(Nitsuj): Hello this is Nitsuj.
(Isis): And this is Isis. Welcome to Project Nitsuj.
(Nitsuj): Well the time has come for us to look at the second part of season 3 of Attack on Titan.
(Isis): After months of anticipation and waiting, the second half of season 3 finally came out in the spring of 2019.
(Nitsuj): Expectations were running high for this season as a lot of people were growing impatient with all the political turmoil and talks going on within the wall over these last seasons and everyone was thirsty for some titan slaying action.
(Isis): Well fans finally got their wish as this season not only delivered on the titan action but it went beyond everyone’s expectations and made those who spoke negatively about the series eat their words and made them praise the series.
(Nitsuj): So what did this season offer us that the others one didn’t? Let’s find out. This is our review of Attack on Titan S3 part 2.
Opening and Ending Theme
(Nitsuj): The opening this time around is “Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi” with the return of Linked Horizon (thank you God). For those who don’t know this was one of my favorite openings from 2019. This whole song manages to capture the intensity of the S1’s first opening along with the weight of the opening from S2 and combines them both beautifully. It honestly feels like this is the third verse of the series. If you weren’t pumped or excited after hearing this song then something was seriously wrong with you.
(Isis): The ending is “Name of Love” by cinema staff. This was a very unexpected and peaceful ending. This ending also makes you feel sad as it kind of reminds you of the simpler times before all this titan mess happened and how Eren, Armin and Mikasa were just regular kids trying to get by. The piano in this ending along with the vocals of the singer are beautiful and honestly brings a tear to my eye.
Episodes 1-5
(Isis): The new season starts on a subtle note (Nitsuj: Like a calm before a storm) with the characters slowly and quietly traveling at night to reach Eren’s hometown (should be quite the homecoming). At the break of dawn they finally reach Eren’s hometown where to their surprise there are no titans around (give it time. Scene here: https://youtu.be/7iVAq5wtgmU). They secure the perimeter as Eren seals up the inner wall first and then makes his way to the outer wall to seal it (scene here: https://youtu.be/FCO9gLiGnEo). As that’s going on Armin discovers traces of Reiner and Bert on the wall and gets put in charge of a squadron to look for them. They search everywhere but find no traces of Reiner or the others anywhere until Armin comes to the conclusion that they’re in the walls (Nitsuj: They would have hidden in a box but a snake took them all). They search the walls where they find Reiner (Nitsuj and Isis: !) who kills a soldier. Levi tries to kill him and actually manages to drive his sword into his neck but his titan powers stop the blade from going all the way through and he transforms into his titan form (Nitsuj: Here comes the titan). The rest of the titans come out of hiding as well as the beast titan appears among them and throws a boulder to block the outer entrance trapping the soldiers and their horses inside for one decisive battle between titans and humans (scene here: https://youtu.be/ZNHFnlnJVi8. (Nitsuj): The storm has arrived).
In the first half of episode 2 we talk strategy. The beast titan sends in the smaller titans to take out the horses while the big ones hang back and surround the area. The titans’ plan is to eliminate any escape for the Scouts, destroy them all, and take Eren (Nitsuj: And thus finish off humanity). Erwin sends Levi and his team to protect the horses and when the time is right, launch an attack on the beast titan and take his head (finally, a worthy opponent for Levi). As Reiner climbs the wall to take out the horses he spots Eren in the distance and isn’t sure what he should do. Should he take out the horses or go after Eren knowing it’s a trap (Nitsuj: Do it! We need another titan battle)? He ultimately decides to go after where Eren when Eren actually puts his big boy pants on and lays a beat down on Reiner with his new hardening skills (scene here: https://youtu.be/gu5g-FFWW3A, finally! Emo Eren is dead. Long live Rampage Eren). During this fight, the Scouts release their newest weapon on Reiner, the thunder spear. A missile like weapon that’s strong enough to blast away Reiner’s armored skin and leave him defenseless. Eren softens him up and the Scouts launch the missiles which tear away Reiner’s armor and leave him open for the finishing blow. At first the group is hesitant to kill their former friend (Nitsuj: That’s your weakness talking. Finish him) but Jean encourages them to do it and we end the episode with them detonating their last thunder spears into Reiner not knowing if that will finish him off or not (scenes here: https://youtu.be/DmCGU16CGcE and https://youtu.be/0yIa1srQM1I).
At the start of episode 3 we see exactly how Marco died (Nitsuj: Oh, I’ve been waiting for this). Reiner, Bert, and Annie cornered him, took his gear and left him to be killed by the titans (scene here: https://youtu.be/JMMT6rRA4-4. (Nitsuj): Kind of disappointing. I expected a more fitting death. (Isis): I’ll say). We return to the battle where we see they blew off Reiners head but he’s still alive as he transferred his consciousness to the body of the titan (Nitsuj: Oh that’s bull. You die! You die and go to Hell). He let’s out a roar signally Bert to join the battle and we see a all-new Bert here. He’s no longer timid, nervous, or concerned about Annie. He’s focused on the mission and eradicating humanity (scene here: https://youtu.be/N2XXRVK4w1Q. (Nitsuj): So, he basically stopped thinking with his penis? (Isis): In a non-vulgar way, yes). At first, Armin tries to talk to him but it doesn’t work and Bert finally transforms into the colossal titan where his transformation alone decimated the area and many Scouts including Hange are unaccounted for. The only Scouts still around are Armin, Mikasa, Eren, Jean, Connie, and Sasha with Armin in charge of the squad and having no other options but to take out Bert here and now before he starts to do major damage (scene here: https://youtu.be/CtCUZwdNh9M).
In episode 4 things couldn’t get any more hopeless for the Scouts. Bert goes on a rampage in the city while heading towards the wall and the remaining Scouts in the city try to stop him only to fail. Eren gets flung towards the wall by Bert and gets knocked out (Nitsuj: Bert penalty kicked that boy), Bert uses steam to keep the thunder spears off of him, and Armin has no idea how to stop him (and Reiner is back up. Scene here: https://youtu.be/oPilv-_x8sE). Outside the wall things aren’t looking any better as the beast titan throws boulders which kills a majority of the veteran Scouts and leaves only Levi, Erwin, the rookies, and the horses left standing (scene here: https://youtu.be/a4OT3eMX0RA, well they’re all going to die). With no other options, Erwin encourages the Scouts with his words to charge to their deaths against the beast titan while Levi uses the titans from the side to make his way to the beast titan and kill him (why do I feel like every time Erwin talks, a large group of people die? (Nitsuj): Because they do). So the Scouts charge to their deaths as we end on a potentially gruesome scene of Erwin getting hit with pebbles of boulders (scenes here: https://youtu.be/jdTmQFHeOuU and https://youtu.be/Z2F3b4tiZog).
At the start of episode 5 the Scouts all fall to the beast titan but they accomplished their mission and gave Levi his window of opportunity to reach the beast titan where he goes God mode on that dirty ape (Nitsuj: That sounds like something I would say). Levi manages to bring the beast down and pulls the man inside out but instead of killing him he wants to find someone to turn into a titan and feed him to them so that they can gain his powers (screw that, kill him). An abnormal titan snatches up the beast titan and he makes his escape to fight another day (Nitsuj: True. But the fear of Levi is now engrained into his mind. Scene here: https://youtu.be/DjgYa_XLIqM). Back within the walls, Armin finally has a plan to defeat Bert with just him and Eren while the others defeat Reiner. He realizes that whenever Bert uses his steam his body gets thinner so Armin manages to wake up Eren and tells him of his plan to take the full blunt of Bert’s hot steam while Eren sneaks up from behind in human form and takes out Bert. Eren accomplishes his goal of getting Bert but in the process, Armin sacrificed his life to get the job done (scenes here: https://youtu.be/dFpgPWBnuTg and https://youtu.be/olCDl56AQWQ. *Isis begins to cry* (Nitsuj): This might be inappropriate, but I think Armin could use some sunscreen. *Isis shoots Nitsuj with her AI shotgun and he falls to the ground* Or how about, I don’t like my Armin rare. *Isis shoots Nitsuj again*). For the others, with the help of Hange, they use their remaining thunder spears to open up Reiners mouth and Mikasa uses the last to blast off the head and expose Reiner so that he can be captured. In the end, the Scouts won but with their numbers you wouldn’t be able to tell (scene here: https://youtu.be/0fdaZT1gC3M).
Episodes 6-10
(Nitsuj): Ohhh~, my stomach. If you thought episode 5 was emotional, then get ready for episode 6. Armin despite getting God knows how many burn degrees is still alive somehow (holy shit, how much does this guy want to see the ocean?). On top of that Eren has captured Bert which means they can use the titan serum Levi has to revive Armin, have him eat Bert, and become the new colossal titan (Isis: That would be a very ironic situation). Levi shows up and all but ready to give the serum to Armin, but a rookie shows up with Erwin on his back and says that he’s still alive (oh shit). This puts Levi in the worst situation anybody should ever be in, choosing who gets to live and die. Does he decide to save the growing genius that is Armin or save the charismatic leader (Isis: And his gay crush) Erwin. Levi of course decides to use the serum on Erwin but Eren and Mikasa stop him and beg him to save Armin instead just as everyone shows up to pick a side on who should be saved. This really is a tough situation for Levi. While there’s no doubt Armin’s insight has been a great asset to the Scouts, he lacks the leadership skills and experience of Erwin. On top of that, there’s the history Levi and Erwin share. Erwin bought Levi into the Scouts, they’ve fought together on numerous occasions, and have faced death only to come back victorious. How do you compare that history to someone you’ve only known for a short time? Levi orders everyone to leave as he prepares to inject Erwin with the serum but in an act of defiance Erwin somehow swats away Levi’s hand. Whether this was done by accident or not is anyone’s guess, but I believe that Erwin was telling Levi to save Armin over him (I have nothing to back this up but it’s what I believe). Levi injects Armin with the serum and has him eat Bert where he comes the new colossal titan and Erwin dies (scene here: https://youtu.be/SXP2EkOv7Vo). Other events that happen in this episode is Reiner escaping. Yeah, Hange was about to kill Reiner but Jeanne stops her saying that they should have someone eat him (while this is rational thinking, there’s no doubt a part of him was trying to save Reiner. A part of him still can’t help but see Reiner as his good friend. Again, the history of the characters comes into play here). As they wait for word on the serum, the beast titan shows up in human form being carried by an abnormal titan. They snatch up Reiner and escape (scene here: https://youtu.be/GSAdd-kc4Jg).
In episode 7, 4 hours have passed since the end of the battle and Armin has regained consciousness where he finds out everything that happened (scene here: https://youtu.be/d3LhWmSdwSg. Levi went God mode on the beast titan, only 9 Scouts are still alive, you got burned into a crisp, became a titan, and then you ate Bert. (Armin): Was he. . .good? (Nitsuj): No~! (Armin): Oh~). Eren, Mikasa, Hange, and Levi go to the remains of Eren’s house to find out what Grisha was hiding in the basement (Isis: Watch them get there and the key doesn’t fit). They reach the basement only to discover the key doesn’t fit (Isis: Oh my God! *Begins to laugh* I totally didn’t know that was going to happen. I was just trying to be funny) but Levi kicks that door open. They enter the basement only to discover a normal room until they find a secret compartment in the desk where the key fits (scene here: https://youtu.be/1Jg4ZEVqihs). What they find are books and an actual photograph where Grisha wrote on the back saying that there are civilizations outside that are rich and prosperous (and have freakin’ blimps. Scene here: https://youtu.be/fpB6i9-fg7Y).
The story of Grisha continues in episode 8. We find out that he had a little sister and together they snuck into the inner city to see the blimps (oh my God they also have cars! I’m sorry it’s just so exciting to see modern technology in this anime). They get discovered by security and Grisha takes a beating for breaking the rules. The next day, his sister was discovered dead by the riverbank (scene here: https://youtu.be/OHBIOuVMpWI. (Isis): He gets a beaten but his sister gets killed. I guess equal rights were still being worked out). We also get to learn the truth about Ymir an ancestor of Grisha, his family, and everyone else in the outer city. Ymir made a contract with what they call the devil for the titan serum and became a titan. She was soon captured and killed where upon her death her spirit split into 9 titans (the original titans). These 9 titans went on to establish the Eldian Empire and took control of the continent. They would pillage from others and even force women to bear their offspring to increase their numbers (don’t know how that’s possible when the titan is missing the one tool that matters). The reign of the titans went on for almost 2,000 years until the nation of Marley, the kingdom that was defeated by the titans rose up to fight again. They bought 7 of the 9 titans under their control and were victorious against the Eldian Empire who were forced to retreat to an island called Paradis where the Eldian king created 3 walls to protect himself and his people. Grisha and his family were one of the many families who are part of the Eldian Empire but got left behind (Isis: More like left for dead). Rather than kill them, the people of Marley just made them second-class citizens where they were abused, beaten, lived in fear, and forced to disgrace their ancestors (scene here: https://youtu.be/sZRmUbtZ8Gw). At the age of 18, Grisha took over his family clinic where he met a restorationist, a rebel fighting against Marley. It was from them that Grisha discovered the truth about his sister’s death, mauled by dogs. Grisha soon joined the restorationists to avenge his sister and rebel against the corrupted world that he had been born in. Through their combined efforts they discovered the truth about Ymir. It turns out Ymir awakened to the power of the titans and used those powers to cultivate the wilds, build roads, and just make everyone’s life better. They soon met Dina the last descendent of Ymir and her knowledge only enforced the truth about Ymir’s powers. Grisha believed that the king of Eldian took the Founding Titan into the walls of Paradis for safe keeping. If they can find the holder of the Founding Titan power, they can control the other titans, and defeat Marley once and for all (damn, this episode isn’t even halfway done and there’s so much to take in). A year passes and Grisha marries Dina (yeah, taste that royal honey Grisha) where they have a kid named Zeke. As the years went by Marley’s hold on the continent was starting to slip due to a shortage of resources, so they decided to attack Paradis as the island has a massive cache of fossil fuel. While that was Marley’s initial goal, their real plan is to get the Founding Titan’s power and to do that they plan on using the power of the 7 titans that they stole. Grisha’s plan was to have Zeke infiltrate the ranks of Marley and become one of their 7 titan warriors (Grisha is making the same mistake as his dad) but when Zeke was told the truth, he chose Marley over his own family, and sold his parents out (scene here: https://youtu.be/8h_eH1BYwm0. (Isis): He is so grounded when they get out of jail. (Nitsuj): Screw that, he’s getting a whooping). Grisha and the restorationists were all captured with all of them besides Grisha being turned into mindless titans and Dina actually being the Smiling Titan (Nitsuj and Isis: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~). We then cut to Eren and Mikasa in jail, serving time for their insubordination (Isis: This isn’t a punishment, this is pretty much time out. Everyone else is out there working their butts off while these guys do nothing except sit in the dark) where Eren begins to cry as he somehow is connected to Grisha’s memories and remembering everything. Back in Grisha’s memories, we see him come face to face with the man responsible for killing his sister (you bastard). Rather than turn Grisha into a titan, he instead decides to feed Grisha to one only for Grisha to get saved by the owl, an informant within the Marley guards who’s been helping the restorationists (scenes here: https://youtu.be/o_F0MuI8v64 and https://youtu.be/Oead1Ms_rf8).
In the opening moments of episode 9 the owl kills off the remaining soldiers and gives Grisha his final mission. He must become a titan, infiltrate the walls, find the Founding titan, eat said titan, and tell everyone the truth (and boy is it going to blow their minds. Scenes here: https://youtu.be/jc0toqULiUM,https://youtu.be/BTdfdWyXX5U, and https://youtu.be/6I6p1ISkBR8). This episode also explains to us why it had to be Eren to inherit the Founding titan’s power, it’s because there’s some kind of code written in the Founding titan that makes those with royal blood refuse to fight and keep everyone in a birdcage. We also learn that those who inherit the power of the 9 titans only have 13 years to live. Also, the name of Eren’s titan is called the Attack titan. The owl was the holder of the Attack titan before Grisha ate him and inherited his power, and now that power has been passed on to Eren who possesses the power of 2 titans. Eren and Mikasa get released from jail and go to the meeting with the top brass to discuss their findings where Eren thinks he might have figured out the key to using the Founding titan’s power, touching a member of royalty. However, he keeps this a secret as he’s not sure what they’ll do to Historia if they find this out (scenes here: https://youtu.be/HNCez3tVUVo and https://youtu.be/i_evPuH-RI4 .(Isis): Yeah she may be royalty but let’s be honest, the wall is being run by the military).
In the final episode they announce the Scout’s founding to the people and we get mixed reactions. Some people believe it, others don’t, some panic, and then there’s the conspiracy nuts who think this is all a ruse set up by the government (https://youtu.be/vFkK9v-e3z0). A year soon passes and at the start of spring, all the titans within Wall Maria have been killed and people who were forced out of their homes 6 years ago can finally return home (that’s actually quite touching). The Scouts resume journeying outside of Wall Maria where they finally make it to the ocean and their reactions are great (even Levi is shocked at what he sees). As the Scouts take it all in Eren ends the season by asking a very important question. Even if they kill all of their enemies will they truly be free (scenes here: https://youtu.be/C8oDsDAR35g and https://youtu.be/qQpzvsymHXs)?
Final Thoughts
(Nitsuj and Isis): Oh. . .my. . .God.
(Isis): What did we just watch?
(Nitsuj): Something amazing. This season truly did turn Attack on Titans around for the better. Okay, so the first half of the anime gives us the action that we’ve all been waiting for since the end of the second season and my God was it intense. The strategies, the lost, the emotions it was done incredibly well and didn’t disappoint. Easily the highlight of the battle was Levi going into God mode on Zeke and seeing the anger and sadness in him when he couldn’t defeat the man who took so many of his comrades from him. The Scouts taking on Reiner with their new weapon was awesome and even though it was short it was cool seeing a titan on titan battle again. Armin’s sacrifice to take down Bert and the suicide charge of the Scouts against Zeke almost bought me to tears as it was sad to see all of these characters die and wiping out almost all of the Scouts. Finally, the end result of Levi being forced to decide between Erwin and Armin was painful to watch as it’s a situation I hope to never find myself in. Was it the right choice to save Armin and let Erwin die? My heart says yes as his potential for growth is great and he will be great one day. My mind on the other hand says no as the Scouts are now leaderless and morale will now be at an all time low at the worst possible time as the landscape of the war has changed drastically with what we’ve discovered.
(Isis): Speaking of what we discovered, everything has changed. Everything that we thought we knew and understood has been thrown out the window and replaced with information we never saw coming. We finally now have a clear view of who are enemies are, what Eren and the others are up against, and what they need to do in order to win. Everything event and twist has been leading up to this and storytelling was phenomenal. The story of Grisha losing everything and being betrayed by his own son was an ironic shock as Grisha made the same mistake his father made with him. Rather then see Zeke as his son and treat him like one, he instead treated Zeke as a tool for war. Now that I think about it he might have made the same mistake with Eren.
(Nitsuj): Once again the animation, soundtrack, and camerawork in this anime was great. You really do feel the weight and sound of every punch thrown, every emotional scene that occurs, and every action taken. I really can’t think of any mistakes this season made, let’s go to the final score.
Final Score
(Nitsuj): My final score for Attack on Titan is a 9/10.
(Isis): I’m giving it a 10/10. This season delivered on everything we wanted to see and justifies just how great this series is and how it is one of the animes that is defining this generation. For anybody out there who says Attack on Titan has lost it’s appeal, watch this season and then come talk to me.
(Nitsuj): Yeah. I got nothing else to say as well. The final season will hopefully be coming out this fall and after everything we just saw and just have to know where the story goes from here and how it will end. Until then, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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