The highly anticipated One-Punch Man Season 3 released this month as part of the Fall 2026 lineup and immediately made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Fans waited for six years for the sequel to drop, only to be completely disappointed with the adaptation by J.C. Staff. The acclaimed manga written by ONE and illustrated by Yusuke Murata is known for its spectacular art style, along with its unique premise. The anime’s first season was produced by Madhouse in 2015, gaining worldwide recognition for its hilarious protagonist and absurd comedy amid devastating threats. However, Madhouse dropped the anime without any official statement, and J.C. Staff released the second season in 2019, which sparked massive controversies over the animation quality.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Since the third season took a long time to be released, fans naturally believed that it would improve the animation, but that wasn’t the case at all. A renowned One Piece animator even spoke up on behalf of J.C. Staff, claiming that while the animators are being harassed on social media, the blame lies with the production committee since they are the ones making decisions for a project. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop fans from directing their anger towards the animators who were active on social media during the promotions. The controversy became even worse when the season’s director, Shinpei Nagai, deactivated his X account (previously known as Twitter), after which several accounts expressed their support for him.
One-Punch Man Season 3 Controversy Sheds Light On the Animators’ Struggles
Director Shinpei Nagai recently went private on X (previously known as Twitter) after dealing with constant hate messages and eventually deleted the account that had thousands of followers. He even spoke about how this is all affecting his mental health, emphasizing the severity of the harassment he is facing from fans. His action sparked another controversy, putting emphasis on the drastic measures fans took to express their disappointment.
@Hatchofly_, a famous Sakuga account on X who speaks closely with several animators, also spoke about the issue and shared a previous message from an anonymous animator who was struggling with the same problems as Nagai. The animator’s heartbreaking message sheds light on how brutal fans on social media can get when something doesn’t meet their expectations. Several accounts with tens of thousands of followers were actively criticizing the third season, fueling more hate among fans, who took their dissatisfaction to an extreme level.
Since several animators are active on social media, it’s easy for trolls to target them directly, which can be quite difficult to deal with, especially since the anime staff are often overworked. Not to mention that they don’t always have the kind of creative freedom over a project that one might expect. The third season continues with the thrilling Monster Association Arc, the longest in the manga so far. However, since the episode count hasn’t been revealed yet, it’s difficult to say if the third season will fully adapt this arc or not.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Paramount+ -
A closeup of a PlayStation 5 with a controller on top.
