Attack on Titan (Season 3) Series Review

Attack on Titan has concluded its third season and has reached a crucial moment that made us question the morality of our characters and, most importantly, made us realize that the story goes deeper than just survival since the fight is no longer against the Titans but against the entire world.

Synopsis

The beginning of the season is devoted to the mystery involving Historia and the Reiss family and some crazy government conspiracies that try to hide the true monarchy and keep humanity in the dark about their history and the origin of the wall plus some huge revelations involving Eren and his father. Soon after the Scouts discover the truth, they cause a coup d’état that leads Historia, the rightful heir, to the throne. The rest of the season deals with the glorious mission of the Scouts getting to the basement in the Shiganshina district. When they finally reach the area they are ambushed by Reiner, Bertholdt and Zeke who annihilate their forces and cause huge casualties for the Scouts. The few survivors find the basement and obtain valuable information about the world behind the walls that Grisha left behind, which fills up all the gaps about humanity’s history and making them realize that their enemies are far beyond the mere Titans in the Paradis Island.

Plot & Story

Amazing world building and character development. Isayama is an absolute genius when it comes to the story and he has managed to do wonders with the characters in this season. It’s incredible how well he has planned the pacing of the story in order for everything to be so damn well connected. Grisha’s backstory was absolutely mind-blowing to witness, and honestly, seeing that the Titans share common memories (like a huge cloud system) and are able to experience the same things in different time periods is a big game changer. Not sure where to begin with the characters: Eren’s development was phenomenal in the show and reached its peak near the end where he realizes that he has to fight against the entire world to be free, Historia managed to become literally a queen marking her great importance as a character, Armin has grown so much and is now the Colossal Titan which is definitely going to be a great advantage for the following battles, and Erwin was the best Commander that ever existed and the way he died couldn’t be more heroic. The story might not have been that action heavy, compared to what we were used to before, but the huge revelations that occurred really made it worth. I think what really makes this season stands out more than ever is the lack of Titans and the complete change of the overall vibe of the series. It’s no longer a fight between humanity and Titans but rather turning a little bit more ‘realistic’, if you’d like, since humanity is dealing with its own problems: political conflicts along with mysteries and deep secrets that literally change the size of the world for our characters. What I am trying to say is that although it has a different approach, it still manages to keep you captivated with the incredible storytelling and engaging plot.

Art & Music

Most of the action sequences were well executed, with the second episode having probably one of the most intense scenes in the entire show. Following Levi through his maneuvering gear as he chases down his enemies and dealing with Kenny was outstanding. WIT studio really outdid themselves on this one: the choreography and movement was just breathtaking. Although, I have to say that in terms of general animation we have seen better results before and I am not going to lie, the 3D model of the Colossal Titan was not my favourite thing in the series. It is also obvious, especially in some specific episodes that the character detailing and the artwork was in focus more than ever before. For example, in the episode where all the Scouts charge to their deaths, the details on their faces and expressions is remarkable and of course you cannot skip the crazy noting during the last scene at the beach where every single character is designed in such detail.

This season carries on with an amazing soundtrack and great sound quality with the first few episodes having some amazing sound effects that really grab your attention. Hiroyuki Sawano once again manages to deliver some incredibly epic and emotional music that compliments the show greatly.

Themes & Trivia

The anime is coming to an end: It has been announced that the next season of Attack on Titan will be the final and it will come out during Fall 2020. You can see a small teaser for it here.

The history behind it all: So basically Ymir was the first Titan because 1820 years ago she was chosen to be the child that makes a contract with the Devil of All Earth in order to obtain the Power of the Titans. When she passed away, her spirit was split into nine different Titans who formed the Eldian Empire. They defeated the Great Nation of Marley and ruled over the continent. The people of Marley tried to alternate history by making Eldians appear as a violent and cruel race that did an ethnic cleansing for 1700 years since they thought that they were superior to all other races. The people of Marley then sided with seven out of the nine Titans and turned against the Eldians and won the ‘Great Titan War’. This made the Eldian King flee with his people in the island of Paradis where he put up three huge Walls made of Titans. The remaining Eldians in the mainland were forced to live in the Liberio Internment Zone and were treated like an inferior race. The people of Marley wanted to infiltrate the Walls and acquire the powers of the Founding Titan but they were afraid to do so, since the King threatened to release the millions of Titans that he used to make the Walls against his enemies.

Comments

The story just keeps getting better and better. It has become very rare to find a series that is so unpredictable and Isayama’s great writing has managed to catch me off guard so many times. The amount of surprises and mysteries, the complexity of the story that reaches far beyond a fantasy world, the lore, the mature messages, and the mixture of emotions that he makes us experience is making me value his work as a true masterpiece in every single aspect.

‘If we kill all our enemies over there, will we finally be free?’

Plus:

Outstanding character development
Plot twists and well-written plot
Good action sequences
Notable soundtrack with good voice acting
The animations of the running Titans is off the roof

Minus:

Although the animation was quite good throughout the majority of the series, there were a lot of moments where you could see that their budget run out. It still didn’t bother me that much but the difference of quality is some scenes is really noticeable.

Attack on Titan is one of those shows that get a lot of hate for a variety of reasons but I think the main one is its popularity. Understandably, not everyone will like it but since it has received a lot of criticism for its ‘lack of action’ or ‘lame story execution’, I suggest you be your own judge and experience it first-hand because honestly, for me it’s a work of art that any anime fan should experience.