Thunder 3 will continue its anime adaptation with a second season officially scheduled for 2027. The announcement arrived shortly after the conclusion of the first season, confirming that the parallel-world adventure is far from over. To celebrate the news, manga creator Yuki Ikeda also produced a special illustration dedicated to the upcoming continuation. A more precise release date, episode count and production details have not yet been announced.

The first season premiered in Japan on July 8, 2026 as part of Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block, while Netflix handled the series as a worldwide exclusive. Thunder 3 follows three schoolboys who discover a mysterious DVD capable of opening a passage to another universe. Their adventure becomes considerably more dangerous when Pyontaro's younger sister Futaba crosses into that world and is captured by aliens. Once the boys enter the parallel reality themselves, they discover that their cartoon-like bodies give them extraordinary physical abilities inside its far more realistic environment.

The original manga began serialization in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022. After entering its final phase in January 2025, publication was temporarily suspended in March due to the author's health before resuming in February 2026. The series ultimately ended on June 5, 2026, with its tenth collected volume released in Japan on August 17. Kodansha USA is also publishing the manga in English.

One of the biggest revelations surrounding Thunder 3 came in September 2026, when Hiroya Oku confirmed that Yuki Ikeda was actually a pen name he had used to create the series. The author of Gantz, Inuyashiki and GIGANT explained that concealing his identity helped preserve an important surprise featured in Thunder 3's opening chapter. Oku remains one of the most recognizable names in science-fiction manga, with Gantz having previously inspired an anime series, a CG movie, several manga projects and two Japanese live action films.