A little over three years after season 2 stopped airing, One-Punch Man finally got a confirmation for season 3.
Fans became hopeful and excited again after the announcement was made with a key visual by Chikashi Kubota, character designer for OPM’s seasons 1 and 2.
Creator ONE even celebrated this announcement by tweeting a celebratory art.
— ＯＮＥ (@ONE_rakugaki) August 22, 2022
Of course, fans had a reason to be wary after their disappointment with season 2’s animation quality. Most of them hope Madhouse will come back to animate season 3 instead of letting J.C. Staff handle it again.
Will either studio control the animation for OPM season 3, or will another studio entirely work on it this time?
Sadly, aside from the teaser visual, no other details have been revealed yet.
One-Punch Man Season 3 Release Date Speculation
One-Punch Man season 3 has no confirmed release date yet, but it will likely air in Fall 2023 or Spring 2024. Considering the announcement’s timing, releasing in late 2023 or early 2024 gives the studio enough time to work on each episode without compromising quality.
One-Punch Man Season 3 Plot Speculation
Seasons 1 and 2 have followed chapters 1 to 85 of the manga so far, so it’s safe to assume that season 3 will start at chapter 86.
Season 2 started covering the Monster Association Arc, which spans from chapters 78 to 170 of the manga. Coincidentally, the season 3 announcement was made the same day as chapter 170’s release.
And if we consider the key visual, season 3 may cover the entire Monster Association Arc. That’s a lot of ground to cover, considering the arc is roughly 92 chapters long. Perhaps season 3 will be a split-cour instead of the regular 12-episode season?
Whether the arc will be covered in season 3 entirely or not, fans should be excited to see numerous battles animated. The raid on Monster Association comprises the majority of these battles, and they will include exciting ones such as Tatsumaki vs Psykos and Garou vs Superalloy Darkshine.
The Saitama vs Awakened Garou battle is likely to be included as well.
One-Punch Man Season 3 Cast
At the moment, it seems Makoto Furukawa (Saitama) and Hikaru Midorikawa (Garou) will return to reprise their roles in season 3.
Though we don’t have any concrete details yet, it’s likely that the voice actors for other significant roles will also be returning.
After all, most essential characters, especially the S-class heroes such as Genos and King, are involved in several important scenes and battles during the Monster Association Arc.
How Many Episodes Will One Punch Man Season 3 Have?
If OPM season 3 covers the rest of the Monster Association Arc, fans will likely get 24 to 26 episodes airing as a split-cour.
Twelve episodes are too short to cover such a significant arc unless the animation studio decides to split it into two seasons. Doing so could alienate fans, especially if it takes several years again to confirm the following season.
How Successful Was One Punch Man Season 2?
One-Punch Man season 2 wasn’t as well-received as the first season. Unlike season 1, which has a 95 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, season 2 only has 74 percent.
Most of the complaints are about the episodes’ animation quality, which the fans felt was inadequate compared to the first season.
Considering the change of animation studios between seasons, it’s understandable that the qualities would differ.
Madhouse, under the direction of Shingo Natsume, handled season 1, while Chikara Sakurai and J.C. Staff worked on season 2. It’s currently unknown who will be working on animating season 3.
Where Will One Punch Man Season 3 Be Available to Watch?
One-Punch Man season 3 will likely get a simulcast on Crunchyroll since season 1 is available to watch there. However, those who want to catch up must go to Hulu to watch season 2. It is currently unknown if Crunchyroll will add season 2 in the future.