“They’re just trying to survive”: One Piece animator defends J.C. Staff amid backlash over One-Punch Man Season 3

The third season of One-Punch Man has once again come under fire for its weak animation.

The third season of One-Punch Man premiered on October 12, 2025, and immediately faced criticism from the community. After a six-year break, fans expected a significant visual overhaul, but the animation produced by J.C. Staff still falls short of the quality set by Madhouse in the first season.

In response to the backlash, Vincent Shansar, a well-known animator who has worked on One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Castlevania, spoke up in defense of the studio.

“I think many people blame J.C. Staff, but the situation is more complicated. Sometimes it’s not the studio itself, but the production committee that controls the whole process.” He emphasized that the Japanese animation industry operates under extremely harsh conditions. “They’re having a very hard time right now. J.C. Staff is a studio trying to survive. Understand that the Japanese anime industry is a real hell.”

Shansar also denounced the waves of harassment aimed at individual artists on social platforms: “Attacking individual animators doesn’t help. They aren’t the ones making the major decisions.”

Those remarks echo comments from season three director Shinpei Nagai, who warned before the premiere that the new season would struggle to match the original. He pointed to industry realities: the studio is working to improve labor conditions and develop young talent, but competing with large corporations that lure top animators with enormous pay makes it extremely difficult for J.C. Staff.

Source: iXBT.games