Since its debut in 2013, the Attack on Titan anime has consistently maintained the emotionally intense yet mesmerizing vibe of Hajime Isayama's action-oriented dark fantasy manga. With the manga having concluded in 2021, the anime enters the last part of its final season looking to repeat the popularity and accolades the previous seasons enjoyed despite an ending the manga's controversial ending.
In the Part 2 of Attack on Titan's Final Season, viewers saw Eren, Mikasa, and other members of Attack on Titan's Survey Corps travel to Marley where they got a first-hand experience of what it feels like being Eldian in a place where they are persecuted for accepting their heritage and forced to accept being treated as second-class citizens. The experience had a profound effect on Eren who grew contemptuous of his former friends, especially Mikasa. However, unbeknownst to them, Eren's true plan for going to Marley was to secretly meet his half-brother Zeke Yeager. Zeke had thought up a plan to stop Eldians from becoming titans, thereby ending the threat many in Marley believed them to be. However, while Eren agreed in kind to the plan, he had a plan of his own. The season ended with Eren declaring that he will exterminate all life on the planet outside of Paradis Island which he followed up by initiating "The Rumbling," a nearly unstoppable attack by Wall Titans who literally flatten everything in their path.
Latest Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Part 3 News
In a January 17, 2023 Tweet, Studio MAPPA, the animation house producing Attack on Titan announced that Part 3 will be divided into two further parts. The first part will premier as stated above. The second and final edition of the anime, will drop at a later date in 2023. Studio MAPPA makes clear that the delay is necessary to provide the best possible content to fans.
Mappa has also recently revealed in a Tweet that the first half of Part 3 is only going to consist of an hour-long special. So unfortunately, fans who are eagerly awaiting the series' finale will have to wait even longer to see the anime adaptation of one of anime's most contentious endings.
Outside the scheduling, the biggest news about Part 3 is about the manga's creator Hijimie Isayama and his choice of how to end the story in particular. While the anime's fans are still figuring out how the story ends, manga fans have known how it ends for about a year. While the decisions of Eren, Zeke, and others in Attack on Titan all but guaranteed the ending that Isayama wrote up will make it to the anime intact, more than a few were not happy about it. The negative response to the manga's ending grew to such a fever pitch that some fans even threatened the life of the Attack on Titan creator. Late last year, on his first-ever trip to the United States for the manga, Isayama asked the fans he would meet at Anime NYC 2022 to be kind to him.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Part 3 Release Date
According to Studio MAPPA, the animation house producing Attack on Titan's final season, Part 3 will debut on March 3, 2023, which is almost a decade to the day that the series first premiered. The final season's final part will debut with a one-hour special before entering another hiatus for the last part of the last season. Unfortunately, there have been no updates yet on when the second half will premier.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Part 3 Cast & Characters
The cast, which has both a Japanese and English languages team remains largely the same teams that have been voicing the characters since the anime original run in 2013. On the Japanese side Yuki Kaji returns as the voice of Eren, as does Yui Ishikawa (Mikasa), Matina Inoue (Armin), Hiroshi Kamiya (Levi), and Takehito Koyasu (Zeke Yeager). Similarly, on the English language team Bryce Papenbrook will continue voicing Eren as will Trina Nishimura (Mikasa), Josh Grelle (Armin), Matthew Mercer (Levi), and Jason Liebritch (Zeke). Given that this is the series' very last part, no new characters are expected to join the cast.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Part 3 Story Details
In previous seasons and parts, the anime has closely followed the manga's story and plot lines. Assuming that choice remains the same, Part 3 will continue the major surprise of Part 2, namely Eren's complete turn to Attack on Titan's dark side culminating with his hijacking of Zeke's plan and calling for a full-scale Rumbling. Naturally, as only he has the power to stop the titans, this will mean not only will Marley be after him but so will the Survey Corps, including Mikasa. There is also the question of what, if anything Zeke will be able to do to stop Eren or change his mind. With so many conflicts, and tensions set to come to a head. Fans can also expect further insight into what caused Eren to hatch his genocidal plan. Part 3 is likely to be the most emotionally intense part yet of the series ten-year run.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Part 3 Trailer
Perhaps the clearest indication of what fans should expect in the upcoming Part 3 can be found in the trailers released before the debut. In the latest trailer, which dropped a few weeks ago, the story, as expected, seems to follow that told in the manga with Eren's army of Wall Titans finally making landfall and preceding to wreak apocalyptic havoc. Fans also get glimpses of Eren's new Founding Titan form. Interestingly there are no shots of Mikasa, Armin, Levi, or anyone else, which seems to suggest that at least the initial parts will focus on the attack of the titans.
Where and How to Watch Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Part 3
In Japan, Part 3 will be broadcast on NHK General, which has been broadcasting the series since the beginning of the third season. Internationally, fans have a range of options to watch the series, including Crunchyroll and Hulu. In previous seasons, Attack on Titan was also streamed on Netflix and even Disney+, so it is possible that the series will also be available on those platforms though there's been no word yet of their availability from either streaming provider.
Be sure to check back here periodically for further updates and check out Attack On Titan: The Final Season, Part 3 when it premieres in March 3rd 2023!
Sources: @MAPPA, @anime_shingeki