New season One-Punch Man didn't go as well as fans had hoped. We're only a little over a month in and the 3rd season of the anime is already facing a massive wave of backlash from fans and internet commenters.
Frustrations with the animation and overall quality of the season reached a boiling point, with episode 6, titled “Motley Heroes”, now the lowest-rated anime episode of all time on IMDb. The footage previously belonged to episode 11 The Promised Land of No Land season two, and while episode 6 initially started with higher ratings, it quickly dropped to an even more abysmal score.
One-Punch Man Season 3 is breaking records, just not the ones you'd hope it would
Episode 6 initially had a 3.4 rating upon airing. This isn't great by any means, but a bit more in line with how the other Season 3 episodes have fared. But things quickly turned sour and the rating dropped to a 2.0 and then a 1.6 just days later. Episode 11 The Promised Land of No Land season 2 held the record for the lowest rated anime episode with a 2.9 rating.
Fans are obviously not happy with the direction the series is going. Prior to the release of episode 6, season 3 had an average IMDb rating of 3.9, which is still terrible compared to the 8.7 average rating of season 1 and the 8.1 average rating of season 2. Season 2 was criticized for its pacing and animation when it aired, but it never suffered the same backlash as season 3. It's clear that there are issues with the final season, and fans are making their frustrations known as much as they can.
The latest episode of the series, “Counterstrike,” isn't doing much better, currently sitting at a 2.5 based on roughly 5,100 ratings. At this rate, it's possible that one of the final episodes of the season will break the record set by episode 6. Even with nearly triple the average ratings, there's a good chance that people reviewed the bombastic episode 6 to jump on the hate train surrounding the new season. So while we may not see a Season 3 episode that gets anything below a 2.0 rating again, it's safe to assume that the rest of the season will continue to deliver abysmal scores.
Season 3 was mired in controversy from the start
Things didn't look good for Season 3 right from the start. Already in September, fans were rioting over the trailer. This led to Season 3 director Shinpei Nagai releasing a statement that Season 3 “probably won't live up to Season 1”, which didn't inspire much confidence in an already nervous fanbase. A little more than a month later, Nagai left social media due to harassment. Nagai and the rest of the staff responsible for Season 3 were relentlessly criticized for their work on the anime. While it's fair to criticize someone's work and express their displeasure with how the series is handled, some fans have taken it too far.
Now it feels like One-Punch Man the anime is dead in the water. Bandai Namco may consider this a profitable series, but the quality of the product, as well as the fan reaction, does not bode well for the franchise going forward. Whether the series will get a fourth season remains to be seen, but it's hard to imagine anything happening anytime soon. There was a four-year gap between seasons 1 and 2. It took six years to get Season 3, and now fans may have to wait even longer, if they get anything at all.
The first season One-Punch Man aired during the fall season of 2016. It was animated by Madhouse, with Shingo Natsume (Son boy, Tatami Galaxy) direction. Season 1 was praised for its animation and fans appreciated how well it adapted the manga. When JC Staff took over for the second season, fans felt that the quality of the series had dropped. Season 2 aired during the Spring 2019 season with Chikara Sakurai (Little Busters!, Waiting in the Summer) direction. While it wasn't as well received as Season 1, Season 2 never came close to the backlash that Season 3 had.
Fans openly questioned director Shinpei Nagai's ability to direct the new season, despite having worked on directing episodes of the series Psycho-Pass, Gangsta.and Samurai flamenco. The animators are heavily criticized online, and all the conversations surrounding the new season seem volatile.
It's unfortunate that the fans didn't get the product they think they deserve, and there's clearly something going on behind the scenes that's affecting the production. Season 3 One-Punch Man will likely remain not only the most controversial anime of this Fall 2025 season, but also one of the most polarizing anime of recent years. Hopefully, the series, the fans, and everyone who worked so hard on the current season can look forward to better things in the future.
Source: IMDb
One-Punch Man
- Release date
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October 5, 2015
- Network
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YouTube, TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- directors
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Shinichiro Ushijima, Makoto Sokuza, Nobuhiro Muto, Ryoh Ando, Shuuji Miyazaki, Youhei Suzuki, Miyuki Ishida, Katsushi Sakurabi, Hideki Okamoto, Yoshio Suzuki, Hiroyuki Okuno, Riki Fukushima, Shigeki Awai
- Writers
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Tatsuro Inamoto
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Makoto Furukawa
Saitama (voice)
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Kaito Ishikawa
Genos (voice)
