REVIEW: ‘One Punch Man’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Ninja Tale”

One Punch Man Season 3 Episode 8 is one of the best episodes in the season so far and perhaps the best episode animation-wise as J.C.Staff shows off what it’s truly capable of through some incredibly intricate and flashy fight scenes. The episode begins as the S-class heroes head deeper underground into the Monster Association’s hideout. The first half of the episode focuses on S-class hero Flashy Flash (Kôsuke Toriumi).

After easily defeating the monsters he comes across, he is approached by two fighters, Hellfire Flame and Tempest Wind. The two reveal they’re assassins sent to kill him from a Ninja village and even hint that Flashy Flash has connections to the village and its ninjas, though what this connection is isn’t fully revealed, which is a bit disappointing.

The fight between Flash, Hellfire, and Tempest showcases one of the season’s most powerful fights yet.

A fight between the three breaks out and extends into a frozen lake stage, seen in a previous episode with the two ninjas. The fight is explosive, intense, quick, and incredibly awe-inspiring. It showcases the best animation in the season thus far and features incredibly precise choreography, complemented by the flashy, bright visual effects as the fighters’ powers clash.

Through the fight, viewers can really see how incredibly powerful they are, especially compared to most fights in the season. And while the fight isn’t as built-up or as hype as the fight between Garou (Hikaru Midorikawa) and King Orochi King (Atsushi Ono), it is definitely the most well-animated and intricate fight so far.

The fight is also complemented by the background of the frozen area where it takes place. It isn’t just a static background—it’s a dynamic one, with several angles and moving elements such as cold air and moving waterfalls. It all makes the stage easy to appreciate.

Child Emperor goes off to defeat several opponents with ease.

After a well-paced, thrilling battle, the fight ends with Flashy Flash defeating both of his aggressors, even after they go all out and transform into their monsterized versions. After the fight, the episode shifts to Child Emperor (Minami Takayama) as he navigates the base’s underground levels alone.

Like Flashy Flash, he easily defeats many monsters he comes across with his several lethal gadgets and tools. He comes across a monster called Phoenix Man, who was a normal guy in a bird suit who became a monster because he couldn’t take it off. Child Emperor defeats Phoenix Man quickly and easily after being underestimated by him in a rather humorous way.

He then heads towards the hostage Waganma, whom the heroes are tasked with rescuing, and after defeating more monsters with his gadgets, he rescues him. They are then interrupted by the metal monster G5, who quickly picks a fight with Child Emperor, who then deploys several of his mecha minions. However, before the encounter escalates into a full-blown fight, the episode ends with him escaping with Waganma.

One Punch Man Season 3 Episode 8 is a return to form after several lackluster episodes.

Despite the incredibly short and less satisfying fights with Child Emperor compared to Flash’s, they’re still well-animated. The backgrounds, especially shots of Child Emperor moving through the intricately designed halls of the base, showcase amazing lighting and great composition.

This episode notably focuses on lesser-known or appreciated characters and heroes, and executes this incredibly well. Episodes like this prove that other heroes are incredibly capable and deserving of their rankings and can really hold their own in battles while still being entertaining to watch. Additionally, their powers and character designs, including those of the monsters and monsterized humans, make each fight unique and thrilling in different ways.

While not perfect, One Punch Man Season 3 Episode 8 is great in many ways and succeeds in being engaging and captivating from start to finish. This is mainly thanks to its amazingly animated fight scene. If future episodes maintain this trajectory, the season may be redeemed after the previous underwhelming episodes.

One Punch Man Season 3 Episode 8 is streaming now on Crunchyroll. 

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