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Building on twelve full episodes of setup, the second half of Attack on Titan's third season sees us return to the place that started it all, as the Survey Corps enter the city of Shiganshina, where they hope to finally access Grisha Yeager's basement and accede to his request to carry on his mission and to unravel the great secrets of their world. In the process, the series transforms itself into a completely different tale and sets the stage to what will undoubtedly be an amazing final season.

After years of lovingly recreating mangaka Hajime Isayama's artwork, WIT Studio surpasses itself and delivers some of the ... greatest action scenes in the medium, perfectly capturing the large yet intimate scale of Titan battles. Particular praise has to go to the final confrontation with the Beast Titan, which is crafted with so much love and passion from the studio and the cast that it almost defies comprehension.

Speaking of the voice cast, they all rise to the occasion in their finest collective effort yet. Yuki Kaji as Eren continues to deliver an impossibly passionate performance that proves his undying committment to the character. But the highlight of the season has to be Daisuke Ono as Erwin Smith, who truly shines this season and cements his place in the pantheon of legendary shounen characters.

Sadly the same cannot be said of the entire cast. Mikasa continues to get shafted incredibly hard by Isayama, as by this point she is nothing but an extension of Eren's character, which especially stings this season now that other major cast members such as Erwin, Armin and Levi have gotten their own moments in the spotlight. And finally, special mention must go to Hange, who is absolutely precious. While they are not the best character in the series, she is incredibly enjoyable and unique. The fact that she and the other senior members of the Resistance (Levi, Zachary, etc.) aren't treated as saints and are given moral complexity only adds to this enjoyment.

One of the best mystery stories I've ever experienced, Part 2 doubles as a great exploration of how legacies of hatred are passed down from one generation to the next, and how we are all nothing but products of much larger systems of oppression that we must desperately fight against throughout our entire lives, lest they repeat themselves for eternity.

The stage is now set for a game-changing fourth and final season, and I could not be more hopeful.

A protagonist without a name. A protagonist without a purpose. Surrounded by a cast of genuises: people who are defined by their place in the world, and by their capacity to fill that space with their radiant competence. A protagonist that lives in fear of competition because he is too afraid of finding out what his true value is. What does life have to offer for the mediocrities that surround the talented? What value is there in being the dust in someone else's dream? Zaregoto doesn't purport to have a clear answer on that front, nor should it. But with each subsequent twist, it proves ... that even those at the top are not as static or as confident in their purpose as they seem. Just a motley group of people trying to fill the massive, nonsensical void of life. And if they don't have a clear purpose, why should you?

Well, I've finally arrived at the end. I first read the book an entire year ago, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it. It works beautifully as an installment of the franchise, as its own stand-alone tale, and as a subversion of Shounen tropes. A key part of the book's triumph was its relentess pace and editing, which ensured that no quality dips were to be found all the way to the end.

It is thus with regret that I come to terms with the fact that the third film adaptation is a disappointment. The biggest offender of course is the ... Hanekawa scene mid-way through, showcasing Monogatari at its most offensive, while Kiss-shot's supranatural antics felt way too detached to the slow march the film was taking to the very human tale of Araragi that comprises the main Monogatari series. Kiss-shot as a character had a lot of potential, sad to see her squandered in such a way that it ends with her becoming just another loli. This can be laid at the feet of Nisio as well, but ultimately he did enough of a good job with the book that it matters little, something that simply cannot be said of the film.

[Originally written for Letterboxd]