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𝘋𝘦MID 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 Ha.

But in all seriousness, this new season truly lives up to that title in much too many ways for such an acclaimed series. If you have criticisms, though, you're labeled as a mere elitist. "𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 is about the simplicity, not everything needs to..." or "it's just a shounen, what did you expect?" Well, what I expected was a coherent experience, which is what I recall the previous installments of 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 to have provided at the least.

When season 1 came out, it was easy to ignore what many called poor writing and characters, but as time goes on, the excitement of ... watching 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 slowly gives way to disbelief, as the latest season shows you exactly what critics of the series must have been seeing from the beginning. Hype doesn't diminish poor writing, and this was clear to me every step of the way as the Entertainment District Arc was airing. Annoying and shallow characters and motivations (paired with some of the worst, most useless, and dare I say unironically cringiest dialogue I've heard from any anime in this genre), contrived and sometimes even reused plot conveniences, a bafflingly lackluster power system, irritatingly unnecessary levels of plot armor, episodes on end of nothing really happening, and good production apparently gets you a spot as one of the highest rated anime of all time.

This season was so poor, in fact, that it even made me skeptical of my previous ratings and thoughts on 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, and some reassessment was necessary. Maybe I was wrong about what this series could achieve, especially considering some people really believe this arc to be the supposed best the manga has to offer. I'm still holding out hope for something to change next year, though. It also doesn't help that the Entertainment District Arc was airing alongside some of 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯's best, and this definitely impacted how I experienced 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳's newest addition.

Currently, 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 is positioned to be the next 𝘔𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢, but even less so, with its only merit at the moment being arguably more polished and pleasing visuals. Yet with most it seems to have lived up to the hype just fine, while 𝘔𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢 has been a source of constant ridicule from the anime community, though actually being more ambitious than the current 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳.

At the end, the one word which summarizes the latest installment of 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 is this: Disappointment. I hope this will change with whatever comes next.

𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯 3 is truly perfection.

Beautiful, heartwarming, romantic, nostalgic, adorable, charming, and amusing are some words which describe what I believe to be the heart of the series, and these words make it the impacting emotional experience it ultimately is to me.

For me, 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯 will always be my favorite series of all time, with the third season most definitely being a deciding factor. It once again quite noticeably improves on the previous season, which already had struck me as special when I first viewed it as my introduction to the series. Now, with personal emotional connection to the series put on ... hold, I would like to mention some of the technicalities of this work which contribute to any of these feelings towards it.

Purely in terms of visual design, technical flaws are still present, sometimes even more frequent than before, but these are not important in what is the overall impression and experience of this installment of 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯. Of course, every anime will have some imperfections in design. And even when the production is rushed and unpolished at times, with some confusing and inconsistent character art style direction, the heights of artwork direction (especially the stunning background art which has seemingly only gotten better) and animation surpass anything which has come before in the series, and are impressively crafted no matter the standards. This is only fitting for this passionately created work, even if it may have been plagued with delays and schedule issues due to COVID or similar. Though any complications may have led much of the character art to lack some of the perceived polish seen in much of the series' previous installments, a good amount of it is still the studio's best from this series. As mentioned previously, 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯's background art, of course, is an exception to any previously mentioned shortcomings. The landscapes and settings provide beautifully colored, detailed, and carefully designed backdrops which I've rarely seen achieved as appealingly in other anime. In short, 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯 3's visuals are nothing less than a show of the attention to detail coming from such an inspired production.

With visuals out of the way, I should now mention the sound design. Of course, the new opening theme, "Massugu" from Yuiko Ōhara is as expected of the series, a joyful and even heartfelt experience. Rie Takahashi's ending themes are also at some of their best here for these same reasons as well, and are diverse in emotion while keeping up the heart and atmosphere of the show. As for the soundtrack composed by Hiroaki Tsutsumi, the new season of 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯 offers many new musical additions, while still reusing old soundtracks which have been iconic since the beginning. The attention to detail in 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯's soundtrack has always been remarkable, and even more so now, and is one of the aspects of the series that gives the entirety of the work an additional feeling of quality. The noticeably clever use and repetition of certain motifs, which denote different aspects of the show, especially adds to the experience. One place where this comes to mind is the "Presence" segment in episode 2, which is a spectacle of musical storytelling at its finest. Tsutsumi's work can personify a very wide variety of emotions, with many tracks being lighthearted or humorous, but some being incredibly touching and emotional, nostalgic, and thoughtful. All this to say that the compositions which come out of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯 are of the utmost quality, and are used fittingly in every way possible, with the musical experience only becoming deeper and richer with this third season.

Now with technical achievement out of the way, it is necessary to restate that these are just the showing results of such a passionate project, and they add to the experience immensely. Watching 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯 3 is exactly that, a fulfilling experience for me, and it is incredible how much positive emotional impact a series can have on someone.

𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘯 will always be this way in my heart.