Legendary One Piece Animator Slams Illegal Overseas Viewers Over One Punch Man Criticism

One Punch Man season 3 is getting roasted, and now a veteran animator has stepped in swinging. Not someone from OPM, either. Takashi Hashimoto, known for work on One Piece, Bleach: TYBW, and the last Evangelion film, posted a blunt response to the backlash, and it is not subtle.

The backlash that lit the fuse

Season 1 was a flex by Studio Madhouse and basically set an impossible bar. Season 2 moved to J.C. Staff and fans immediately felt the drop. Then season 3 finally landed in fall 2025 and the dam burst. Episode 6 crashed hard enough to become the lowest-rated anime episode on IMDb, and social media turned into a firing squad. Animators and the studio got harassed. Six years of hype met a season that could not carry the weight.

Hashimoto fires back

'Regarding One-Punch Man, the criticisms - or rather, the sheer volume of criticism from people watching illegally overseas - are overwhelming.'

Hashimoto did not work on this season, but he clearly felt for the people who did. He basically said the team is getting pummeled for tiny details, nobody wakes up trying to make a bad show, and after enough abuse, the motivation just dies. He also warned that if this keeps up, staff who pour everything into the work are going to burn out and disappear.

The part that is not landing with fans

Here is where he lost a lot of people: lumping overseas viewers together as pirates. That is just not accurate. Yeah, illegal streaming is everywhere, especially in regions with bad access. But plenty of international fans pay for the show and still left disappointed. Going broad with the blame ends up smacking paying, legit viewers in the face, which only makes the situation uglier and pushes fans further away.

Who is Takashi Hashimoto?

If his name rings a bell, it is because he has been around some heavy hitters. His credits include Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, One Piece Film: Red, and Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, among others. This is a guy who knows how rough production can get and how nasty the discourse can turn when a fandom is angry.

• Season 1: Studio Madhouse, widely praised and a tough act to follow
• Season 2: J.C. Staff takes over, quality concerns pop immediately
• Season 3: Arrives fall 2025, criticism explodes
• Episode 6: Drops to the lowest-rated anime episode on IMDb
• Fan behavior: Harassment of animators and the studio reported on social platforms
• Hashimoto’s stance: Sympathy for staff, frustration at nitpicking, warning about burnout
• Controversy: He blames a wave of illegal overseas viewers for the pile-on, which angered many paying fans
• Where to watch in the US: Streaming on Crunchyroll

Bottom line: the team behind season 3 is getting hammered, some of it fair, some of it toxic. Hashimoto’s defense of the crew is understandable. Painting all overseas criticism as piracy-fueled is not. And when a franchise this beloved stumbles after a six-year wait, the blowback was always going to be brutal.