After Its 6-Year Wait for Season 3, One-Punch Man’s Latest Update Could Officially Kill the Anime

Following its lengthy wait for Season 3, One-Punch Man‘s latest update could be the final nail in the anime’s coffin. Based on ONE’s manga of the same name, One-Punch Man debuted to much enthusiasm back in 2015. Unfortunately, the excitement surrounding the series was short-lived. Season 2 brought a change of studios (from Madhouse to J.C. Staff), along with complaints that the animation and production quality had dropped. It wasn’t a high note to leave off on, especially with One-Punch Man taking six years to finally return for Season 3.

While the anime could have utilized the gap between outings to address some of the biggest complaints about Season 2, Season 3 hasn’t fared much better. One-Punch Man Season 3 had fans worried after just a few episodes — and now that Part 1 has come to a close, with a low 7% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s safe to say it hasn’t improved. Between the lost momentum from the six-year wait and the negative response to Season 3, the writing might be on the wall for the series. If it’s not dead yet, it’s getting close to losing all of its relevance. And the latest One-Punch Man update could be what kills the anime completely.

One-Punch Man Season 3 Took 6 Years to Arrive, and Part 2 Won’t Be Here Until 2027

Right after Part 1 concluded, it was announced that One-Punch Man Season 3 would continue with Part 2… in 2027. While it’s not out of the ordinary for anime to release in multiple cours, there typically isn’t a two year wait between them. Cours are usually split by a few months to a year, so this One-Punch Man Season 3 update comes as a blow — particularly after fans already waited so long for its return. Other series have recovered from lengthy gaps between seasons (just look at Attack on Titan), but most kept the momentum going when they did finally reemerge.

Read Next

Anime Fans Debate the Worst Anime of 2025 (& One Series Should Never Have Made the List)

By contrast, One-Punch Man has struggled to hold viewers’ interest, with the series consistently offering fewer reasons to come back to it. Enthusiasm was already waning after the anime’s lackluster Season 2, but most audiences weren’t ready to give up on Saitama’s story completely. After Season 3, Part 1, however, that’s not necessarily the case. The latest batch of episodes already left the anime in a precarious place. Now, even the most optimistic fans may not be interested in waiting around another two years, especially if they could be disappointed all over again.

After Season 3’s Disappointing Start, Another Wait Could Kill the Anime for Good

There’s a slight chance that the creators behind the One-Punch Man anime could use the time until Season 3, Part 2’s release to fix the shortcomings of Part 1. However, the fact that this didn’t already happen, even with a six-year gap, doesn’t inspire confidence. There’s more pressure than ever for the series to turn things around, but even if it does, there’s no telling if its audience will give it another chance. There was already a possibility that people would walk away after seeing the continued animation and production issues of Part 1. With audiences now having another wait ahead of them, they’re more likely to give up on the series completely. It could kill any momentum the anime has left, leading it to fall off completely and even potentially face cancellation.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!