Overview
Thunder 3 is a science-fiction manga that ran in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine from 6 May 2022 to 5 June 2026, collected in 10 volumes. It was credited to Yuki Ikeda, and on 24 September 2026 Hiroya Oku, the author of Gantz, Inuyashiki and GIGANT, confirmed that this was his pen name. The anime, produced by Unend, aired 12 episodes from July 2026 on Fuji TV and globally exclusive on Netflix.
OtaHub's take
The leads are three schoolboys, Pyontaro Tezuka, Hiroshi Ochanomizu and Tsubame Azuma. They get hold of a DVD rumored to open a gateway to a parallel world. While all three are distracted, Pyontaro's little sister Futaba steps through the gate and is taken by the aliens who rule that world's version of Earth, forcing the boys to follow.
What sets Thunder 3 apart is the clash of art styles. The three boys have the round, big-eyed look of Showa-era children's manga, while the world beyond is drawn realistically and coldly, close to Gantz. The anime keeps that contrast. Hiroyuki Seshita is chief director, Keisuke Ide directs, Hiroshi Seko handles scripts and series composition, and the music is by Frédéric Chateau and Akiyuki Tateyama.
On 1 October 2026, right after episode 12 ended, the team announced that season 2 will air in 2027. The date, broadcaster and whether Netflix keeps exclusivity are all unconfirmed. Because the manga is finished, the next season has a clear destination, an advantage many multi-season anime lack.
