Following today’s reveal of Shinpei Nagai as One Punch Man Season 3 director alongside the new visual and trailer, the creator took to X (formerly Twitter) to address the late reveal and answer some questions from fans. He also addressed working on an adult anime in one of his answers.
The director had previously denied directing One Punch Man in July, saying that he specialized in romantic comedies and short anime and that he had never worked on an action anime in his career before. His previous directorial work includes Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san, Dogeza: I Tried Asking While Kowtowing, and I Can`t Understand What My Husband Is Saying.
Nagai wrote in English, and his posted started by saying that he will direct the new season and that he understands everyone’s reactions. He explained that he was a freelancer from the beginning, and that that hasn’t changed. Moving forward, he also explained his beginnings in animation, with some of the anime he worked in including Aquarion Logos, GANGSTA, and Samurai Flamenco.
“In the midst of that, J.C.Staff became a long-term partner, commissioning me for storyboards and direction throughout the year. However, since I’m relatively unknown and don’t have standout achievements as an animator, I thought it might give a bad impression, so I asked to keep it under wraps.“
Speaking more about One Punch Man Season 3, his statement says that he focused on incorporating a new workflow that bridges 3D and 2D workflows “to squeeze out even one more second of production time.” You can read the full message on X (formerly Twitter).
Answering a fan’s message which asked whether he liked One Punch Man as a whole, Nagai said:
“I love it. When I read the scene where he chose the path of a hero who would not be praised before an audience, I saw myself in it.”
Another fan asked whether the production of Season 3 has been overall good for the director. The reply was: “We are devoting all of our skills.”
One Punch Man Season 3 Director on Experience Directing an Adult Anime
When a fan commented to “ignore the haters,” Nagai answered that an adult anime was the first time he tried a hybrid animation pipeline:
Actually, that online HEN*AI was the first time I tried a hybrid animation pipeline where all the backgrounds were created in 3D, previsualized, and output as 2D layouts, then overlaid with 2D animation—about 20 years ago. I’ve been experimenting and tweaking it ever since.
Additional Information
Studio J.C. Staff has two other anime set to premiere in October besides One Punch Man Season 3, so fans were concerned due to the lack of a director so close to the actual release date. The staff known so far includes:
- Director: Shinpei Nagai
- Series Composition: Tomohiro Suzuki
- Character Design: Chikashi Kubota, Shinjiro Kuroda, Ryosuke Shirakawa
- Music: Makoto Miyazaki
Studio MADHOUSE animated the first season, which aired from October to December 2015. Studio J.C. Staff took over for season 2, which aired from April to July 2019. The 3rd season was announced in August last year. 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the anime. You can watch the latest trailer for the anime below.
Finally, an aspiring animator also commented that Nagai is an underrated director, going as far as to call him a “a real Saitama who has saved many productions behind the scenes.”
Source: Shinpei Nagai on X (formerly Twitter)
© ONE, Yusuke Murata / SHUEISHA, Hero Association HQ
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