Despite being announced over two years ago, One Punch Man Season 3's release still has no official release date, but that does not mean it is not coming soon.
The super-powered anime series, which follows a superhero named Saitama who can defeat any foe with a single punch, debuted back in 2015 to rave reviews.
Based on the manga of the same name, One Punch Man's first season was a resounding success, prompting the announcement of a second season which would eventually be released in 2019. Since then, fans have waited for Season 3, with bated breath and not a whole lot to go on.
[ One Punch Man Season 3 Release, Cast & Everything We Know So Far ]
When Will One Punch Man Season 3 Be Released?
One Punch Man Season 3 remains without a release date; however, signs are pointing to it potentially being imminent.
Season 3 was first announced back in August 2022 in Chapter 215 of the beloved manga the anime is based on (via Anime News Network).
The brief tease featured main character Saitama standing alongside the powered-up villain Garou, sporting his new power-embued orange hairstyle.
During its announcement, no release window was specified for the series's return; however, given it had been nearly three years - at the time - since Season 2's debut fans largely thought the wait for Season 3 would be a short one.
They would be gravely mistaken, however, as more than two years since that announcement, a release date has still not been publicly announced.
The last officially released material from the series came in February 2024, thanks to a new trailer for the anime's third season.
This debut tease, again came with no release timing but did seem to indicate that work on the series was going smoothly at animation studio J.C. Staff.
By the time Season 3 does debut, it will be the longest gap between seasons for the series to date.
Season 1 was first announced in March 2015, before being released in in Japan October of that same year. The English dub would then debut eight months later in July 2016.
Season 2 was officially confirmed shortly after in September 2016, before being released three years after Season 1's initial release in April 2019 in Japanese and October 2019 in English.
Season 2 took a bit longer to see the light of day than Season 1. But that was largely due to the series's transition from Season 1 animation house Madhouse to where it currently resides at J.C. Staff.
Given the timing of both Seasons 1 and 2, a Season 3 release at any moment would not be all that surprising.
Kaito Ishikawa, who plays Genos in the series, previously posted on X (formerly Twitter) that One Punch Man Season 3 was considered one of his upcoming 2024 projects.
This seems to indicate that a release date sometime before the end of the year was (at least at one point) planned to happen.
If the series were to get an official Japanese release date before 2024 comes to an end, that would mean an English dub would likely not release for somewhere around six months or so, putting its English debut sometime in early-to-mid 2025.
What Will Happen in One Punch Man Season 3?
Seeing as nearly five years will have passed by the time One Punch Man Season 3 makes its debut, there will be plenty of fans scratching their heads at what the series was setting up narratively since its last appearance.
Well, for those looking to get a sneak peek at where the series may go next (as well as a brief refresher on where it has been), the One Punch Man manga is the place to look.
Thus far, the series has covered everything up to and including Volume 17, Chapter 85 of the manga.
This finds the series right smack-dab in what is known as the Monster Association Arc.
Last fans saw in the series, longtime bid bad Garou the Hero Hunter had been defeated and taken in by the dastardly Monster Association (from which the arc takes its name).
This next chapter in the One Punch Man anime story sees Garou disgraced and wanting revenge on the heroes that sent him packing at the end of Season 2.
While it could be quite some time before Garou truly gets his revenge, Season 3 will likely see a new villain emerge for Saitama and his team and the Hero Association to take on, the Monster King Orochi.
He becomes the main antagonist of this next saga of the One Punch Man story, with Saitama almost taking a back seat to some of the other characters from the Monster and Hero Association taking the spotlight to bring down the otherworldly evil-doer.
One Punch Man is streaming now on Hulu in the U.S.
