Fall 2025 is supposed to be one of the most exciting seasons of the year, as it not only features the final season of My Hero Academia, bringing its decade-long journey to an end, but also the highly anticipated return of One-Punch Man. The hype surrounding One-Punch Man’s comeback was immense, as fans were anxiously awaiting the new season because of the poor quality of the previous one. With even the director of Season 3 acknowledging concerns about its quality, expectations were high.
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However, the worst came to pass, as the new Season 3 of One-Punch Man turned out to be even lower in quality than Season 2. Fans were very vocal about the decline, rating each episode on IMDb with what they felt were fair scores. Unfortunately, this resulted in One-Punch Man Season 3 Episode 6 becoming the worst-rated anime episode ever on IMDb, with a score of 1.4. While all hope seemed lost, the latest installment has reignited some optimism, yet it once again highlights the most obvious mistake of the season.
One-Punch Man Season 3 Finally Delivers a High-Quality Episode
There is no other way to describe the latest episode of One-Punch Man, Season 3 Episode 8 titled “Ninja Tale,” than as a genuinely well-animated episode. As it continues the S-Class heroes’ mission to take down the Monster Association, one of the manga’s most anticipated characters, Flashy Flash, finally receives lightning-fast animation with multiple sharp frames that truly embody what his character represents. As Flashy Flash ventures deeper into the monsters’ hideout, he displays his unparalleled speed, cutting down monsters until he encounters two others with origins similar to his own, challenging him to a fight.
What follows is probably the longest fight sequence of the season, and easily the best-animated one, compelling anyone watching to acknowledge that the quality has significantly improved. Fans have naturally praised the episode, giving it a solid 6.7 and rising rating on IMDb. Furthermore, one of the episode’s strongest elements is its use of energetic soundtracks that perfectly match the pace of the fight, adding even more impact to the sequence.
This episode proves that what One-Punch Man Season 3 needed all along was a decent adaptation, and had the previous episodes matched this level of quality, the anime wouldn’t have ended up breaking records that no series would ever want to. However, after Flashy Flash’s fight, the episode fails to maintain that standard, as Child Emperor’s venture into the monsters’ den is once again poorly animated, with the drop in quality immediately noticeable. Honestly, at this point, even when Season 3 delivers a good episode, it highlights how inconsistent the production is, and with the damage already done, it seems almost impossible for the series to win back fans’ hearts unless the anime receives a full reboot.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm -
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros
