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.

“If we kill all our enemies beyond the sea, will we finally be free?”

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.