There has been endless discussion about how One-Punch Man has been mistreated visually. With a disastrous production cycle and a team lacking the resources to carry the workload, having episodes that look merely “acceptable” was already a huge effort. Yet, things don’t seem to be improving, in fact, they are getting worse as season 3 progresses.
Beyond the graphics, another troubling issue has emerged this season: excessive censorship. Not only has fan-service been cut back, but blood and violence have been toned down to the extreme, turning what was once a high-quality action masterpiece into a watered-down product. Episode 10 highlights this censorship in a way that’s almost laughable and hard to justify.
The most bizarre “rename” moment in anime history
In episode 10, the story centers on a deadly battle between Zombieman and a monster group led by the vampire Pureblood. After an exhausting fight, in the manga, Zombieman tries to relax by lighting a cigarette. However, for some unknown reason, the anime replaced the cigarette with… a lollipop.
Censorship of smoking in anime isn’t new. For example, in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, scenes of Jotaro smoking were blurred out. But at least JoJo’s censorship had a reason, Jotaro was a minor at the time, and the scenes were only blurred, not completely removed. In contrast, Zombieman is an adult, and his smoking shouldn’t be a sensitive issue warranting such a drastic prop change.
A “nightmare” reminiscent of 4Kids Entertainment’s dark era
This situation brings longtime fans back to the infamous “dark era” of 4Kids Entertainment, a company notorious for heavy-handed censorship of popular anime. The peak of absurdity was when they replaced Sanji’s cigarette in One Piece with a lollipop for the US dub.
That move has been mocked and criticized for decades. It’s hard to believe that in 2025, a modern studio would willingly repeat such a ridiculous mistake in a series clearly aimed at adult audiences like One-Punch Man.
A total failure season marred by poor management
The childish censorship is just one more dark spot highlighting the failure of season 3. When the production team resorts to such random and bizarre changes, it’s clear the problems behind the scenes are worse than what fans see on screen.
Of course, the blame doesn’t lie solely with the animators. With J.C.Staff’s poor production management, the fact that season 3 even aired on time is considered a “miracle.” The core issue is bad management, not the skill of individual artists.
One-Punch Man once had the potential to become an eternal classic. But due to careless management at every stage, it’s slowly turning into a joke among the community. The production team only had enough time to deliver a mediocre product, and the illogical censorship is the final straw.