Review of Attack on Titan Season 3
Story: 9 Attack on Titan's story is masterful, *especially* in this season. The way the plot progresses in Season 3 is really well done. It tosses out clues that tease answers to every mystery in the series and feeds them to the viewer one drop at a time. The anime is so full of cliffhangers and half-reveals it made me hunger for every next episode the same way Sasha lusts for a big slab of ham. Seasons 1 and 2 had that intense layer of suspense too, but it's only in Season 3 where we FINALLY get a satisfying payoff. What really happened in that flashbackEren had of his father erasing his memories? Who was Levi before he joined the Survey Corps? Why can some Titans produce crystal from their bodies while most Titans can't? How do people turn into Titans? How do people become Titan shifters? All of these questions and more get answered in Season 3. There's still many, many very big mysteries yet to be uncovered in the world of AoT, but this season takes a big step closer to the truth.
Another thing I love about Season 3 is its themes and messages. Not only is this season amazing because of its gripping action, but because of its depth as well. It continues Season 2's big theme of making tough choices, but it focuses more on some new ideas, like living for your own self-happiness, understanding what makes people special, the mix of good and bad in everyone, and the moral dilemma of killing people. So there's plenty of thought-provoking stuff in S3 too.
Art: 9
The animation in Season 3 is top-notch. Every battle is beautifully animated and thrillingly depicted. Levi's crazy aerial maneuvers are dizzying and the Titan battles are glorious and rich with wonderful detail. Seeing the horrifying new Titan designs in Season 3 was a treat in itself.
My only problem with the art is that they used CGI for the shots of the bigger Titans and it doesn't look very good... but the animators did try to hand-draw as many closeup shots for those Titans as they could, so that's something.
Sound: 8
Overall, I'm not an enormous fan of the AoT OSTs. A lot of the action OSTs are good, but just don't fit my taste. But I *did* like the opening and ending songs. The opening might catch you off guard because it's not rousing and patriotic like Sasageyo and Guren no Yumiya, but more bittersweet and affectionate. It took me a few episodes before I really started to like it, so give it a few more listens if it rubs you the wrong way the first couple of times you hear it. The two previous openings were all about the fighting, sacrifice, and determination in Attack on Titan, but this one represents the companionship and the sadness of loss that are also a big part of the anime.
The sound effects are also good. The guns, the 3D maneuvering gear, the explosions, everything sounds pretty realistic.
Character: 9
The characters are really well developed, too. Historia becomes pretty much the main character for a significant portion of the arc and her growth as a character- and her full backstory- were both really interesting to see, even though I didn't really care about her in the last season. Also, since Season 3 involves a lot of clashes between people there's a whole moral dilemma that a lot of the members of the Survey Corps are forced to face: whether or not they are willing to kill humans instead of titans. This gets even more intriguing because so many of the enemies of our main cast actually get development, so you actually kind of feel for them when they die. Even the merchant from the first season, and his son, go down an interesting character arc that was pretty surprising to see in an anime. All in all, the story fleshes out the characters in this season very deftly.
Enjoyment: 10
The sheer amount of hype I got from each consecutive episode blows past anything I've ever seen or read before. The series builds up a sense of mystery so teasingly I can barely hold myself back from just throwing myself into the manga and finding out what the hell is going on in this show. To be honest, I'd recommend exposing yourself to a teensy bit of spoilers just like I did accidentally. Trust me, it'll only make you even more hyped up for what's coming. (Don't worry, I'm not spoiling anything here. As Levi would say, it's a choice you have to make for yourself.)
Overall: 9
Attack on Titan season 3 is pretty damn good. It might not be a mind-bending masterpiece, it has its flaws, but it's such a treat to watch that I have to consider this anime one of my favorites.