SPOILERS BEWARE After the disappointing sequel that was the second season I didnt expect much going into this third one. After the first episode my expectations for it being average seemed to be on track but I had to give it the benefit of doubt as it was only the pilot episode with a similar premise to the second season. The biggest revelation from this episode would be that the former King of Aultcray is one of the Seven Star Heroes namely the Staff Hero. This is a fascinating revelation but sadly this season will touch and go on this topic and never reveal anything significant past snippets. Future episodes centered around Aultcrays character led me to a prediction due to the way he behaves around Atla as there is clearly much more than meets the eye when it comes to him so Im looking forward to seeing some redemption here. It is revealed his sister was kidnapped by the demihuman country that is Siltveit so my assumption is pondering whether a former Shield Hero had any role in that which would explain his unbound hatred towards the shield. Sadly Aultcray doesnt get much attention past this which has become an apparent flaw in the writing for this series as of late. 800https://i.ur.com/m7xECwW.png The second episode introduces Sadeena or her battle name Nadia whos quite the seductive and alcoholic gal but most importantly a worthy person to help protect Naofumis land. Both her and Raphtalia originate from Lurolona Village as Naofumi is looking to buy all the former residents of this village which are very likely slaves scattered around the world. Its Raphy and Sadeenas reunion which prevents bloodshed in the championship battle which was a wholesome and sweet moment. Sadeena receives more enlightening development near the end of the season as we learn of her true identity and how close she really is/was to Raphys family. 800https://i.ur.com/F501SWW.png The following episode is the peak of this season and my fav as its spectacular Fohl and Atla are White Tiger demihuman siblings from Lurolona Village however the latter is blind while the brother is a fighter to pay for their meals and medicine. Naofumi buys the pair at a pricey value but its the events that followed which absolutely melted my heart. When I saw Atla enslaved bandaged and blind I instantly thought oh no not this again... and then spent at least half of the third episode being emotionally overwhelmed from seeing her recovery and healing process it made me so soooo incredibly happy seeing a child enjoy life again peaking at witnessing her stand once more this felt like Raphtalias first episodes over again where I felt the same emotions especially during my recent rewatch. 800https://i.ur.com/4jDYyhO.png 800https://i.ur.com/jprDVGF.png https://i.ur.com/RG9kTxy.mp4 In this episode it was awesome finally seeing Naofumi truly angry when his village was attacked as he was even prepared to go as far to execute the noble to prove a point had he not learnt of his stature. This is the best Naofumi the one that vows to protect his party and land at any cost. This third episode made me feel a plethora of emotions which I genuinely found to be fantastic which marked the start of this season as pretty strong but sadly this was the only good this season would offer. After this promising beginning I pondered whether Shield Hero was back but my hope was utterly crushed by the remainder of this season which focuses on the remaining Cardinal Heroes and filler arcs. 800https://i.ur.com/4UB4V1M.png The following episode Motoyasu makes an appearance for the first time in a while but hes lost his entire party and seems to be neglected by everyone. We get a flashback of how he attempted to defeat the Spirit Tortoise with his party only to fail spectacularly very fitting of the Spear Hero we know... I suppose it was at this point that his harem of female party members went their separate ways after finally realizing how useless he truly was. Near the end of the episode. Filo has an idol moment which brings Motoyasu back from despair and then he begins calling Naofumi father and treating Filo as his daughter... In all honesty these last few mins of this episode were so insanely unpredictable and hilarious. To be honest if an angel such as Filo with her precious smile reached out to me then I know it would cure my despair This random idol scene is the reality that this once wonderful series has now become and its so painful watching it become what it is... 800https://i.ur.com/VkRN6WS.png https://www..com/watch?v=WnGNTTNt8Cglist=RDMMstartradio=1abchannel=KADOKAWAanime The Murder Clown that we saw in the coliseum real identity is SYne Lokk who is a Vassal Weapon wielder from a destroyed world which would explain why some of her dialogue is distorted or completely absent when she speaks about things relating to her world. She gave off strong Ryuukohttps://anilist.co/character/83797/RyuukoMatoi vibes when she showed off her weapon of choice I can only think of KLKhttps://anilist.co/anime/18679/KilllaKill/ when I see a pair of giant scissors like this. This is sadly yet another plot point which will be quickly brushed off again the flaw of this series writing is become very apparent. https://i.ur.com/EOWRAh7.mp4 The following episode was Ren focused which gives much needed insight into his character that was necessary. He has the same VA as Kiritohttps://anilist.co/character/36765/KazutoKirigaya from SAOhttps://anilist.co/anime/11757/SwordArtOnline/ similar appearance and generally feels like their personalities are alike since his ideology and beliefs are straightforward and direct as he wants to be the strongest which would mean he can solo the game/world which are akin to what Kirito believed at the start of the series. Whether thats just a coincidence Im not sure but I cant overlook it since the similarities are there. Ren lost his entire party in the battle against the Spirit Tortoise but refuses to take responsibility and acknowledge that its his fault for being too weak that they are dead. Naofumi was right on the money when he said Ren treated this as a game since its a cold hard fact. 800https://i.ur.com/Zprmk1Y.png We learn that Rens Curse Series are Greed and Gluttony and since Naofumis is Wrath it would mean the last two Cardinal Heroes must posses the remaining missing deadly sins. The spell Ren summons this episode is truly a WTF moment https://i.ur.com/F88mNT5.mp4 The two episodes which are Itsuki focused are again poor writing and dont make much sense these are meant to be redemption arcs right? Theyre completely missing the point as these two episodes focusing on Itsukis character were genuinely awful. As I mentioned in my previous review Rishia was never a character that grew on me and even if she has gotten a bit stronger I still dont really feel anything towards her her and Itsuki are extra fodder to this cast which I truly couldnt care less about the poor execution to give Itsuki some character development here was butchered immensely. Also whats with Naofumis village becoming hero rehab centre... 800https://i.ur.com/2Msge40.png Malty also makes her much NOT anticipated return and OH MY GOD she returned to the scene in a bang... Reciting Raphtalias monologue from the first season to sway Ren was an atrociously low behavior to stoop down to. Malty has returned and instantly caused a reaction within me because now I hate her even more shes a well written character thats meant to instigate hatred towards herself at every corner and its working Ren and Itsukis focused episodes follow the same trend both are manipulated by our fav redhead and somehow still being able to trust her words... Its the fact she made them hear what they wanted to hear most by reciting Raphys beautiful and heartfelt monologue from the fourth episode in the first season which is an atrociously low level to stoop down to... Watching Malty use that monologue to twist their emotions shows how shallow they truly are. One thing in particular infuriated me to no end in Ren and Itsukis arcs it was Princess Malty like ummmmm no that title was stripped after the trial but these characters are hollow and apparently dont remember that... Maltys the fuking worst and its fascinating how each appearance makes me despise this character more and more. 800https://i.ur.com/ffteSKo.png The dragon that Ren slain in the first season which caused an epidemic was Wyndias father. The Emperor Dragon however takes over this subconscious after combining the cores from the Zombie Dragon from this current world and the Emperor Dragon from Kizunas words which causes their souls to mix. This is a medium length series at this point approaching the 50 episodes mark with many vast worlds so its nice to see it not forget about past events from its prequel seasons and still make connections and revelations. Sadly this is all this series does it makes these brief connections and doesnt expand on any of the promising plot points it offers. The side character this short filler arc focused on is Wyndia we got flashbacks to her upbringing and when theres parent and child moments such as these then it always hits me in the feels it was no different here in this episode. 800https://i.ur.com/NwA3ts3.png As mentioned earlier I took an instant liking to Atlas character so watching her recovery has been blissful shes reached a state where shes combat ready even possessing some truly incredible powers that we fully dont understand yet. Seeing her rehabilitation from almost deceased to full of life makes me so unfalteringly joyful. The battle against the Emperor Dragon offered some gorgeous animation if anything to take away from this short filler arc. https://i.ur.com/7dsAbpB.mp4 To summarise my overall thoughts as mentioend above the beginning of this season had so much promise and had me excited for so much more the third episode is proof of that which I still think was incredible but the latter half of this season is laughable. It covers the redemption arcs of the other three Cardinal Heroes which felt more as a reminder of their useless existence rather than redeeming them. The latter half of this season is infuriating which makes me so disappointed after a decent start in the former reminding me what this series used to be like in the first season but the mini arcs focusing on the other three Cardinal Heroes are lacking depth to really leave an impression spending between an episode or two on trying to redeem them simply wasnt enough. The mini arcs focusing on our legendary heroes are below average and the dragon egg filler arc isnt good either if Im brutally honest it played with my feelings at the time but looking back on it with a clear mind its also pretty irrelevant. There were times throughout this season that it felt like weve gone back to what the prequel was like and at times feels worse which makes me really sad after the promising start... Thats a lot of ranting but I had to get it out since it was necessary this season isnt all bad but unfortunately there is a lot of bad here. The first three episodes are the best the final episode was also decent as I was happy to see Raphys Miko outfit again but little did I know it carried a somewhat large plot point which again probably wont be elaborated further much to my dissatisfaction. Raphy wearing this outfit is the equivalent of declaring war. I enjoyed angry Naofumis declaration at the realization that Raphtalia has been watched before she was even born and at no point did these assassins intervene through all the suffering she endured. I really do want to see Naofumi take on a country yet again as thats what made the first season so immersive where it felt like he was fighting the country of Melromarc at its core. Overall this is yet another mixed bag similarly to the prequel which is quite unfortunate as I got hooked on the beginning only for the level to completely drop for the remainder of the season. If anything I hope the latest plot point is focused on in the announcement of the fourth season as I want to experience the greatness of this series once more Naofumi and his party fighting against the nation of Qten Lo has potential to bring back such feelings. Lets end it on a note that even if the story has become quite absurdly bad now at least I can enjoy its beloved characters. 800https://i.ur.com/ZRDXqcu.png S1 Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/14163 S2 Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/17870