A new month means a new key visual released as part of J.C. STAFF's "Hero Visual Project" for One-Punch Man Season 3.
This month's Hero Visual is for Silver Fang, also nown as Bang. The image was illustrated by character designer Shinjiro Kuroda.
A martial arts master and creator and Master of the Flowing Water Fist Fighting Style, Silver Fang is a former professional hero and formerly the 3rd highest ranked S-Class hero of the Hero Association. Even in his elderly age, Silver Fang is considered a very skilled and powerful hero. Silver Fang was the mentor of Garou, a martial arts prodigy who was expelled from the dojo after he went on a rampage.
Silver Fang is now the fifth release as part of J.C. STAFF's "Hero Visual Project" for One-Punch Man Season 3. Last month, we got a look at key art for Fubuki, also known as "Hellish Blizzard" (Blizzard of Hell), illustrated by character designer Ryosuke Shirokawa.
We've also gotten key art for Genos and Saitama, both of whom Silver Fang is trying to recruit as disciples for his dojo. Kuroda also previously illustrated the visuals for both Genos and Saitama, as well as King.
Unfortunately, we still don't have a premiere date for One-Punch Man Season 3. The highly anticipated upcoming season is expected to debut this Fall 2024, although there is also speculation that it could be pushed into Spring 2025. With a trailer already released along with multiple key visuals, a 2024 release seems more likely, after the relatively slows Summer season.
One-Punch Man Season 3 is in production at J.C. STAFF, the studio that produced the second season of the anime after taking over for Season 1's studio Madhouse. Much of the staff that worked on the first and second seasons are set to return, including Tomohiro Suzuki, Makoto Miyazaki, Shinjiro Kuroda, Ryosuke Shirakawa, and Sei Kubota.
While the second season was criticized for a drop off in animation quality, it is mostly attribute it to the rushed production schedule that was forced upon J.C. STAFF. It has been five years since Season 2 premiered though, which hopefully means a return to the quality of Season 1.
One-Punch Man is based on the popular manga written by ONE and illustrated by Yusuke Murata, which itself is based on the original webcomic by ONE. The series tells the story of Saitama, a superhero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch — an ability so powerful he grows bored from the lack of challenge.
The series is licensed by Viz Media in the United States, who describes it:
Saitama looks like an average guy, but his problem is anything but average. After training hard enough for all his hair to fall out, he's become so overwhelmingly powerful that no villain can stop him. The thing is, Saitama just does the hero thing for fun. When every enemy goes down with a single punch, it turns out that overwhelming power can be kind of... boring.
Those looking to watch the anime adaptation of One-Punch Man can find it on Hulu, Prime Video, and other platforms. With Anime Expo 2024 taking place this weekend, maybe we'll get a premiere date for the highly anticipated third season.