The third season of One Punch Man 3 arrived surrounded by expectations, but quickly became the target of intense criticism due to its animation quality, which was considered to be below par. The anime, which won over fans all over the world with an impeccable first season produced by the prestigious Madhouse studio, is now facing accusations of having turned into “PowerPoint animation”, with static scenes, a lack of fluidity and visibly rushed cuts. This contrast between the initial standard of excellence and the current result raises a central question: what really destroyed the quality of One Punch Man? To understand this decline, it is necessary to analyze not only the studios involved, but also the backstage of the Japanese animation industry, the production committees and the market logic that directly influences the fate of works.
One Punch Man 3: Why has the quality of the animation plummeted?” style=”width:840px;height:auto”>Comparing Madhouse and JC Staff: the reality check
When we talk about the first season of One Punch Man, it’s impossible not to think of Madhouse delivering a visual spectacle that became a worldwide reference. Every fight looked like an action movie with a blockbuster budget. In the second and third seasons, with JC Staff at the helm, the contrast is stark. And it’s not just a question of style: it’s a working philosophy.
Madhouse has always positioned itself as a studio of excellence, taking on few projects to maintain its very high standards. JC Staff, on the other hand, is known for volume – they take on several productions at once, which inevitably dilutes quality. It’s like comparing a gourmet restaurant with a corner pastry shop: both deliver food, but the level of care and detail is completely different.
You can’t expect a studio that has never sold itself as “premium” to deliver something on Madhouse’s level. The problem is that the average fan doesn’t care, they just see the end result and feel they’ve been cheated. And, let’s face it, it’s really frustrating. You look forward to an epic sequel and you get 15-second static scenes with zoom and pan as if it were an innovation. It’s almost an inside joke in the industry.
When you look at the transition between Madhouse and JC Staff, you can tell that it was almost an inevitable downgrade. Madhouse had the time, budget and prestige to turn One Punch Man into a visual spectacle. Each episode was practically a showcase of animation techniques, with cinematic framing and fluidity that would leave any fan open-mouthed. JC Staff, on the other hand, came in with a completely different proposal: to deliver quickly, on time and within the budget that the production committee made available.
And here’s the big difference: Madhouse worked to impress, JC Staff works to deliver. It sounds like a detail, but it changes everything. While Madhouse treated One Punch Man as a masterpiece that needed to make its mark, JC Staff treated it as just another project in the queue. And it’s no exaggeration to say that this is reflected in every frame.
Another point worth mentioning is the number of simultaneous projects. Madhouse, being a prestigious studio, usually limits its workload in order to maintain quality. At the time of the third season, JC Staff was working on five productions at the same time. It’s like asking a chef to prepare five different feasts in one night: some dishes will come out raw, others unseasoned, and in the end no one will be satisfied.
This choice by the production committee was a strategic mistake. They could have waited longer, booked a more reputable studio and ensured that the franchise maintained its luster. But they preferred to rush and cut costs. The result? A season that became a meme and, for many fans, tarnished One Punch Man‘s reputation.
What’s more, JC Staff has never positioned itself as a studio of excellence. They are known for being “pastry chefs”, as we say here in Brazil – they do it quickly, deliver it and move on to the next thing. It’s not that they’re incompetent, it’s just that their business model doesn’t prioritize quality. So blaming the studio alone is unfair. The bigger problem lies with those who hired JC Staff knowing exactly what they were going to get.
The role of production committees: who really runs the game
Now, let’s be honest: the studio is just one piece on the board. The production committee really decides the fate of an anime. In the case of One Punch Man, Bandai and other companies bought the intellectual property and want a financial return. If the second season didn’t make the expected profit, why would they put more money into the third? It’s cold market logic.
The committee isn’t worried about whether the animation will become a meme or whether fans will complain on Twitter. What matters is synchronizing an anime release with a game, doll, T-shirt and any other product that can be sold. If the anime serves as a showcase, great. If not, patience. And that’s where the quality goes down the drain.
My view is that the fan needs to understand this: complaining about the studio or the director doesn’t do much good. The target should be the committee, because they set the budget, deadlines and priorities. As long as their pockets aren’t affected, nothing will change.
The exploitation of professionals in the Japanese animation industry
If there’s one point that hardly ever comes up in discussions between fans, but which weighs heavily on the final quality of anime, it’s the reality of the professionals who work in the studios. We usually only look at the result on screen, but behind it there is a routine that borders on the unsustainable.
Animators, directors and designers often face 14 to 18-hour days, with tight deadlines and salaries that don’t reflect their efforts. It’s a culture ingrained in the Japanese industry: delivering on time is more important than delivering quality. And this isn’t exclusive to JC Staff, it happens in practically every studio – even the most prestigious ones. The difference is that the big names, like Madhouse, Bones or MAPPA, manage to attract talent and hold the line a little longer, but even there the pressure is absurd.
My opinion here is straightforward: you can’t expect an anime to maintain artistic consistency if the professionals are exhausted and being exploited. It’s like asking a marathon runner to run three races in a row without rest. The body can’t take it, and neither can the mind. The result is animations with lazy cuts, static scenes and visible errors. Not because the animators don’t know how to do it better, but because they don’t have the time or conditions to do it better.
And there’s a cruel detail: when the criticism is heavy, it falls on these professionals, who are precisely the ones who have the least decision-making power. The director of the third season of One Punch Man, for example, even deactivated his social networks because of the torrent of attacks. This shows how the public often takes aim at the wrong target. The real villain is the production system, which treats animators as disposable parts.
One Punch Man 3: Why has the animation quality plummeted? – FAQ
