If you’ve read any of my past reviews, you know I dislike story summaries a great deal, besides, surely if you have continued past the spoiler warning, it either means you know what’s happening or you don’t care because AoT doesn’t mean much to you, and you consume it rather dispassionately. I will obviously refer to events within the story, but will do so sporadically and quite possibly in a disorganized manner, the purpose of this section is moreso to dissect what the story does, how effective it is, and perhaps an analysis of its themes although I am no philosopher who could divulge that to much success.
So, the premise is rather simple, Eren can now use hardening and they intend to use that ability to plug Wall Maria and expand the territory of humanity once more. This part of season 3 is referred to as the “Return to Shiganshina” or RTS as I’d heard it was called on Twitter. This season could easily be called the proper culmination to the pre-timeskip part of AoT’s story, as it features all the big players converging to one destination to duke it out for rather apparent reasons on one side, and obscure ones on the other.
And thus, the stage is set, on the titan side, a mysterious Beast Titan, the full scope of his abilities yet unknown, Reiner as the Armored Titan, Bertholt as the Colossal Titan, a wide array of pure titans and a mysterious Cart Titan, these characters are trying to obstruct the Survey Corps’ attempt at retaking the Wall for reasons which aren’t yet apparent to the reader. On the other side, obviously, the Survey Corps, featuring all its surviving members, a rather expansive cast of characters, some of which will have their arcs peak during this season.
Now comes the part where I usually dissect what I liked and disliked about the story of this season, but honestly, I liked very few things about it, and those mostly center around how hype the premise is, it reminds me of a large-scale Code Geass showdown which is perhaps the only aspect I can praise around it, well, that and how it paves the way for Eren’s development at the end, but I may speak on that at length if I ever review Season 4.
To start on the things I disliked though, they are quite numerous. So, first off, let’s talk about a deep running issue of AoT’s which was present ever since episode 1, namely how painstakingly flat most of the cast is. Now, I noticed that Mikasa bears the brunt of this, and has thus been set into position as an extremely controversial character, having passionate fans and dispassionate critics alike taking her character apart from multiple angles and arguing whether she is good or not, and this fixation on her character specifically is something I never quite understood because, to be quite honest, I think almost the entire cast is as flat as her, perhaps even more so, with barely any standout members I could compliment. The characters that did impress me this season, and the ones whose backs must be hurting from carrying it this hard are Erwin, Armin, and to a lesser extent, Levi. However, on the whole, this cast fails at engaging both my emotions and my attention, and as a result of it, I’d say it’s rather boring. Also, while I will discuss certain characters at length during the ‘characters’ section of this review, let me just say it really, really feels like Levi should be suffering from some sort of PTSD by now. For the amount of shit he’s specifically seen, I’d expect that his two friends from that boring-ass OVA to flash before his eyes at least once or twice.
Now, let me get at a significantly bigger issue with this season: plot armor. This bit might have an average AoT fan tell me that AoT is a show renowned for its lack of this element, as it is filled with our heroes dying left and right. However, I am not talking about the heroes, I am talking about the antagonists. Reiner survives once on the back of a bullshit conscience shifting mechanic which was never even hinted at up until this point, he survives having his head blown off on the account of the very same, and later when he is captured, he is rescued by the Plot Device Tita- I meant Cart Titan, sorry. At the point where Hange told Jean to spare Reiner because they might need him, I dead near pulled my hair out because I knew exactly what was coming. The Plot Device Titan also saves Zeke (The Beast Titan) from jaws of death because Levi wouldn’t finish him for similar reasons. The only casualty on the Titan’s side was thus Bertholt, and obviously a bunch of pure titans but those don’t really matter. I must say that Bertholt was used as a rather nice foil to facilitate Armin’s growth, and I will compliment that unreservedly.
I would also posit that the meme culture surrounding Reiner and calling him ‘The Plot Armor Titan’ while absolutely hilarious, I feel undermines how grave of an offense to proper writing him surviving 3 times consecutively was. Let me engage in tin-foil hattery in saying that the memes which poke at AoT’s flaws almost always seem to work in its favor by reducing their severity in the eyes of the viewer. One thing that an AoT fan might, at this point tell me is that Reiner surviving by luck this many times might work as some sort of meta mockery of him, where a character that wants to die isn’t allowed to, through mere chance. However, I feel as if AoT never positioned itself in a place to offer proper meta commentary, not to mention this take feels like a stretch to me. However, if you chose to interpret it this way so as to rectify Isayama’s writing, I honestly don’t mind that and merely wish I could enjoy this piece as much as you do. You may not even like me framing it with the word “rectify”, but do allow me that one final jab at this.
The final issue I have with AoT’s writing is merely how disappointing some reveals are, but I feel like Isayama naturally dug himself a hole here, because the very first reveal of importance in this show was so brilliant and bewildering that my expectations for his writing were set really high. I am of course talking about Eren coming out of his titan from the nape in season 1, flawlessly hinting at the real reason why the nape is the titan’s weakness. This moment of ingenuity led me to believe that Isayama had a brilliant plan going forward and that most reveals would be bangers, yet lo and behold, here I am 3 full seasons later, utterly disappointed. The mystery of Season 2 pertaining to why some titans could move during the night and others could not was rather engaging until a simple answer of “Night-walking titans were merely controlled by the Beast Titan, that’s it” came into view. Eren being unable to transform due to the lack of willpower in Season 1 was likewise disappointing. Everything surrounding Marley’s reveal at the end of this season was also quite disappointing, but mostly because the whole:
“Dark fantasy setting where hybrids of humans and monsters fight those very monsters as the protagonist’s heart darkens as it is revealed there is a bigger continent and an entire world out there sending those very monsters to the land where the plot takes place” is literally Claymore’s plot, completely copied and pasted, difference being that Claymore actually did it well.
As I’ve hopefully disclosed with somewhat of a success, I am not a fan of this season’s writing in the slightest, I find it full of contrivances, conveniences and plot holes. While Part 1 of Season 3 was merely boring, there is something distinctly offensive in how atrocious the writing for this season is. Luckily, I do in earnest believe that Season 4 will be an improvement, if adapted correctly of course.
Eren:
Yet to come into the great character he will become in season 4. This season does a nice job of planting the seeds which will eventually bloom into spectacular writing. I always liked his character but I consider this to be the true start of his journey as a great protagonist. I wouldn’t say he is the star of this season, but he is an important element tying it all into place.
Armin:
His character peaks here. First, displaying his brilliance numerous times, catching out Bertholt’s and Reiner’s ambush, with unparalleled intuition, earning Erwin’s trust, all of this genuinely made me like his character. His final act of self-sacrifice was striking, the bravery on display was admirable and I consider this to be the emotional highlight of the season, well it would have been, were he not revived, but I will give Isayama that this was in no way a Deus ex Machina, as the vaccine had been shown to the viewer beforehand, it also positions his character in an interesting manner for the final season, which is something I can appreciate.
Mikasa:
Midkasa indeed. No interesting personality whatsoever, strikes me as a vacuous character who is mostly praised due to having a nice design. Completely uninteresting otherwise.
Levi:
Almost the same complaint as Mikasa except there are scenes of value under his belt. Him being a clean-freak, and strung up lend him some sort of credence. Overall a decent character.
Erwin:
Back must be hurting from how hard he carried this season. A microcosm of everything right in AoT’s writing with a peak moment that even I had to respect. The sentence “Give up on your dreams and die”, as told by Levi to Erwin is haunting me to this day, and left a lasting impression. This character represents humanity in its purest form, an unwavering flame of will and curiosity, which, when it starts waning will pass on its embers to a new flame. An absolutely masterful encapsulation of everything that makes humanity great, and grey and gritty and Isayama’s crowning achievement in writing, all props are due for this character.
Reiner:
Reiner is, simply put, like a poorly used queen in Chess, on the surface a very strong piece, yet when looked at in detail, used in the dumbest way humanly imaginable. Not only are his actions supposed to be explained by him being indoctrinated as a child, something impossible given how cartoonish Marley is, but the sheer amount of plot armor in this son of a bitch is outrageous, but I said I wouldn’t harp on it anymore. All in all, a strong premise for a character whose role in the story was clumsily explored.
Bertholt:
Good old Bertholt, a character that cannot be criticized by lack of character because it was a deliberate move on Isayama’s part. It’s also a sweet bit of irony that the quiet, withdrawn kid was given a god of destruction for his titan. I’ve no qualms with this character, but neither do I have any praise of note to offer.
Zeke:
Boring, shallow, disinteresting. How people are calling this dude one of the best antagonists in fiction, comparing him to Griffith and Meruem, is beyond me. There is nothing interesting about this character. He is thoroughly incompetent, unengaging and lacks any sort of charisma that a good antagonist might have. I find his ultimate goal to be boring, and a child’s way of solving problems. A properly mediocre character on the whole.
Pieck:
A literal plot device. That’s it. That’s literally all there is to it.
Animation feels stiff and bad most of the time. There are some impressive sequences like Levi vs. Zeke at the end of the whole war, but on the whole, it’s awfully stagnant even during the sequences where the dynamic camera should be going crazy, mostly when using the 3D Maneuver Gear, overall a big stepdown from Season 1. I will mention CGI in passing, it was awful on both the Colossal Titan and those background steeds, but harping on it after all this time would be like beating a dead horse, pun very much intended.
The sound effects in AoT are something I enjoy a lot. Not only are the sound effects relating to titans, their movement/punches/clashes/howls very explosive and grandiose, but that steamy sound effect when Eren and the others shifters are coming out of titans refuses to leave my head, it’s such an awesome design choice which gives the show a unique identity and makes every scene which features titans distinctly punctual, I like it a lot.
Now, here comes my hottest take yet, if you thought my takes on the story were hot, I think my thoughts on the OST are going to, well, let’s say they will ruffle some feathers. I think AoT’s OST is a chaotic mishmash of elements which simply do not belong together. Like, I was listening to YouSeeBigGirl a few times to verify this, and the composition simply… makes no sense to me. It starts with this chaotic cacophony of instruments, to delve into this subdued tone which is fitting for an interrogation, to then go into energetic vocals and then solemn singing. It’s like 4 songs in 1 and none of them work together. I think most of the OST is like this, especially the tracks which are supposed to be epic, it left minimal impression on me beyond the apparent incompetence. Do not even get me started on the naming conventions, if you thought YouSeeBigGirl was the single dumbest name that an OST might have, just visit the AoT wiki and look at the whole album and be in awe as to how stupid, how vapid, how utterly mind-boggling some of these names are. Most of them have some variations of different signs and kanji and it’s just… weird. This sort of eccentricity admittedly gets under my skin, which is perhaps why I chose to broach this subject here.