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Fans of One Punch Man have been waiting a long time for the third season, but it has long been approached with at least some trepidation. After the stellar animation of season one, season two felt like a letdown, and fans have gotten very upset at the idea of One Punch Man season three doing the same. The director for this new season, Shinpei Nagai, has now openly called for fans to temper their expectations and, please, leave him and his staff alone.

During an exchange on social media, Nagai said that there was a good chance that One Punch Man season three wouldn’t live up to the standard set by season one, which was animated by Madhouse back in 2015. Season two, which came out in 2019, was animated by J.C. Staff, who are also handling season three.

“No, I have been prepared and understand the meaning of carrying the weight of a work that you all cherish so dearly. You may not like it, or it may anger you. But someone has to carry it. I am prepared and hopeful. It probably won’t be as good as Season 1. But the work embodies the passion and ingenuity of the creators. Please accept that.”

Nagai didn’t give a firm reason for what it was about season three of One Punch Man that might disappoint fans, but he did suggest that there were budget issues that got in the way of production. “There are many companies nowadays that are funded by large corporations. Much of the talent has been drawn to those places. But, as I have said many times before, I want to support J.C. Staff, working to improve labor conditions and nurture its employees. Please stop with the harassment and the persistent questions that I can’t answer due to NDAs. I beg you, please.”

The plea for civility from fans was part of an interaction with fans online. Nagai posted that he had to finish a few more layouts that day to avoid any production delays and was hopeful he would have time to eat dinner while working, so we can already see what the “labor conditions” he alludes to later on might be.

One Punch Man season three debuts on October 5, 2025 and will cover one of our favorite arcs from the manga, so we’ve got high hopes for it. However, that isn’t worth giving the staff behind the series grief, and we didn’t think we needed to explain that so plainly.

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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