The Weight of a Peaceful Smile

The third season makes things even more exciting and amusing thanks to one detail: the writers weren't scared to show us things that are drastically different from what we've seen here before. This decision is what basically makes a "generally good anime" turn into, well, a "generally good anime with some depth within", which is why it feels even better now. Still slice-of-life driven with some action elements, but with more thoughts and attention to it.

It's obvious that the backbone of the series is still humor and some action. This is the key reason why it feels so good. I didn't notice any inconsistencies in humor and general quality in this season, but it's pretty subjective. There doesn't seem to be any morally debatable scenes like "we spend 10 minutes of the viewers' time to teach Damian how to relax" (incredibly childish moral), which feels great.

The writers masterfully keep us on edge with the bus hijacking and the snitching on Loid, but also they tend to make us smile by showing interactions between Anya and Damian (their "matching bombs") or the actions of the head physician of the clinic towards Fiona. As we can see, these two approaches could easily alternate with each other, so the balance between joy and interest is well-maintained.

In general, it is applicable to all of the seasons of this franchise, but this one has a feel-good vibe because most of the comedy scenes — from the bulldozers' fight to Austin's struggles — feel funny and don't drag on, and the ones that are more than just humor often serve to reveal and point to some more complex thoughts.

These thoughts are woven throughout the season.

Take Yor, for example. This time she has some complex social activities outside the family: she meets Damian's mother and drinks with her colleagues. Upon learning of this, Loid realizes it could be good for her to have such a go-to outlet. It not only slightly improves the operation's odds of success, but also shows us that the writers can make our lovely characters feel more mature and realistic. Every person needs to have a space to "breathe freely", so it's important to be a part of multiple social groups simultaneously. This is the reason why Yor could be seen now as a more fully-fledged, well-rounded character.

Or we could recall the young WISE agent, who tends to believe in bright headlines, which nicely illustrates the importance of filtering information and developing critical thinking. It's a good thing to show because it's fairly relatable for most of the viewers — from young to old.

The "Red Circus" arc is pretty gripping itself, but there are definitely some questions regarding its story development. On one hand, it's interesting to think about whether it's fine to protect a daughter from going on protests, which are considered a "good thing" by her, and whether it's okay to visit such protests at all.

On the other hand, the problem here is that we have no idea what these protests were actually about except for "making people's lives better!". Her principles, such as "I won't let fed cats eat food that belongs to the unfed ones" seem like communism, which already casts a shadow on her "community service". It would be somewhat unreasonable to expect an all-ages series to go in-depth here, but without any additional context it becomes a bit hollow and questionable. It affects her father's actions as well. With a good backstory it could've been like "he remembered she was doing a good thing, and she died trying to make the world better, so he shouldn't make it worse than it already is". Instead, it became slightly more like "he remembered she was doing something, it was probably good (because we have no idea what she was actually standing for), so he should be kind as well". Not as good as it could've been.

Moreover, the Secret Police blatantly ignore the presence of the children on the bus. Their parents are undoubtedly influential and powerful, so they could manipulate Ostania's current state. If the children were to die, it would be a disaster for the entire country, including the SSS. But they tend to make rash judgments instead of... well... acting as they should, taking measured steps. The viewer is left with little more than caricatures and reduced moral complexity.

Let's be honest, this isn't the first time we've seen something mentally taxing happening in this franchise. But like I said previously usually it happens this way: they introduce us to something psychologically draining, but after some time we see it turning into happy-end, jokes and such. A balance as it is.

But Twilight's past consists of drama and some stuff like kids playing. And all of it is additionally seasoned with even more drama. That alone already makes most of us wonder: wait, really? The most thought-provoking episodes are definitely the first ones and the last ones. We see Twilight's childhood and then we see an influence of the operation "Strix" on him. And that's why this season makes me appreciate this story much more now.

Spectating Twilight's past — even though it sounds horrible — was a pleasure. The conflict "let's kill all the easterns" vs "no war!! beats his child" is illustrated quite superficially and forcibly, with a tendency to make the viewer cry. We can see it in Twilight's father's actions, the saleswoman's words and so many other things. But again, an all-ages TV show couldn't let itself make it too complex, so it feels natural, in a way.

The most problematic aspect for me is the moral it implies about the war here. It raises an uncomfortable number of questions in the current world context. These might feel too preachy and misplaced, but I am genuinely concerned that's the author's fault and I'm gonna explain it soon.

The writer's narrative about the war seems slightly naive. The message here is delivered via Franky: "This war between the East and the West is due to diplomacy failing. Why the hell do we, common folk, have to clean up? Every side was told that it was the other that started it. But there's no way for us foot soldiers to know the truth!". This might be somewhat acceptable in the Ostania/Westalis context, but... you know... it's, at the very least, in poor taste to broadcast these views nowadays.

And even if you don't agree with that, I cannot see a narrative reason to make Franky say that. The viewer has virtually no information to actually judge whether Franky's words should make you feel like "oh, so he has a valid opinion on that matter" or at least like "well, he says nonsense, but it's also important for how we see the character". It doesn't accomplish anything. If the writer doesn't intend to develop these thoughts (and many other actually) further, I don't think he should start telling such thoughts in the first place, because we can't approach them objectively. I might be too focused on these words, but after them the main thing that clicks in my head is "well, the reality is never that simple, so this sentiment makes the arc slightly more unrealistic and drama-forced to no purpose".

Yet despite all the grumbling of mine the war arc feels incredibly emotional. It cannot be overstated. Thanks to this season Loid could now be seen drastically different for the viewer — it literally recontextualizes him. And it affects almost everything, because now you can feel the weight of the character thanks to his story. Every single slice-of-life moment could have a drama connotation of sorts (the writers provide the subtext, but it's up to you to feel it), which makes it feel infinitely more precious. Depicting the war conflict and drama here is something I never considered optimal, balanced or even appropriate — until I actually saw it work.

The other interesting thing is that Loid didn't kill Yuuri. His objective, practical motivation is "it could potentially harm the main operation", but we understand it's not the only case here. It's a quite complicated topic, which is why it is so compelling to watch. Moreover, it sort of touches the viewer, because Loid's emotions break through the agent's machinery. This topic could capture interest for many more episodes.

Ultimately, these complexities are what makes this season especially good: every time you see Loid chatting cutely with Yor, you remember how he smiled sadly and told Anya to cherish her friends, while memorizing his dead childhood "brothers in arms". It makes the series much more valuable and grounded, it gives the series more depth. Now I feel even more just how precious these little cute moments are. Because there definitely are so many horrific, atrocious and terrifying things even within the series' world. It's a great move for the season and the entire franchise, which makes a generally good anime even better.