One Punch Man Season 3 has finally made its debut, but there have been plenty of complaints from fans about the animation quality. So much so that an artist from the beloved One Piece anime has jumped in to defend the show.
For the uninitiated, One Punch Man’s debut season was nothing short of a success when it landed in 2015, earning respective 100% and 95% Rotten Tomatoes scores from critics and viewers for honoring One’s story and Yusuke Murata’s art work.
But after Season 2 was given the greenlight, the series underwent a production overhaul due to Madhouse’s busy schedule. J.C. Staff took over and the second chapter arrived in 2019, with many fans complaining about a perceived dip in quality.
As such, there was much apprehension about whether One Punch Man Season 3 would face similar issues, with the first two episodes doing little to quell concerns. But the issue is far more complex, according to a One Piece animator.
One Piece animator says One Punch Man Season 3 issue is “complex”
Vincent Chansard, the legendary animator who’s worked on titles such as One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Castlevania, recently appeared on the KOL: Requiem YouTube channel, where he spoke in defense of J.C. Staff over One Punch Man Season 3.
“I think a lot of people blame J.C. Staff, but it’s a bit more complex. Sometimes, it’s not about the animation studio – sometimes it’s about the production committees that are on top of everything,” he explained.
His comments came up when the KOL: Requiem host said, “I feel like One Punch Man Season 1 was like one of the seasons where you can just put it on a pedestal. It was amazing. The risk taking, the directing, the animation, it was godlike.
“And so just finding out that J.C. staff… Jump gave them the rights to do that and that was their choice. But, bad choice.”
However, Chansard jumped in with his above thoughts, before adding, “The Japanese industry is very difficult. J.C. Staff is just a studio with artists who are trying to survive… Right now, it’s very difficult for them.”
Chansard went on to point out the added “pressure” from “people on social media harassing the staff.”
“I don’t want to call to be mean about some of my colleagues’ work, I think everyone has work conditions that push them to make choices. And, again, everyone is just trying to survive in this industry,” he continued.
Chansard’s comments reflect those shared by One Punch Man Season 3 director Shinpei Nagai, who pleaded with fans to “stop with the harassment and the persistent questions that I can’t answer due to NDAs.”
Garou slide in Season 3 Episode 2 sparks debate
It’s unclear whether the harassment has stopped, but the One Punch Man subreddit has been awash with criticism towards Season 3 Episode 2, with many highlighting a number of scenes that featured still frames.
Notably, the moment Garou slides down a hill has become a meme online, leaving fans divided. One person has turned it into a screensaver, another compared it with the Amai Mask slide, and a third suggested it’s like Blue Lock Season 2 all over again.
“Even Amai Mask thinks that Garou slide is an embarrassment,” wrote one, while another said, “Wait that sh*t wasn’t just a meme?” A third added, “One Frame Man.”
However, as Chansard said, the blame can’t be fully on J.C. Staff, and it’s not worth comparing Season 3 to Season 1 as the studio simply doesn’t have the same resources.
The TikToker who compared the slide to Blue Lock went on to highlight a scene of action from the same episode, stating, “It looks legitimately good.”
“Does it look as good as Season 1? No, but that is an incredibly high bar to set and honestly, it looks like Season 2, and Season 2 was still really good,” he added.
“You are going to have plenty of trolls trying to tell you that Season 3 is just cooked and there’s no hope, but again, there’s actual legitimately good cuts in this scene.”
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