In a recent debate on the Reddit platform, fans of the franchise “Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)” discussed the reasons why General opinion of the series declines after the end of the anime's third season. This change in perception was not only observed in the animated adaptation, which went from being produced by WIT STUDIO to MAPPA, but also in the reception of the original manga.

The debate originated from a comment that asked:

• «What makes Shingeki no Kyojin after the time skip unpleasant for some people? I have recommended AoT to many people. While most people enjoyed it until the end, a percentage showed some dislike for the series after season 3. When asked why they didn't like it after season three, most responses were that they didn't like the political twist or that the mysteries were solved. I'm sure this sub has some people who can relate to this. What made you guys dislike Shingeki no Kyojin after season 3 ended?».

Among the responses, several users pointed out the drastic change in the tone of the story as one of the main factors that affected its enjoyment. According to comments, the series left behind the focus on action and mystery to focus more on political plots and ideological conflicts, which did not please all followers. The debate on Reddit reflects a division in the “Shingeki no Kyojin” fan community, with conflicting opinions about the development of the series in both its animated adaptation and the original manga.

• «After the timeskip, Shingeki no Kyojin becomes a radically different anime/manga. Now, in my opinion (excluding the last 10 chapters), it gets even better once the timeskip happens, but I can easily understand how someone who really enjoyed certain aspects of the first half could end up hating the second. Vinland Saga deals with a fairly similar problem, but a bit more extreme. While both parts are excellent (with the second half being arguably better), they feel so incredibly different in content and tone, that a diehard fan of season 1 could easily end up hating season 2, because it's not what they thought it was. reading.».
• «I don't know, the first 3 seasons were focused on Eren's point of view and then in the last season Eren had a radical change in the time jump, which they didn't show until the end. He felt out of place. I also HATED how they ended the last parts. Going over a year between hour-long episodes was horrible and it would have been much better if they had released a single movie or multiple episodes at the same time. Basically, they built up the hype for the finale and then lost it after waiting so long for the next part.».
• «I've been reading the manga. After the mysteries of the world were revealed, I started to become less and less interested in the story. At some point, even for a monthly released manga, I had to struggle to finish a chapter, so I ended up stopping reading.».
• «We get a lot less from Eren's perspective. Personally, I enjoyed season 4, but I didn't like it at all after the chaos started. Mainly because I didn't like the idea of them teaming up to stop Eren and it felt like there was no mystery or tension left.».
• «The story was (somewhat) well-paced before the timeskip, but after the timeskip it felt like it was coming to an end.».
• «As a reader of the manga, the time jump came out of nowhere at one of the most anticipated moments in the story. It was disconcerting, imagine finally getting what you were waiting for only for the next chapter to be a completely different story with different characters, and it's not even mentioned what happened.».
• «It’s a huge shift in tone, for starters. It also doesn’t help that it’s told out of order. Previous seasons may tell an episode or two out of order, but the entire first season of “Season 4” is pretty out of order with how it starts with the Marleyans already on Paradis and doesn’t show how they got there until halfway through. Eren acts completely out of character up until that point, as he completely gives in to eugenics, and it takes a while to reveal that it was all a sham. There’s also this weak attempt to make us sympathize with Zeke, even though he has been, and continues to be, a piece of shit throughout the series. Honestly, the first three seasons felt really well put together and the last three “partial” seasons felt really connected. I have to give them credit, nothing is more epic than the scene of Eren emotionally blackmailing his father through a flashback that shouldn’t be possible.».
• «I didn't like season 4 because a lot depended on Eren's reason and motivation to change as a character and execute his plan. And I think that motivation revealed at the end was bullshit.».
• «The characters were much better before the time skip».
• «Season 4 part 1 was great, the story peaked at that point, after that it started to get weird and confusing with the world of roads and time travel, I basically didn't like anything related to Ymir and the paths, it was too absurd even for a show with such an absurd premise as Shingeki no Kyojin».
• «Abrupt time jump, different protagonist, CGI Titans, bad release schedule (anime), scripted armor (Levi), confusing ending (manga). Not that it didn't have its moments, but as someone who wasn't very emotionally invested Shingeki no KyojinI liked the third season better».
• «A lot of people didn't like the shift to super political stuff. I absolutely hated the ending. It ruined the whole story for me.».

Source: reddit