English Dub Review: Thunder 3 “THE STRANGERS”

Overview

Futaba faces off against a squad of alien soldiers to protect her new friend. Facing heavy losses, Segami and the Rebellion turn to their secret weapon.

Our Take

Picking up from the previous episode, Thunder 3 wastes little time getting back into the action. And while I’m glad Kyuu’s apparent demise turned out to be a fakeout, watching Futaba finally unleash her superspeed to protect Q-chan was easily one of the episode’s highlights. Segami also gets a chance to show off his own abilities after using the Empoweral, reinforcing how varied these powers can be. The catch is that the user becomes unable to move afterward, making it feel more like a dangerous last resort than something they can rely on casually.

The rest of the proceedings also expands the story’s scope by introducing several more characters who become involved in the Small Three’s journey, including Doc. Their arrival raises some intriguing questions about the parallel worlds and where this increasingly strange adventure is headed. Unfortunately, the Small Three still feel more like guest stars than the protagonists of their own story, while the pacing continues to drag. Too much time is spent recapping information we already know or lingering on scenes that should move much faster, leaving the main narrative feeling frustratingly stagnant.

Overall, Thunder 3 still has some entertaining ideas and fun power moments, particularly when Futaba finally takes matters into her own hands, but the storytelling continues to struggle under its sluggish pacing. The characters and multiversal premise have plenty of potential, yet the series keeps putting that potential on hold instead of allowing the story to meaningfully progress. At this point, I’m hoping the remaining episodes can finally give the Small Three the spotlight they deserve and actually move the plot forward rather than continuing to stall.