Hiroya Oku Signs the Congratulations as Yuki Ikeda
The image attached to Wednesday's announcement is a congratulatory illustration from the manga's original creator, credited to Yuki Ikeda and Kodansha. That credit line is the punchline to a four-year running joke. On September 24, Hiroya Oku confirmed on social media that Yuki Ikeda had been his pen name all along. He used it so first-time readers would hit the first chapter's surprise cold, without the Gantz author's name priming them for what was coming. Oku has been publishing under his own name since the 1990s, with Gantz, Inuyashiki, and GIGANT behind him, and he kept the Thunder 3 byline clean until the anime was a week from its finale.
The manga is already finished. It ran in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine from May 2022 to June 5, 2026, and the tenth and final volume shipped on August 17, 2026. Kodansha USA publishes the series in English, so anyone who wants to know where SEASON2 is going can read ahead right now.
Small 3 Against a Parallel Earth
A recap of the premise: Pyontaro Tezuka is an unremarkable middle schooler who, along with classmates Tsubame and Hiroshi, goes by the nickname Small 3. According to Kodansha USA's description, the three come into possession of a DVD that supposedly opens a gateway to a parallel universe. While their backs are turned, Pyontaro's little sister Futaba passes through, and the aliens that have overrun that version of Earth kidnap her. Their cartoonish bodies turn out to be superhuman in the hyper-realistic parallel world. That is how three middle schoolers end up fighting an occupying alien force.
Sayumi Suzushiro voices Pyontaro, with Natsumi Kawaida as Tsubame, Eri Akiyama as Hiroshi, and Honoka Mitsubachi as the missing Futaba. Shogo Sakata plays Doc and Yasuto Ban plays Teiichi Segami.
As for what the new season covers, Japanese anime news site Anime Hack reports that SEASON2 is where full-scale combat between Small 3 and the aliens begins. That is the extent of the plot detail in the announcement, and the SEASON2 trailer on Fuji TV's official anime channel is built from new cuts rather than a story breakdown.
UNEND and the Team That Made Season 1
Season 1 was animated at UNEND, the studio led by chief director Hiroyuki Seshita (GAMERA -Rebirth-, Ajin: Demi-Human). The studio's first series was Kamierabi GOD.app. The credits were part of the mystery too. Before episode 1 aired, the official site listed three key staff members by given name only, under deliberately vague labels: one for "work," one for "text," and one for "art." The full lineup landed with the premiere: Keisuke Ide directing, Hiroshi Seko on series composition and scripts, Naoyuki Onda on original character concepts, and Junko Yamanaka and Yuki Moriyama on animation character designs. Frédéric Château and Akiyuki Tateyama handled the music. Yuuri's "Thunderbolt" opened the season, and otoha's "Shururerira" closed it.
The announcement does not say whether that team returns for SEASON2. Fuji TV has not named staff, confirmed returning cast, or given a month for the 2027 broadcast.
Looking Ahead
The only firm detail is the year. Thunder 3 SEASON2 airs sometime in 2027 on Fuji TV's +Ultra late-night block and other channels, the same slot that carried season 1 from July 8 at 24:45 JST.
International viewers have a clean path to season 1: Netflix streamed it exclusively worldwide from the Japanese premiere date, with an English dub available day and date. Netflix has not announced SEASON2 yet, but it held global rights to the first season, so that is the obvious place to watch for news. The manga is the faster option in the meantime. All 10 volumes are out in Japan, Kodansha USA handles the English release, and the story is complete, so the ending is already on shelves whether or not the anime gets there in 2027.