Image: J.C. Staff
One Punch Man returns for a third season produced by J.C. Staff.
The iconic anime One Punch Man is finally returning for a third season. The new batch of episodes will adapt the manga’s Monster Association Arc, featuring an epic battle between Garou and Saitama. The series’ third season was announced back in 2022 without an animation studio attached to its production, prompting speculation that the series had left the hands of controversial Season 2 makers J.C. Staff.
However, this trailer confirms that J.C. Staff is back in production on Season 3. Watch it below:
One Punch Man Season 3 trailer released
The trailer above shows off a sneak peek of One Punch Man Season 3’s big bad: Garou, who fends off Royal Ripper and Bug God in the trailer. The manga's Monster Association arc that this season should adapt is rather action-packed, and it looks like J.C. Staff has no plans to tone things down. While we don’t see much of Saitama in the trailer, it’s not a stretch to assume that he and Garou will have a massive showdown at some point this season.
One Punch Man Season 1 was originally produced by animation studio Madhouse, before work on Season 2 was handed over to J.C. Staff. Unfortunately, J.C. Staff’s work on Season 2 ended up being controversial among fans, with many criticising its animation and sound effects in particular as a notable step down from Season 1. A third season was announced in 2022 without any animation studios attached, kicking off outlandish rumours that companies like MAPPA (Attack on Titan) were now helming the series.
This week’s trailer confirms that J.C. Staff will once again helm Season 3, however. According to the official announcement, series composer Tomohiro Suzuki, music composer Makoto Miyazaki and character designer Chikashi Kubota will all return from Season 1 and 2. Shinjirou Kuroda and Ryosuke Shirakawa (SpyxFamily Season 1) have also joined Season 3’s staff. Season 3 isn’t confirmed for a release this year, meaning that it could still be some time before we see Saitama return to our screens.
Here’s a synopsis from Season 3:
Saitama is a hero who only became a hero for fun. After three years of "special training," hes become so strong that he's practically invincible. In fact, he's too strong—even his mightiest opponents are taken out with a single punch. Alongside Genos, his faithful disciple, Saitama performs his official hero duties as a member of the Hero Association. One day, monsters claiming to be from the Monster Association suddenly appeared, taking a child of Hero Association executive as a hostage. The S-class heroes gather and plan a raid on the Monster Association hideout to rescue the hostage. Meanwhile, Garou, a "human monster" who was taken by the Monster Association during a battle with the heroes, awakens in the Monster Association hideout.
Check out our most anticipated anime of 2024 here.
