Attack on Titan is priming for a major comeback for the third season, and it seems that it’s going to be a major shift from the first two seasons of the series as it heads into much darker territory.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In the July 2018 issue of Animage (as translated by SNK News), directors Araki Tetsuro and Koizuka Masashi spoke more about the third season and how its comeback compares to the second season:
“Whether it is structural composition or animation, season 3 differs from the previous 2 quite a lot – it almost feels like an entirely new series. Whether it is Eren, Levi, or other characters, the production now focuses on their innermost attributes, and it will be quite clear that up to now, we’ve only understood them on a surface level. Even just looking at a key animation draft, it’s apparent that this is not a direct extension of the previous seasons.”
By the sound of this quote, it seems that the third season of the series is making more of an effort to develop the characters more in this world. Which is a great sign considering one of the major criticisms of the first two seasons was that the characters can feel a bit thin. With all of the death each season, the characters don’t get a lot of time to grow as the series instead chose to focus on its main trio.
The deaths themselves lose impact given how little each character is developed (which in turn was a major problem in season one), so the fact that Tetsuro and Masashi are preparing this season with character development in mind first will mean that any potential deaths will then feel more impactful as a result.
Attack on Titan is scheduled to premiere its third season on July 22 on NHK in Japan, and will run for 24 episodes. If you’re itching for more info about the third season of the series, it has also revealed the cast and crew for the upcoming season as well which includes many returning characters as well as some new faces. The director, who worked on Attack on Titan‘s first two seasons, told fans earlier this year they had a lot to look forward to with Season 3:
“We really enjoyed making the anime and felt it turned out well in the end. Although the anime takes a break here, we’re still working on it. We will put our best efforts into making Season Three,” Araki told fans during an in-studio interview. “Will the person wearing glasses at the end of season 2 play a part in season 3? Will everyone be able to survive? Will somebody die? It’s hard to know. Look forward to the next season. We’re still having fun making Attack on Titan.”
For those unfamiliar with Attack on Titan, the series was originally created by Hajime Isayama. Starting its run in Kondansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2009, the series has been collected into 23 volumes as of 2017. It’s set in a world where the last remnants of humanity live within a walled city in order to escape the danger of the Titans, a race of giants monsters that eats humans. Eren Yeager joins the military with his two childhood friends Mikasa and Armin after the Titans break through the wall and attack his hometown.
via SNK News
