Hiroya Oku's authorship of Thunder 3 under the pen name Yuki Ikeda is confirmed, the manga has ended, and a second anime season is set for 2027. He has said he plans to retire after finishing Kanrekihime.
Hiroya Oku confirmed in September 2026 that Yuki Ikeda, the credited author of Thunder 3, is his own pen name. He said on X that the alias protected a chapter 1 twist that his real name would have weakened. Reader speculation about the art style resembling GANTZ had circulated before the post.
The reveal arrived at the end of Thunder 3's run. The manga launched in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022, reached its final chapter in the July 2026 issue released on June 5, 2026, and ran to 10 collected volumes, the last out on August 17. The anime adaptation premiered on Fuji-TV's +Ultra block on July 8, 2026 and streamed worldwide on Netflix the same day, with its final episode, Episode 12, set for September 30.
Days later, the staff announced a second season for 2027. The continuation rests on the adaptation's own standing because the source manga is already finished. Kodansha USA publishes the manga in English.
Separately, Oku told Courrier Japon in an interview that he plans to retire after finishing his current manga Kanrekihime, citing a lack of energy and stamina for drawing.
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The television anime of the Thunder 3 manga will return for a second season next year, the staff announced Thursday. Hiroya Oku confirmed in September that he created the manga under the pen name Yuki Ikeda. The adaptation premiered on Fuji-TV's +Ultra block on July 8 and streamed worldwide on Netflix the same day. Kodansha USA publishes the manga in English.
Hiroya Oku confirmed on social media Thursday that he created the Thunder 3 manga under the pen name Yuki Ikeda. He said the pen name kept a first-chapter surprise intact for new readers, one that the Oku name would have lessened. The series launched in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022, entered its climax in January 2025, went on hiatus that March over Ikeda's health, returned in February, and ended on June 5.
Hiroya Oku, the manga artist behind GANTZ, stated on September 24, 2026 that Yuki Ikeda, the credited author of Thunder 3, is his own pen name. Oku posted the confirmation on his X account. He said the pen name existed because a chapter 1 twist would have been weakened if his real name had been attached, and he wanted first-time readers to be surprised. Thunder 3 began serialization in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022 and reached its final chapter in the July 2026 issue, released on June 5, 2026. The collected volumes total 10, with the last volume released on August 17. The TV anime adaptation premiered on July 8, 2026 and its final episode, Episode 12, is set to air on September 30. Online speculation about the art style resembling GANTZ had circulated for some time before Oku's post.
Hiroya Oku revealed on X that he is Yuki Ikeda, the pen name credited as the author of Thunder 3. He said the alias protected the twist in Episode 1, so first-time readers would be surprised. Oku thanked the anime staff and said he watches every episode. Thunder 3 ran in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine, concluded in June 2026, and its anime streams on Netflix.
Hiroya Oku, creator of Gantz, Inuyashiki, and GIGANT, said in an interview with Courrier Japon that he plans to retire after finishing his current manga Kanrekihime. He cited a lack of energy and stamina for drawing as the reason, calling the series his end-of-life preparation.