One-Punch Man Season 3 Is Breaking Records (Just Not the Ones Fans Expected)

One-Punch Man Season 3 was one of the most anticipated yet most controversial releases of the year. Once celebrated for being one of the highest-quality and most fluid anime adaptations, the series’ reputation took a major hit after Season 2’s poor animation. This left fans cautious about how Season 3 would be handled. The director’s early statements confirming that the new season wouldn’t match the level of Season 1 only increased concerns, but nothing could have prepared fans for how far the quality would actually fall.

Episode 6, which features the most noticeable animation mistakes so far, has been widely labeled the series’s worst episode, currently holding a rating of 2 out of 10 on IMDb. With this, One-Punch Man has set a new all-time low record for an anime episode scoring this poorly. It appears that this episode isn’t just the lowest-rated in the franchise, but it is also one of the lowest-rated anime episodes overall. Many factors have contributed to this outcome, but it’s clear that the poor development of the season is the most significant reason for the backlash it’s receiving.

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As each new episode was released, the animation blunders became increasingly evident. King the Ripper’s design being noticeably feminine and Garou’s awkward slope-climbing scene quickly turned into memes highlighting the lack of detail and supervision. Episode 6 makes this even clearer, as its animation is especially poor. While the pacing is also a major issue, the visual mistakes stand out even more. The most obvious error is a backshot of Atomic Samurai speaking to Puri-Puri Prisoner, where the top of his hair is completely cut off. These issues underline that One-Punch Man Season 3’s biggest flaw is its animation, something the series was once celebrated for in Season 1.

There are no excuses for the anime to look like this other than a poor adaptation from a team that doesn’t seem to care about the final product. The production had more than enough time, and after the disappointing quality of Season 2, fans would have gladly waited longer if it meant receiving a proper adaptation. However, there is one silver lining the anime could still benefit from.

With the latest episode hitting a new rock bottom, there may be nowhere left to go but up. With a major battle starting in the next episode, fans can only hope J.C. Staff has invested more time into the arc’s main confrontation. Still, that remains to be seen, and it’s possible the animation could get even worse, setting new lows that One-Punch Man may struggle to recover from ever.

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