One-Punch Man season 3 is Fall 2025’s most anticipated event, but perhaps not for the most positive reasons. With the unfortunate precedent set by the inferior season 2 compared to Madhouse’s landmark season 1 run, it’s hard not to see why fans would be worried, especially as some of the most stunning manga moments are about to be adapted.
But One-Punch Man fans have not been impressed with the season 3 premiere, with an underwhelming 6.84 MyAnimeList score, not unsalvageable, but crucially a sharp decline from its enormous heights. The immediate reaction, and perhaps understandably so, is to blame the studio behind seasons 2 and 3, J.C. Staff. However, the real problem is more complex than studio troubles.
One-Punch Man’s Fall Is Not Merely J.C.Staff’s Fault
Looking back on One-Punch Man season 2, it’s immediately apparent just how disappointingly executed it was compared to season 1. While the story remained compelling, and even arguably improved, its animation suffered, with poor CGI backgrounds in crucial scenes, and hideous CGI integration such as for Genos’ cyborg features.
Professionals in the field lament the difference, but as stated by acclaimed One Piece animator Vincent Chansard, blaming J.C.Staff’s choices such as taking on the project, is failing to see the forest for the trees. J.C.Staff is an anime studio in an industry that’s constantly overworked, and in trying to survive, they’ll bite off more than they can chew.
For One-Punch Man season 2, J.C.Staff collectively took on eight anime for that corresponding calendar year, 2019, compared to season 3’s relatively fewer five projects in 2025. This does not equate to better time management, however, with production initially confirmed in August 2022. The story is more complicated, with production committees playing a part.
I think a lot of people blame J.C.Staff but I think it’s a bit more complex. Sometimes it’s not about the animation studio, sometimes it’s about the production committees that are on top of everything and who choose. J.C. Staff is just a studio that’s trying to survive.
-Vincent Chansard on October 8, 2025 KOL: Requiem interview
Chansard offered his candid assessment of One-Punch Man season 3, praising the first season while giving a telling rendition of his disappointment in season 2 without going into specifics. The final hour of his interview with KOL: Requiem thus discourages rushing to blame when, in reality, the Hero Association Headquarters credited in season 3 is at least partially to blame.
Production committees are effectively a coalition or voluntary partnership to decide factors like funding, scheduling, and general decision-making. This means that J.C.Staff is virtually not a part of the major decisions about One-Punch Man, with it instead being decided by whatever the majority of its production committee determines.
Harassment of the Studio or Staff Is Not the Answer
Fans harassing creative entities like anime studios is nothing new, and in the case of One-Punch Man, it’s something they’re entirely familiar with, including multiple Change.org petitions to replace them with Madhouse. Knowing what is known about production committees, petitioning for their removal when it was already not entirely their decision is a particular gut-punch.
If I talk about anything related to One Punch Man, I’ll have to shut down my SNS… sorry. I’ll answer about other things, though.
-Shinpei Nagai on X, October 17, 2025
Director Shinpei Nagai has even discouraged fans from asking him to discuss One-Punch Man, with him potentially having his account locked or shutting down his account should he engage. His position at this point is sympathetic, especially as it was his goal to maximize production time on the anime. Bound by an NDA, he’s unable to address fan concerns.
Speaking to Nagai or other members of the One-Punch Man team will not likely yield results. With precisely one new episode released as of October 12, there’s not even much to discuss yet. But that hasn’t stopped fans from fixating on other factors they deem to be problematic.
One-Punch Man Fans Are Fixating on Season 3 Director’s Previous Work
As discussed before, Shinpei Nagai has had a footprint across multiple anime franchises. His work on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Psycho-Pass, Food Wars, Gangsta., and Dr. Stone are frequently overlooked nowadays because of his previous work on multiple ecchi and hentai series. In the fans’ eyes, he is now the “hentai director” hired to take on One-Punch Man.
This has led to a fan appraisal of the series which, while not necessarily bad, is undermining his dedication to the job at hand. The particular depictions of its female characters, namely Mizuki, Do-S, Tatsumaki, and Fubuki, regardless of how accurate they are to Yusuke Murata’s original work, are seen as “where the budget went.”
However, as fans like @ParasiticEager2 on X have quickly pointed out, Hironori Tanaka, an enormously prolific anime director and animator, has had work in hentai in addition to high-profile projects. This includes examples as recent as 2023 in addition to One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, and many other household names.
It’s misguided and harmful to suggest any details on the production based on one’s resume, beyond even just the risque content. Nagai’s advocation for CGI set off alarm bells for fans, especially with how poorly season 2 implemented it. However, under Nagai’s direction, this problem has yet to show itself, with even Genos looking back to normal.
One-Punch Man Season 3’s Speculation Doomed It From the Start
Setting aside the potential funding issues and scheduling issues, one can assume from One-Punch Man season 3’s visible problems in its premiere, truthfully, even a stellar premiere would have to live up to a monolithic success. Given the dialog-driven opening episode, even with neat linework and pleasant character designs, its stiff presentation is hard to overlook in the final product.
Due to factors like production staff, like Nagai, being unable to discuss the anime without facing consequences, this is all a matter of speculation which will increase with every new episode. There will be action in One-Punch Man season 3, episode #2, but even the worrying visual fidelity, and limited backgrounds of episode #1 are somewhat telling.
It’s hard to tell truly how well or poorly season 3 will turn out as a whole. After all, The Elusive Samurai season 1 had an incredibly well-animated premiere, but it made jarringly awful usage of CGI horses in episode #4, a flaw impossible to overlook. Sometimes production is uneven based on what the committee enables, or the studio’s specialties.
One-Punch Man season 3 also has the unfortunate position of going up against anime like Spy x Family, whose studio collaborations aim to relieve much of the problems currently being faced by J.C.Staff. Whether the anime will provide more than just a return to Genos’s 2D arms and standout fights in time for Cosmic Fear Garou is hard to say.
The important thing to note, however, is that directing rage towards those not in control of the situation is hasty. Harassing studios and their employees will get fans nowhere. One-Punch Man season 3 might not be what the fans wanted, and hype for what the source material provides makes its success, or even bare minimums, a relentlessly difficult target.
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