One-Punch Man Just Got Hit With 4Kids-Level Censorship

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There’s been a lot of talk about the declining visual quality of One-Punch Man, and understandably so. The show has faced a troubled production process with a team that struggled to keep up, resulting in episodes that often look unfinished. Unfortunately, things seem to be getting worse in season 3, and there’s little indication that will improve.

A significant issue with One-Punch Man season 3 has been the extensive censorship. Not only is there less fan service, but the show has drastically reduced the amount of blood and violence, resulting in a noticeably weaker product. While the censorship has been a problem since the beginning, episode 10 featured cuts that were particularly confusing and hard to justify.

One-Punch Man Just Censored Itself In The Weirdest Way Possible

The tenth episode of One-Punch Man season 3 showed Zombieman’s tough battle against a group of monsters, including the vampire Pureblood, leaving him completely worn out. The manga version of this scene had Zombieman relaxing with a cigarette afterward, but the anime replaced this with him licking a lollipop.

I’ve noticed anime often edits out smoking, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders is a frequent example. But honestly, that made sense because Jotaro was a kid, and they just blurred out his cigarettes. What really gets me is Zombieman – he’s a grown adult! So, seeing his smoking censored just feels unnecessary and a bit strange to me.

This whole situation feels strangely similar to what 4Kids Entertainment used to do. They were notorious for heavily censoring anime, and famously replaced Sanji’s cigarettes with lollipops in the English dub of One Piece. That kind of editing received a lot of criticism and mockery back then, so it’s surprising to see a company repeating it now.

One-Punch Man Season 3 Continues To Be A Massive Travesty

The heavy censorship in the new season of One-Punch Man is a major disappointment, and really shows how troubled the production has been. While the animation quality has been consistently poor, altering the story itself is an even bigger problem and suggests things are worse than we initially thought.

It’s important to note that the animation isn’t the problem. Considering how difficult production has been for J.C.Staff, the fact that One-Punch Man season 3 even exists is remarkable. Ultimately, the biggest weakness of this season isn’t a lack of skill, but rather issues with how the production was handled.

One-Punch Man started with a lot of promise, but poor handling has unfortunately turned it into a disappointment. Recent, seemingly arbitrary censorship is just the latest issue, and it doesn’t look like things will get better soon. The team seems focused on simply making it ‘good enough,’ rather than reaching its full potential.

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2025-12-16 22:10