Rider races in to save the day,
but arrives too late. Apparently Octopus-head chose to attack along Saitama’s
grocery route. Never a good idea. Mumen starts looking into Saitama on message
boards. Public opinion of the superpowered chrome dome is mixed at best. Side
note, according to the internet, Mumen Rider translates to License-less Rider.
Huh, it’s weird that a word like Mumen is the better of the two names.
 |
| Well, that's some more nightmare fuel. Also, a tongue that drools... Tongue-ception? |
An army of the Seafolk start
attacking, but are thwarted by a hero named Stinger. He uses a supersized spear
to turn a good chunk of the Seafolk into sushi, but one guy vs. an army is
never a great strategy. Saitama, who is now Class C’s rank 2 hero, Genos, and
Mumen start riding out to give Stinger a hand. Using techniques like Gigantic
Drill Stinger Quadruple Thrust, try saying that three times fast, Stinger is
able to destroy all but one of the Seafolk. Unfortunately, that one is the
Deepsea King, the most powerful of the Seafolk, and a sadistic sociopath. The
Deepsea King pummels Stinger, and leaves him for dead. Genos rushes ahead as
the threat level is revealed to be Tiger. Mumen and Saitama are doing their
best to get there as well. A hero named Lightning Max was observing from a far,
but is easily dispatched by Deepsea King. He’s saved by Puri-Puri Prisoner, an
S-Class hero that is soooooooooo obviously a gay stereotype. His bizarre
backstory is that he allowed himself to be imprisoned because he has a habit of
stalking attractive young men. Weird. He’s followed by Sonic, who used
Puri-Puri’s escape to also fly the coop. Puri-Puri lands a few good hits, goes
through a Sailor Moon style transformation, and seems to at least force Deepsea
King back. But then Deepsea King strikes back, knocking the big lug out. Sonic steps
in to protect Puri-Puri, and holds his own for a while. Then it starts raining.
Deepsea King gets pumped up and starts getting close to smashing Sonic. Hey, he’s
not called Speed of Sound Sonic for nothing. Deepsea King explains that he was
dehydrated from being away from the water for so long, and that the rain helped
him recover. Sonic is forced to flee, planning to get Puri-Puri away and get
his equipment.
 |
| Why does he have hearts for nipples? Or nipples at all? That's a mammal thing. |
While on the road, Mumen and
Saitama meet on the street, and agree to the ultimate C-Class team up. Saitama
rides on Mumen’s bike while he peddles. Well, they are still C-Class, even if
they are the number 1 and 2. Deepsea King and a few of his surviving minions
attack a stadium where most of the populace is hiding. A low ranking C Class
hero attempts to surrender to the Deepsea King, which doesn’t do much sate the
King’s bloodlust. Several other C and B-Class heroes arrive, and they all
attack the king. He blows through the
heroes, but their sacrifice buys enough time for Genos to arrive.
This episode was all about building
tension. After the lesser Seafolk are dispatched, and their king arrives, it’s
pretty much one beat down after another. Compared to previous villains, the
Deepsea King is really the first legitimate threat to the world. Sure, the
asteroid was a big deal, but that thing didn’t mow down heroes. And once he
arrives at the shelter, it actually seems like he might start murdering
civilians before the other heroes arrive. The C-Class heroes, while rather
useless, do their job to show the difference between the average joe heroes and
monsters like the Deepsea King, Genos has his work cut out for him. The design
of the Seafolk and the Deepsea King are pretty good. Deepsea King is
particularly creepy, with his almost human face and almost human body. Pretty
good use of the Uncanny concept. The familiar, but alien. Other than that,
there’s really not much else to say. But that’s the point of the episode, to
build up what will happen next time. Next time, episode 9, the show down
between machine and king of the Sea.
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