Table of Contents
Third season collapses under poor animation, weak production choices, delivering painful punch to longtime fans
After a six year wait following the conclusion of One Punch Man’s second season, calling its recently concluded third season underwhelming would be nothing short of a travesty.
Once again helmed by production studio J.C. Staff, the new season proves itself as arguably the most abominably-produced anime in modern history.
Adapting the Monster Association arc from One’s manga, One Punch Man’s third season covers the kidnapping of Waganma, the son of a high-level Hero Association executive, by the Monster Association.
Along with covering the Hero Association’s attempt to mobilise its S-, A-, B- and C-Class heroes to rescue the child from the Monster Association’s cavernous, underground lair, the season’s 12 episodes also shows Garou’s (Hikaru Midorikawa) further evolution from human into a monster.
From fantastical spectacle to one-frame slop
The biggest appeal of One Punch Man is how it is essentially a punch ’em up power fantasy with an array of eclectic and colourful major and minor fantastical characters, each of whom have their own powers and abilities.
In theory, this would mean that translating these characters from paper to anime with modern advances in the world of animation would result in nothing short of excellent entertainment, especially as series lead Saitama (Makoto Furukawa) takes a backseat role for this season’s portion of the Monster Association arc where secondary and tertiary characters are allowed to shine.
However, the reality, as fans and casual viewers have come to experience in this season, is the exact opposite. For the overwhelming bulk of One Punch Man’s third season – save for a handful of sequences – the show progressively devolves into a series of Power Point-level presentations, whether it is the fight sequences or regular scenes of characters talking.
From still images with voices, poorly drawn characters lacking depth or detail, the odd out-of-place neon-coloured close-ups to save on animating fully-fleshed scenes, to that now infamous scene of Garou statically sliding down a hill, One Punch Man’s third season is a painful watch.
Uncertain future, possible cash grab
Budget and manpower constraints have been a longstanding issue in the animation industry, especially as expectations – from fans and stakeholders – increase, but the problems with One Punch Man’s third season seems to have been further exacerbated by production issues involving the management by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Initially produced by Madhouse for the show’s first season, which set an unprecedented benchmark back in 2016, the series was handed off to J.C. Staff for its second season.
Released in 2019, the cracks began to appear through the visible dips in animation quality. However, the gap in quality between that season and this, despite having the same animation studio, is cavernous.
As the company seems to care more about the revenue from One Punch Man’s official merchandise rather than the reception to the anime, it is up in the air whether Bandai Namco proceeds with a fourth season, with or without J.C. Staff, that rectifies the animation problems – maybe they will pump out an even worse season just for the sake of selling merch.
READ MORE:
Stranger Things Season 5 Review – A Rushed, Uneven Finale
Last Samurai Standing Review – Netflix’s Samurai Death-Game
Gen V Season 2 Review – Rushed End to a Superpowered Start
