Questions about the actual budget of One-Punch Man Season 3 have surfaced amid concerns over its animation quality. Many believe the budget is to blame, but the truth is that money wasn’t the issue. The budget wasn’t low, just average.
One-Punch Man Season 3 didn’t struggle financially, its budget falls within the typical range for top-tier anime. However, the common belief that “more money equals better animation” is one of the biggest misconceptions in anime history that needs to be debunked.
The Budget for One-Punch Man Season 3
You might expect a global hit like One-Punch Man to have a Hollywood-level budget. In reality, anime budgets are fixed and deliberately capped. Most anime series fall between 1 to 2 million dollars per season, regardless of popularity, and these figures rarely change.
According to CG creator Masamune Sakaki, the average cost for a 13-episode anime is about 250 million yen (roughly 2 million dollars), and surprisingly, most don’t even recoup that investment.
A few blockbusters like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen have carried the anime industry. So, for One-Punch Man Season 3, the production budget was close to Season 1’s, totaling around 2 million dollars, or about 80,000 dollars per episode. This isn’t a bad number, but it’s just average for the industry.
Here’s a quick look at a typical anime budget and where the money actually goes:
So, even though One-Punch Man is a big brand, its budget is comparable to a standard seasonal anime. After marketing, licensing, and corporate fees, animators are left with very little.
Even Chikashi Kubota, the animation director of One-Punch Man Season 1, said years ago: “One-Punch Man is often thought to have a huge budget, but that’s not true. It’s just average. It’s the passion and dedication of the animators and the effort in each episode that brought One-Punch Man to life.”
So, Season 1 looks like a masterpiece not because of a big budget, but because the creators poured their hearts into it.
Who’s Really to Blame for One-Punch Man Season 3’s Animation Issues?
All eyes are on JC Staff, the studio behind Season 3, with many fans blaming them for “ruining” the series since Season 2. But the truth is, the studio isn’t deliberately damaging the work, they’re just trying to survive and operate within industry limits.
Back in 2019 when Season 2 aired, JC Staff was handling eight anime projects simultaneously. That’s like asking a chef to cook for eight restaurants at once and then blaming them if your noodles don’t taste good.
In 2025, they have fewer projects (five), but the rules remain the same: deadlines, budgets, and creative restrictions are all decided by production committees. As One Piece animator Vincent Chansard explained in an interview: “Sometimes the problem isn’t the animation studio but the production committees who control everything. JC Staff is just a studio trying to survive.”
So instead of blaming the animators, blame capitalism. The real villain here isn’t JC Staff but the broken production committee system where profits always come before artistic value.
Even the most talented animators get caught in a vicious cycle of tight schedules, bureaucracy, and corporate interference. So from an artistic standpoint, One-Punch Man Season 3 might not meet your standards. The problem isn’t just financial, it’s a complex mix of systemic inefficiency, corporate control, and creative burnout.
Sadly, this is a battle even Saitama can’t win with just one punch.