Nicholas Light Comes Back Swinging, Calls Out One Punch Man Gatekeepers Over Episode 5
One Punch Man season 3 has ignited a fandom civil war, with diehards defending every frame while critics rip into the animation—and critic Nicholas Light has been leading the charge since day one.
One Punch Man season 3 has basically turned into a trench war. Some folks are riding or dying for it, others are roasting the animation like it owes them money. Reaction YouTuber Nicholas Light planted his flag in the 'this season is rough' camp on day one, got dragged for it, and now that episode 5 has landed, he is not exactly walking anything back.
Episode 5 was hyped like a rescue mission
After four straight weeks of messy episodes, parts of the fandom convinced themselves episode 5 would be the turnaround. Even animator Vann Oba was nudging hype. The pitch was simple: multiple Garou fights on deck, big previews, season saved.
One X post went so far as to judge the whole thing off promo stills on November 7, 2025, posting: 'A lot of yall don’t deserve to watch the next OPM episode tbh' from @hotrod_521. That take pulled in 4.3k+ likes before the episode even aired.
Then the episode dropped
The reaction was a blender. Defenders started hedging, detractors had a field day, and the 'this is the one' hype train derailed in public. The same account that said haters didn’t deserve the episode circled back on November 9, 2025 with:
'And with that I eat my words! This episode was completely and utterly broken, and the season is done.'
That pretty much captured the mood swing: not a redemption arc, just more chaos and disappointment.
Nicholas Light’s victory lap (without saying a word)
Light has been ripping into season 3 since the premiere, and he’s taken heat for it — people say his reactions are exaggerated and toe the line into bullying. He didn’t exactly soften after episode 5. On November 9, 2025, he reposted that earlier hype tweet (the 'yall don’t deserve it' one) with zero commentary. No need. The point landed. Fans clowning the show as 'One Frame Man' felt vindicated; defenders, not so much.
When replies tried to dunk on him, he shot back fast. The bigger sentiment from his side: if we keep propping up releases with this kind of animation, production committees will think it’s fine to ship popular series in mid shape. Agree or not, you can see why that argument is gaining steam week by week.
Where season 3 stands right now
Between the marketing promises, the preview-frame hype, and the reality of the finished episodes, it’s not hard to see why tempers are high. If you’ve been hoping for a quality spike, episode 5 didn’t deliver it. And the conversation has now shifted from 'maybe it gets better' to 'what went wrong this season' — especially for the Garou-heavy material fans wanted to see nailed.
How viewers are scoring it so far
- Episode 1: 5.5 on IMDb
- Episode 2: 5.8 on IMDb
- Episode 3: 5.5 on IMDb
- Episode 4: 5.6 on IMDb
- Episode 5: 6.4 on IMDb
Where to watch
One Punch Man season 3 is streaming on Hulu in the US.