One-Punch Man season 3 production issues, explained

When the first few episodes One Punch Man season 3 debuted to harsh criticism, I urge patience. Of course, it doesn’t look great, but I’m confident that, as the action increases in the show, anime studio JC Staff will be up to the task and deliver a memorable season, thus atoning for the sins of season 2. Eight episodes in, not only have I completely changed my mind and joined the prophets of doom, but so has the much-maligned second season. One Punch Man now it actually looks good compared to the disaster we witnessed in real time in season 3.

Excessive use of still frames (the infamous “slideshow style”), stiff or minimal movement, inconsistent character models, excessive use of color filters, flat fight scenes, and poor editing are just a few examples of low-quality animation One Punch Man season 3 is shown week by week. The fanbase reacted scathingly, unfortunately taking out their frustrations on animation staff members via social media platforms, prompting director Shinpei Nagai to send a heartfelt plea to leave the staff alone.

Overall, “disaster” does not describe the situation. But the reasons why this happens may still be unclear. One Punch Man is a very popular IP with a large fan base, licensed by Bandai Namco. There was a six year gap between seasons 2 and 3, which should have given the production studio plenty of time to produce a good product. But in reality the Japanese anime industry is far from that. Fans already suspected that the anime’s problems may be due to a lack of time and resources given to the studio, and further evidence has now emerged.

Episode 8 of One Punch Man season 3 received a slightly better reception than the previous one. Mind you, it’s still basic animation with no particular flair or highlights, but it stands out simply because it’s decent. However, fans have discovered an interesting detail by pausing the episode at a specific frame, which shows traces of editing assets that the animators forgot to remove. This includes a production date that reads 11/2025/19. It was November 19th, just 11 days before the episode aired. These details were first reported on X by @TanktopMagic44.

This is not absolute proof of anything. Editing assets may be misinterpreted. But if it means what we think it means, it confirms everyone’s suspicions about this season: The animators working for JC Staff were forced to produce anime under unreasonable time constraints that prevented them from doing their jobs well.

Fans blamed Bandai Namco, but the members of the One-Punch Man production committee were not revealed. Bandai is responsible for licensing and merchandising, which allows the company to influence production budgets, as Bandai has influence in allocating resources, but this is still speculation.

One thing we can see for sure is the JC Staff schedule. The studio is credited with working on 25 productions in the past two years, according to MyAnimeList. Some of these are miniseries or single special episodes, but the output is still an impressive average of one animated product per month. Now take a look at ufotable’s rival studio page. In the last two years, ufotable has only worked on one anime season and one film, which happens to be the highest-grossing Japanese anime film of all time.

Unfortunately, ufotable is an exception. Excessive and impossible work deadlines are commonplace in the Japanese anime industry (and Japanese work culture in general). In 2023, a scandal emerged when the animators working for MAPPA were killed Jujitsu Kaisen season 2 broke the taboo and openly complained about their poor working conditions. However, the negative reaction was short-lived. JJK season 2 had such impressive animation that fans quickly forgot the exploits behind it. The opposite happened to One Punch Man.

Week after week, fans are reminded that there’s only so much you can do with limited time and resources. If episode 8 was actually produced in 11 days, it’s amazing that it looks as good as it does. For reference, here is a video from professional animator Dong Chang showing how difficult it is to produce an anime.

Complaining online (without harassing the staff!) might be useful in the long run to ensure that, if there’s a fourth season One Punch Man ever happens, animators get more time and resources to do a good job. Plus, the best thing you can do right now as a fan of the series is read the manga, if you haven’t already.

The bad habits of the Japanese animation industry will not disappear soon, because the obstacles lie at a cultural level that goes beyond any particular industry. Hopefully, it is One Punch Man Season 3’s debacle will at least provide a small lesson for the studio and producers. After all, no one wants to hold the record for the lowest-rated anime episode on IMDb.