TL;DR: From Titans being shredded to human bodies being melted, this is the season fans have been waiting for since Season 1. We have been blue balled long enough. It's time to finally find out what's in that bloody basement. If you didn't watch any previous seasons, don't even bother reading or watching this anime. Go back to watching your crappy anime. We are in the endgame now.
[Story: 9/10 , Characters: 8/10, Art: 9/10, Sound: 8/10, Enjoyment: 10/10]
"Everyone will die someday. Does that mean life is meaningless?" - Erwin Smith
The second part of Shingeki no Kyojin or Attack on Titan Season 3 picks up immediately where it ended. No delay in pacing, no unnecessary flashbacks, we are in the endgame now. If you've been following this show, you know where we are and what's at stake. We all want to know what's in that basement. So let's finally find out. Question is, are you ready? Can you handle the truth? If there is one thing I'll warn you, after learning the truth, this season will immediately surpass any of the previous seasons and just turn the entire show upside down. If you can't handle the truth, avoid this season. Your watch has ended. If you can, let the clash begin, for Isayama has the best curve ball prepared since GRRM wrote Game of Thrones. Don't worry though, thankfully we don't have incompetent writers like D&D to screw this gem of a manga up. With the animation powerhouse of Wit Studio and musical prowess of Linked Horizon, Tetsurou Araki delivers the justice this manga have always deserved. It's been a while since we've seen an anime that can equally deliver on both action and plot.
"It's us who gives meaning to our comrade's lives!" - Erwin Smith
From Titans being shredded to human bodies being melted, this was the bloodiest season of them all. This season is the season of revelations. All the hype that's been building up since season 1 about the bloody basement is finally going to be explored. Question is, who will survive to know the truth and who will die trying. If there is anything the preview showed us last season, we know Araki will be jamming to "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" as he skillfully directs this cour. The story is linear but you're constantly at the edge because every episode ends on a cliff-hanger and the dead bodies just pile up. Despite how fast paced each episodes are, you know certain episodes are going to be jaw dropping when they start without playing the opening song. What's more, some episodes, there is more after the end song. Just downright crazy. Last season we tackled the moral dilemma of our living system within the walls by juxtaposing the childish and adult view whereas this season we tackle the racial political dilemma of genocide, murder and ostracism. The only complaint viewers are allowed to have is maybe two more episodes to flesh out the plot better. Overall, the manga is beautifully adapted and no qualms about it.
"My soldiers, rage! My solders, Scream! My soldiers, FIGHT! - Erwin Smith
Time after time, the characters of this show just always stand out. Despite this season being more plot heavy, the characters still managed to steal the spotlight, especially Erwin. As each season are passing, more major characters are dying; that's why we are able to focus more on the key characters of the show and better understand the uphill battle they are always facing. This not only heightens the anxiety and tension but delivers a cathartic feeling in their success or death. Last season, our heroes had to go up against humans and deal with the ramification of murder. This season, despite reverting back to killing Titans, they have to deal with the ramification of murder again. It seems Isayama wants to solidify within us, no matter how much we enjoy seeing our heroes kill Titans, murder is murder. Moreover, none of this would be possible had it not been for the seiyuus. Every damn season, they are going above and beyond to give each character such depth and plot, hell even minor side characters are voiced so well. You just can't help feel right in the moment of the story. Huge kudos to them.
"No casualties, Don't you dare DIE!" - Levi Ackerman
Aside from the stellar linear plot & well developed characters, if there is one thing this studio does justice, it's their animation & art style. Without any surprise, this season they nailed it again. At this point, they have set the bar so high, good luck any other studio, attempting to reach it. Every panel was hand-drawn really well and the use of CGI for certain action sequences flowed really well. Kudos to the key animators. We know they bailed on us part way last year since they were not going to finish the animation in time but be glad they took the time. They delivered. The background score was really hype throughout all the fight sequences and the drops right before key enigmatic moments definitely escalates the excitement each episode. Linked Horizon is back again for an eargasmic opening song, even if it sounds very similar to their first opening song and the ED song is nice and chilling. When the OST is released, fans of this show will enjoy listening to it repeatedly.
"I always knew you were the bravest one out of any of us" - Eren Jaeger
Overall, SnK S3 P2 significantly blew all previous seasons out of the park. Is this season perfect? No. Is it the best we've seen so far? Yes. Isayama is a master of foreshadowing and this season from all the revelations, you will be going back and realizing just how many scenes and dialogues you overlooked thinking it would never be important to the story. Given how well Araki and staff of Wit Studio adapted the manga by rearranging the story arcs to showcase a better linear plot, it really accentuates the rewatch value of this show. Even after it ends after it's final season (which has also been announced), fans of this show can continue to rewatch over and over again. At this point, if you've come this far without spoiling yourself, then anime watchers, I would recommend hold your breath and not read the manga. If you're a manga reader, be happy your fav manga was adapted this well. Without spoiling too much, the series ends with a new purpose and goal for the characters. The real war is about to begin. Nevertheless, there is no point not watching this season of AoT. You've already invested in watching previous seasons, so might as well binge watch this season. That's always the best way to watch this anime. Anyways, check it out & let me know later how you like it as well as share with me your favourite quote from the anime! Ciao.
P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!
