The third season of the series aired from October 10, 2021 to January 23, 2022, and continues to focus on the B-Rank wars as the Tamakoma-2 are trying to secure one of the two top places that will allow them to follow the Border Defence Agency Away Mission. With the help of newcomer Hyuse, who proves a tremendous fighter, Osamu, Kuga and Chika have won their battles so far, earning many points, but their next challenges are even bigger, as they have to score heavily against the top B-teams.
Allow me to start with the two major negatives of the third season. The first one is that the sociopolitical comments and overall intrigue of the first season is nowhere to be found, maybe with the exception of how rumors work and how an organization can silence them, which is presented revolving around Hyuse's presence. The second is that, although everyone is rooting for Tamakoma to win, the fact that their fight is against fellow BDA members strips the narrative of the presence of a villain, that would make their fight and plight more intense, by adding a much needed element of agony. Particularly when considering that “death” in these fights only means a return to the headquarters, the tension is essentially non-existent, something that definitely faults the battles and the overall season.
The aforementioned however, do not mean that the season is without context at all or that the battles are indifferent. Regarding the first aspect, the focus this time is on Chika and her inability to shoot anyone with real bullets, with the group actually focusing on ways to make her overcome her fear. That she eventually opens up about the reasons behind her reluctance emerges as one of the best aspects of the series, also in the way Morio Hatano incorporates it in the action scenes. The second, which is actually a recurring one, is regarding Osamu's tactical skills in contrast to his average power, which forms another interesting axis, also because Hyuse repeatedly undermines and challenges him in a way, stating that he will not listen to orders he deems wrong or unreasonable. This element is also eventually embedded in the battle scenes.
And talking about action, as in the previous season, the third one also revolves intently around the battles, with even the non-action heavy episodes focusing on learning of their opponents abilities and coming up with specific strategies regarding the fights, an element that actually extends to the other teams. These two factors, the rather intricate tactics every team implements and the fact that all of them are presented both before and during the fights, is where “World Trigger” shines once more, in some of the most intelligently presented action scenes ever to appear on anime series. Furthermore, the addition of a number of captivating opponents, who occasionally seem at the same or even on a higher level than Tamakoma, adds even more to this aspect. In that regard, the presence of Ninomiya and Ikoma is where this last element finds its apogee.
Toshihisa Kaiya's character design retains the high level of the previous seasons, but the truth is that the lack of alien opponents and the plethora of characters have resulted in some repetitiveness in that a number of individuals look much like each other, even if the context makes it clear who is who. At the same time, the “silly faces” tactic is implemented too many times, particularly in Kuga, who very rarely appears to have a regular facial expression anymore. On the other hand, the animation by Toei Animation is top notch as usually, both in the calm and in the action scenes, with the movement of characters in the latter being particularly impressive.
Although season 3 of “World Trigger” is on a somewhat lower level than the previous two, and especially the first one, the series still retains its high standards, particularly in the rather intricate way the battles are presented, and still remains a title that stands out from the plethora of shonen anime.
