Dhruv Sharma
‘Attack on Titan‘ was initially nothing but a story of survival, but with time, it has become something much deeper by now portraying a world that is led by corruption and power. From becoming a typical commercial success because of its high production action sequences to being something much more than a war between Humans and Titans, ‘Attack on Titan‘ has indeed a come a long way. Despite the popularity of the franchise, it was quite surprising how soon a whole new season of the anime came out. What’s even more surprising is how the anime is getting better with time and how it proves with every single season that it deserves its acclaim.
Even for those who are not familiar with the manga, the first episode itself feels very different from the past few seasons. Within a few episodes, it becomes evident that all the rumors that claimed that there will be no more Titans were actually true. For a show that has always thrived on its exciting action scenes and animation quality, it seems like a big risk for the creators to step back from all of that and instead, focus more on humanity that is far ahead from its battles with the Titans and is now struggling with internal issues and political conflicts. But they have just perfectly executed all of that and in a lot of ways, they’ve made this season the best one yet.
‘Attack on Titans‘ has always partially focused on the internal issues and political problems faced by the people inside the walls and I always wondered if there would be anything more to that aspect of it. Season 3 makes it clear that it’s not just the Titans who have been a problem for them but it’s also a lot of humans who live right there with them. Eren, the main character of the anime, seems to be a little insignificant at the beginning of the season. But his connection to certain events from the past will make you formulate all kinds of theories from the first season of the show that premiered back in 2013. Who knew ‘Attack on Titan‘ would sideline its action and take on such a deep plot someday?
Season 3 of the anime is so different from all the others, it is almost like it is a different series in itself. Nonetheless, it will have you hooked from the first episode itself and its new approach towards most known characters will blow your mind. Now if you’re someone who has been following this anime only because of all the high-quality action that it offers and even now you wait for warriors to pull out their blades and stick it in the necks of Titans, then this season may not have much for you. But if you can keep your mind open towards an even more exciting story, then this well-polished season might just become your favorite out of all the three.
Attack on Titans Season 3 Release Date:
‘Attack on Titan’ season 1 premiered on April 7, 2013 and with a total of 25 episodes, it went on till September 29, 2013. This was then followed by a season 2 which released on April 1, 2017 and came to an end on June 17, 2017. And finally, ‘Attack on Titan’ season 3 released on June 23, 2018 and went on till October 15, 2018.
Attack on Titans Season 3 English Dub:
The English Dub of ‘Attack on Titan’ Season 3 is available on Funimation.
Attack on Titans Season 3 Plot:
In the first two seasons of ‘Attack on Titan‘ humanity is threatened after giant creatures Titans start nearing towards them by breaking three strong walls that have protected them for a century. As the Titans come nearer to the human civilization, a bunch of warriors known as Survey Corps, who have been training for years now, set out to kill the Titans before they kill their own people.
While the threat of the Titans still exists in Season 3 and efforts are still being made to somehow stop them, a deeper threat starts to emerge inside the walls of the civilization. The Titans have always been their enemies but who knew that the humans they have been living with all this while, will prove to be even bigger enemies.
Eren, the main character, is rescued from the Colossal and Armored Titans. After reaching back home, he tries to improve his own Titan form. Meanwhile, certain other characters still struggle to deal with the loss of heir loved ones and after recovering from his injuries, Captain Erwin Smith is as good as ever. Everything seems to be going just fine when the government suddenly starts demanding the custody of Eren and his friend Krista. Captain Levi starts to understand the government’s intentions and that’s when he decides to protect Eren and Krista.
Now that his own fellow humans have turned against him and are determined to get him before the Titans do, the fight for survival against the Titans is far from being a problem for Eren.
Attack on Titans Season 3 Review:
More than anything else, I appreciate how ‘Attack on Titan’ completely changes its direction in this season. This plot not only makes things really interesting but also allows the creators to completely shift their focus on the main characters instead of the Titans. This anime actually adapts the most boring arcs of the manga and still manages to be the best anime season in a lot of ways. It reveals how politics unfolds inside the walls by revealing everything about who’s pulling the right strings, history of the royal blood and the most-awaited, who was Eren’s father.
Another reason why the story of this season stands out is that it reveals a lot about the past of the characters through flashbacks. It also focuses on the shifting psyche of the humans, especially the soldiers, who have now been pitted against their fellow humans. Killing Titan was all justified but killing humans becomes a questionable act for all. To this Levi even dehumanizes the opposition by claiming that we only kill those who try to harm us and hence, it is an act of self-defense. He says that we kill “units” and not humans which is an interesting way to look at their shifting perspectives about war.
The characterization is strong in this season and that is something that has always been the upper hand for this anime. The creators use backstories of the characters and then try to link them with the present overarching story. Almost every aspect of the personality of the main characters is determined by what they’ve been doing in the past season. All the dialogues and actions of the characters in ‘Attack of Titan’ are created with the intention of reflecting upon their motivations and desires. Even characters like Kenny seem to be quite significant in this season because of how his psychology and emotions have been used to make his parts more significant. Since the anime is known for its plot twists and elements of mystery, you will be expecting quite a few of these in season 3 as well. But even then, when most of the revelations will actually happen, you will be beyond surprised.
‘Attack on Titan’ has always been appreciated for its amazing animation quality and art style. But somehow, Wit Studio takes things to a whole new level with this season and improves almost every aspect of animation. Every single panel was perfectly hand-drawn and even the action sequences had this unique fluidity. Wit Studio does take forever to release a new season of this show but they have never really disappointed us with its quality.
The background scores during fight scenes are upbeat and really hype you up for what’s being portrayed. But their tone also suddenly drops during important moments which increases your excitement level even more and even matches with everything that is going on. The opening theme, which is Red Swan by X Japan, really comes as surprise since most of us are used to listening to loud hyped-up opening tracks. But this too has its own significance as it tries to imply the new direction the anime is starting to take. This song will leave you confused in the beginning, but with time, as the show will start to grow on you with its completely new concepts, that’s when even the melodious anti-hype tone of the music will make sense.
Overall, considering the arcs of the manga that the directors were dealing with in this season, it really deserves to be ranked as the best season of ‘Attack on Titan’. After all these years, clearly, the creators of this show have figured out what works for them and what does not. Even if you’re more into the action of the anime and not interested in the depth of this season, you should still watch it if you have already completed season one and two. That’s only because—without giving too many spoilers— season 4 has something really cool in-store and it will only make sense if you complete this arc as well.
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