One Punch Man season 3: Is Garou still working with the Monster Association? Explained

Modified Mar 02, 2024 04:30 GMT

Understanding whether or not Garou is working for Monster Association (Image via J.C. Staff)

One Punch Man season 3 is one of the most anticipated anime releases. It has been about five years since the previous installment finished airing. The recent announcement followed by a trailer had the entire fanbase excited.

Those who have read the manga already are aware of the fact that Garou will be the center of attention in the upcoming season. The last time fans saw him, he was being taken away by Phoenix Man, and this raised a few suspicions. Fans realized that he was working for the Monster Association.

However, this raised an interesting question—is Garou still working with the Monster Association? No, Garou is not working with the Monster Association in One Punch Man season 3.

Disclaimer: This article contains massive spoilers from the One Punch Man manga chapters.

Garou's involvement with Monster Association in One Punch Man season 3

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As stated earlier, One Punch Man season 3 will focus on Garou considerably. He will be the main antagonist of the third season as well. Moreover, he does not work for the Monster Association. Unlike most others in the series, Garou did not awaken due to the monsterization caused by monster cells.

This trend was seen in the second installment of the show. However, Garou’s pursuit of becoming the embodiment of absolute fear triggered his monsterization process.

In the One Punch Man season 3 trailer, one can see Garou fight against Royal Ripper and Bug God, who were members of the Monster Association. When Garou was pushed to his limits by these foes, his natural monsterization process began. He began to surpass his limits and become stronger drastically and rather quickly. Therefore, Garou won’t work for the Monster Association in the upcoming season of the series.

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It has been quite clear from the get-go that he doesn’t side with any organizations. His choice to target both heroes and monsters as fans will witness in One Punch Man season 3 is purely dependent on his ideals.

This was already explored in the previous installment of the anime series where Garou’s backstory was explored. He was bullied by kids at a young age, and they all sided with heroes. When Garou tried to sympathize with the underdog, he was beaten up and punished.

This caused a massive shift in his perspective and decided to use his martial arts prowess to hunt every single monster and hero out there. He specifically targeted heroes and therefore, earned the title of Hero Hunter. In conclusion, Garou will not work for the Monster Association, which is run by Orochi.

Garou, when he was a child, as seen in the anime series (Image via J.C. Staff)

This organization has plenty of strong members, but Garou isn’t one of them. The trailer of One Punch Man season 3 gave some clarity on this, and the anime episodes will confirm the same.

Garou’s true potential will be shown much later in the anime series. It is unclear as to how much of the Monster Association Arc will be covered in the third season. However, Garou’s full potential will make him the biggest threat that Saitama has faced in the series up until now.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2024 progresses.