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Two Bald Heroes are Better Than One: Anpanman VA Narrates One-Punch Man Special

A shinier scalp duo of justice has never existed! Anpanman voice actress Keiko Toda will narrate the upcoming One-Punch Man special on April 2. Toda will narrate the special's first 30 minutes.

Unlike Anpanman and Saitama, Toda herself is not bald.

One-Punch Man's original Japanese title (ワンパンマン or "Wanpanman") is a wordplay on Anpanman (アンパンマン) with only the first syllable being different. Voice actor Hiroki Yasumoto (King) reacted to the announcement on Twitter by joking about the wordplay, "Hm? Wanpanman? Anpa—... No, Wanpanman. It should be Wanpanman."

Anpanman predates One Punch Man by about 30 years. The Soreike! Anpanman television anime series began in 1988, and new Anpanman films have opened each summer since 1989. The Soreike! AnpanmanKirameke! Ice no Kuni no Vanilla-hime film will open in Japan this year. The iconic character was originally created by manga artist Takashi Yanase.

The One Punch Man anime's website describes the April 2 airing in Japan as the "broadcast premiere commemorative special." Viz Media stated that "details and availability in the U.S. are currently unavailable" for the April 2 special announced in Japan. Viz Media announced that it will start streaming the first subtitled episode as a Hulu exclusive on April 9, "the same day as Japanese broadcast."

Madhouse and director Shingo Natsume's first 12-episode anime season based on ONE and Yuusuke Murata's One Punch Man manga aired in Japan from October-December 2015. Viz Media and Daisuki both streamed the series outside of Japan as it aired. The anime premiered with an English dub on Adult Swim's Toonami block in July 2016. Viz Media released the first season on home video in North America.

Yoshikazu Iwanami (Girls und Panzer, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) is replacing Shoji Hata as sound director. Chikashi Kubota (Corpse Princess: Aka, FLCL 2) is returning to design the characters, and Tomohiro Suzuki (ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.) is again in charge of series composition. Makoto Miyazaki (Triage X, Dragon Crisis!) is also returning to compose the music. JAM Project is once again performing the opening theme song.

Viz Media acquired the master license to the second anime season, including digital streaming, TV broadcast, electronic sell-through, home media, and merchandising rights for North America, Latin America and Oceania.

Source: One Punch Man official site via Nijimen

Update: Description of Yasumoto's Tweet corrected. Thanks, crosswithyou