The newly announced director of One Punch Man Season 3, Shinpei Nagai, addressed fan expectations in a recent post of his, noting that the upcoming season probably won’t live up to the legacy of the first season, and made a plea for fans to stop harassing the production team.
Nagai’s comments came in a detailed reply to a fan on X (formerly Twitter), who, while expressing hope for Season 3’s success, noted that it might not reach the acclaimed level of Season 1.
The director began his reply by saying that he was prepared to carry on the legacy of the One Punch Man anime, which fans might not like, while conceding that Season 3 of the anime might not live up to the standards of the first season.
However, he noted that the upcoming season was imbued with the tenacity and ingenuity of the staff working on it, and urged fans to at least acknowledge that.
Nagai also asked fans to support Studio J.C. Staff, as he believed that the studio was trying to improve the working condition of the staff and nurture them, despite not being a studio that was funded by large conglomerate.
This comes at a time when questions have been asked about the studio’s capability to pull off One Punch Man Season 3’s adaptation to a satisfactory level.
Nagai had previously said that he was aiming to create a workflow at J.C. Staff which involved integrating 2D and 3D animation in order to maximize production efficiency despite the tight schedules for upcoming anime.
The director ended his post by begging fans to stop the online harassment and stop pestering him with questions that he cannot answer due to NDAs.
“Nowadays, there are many companies that are heavily funded by large corporations. Much of the talent has been consolidated there. But, as I’ve said many times, I want to support J.C.Staff, a company that improves its working hours and nurtures its employees. Please, stop the harassment and stop continuously asking questions that I cannot answer due to NDAs. I’m begging you, please.“
The announcement of Shinpei Nagai as director for the third season and the lack of promising promo materials had stirred the fandom into criticizing the ongoing work on the anime.
One Punch Man season 3 is scheduled to start airing on Oct 5, 2025.
