I'll start this off with a forewarning that this review is for all 3 seasons that have currently aired, with the final season set to air in about 9 days. I'm not a fan of making a review for every season but rather looking at the whole thing as one piece of art. THIS WILL HAVE SPOILERS (with tags don't worry). I will try to make it helpful for someone who hasn't seen the show but sorry in advance for all the spoiler tags. I also added a TLDR at the bottom for the lazy.

When I first started the show I was oddly drawn to it. I started around the time the first season originally aired. But I quickly lost interest and didn't watch any more until years later (a few days ago). The Titans are a really unique concept and their goofy ass movement and often terribly proportioned faces were something I couldn't look away from. And then the gruesomeness of watching humans get eaten alive while screaming for their lives was a shock factor to keep people glued to the screen. Why did I not pick it back up for so long? Once you look past the initial shock factor, there really isn't much content in the first season. A large portion of it was basically a training arc and introducing a bunch of characters. I don't necessarily hold that against the show because it's pretty much necessary but that doesn't change how forgettable a majority of the season is. It lays a foundation for the world you're jumping into and fills your head with a bunch of questions.

After picking the show back up and getting a good bit into season 2, I found myself enjoying it a bit more. From this point on you are constantly bombarded with questions about this world. About these people. I was honestly getting a little frustrated with the show at this point because I assumed that there would be a lot of either unanswered questions at the end or at lot of stupidly shoehorned in solutions because of how convoluted it all was. I was starting to get a Darling in the Franxx vibe if you know what I mean. (If you think "DAHHHLING" ended on a good note I feel sorry for you.) HOWEVER I do think they did a pretty good job of answering most questions by the end of season 3 AoT. With that being said I also think that the third season is by far the best yet.

The best way for me to sort through my thoughts is through PROS and CONS.

PROS:

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

This isn't super prevalent in the first season (which makes sense) but the later seasons nail it. For example

I HATED Eren for so long. He always had a loud mouth that spewed empty words. Never really did shit to back up his words. He let his emotions control him in dumb times and I thought I would hate him the entirety of this thing. What turned this around was after their talk with:

Spoiler, click to view

Commandant Keith Sadies in Episode 11 of Season 3. He related to what the Commandant had said about himself, about not being special. At this point Eren became more down to Earth. He stopped letting his stupid dream of "I WILL DESTROY ALL TITANS BY MYSELF" control him and became more of a reasonable person who relied on his team for support. Time and time again when Eren learns more and more of the truth he would mellow out. Kicked down to earth if you will. This does a good job of grounding him in reality and makes him way more bearable.

Armin was the most useless sack of shit in the beginning. He was nothing more than a third wheel to Eren and Mikasa. By the end of this show this guy becomes one of the most heroic people in the entire show. He grows up, as most other characters do, right in front of our eyes. From a nervous, shaking, trembling wreck who freezes at the site of a Titan to one of Humanities greatest allies.

Sasha is another good example. In her flash back she was a selfish defensive person. I don't need to go into much detail here so I won't spoil her episode but it shows her growth as a person. She even has her eating habits to show for the person she grew out of.

CHARACTERS ARE FLAWED.

What I mean by this is, nobody in this show is some one dimensional machine hell bent on completing their mission just because.( I know you're thinking about Levi but I don't think that describes him. He is insane combat wise yes but he has moments that show his humanity. He has reason.) These people are human. They have human desires. They have human emotions. They have character flaws. The most in your face example of this is Commander Erwin.

Spoiler, click to view

His flaw is that he will do anything it takes to learn the truth. He needs his childhood question answered. He admits this multiple people to a few people. Right before the suicide rush into the Beast Titan he explains to Levi how he see's his fallen comrades all around him. He see's himself standing on top of a mountain of fallen friends that he holds himself responsible for because they followed his orders. He is staring almost certain death in the face and the last thing he desires is to get to the basement over everything else. He feels guilty about this to the very end, yet it doesn't stop him from yearning for his lifelong dream.

A few more are: Armins lack of confidence not just in combat but in his own leadership, Mikasa being VERY willing to disobey anyone or do anything to protect the few she cares about regardless of the consequence, and a few of the main crews empathy towards a certain enemy on their deathbed.

Spoiler, click to view

I'm talking about Reiner

SOME PRETTY DOPE ACTION SCENES LATER ON
This is pretty self explanatory but specifically in the third season they really stepped it up. I don't really think the general animation is anything special, in fact it's kinda boring to me, but when it comes to those action scenes later on, it's pretty wowzer. One that sticks out in my mind is in Season 3 episode 39 when a certain someone is making a hasty retreat in the city.

Spoiler, click to view

Levi running from Kenny duhhh

CONS:

IT SPOILS A BIG TWIST FOR YOU

It's kind of impossible to say this without spoilers so keep moving if you don't want them.

Spoiler, click to view

From REALLY early on it's laid out in front of you who the human titans are. Even before you know humans can turn into titans you see the Armored Titan and Annie's Titan and can think...huh...odd similarity. They don't dangle it in front of your nose in a cheeky way where you'd have to be clever to figure it out either. This could've been a HUGE moment for the series if used correctly and was actually kept a little more hush hush but I just kinda felt robbed of the surprise. Hell if you don't believe me on this point just go to Crunchyroll and search Attack on Titan. Now look at the image they use for the show. IT LITERALLY HAS REINER BIG AS FUCK BOTTOM LEFT ANGRY AS FUCK WITH TITAN MEAT ON HIS FACE. It's like a classic baddies on left goodies on the right looking at each other poster and it's up there for any newcomer to see. This doesn't really apply to Bertholdt because that big ass muhfucka doesn't resemble him at all.

SOME IMPORTANT MOMENTS JUST FEEL OFF

This might be a little nitpicky by me but there were a few times in the show that just felt awkward. It was like the tone wasn't right for what was happening. There are 2 specific ones that I can think of right now.

The first

Spoiler, click to view

When Reiner and Bertholdt capture Eren and Ymir and are taking the little break in the forest. Season 2 episode 34. Eren starts yelling at Reiner and then Reiner starts screaming back at him. The words they are saying make complete sense but the visuals with the shaking camera and those white action lines like something huge is happening just kinda falls flat. You can tell they wanted that to be a big moment but I just don't think it worked.

The second

Spoiler, click to view

Season 2 Episode 31 when Reiner tells Eren their true Identity. This guy just calmly says "yo dawg i'm the armored titan and he's the colossal wassup". Not just that but it's laced in between the other soldiers dialogue. This again could've been a HUGE moment for the show. This should've been front and center. This should've been a serious moment. It should shock the audience as much as it shocks Eren. This could in part be because if you're paying attention you could tell he was the Armored Titan long before but even if you already guessed that it could still be a very powerful moment. It almost feels like they knew their identities needed to be brought forward but they weren't sure of a good way to do it.

REALLY SLOW BURN IN THE BEGINNING

I've already made this clear throughout the review but past the initial shock factor and oddity of Titans it can be painful to sit through the beginning. There's nothing too complex about this it just is what it is.

I PERSONALLY DON'T LIKE WHERE THE STORY HEADED

This one is VERY subjective so feel free to completely disagree with me. Obviously this isn't really something I can get into without spoilers so uhhhh

Spoiler, click to view

when shows have a big thrilling mystery or a dark past like this one it's exciting to see where the writers go with it. However I believe that using some type of otherworldly power or "God" in this example to explain is an extremely lazy cop-out. The ending sets up for a human vs human war (or titans if they utilize them) that i'm just personally not excited about.

A QUICK TLDR:

With everything said and done, I did enjoy the majority of my time watching the show. It has some issues here and there that bug me and a storyline headed in a direction I'm not really interested in. The characters in my opinion save the show. It's a good way to spend some time and you'll probably enjoy it, but I don't think it's a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination.