REVIEW: ‘One Punch Man’ Season 3 Cour 1 Is A Disappointing First Half

One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1, despite being one of the most anticipated seasons for a shonen anime, is unfortunately disappointing in many ways. While the season so far introduces and highlights some of the series’ most interesting characters, it doesn’t do them full justice due to its poor pacing and production quality.

One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 starts with the S-class heroes being tasked to rescue the son of an important member of the Heroes Association. Meanwhile, Garou, on his journey of trying to be the strongest villain, gets recruited by the monsters, but quickly clashes with them after preventing the monsters from killing an innocent kid. The entirety of the season sees the S-Class heroes on a mission heading into the Monsters’ hideout while Saitama (Makoto Furukawa), Genos (Kaito Ishikawa), Fubuki (Saori Hayami), Bang, and Silverfang loaf around in Saitama’s house for most of the season before also heading into the Monsters’ hideout near the end.

The first half of One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 is notably its weakest narratively, as it sees the S-class heroes debating about how to begin the mission, along with needless fluff. Saitama and his friends contribute nothing to the season’s events, and the comedic bits featuring the characters are far from enjoyable, memorable, or even funny. Additionally, due to the fluff, One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 is horribly paced.

One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 feels incredibly slow and, in many ways, meaningless.

One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 feels incredibly slow and, in many ways, meaningless. If the season had been paced better and featured more of the important moments closer to the start, the second half of the cour wouldn’t have suffered for it. Aside from following Garou’s (Hikaru Midorikawa) escapades and struggles fighting increasingly tough monsters, the first half of the cour is incredibly forgettable, mainly as not many fights occur.

Thankfully, the second half of One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 is much more engaging, both narratively and in its fights. It sees the S Class heroes finally heading into the Monsters’ base, and each subsequent episode focuses on several interesting side characters and heroes, their backgrounds, abilities, and fighting styles. More than any other season, season 3 of One Punch Man features the best characters and highlights them excellently.

While most fights featuring these characters do them a disservice because they’re so poorly animated, the characters still manage to shine through and remain engaging, thanks to their personalities and powers. The S-class heroes never disappoint whenever they are on screen, and they always prove why they are S-class heroes. They’re all disciplined, diligent, powerful, and engaging characters.

One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1, by far, has the worst and most inconsistent animation quality from J.C. Staff.

That said, it’s evident that these characters and many of the events surrounding them would’ve been much more engaging if the animation were better. One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1, by far, has the worst and most inconsistent animation quality from J.C. Staff. Some episodes, especially in the first half of One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1, feature incredibly detailed character designs, backgrounds, and art direction. In contrast, other episodes see a drastic drop in quality for these elements: fights are barely animated, talking scenes are just still images, and some character movements devolve into dragging PNGs across the screen, which is incredibly disappointing, especially compared to the excellently animated first season of the anime.

However, at its best, the season can be incredibly entertaining. A few episodes, specifically episodes 8 and 9, feature fantastically animated fights that highlight lesser-known or underappreciated characters, such as Flash and the Child Emperor. These episodes are the best in the season so far, but the rest pale in comparison.

The first half of the season ends with Saitama, like always, defeating the most formidable enemy in the anime so far, King Orochi (Atsushi Ono), in a single punch. While the scene is entertaining and engaging, it’s a shame that this is the only moment in the entire season where Saitama does anything meaningful.

Due to the pacing and production issues, One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 is the anime’s worst season so far.

Overall, while there are good moments in the season, due to the pacing and production issues, One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 is the anime’s worst season so far. While only the first half of the season has been released, if the second half, also produced by the same studio, continues on the same trajectory, the rest of the season won’t be worth looking forward to.

One Punch Man Season 3 Cour 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.