On the basis of that postulate, the journey resumes for our SnK characters, as they prepare to undertake a fierce battle against those who want to annihilate humanity...however, is that these guys objective?
It is well known the one-of a kind storytelling attributes this adaptation has: the understated foreshadowing –great for those who like to re-watch shows-, the captivating epicity, the more than famous plot twists; nevertheless, it never stops to amaze me the ability –and specially, in this season- they have had to build, step by step, a huge storyline that is both fascinating and enjoyable, while being able of connecting the dots that had been scattered during the 3 seasons prior to this one -all of this without making the story messy and confusing-.
While I am on this subject, I have to bring to the table the marvellous combination of this storytelling with the animation and music. One of the most overlooked aspects, not only in anime, but also on the film industry, is the ability of a motion picture to use this or that piece of music, sound, silence and/or frame in this or that given moment to capture the audience and, what can I say, Shingeki no Kyojin does it extremely well on this season.
Speaking about music, this asset is and has been one of SnK’s hallmarks. Not only the use of it –as I mentioned before- but the compositions per se are just one of a kind. Am I the only one who listens to them on a daily basis? And if this was not enough, WIT studio decided to bring into the equation some of the old soundtracks from season 1, which we will all agree were masterpieces.
Furthermore, speaking about other technical aspects, the animation has made quite an improvement, leading to great results. This made some of the events –including fights- that took place over the course of this season something special: backgrounds were depicted in a really wonderful way, movements and facial expressions were really fluid and seemed pretty natural (including the Omni-directional mobility gear animation where camera rotations and 3D movements were executed to perfection) and pace was used fantastically well –that episode 54 fight it’s a great example, where Levi moves so fast that it takes time to the physics to actually catch up with him, making it look like he moves at the speed of light-. This, accompanied by an amazing sound design, a cast sounding as good as they do and a very good characterization, makes Shingeki no Kyojin a really wonderful series to watch. And don't forget what a banger the OP was.
Moreover, I’m glad that, between the chaos of war, they have set aside some time to explore the inner conflicts of some of our characters, their convictions and motivations, the reason for them to fight, as well as exploring on how their decisions not only changed –and will change- their lives and made them who they are now, but the lives of the people around them. Characters like Levi, Armin or Erwin, who had not have so much screentime-development over the course of the show gain in importance on this season -it was about time-, without laying aside others like Eren -who finally shows a glimmer of manhood and logic-, Mikasa, or even our titanic traitors -if you know what I mean-, as they also meaningfully develop. For instance, side characters no longer feel like side characters.
So, while I’m not in a position to say that I would never see something like this in awhile, I can say that this season was, hands down, a dazzling, breathtaking piece of animated work.
