In a world full of corruption, misusage of power, tyranny, betrayal and many more evil deeds, calling it a cruel world would be an understatement. Attack on Titan Season 3, broadcasted from 2018-2019 adds a unique twist to its straightforwardly known plot of human vs titan. Our survey corps heroes are now forced to go up against something arguably more sinister than titans – humans.
Right from the start of Season 3, it became pretty clear that there has been a shift in enemies and the overall tone of the anime. It then gradually became clear that there are lots of misconduct of power, tyranny and politics. While it might be a very sudden change of theme to the show – with some people may even be questioning to themselves “is this really attack on titan?”, it may be refreshing to some and it just goes to is more than just titans.
Moving on to the characters, there’s no doubt that there are characters that haven’t had a proper explanation of their background and in the first half of the season, we finally get to see their past unraveled very nicely. Another interesting point is that how the “new” survey corps members were forced to mature quickly and we also get to see how Levi and Hange make amazing squad leaders, helping them cope and adapt to the absence of their friend, Eren who they used to always rely on in the previous episodes and with the grim situation they were forced to face. All of this make for great character development and paves the way for the new recruits in the future.
It is only during the second half of season 3 that Attack on Titan begins to revert back to human vs titans as the new arc begins. With a new goal to rebuild the destroyed Wall Maria in the Shiganshina District hence the name, Return to Shiganshina arc. The second half of the season is where the season reaches the absolute climax as everything that has been built up from the very beginning of Attack on Titan comes down to the “final showdown” and the corps finally get to know what is inside the basement.
Wit studios really did an amazing job as always with the animation. Fluid movements, picture perfect details and everything in between are present in the anime (not to mention the iconic Levi vs Kenny scene). It was certainly worth the wait as Wit definitely delivered the kind of animations fans are expecting.
Now, onto a really intriguing aspect of the anime, the audio. It’s not a secret that attack on titan has some of the best soundtracks in anime but it’s not just about the beautifully composed music but also, how they utilize those compositions.
An interesting thing that’s noticeable is that they don’t always play the opening at the start of every episode, some episodes begin without the opening. This happens in crucial parts of the show when everything comes to a breaking point and it’s a really smart way to instill the already built tension from previous episodes. Speaking of tension, another noticeable way they used to build this is through silence and they definitely nailed it.
Overall, Attack on Titan Season 3 brings a great twist to the already well-known plot of the series and it definitely lived up to fans’ expectation. Eye-catching visuals, fluid animations, great audio directing, beautifully composed scores, character development, emotional climax, Attack on Titan Season 3 checks the list of what a great anime needs and offers with the only possible downside is the pretty sudden change of tone in the very beginning of the season.
Our Score – 9/10
Title: Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) Season 3
Studio: Wit Studio
Director: Tetsurou Araki
Voice Actors: Kaji Yuuki, Ishikawa Yui, Inoue Marina
Joseph Kevin
ig: @josephkevin30email: jklie120101@gmail.com
