Attack on Titan Season 3 Episode 20 — “That Day” — reviewed in full Kagex format. Hub: Attack on Titan. Previous: Season 3 Episode 19 — The Basement.
Hook
People search attack on titan episode 20 review when they want a straight answer: worth watching, what changes, and how it scores — without a random spoiler dump. “That Day” is overall TV slot 57 (Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina). “That Day” keeps Attack on Titan’s pressure honest — no soft reset, just the next cost. thumb|left|200px|Fay and Grisha see the airship Grisha and Fay Jaeger find themselves in a larger part of the city beyond the security gate …
Spoiler-free top half; deep recap after the warning. Character links go to live guides where they exist.
Quick Information
- Anime: Attack on Titan
- Season / Episode: Season 3, Episode 20 (overall #57)
- English title: That Day
- Arc: Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina
- Runtime: ~24 minutes
- Studio: WIT Studio
- Original air date: June 17, 2019
- Kagex score: 8.3 / 10
- Where to watch legally: Crunchyroll / Hulu / Netflix (region-dependent)
- Characters: Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Levi Ackerman
Should You Watch It?
Worth it? Yes if you are on the Attack on Titan track in order. “That Day” is load-bearing for Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina, not clip fodder. Score 8.3/10 reflects this hour’s craft, character pressure, and world stakes.
Beginner-friendly? Only after earlier episodes. Open Episode 1 first — Shiganshina is the whole point of the dread.
Who bounces? Viewers who want tidy power-ups, zero politics, or a soft reset every cour. AoT spends minutes on military hierarchy, betrayal logistics, and why a “necessary” plan still feels rotten.
Bottom line: keep going if the walls already hooked you. Skip only if you already quit dark political fantasy as a genre — this hour will not convert a hard no.
Spoiler Warning
Spoilers for Season 3 Episode 20 (“That Day”) follow. Stop above for a clean first watch. No later-arc spoilers beyond this episode’s end.
Story Recap
Ordinary Life
thumb|left|200px|Fay and Grisha see the airship Grisha and Fay Jaeger find themselves in a larger part of the city beyond the security gate of their neighborhood. They bump into a man who curses them as “devil-bloods” and comments on Eldians going where they please. Fay is uneasy, but Grisha distracts her by showing her the way to where the airship would land. They climb a short set of steps to see a river stretched out before them with a hangar on the other side. As Fay admires the airship, one of two men from Marley Public Security ask if the kids have come to see the airship and whether they have their exit permits.
Kagex beat note: “That Day” uses ordinary life inside Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina. Eren’s will, Mikasa’s protection, and Armin’s caution keep colliding with military orders and Titan physics — this recap stays inside Season 3 Episode 20, no later-arc spoilers.
Unexpected Incident
Grisha panics, knowing they do not and have entered the city without permission. Faced with the choice of doing labor or receiving a beating, he chooses a beating, to avoid getting his parents in trouble. He also offers to take on Fay’s punishment since he forced her to come with him. The officer’s partner tells Kruger to go easy on Grisha and informs Fay that he will escort her home. He leads her away while Grisha is beaten.
Kagex beat note: “That Day” uses unexpected incident inside Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina. Eren’s will, Mikasa’s protection, and Armin’s caution keep colliding with military orders and Titan physics — this recap stays inside Season 3 Episode 20, no later-arc spoilers.
Escalation
thumb|right|200px|Kruger talks with Grisha After dispensing Grisha’s punishment, Kruger sits on the grass by the river, smoking, and tells Grisha that he and his sister were smart to have kept their armbands on. Eldians without one would be sent to “paradise” regardless of whether they are children or not. Grisha manages to get up and says that he will go home, but Kruger tells him that he came all this way to see the airship, so he might as well see it. The next day Fay’s body washes up in the river, and the officer who had escorted her tells Grisha’s parents that he took her back to the Liberio Internment Zone and then went on his way, claiming that he was busy. The man places the blame of Fay’s fate on the kids, who should not have entered the city without a permit, and then their parents, for not having taught them correctly.
Kagex beat note: “That Day” uses escalation inside Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina. Eren’s will, Mikasa’s protection, and Armin’s caution keep colliding with military orders and Titan physics — this recap stays inside Season 3 Episode 20, no later-arc spoilers.
First Discovery
However, Grisha is aware that the man is lying. Though Grisha’s mother is devastated, his father dutifully thanks the officer for his guidance and promises to do better with his son. Grisha begins to hate both men, as well as cursing his own foolishness. thumb|left|200px|Ymir Fritz and the Devil of All Earth Grisha is told a story by his father about Ymir Fritz, who 1820 years ago made a contract with the Devil of All Earth and obtained the Power of the Titans. Upon her death, her spirit was split into the Nine Titans who formed the Eldian Empire.
Kagex beat note: “That Day” uses first discovery inside Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina. Eren’s will, Mikasa’s protection, and Armin’s caution keep colliding with military orders and Titan physics — this recap stays inside Season 3 Episode 20, no later-arc spoilers.
Important Encounter
They defeated the nation of Marley and ruled over the continent, thus beginning the Dark Ages, when the Subjects of Ymir oppressed the other races. However, Marley was able to steal seven of the Nine Titans and bring them under their control, emerging victorious in the Great Titan War that ended eighty years ago. The Eldian King at the time retr
Kagex beat note: “That Day” uses important encounter inside Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina. Eren’s will, Mikasa’s protection, and Armin’s caution keep colliding with military orders and Titan physics — this recap stays inside Season 3 Episode 20, no later-arc spoilers.
Story Analysis
WIT Studio’s Season 3 Episode 20 board prioritizes readable dread when Titans and politics stack cuts. “That Day” (Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina) assumes you already care why Eren’s rage is not a power fantasy and why Mikasa’s protectiveness costs her — that friction is the series engine, not a mid-season lecture.
Kagex story score 8.7 for this hour only: thumb|left|200px|Fay and Grisha see the airship Grisha and Fay Jaeger find themselves in a larger part of the city beyond the security gate of their neighborhood. They bump into a man who curses them … Compare binge pace vs weekly 2013–2023 drops — the episode was designed as a chapter, not a highlight clip.
Animation 8.6: ODM wire geometry, Titan flesh texture, and faces held long enough to read panic. When the episode goes quiet (barracks talk, memory fragments, war-room maps), composition still carries threat — walls, steam, and who is lying.
Characters score 8.3: Attack on Titan never wins because one ace gets a speech buff. Wins (and losses) come from who plans, who freezes, and who pays the bill. Armin’s brain, Levi’s precision, Erwin’s gambles, Hange’s curiosity — role clarity is the craft.
“That Day” works when the cost is allowed to stick. Attack on Titan rarely softens a massacre for vibes — it uses the loss to force a strategy change, a loyalty crack, or a truth nobody wanted. That honesty is why later “wins” feel expensive instead of gifted.
Pacing inside Episode 20 is chapter pacing: setup → pressure → revelation → residue. If a Titan fight lands, it is because the episode already told you who is panicking and who is using the chaos. Kagex does not invent secrets that air later; the analysis stays local to this hour.
Character Analysis
Eren still leads with will-as-violence — even when the camera widens to politics, the episode tests whether his freedom talk survives contact with other people’s lives. Mikasa remains the protectiveness problem: skill that can save a friend and cage a choice. Armin is the conscience and the calculator — when he speaks, listen for what the military will not say out loud.
Corps energy from Levi, Erwin, and Hange only matters when their jobs are visible — blades, gambits, curiosity. Supporting faces (Jean, Connie, Sasha, Historia, Reiner, Annie, Bertholdt) should feel like people with incentives, not crowd noise. Kagex does not invent manga-only scenes to pad word count.
Later-era hours may spotlight Zeke, Gabi, or Falco — when they appear, watch how the show’s moral language changes. The best character writing here is competitive empathy for enemies who still believe they are right.
World Building
Paradis walls, military branches, Titan biology, and (eventually) the world beyond — advances in Season 3. “That Day” adds Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina rules: how fear becomes policy, what a Scout expedition costs, and why “humanity” is a slogan that keeps getting rewritten.
This episode only: geography stays local to the districts, barracks, and battlefields on screen. No future-arc spoilers, no movie-only detours. The world is steam, maps, and the next lie sold as survival.
Animation
WIT Studio on TV: ODM choreography that stays readable, Titan silhouettes that sell scale, and faces held long enough to read doubt. Animation score 8.6 for this episode’s peak action vs dialogue coverage. Wire timing and steam frames do more storytelling than any glowing aura ever could.
Music & Voice Acting
Score 8.3. Season 3 Part 2 (Return to Shiganshina) is peak WIT: “Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi” / battlefield score that makes every horse charge feel expensive. Japanese track is reference (Yuki Kajiura / Hiroyuki Sawano eras depending on cour, plus the core cast). Silence and crowd panic beds are half the emotion — mute them and the horror flattens.
Hidden Details
- Watch who gives orders vs who repeats them — AoT hides power in echo chains.
- Eye-lines after a Titan kill often telegraph guilt better than dialogue.
- Episode title “That Day” usually names the emotional receipt, not just the setpiece.
- Background soldiers are plot: who freezes, who runs, who takes notes.
- No manga chapter homework required for this page.
Best Moments
- thumb|left|200px|Fay and Grisha see the airship Grisha and Fay Jaeger find themselves in a larger part of the city beyond the security gate of their neighborhood.
- They bump into a man who curses them as “devil-bloods” and comments on Eldians going where they please.
- Fay is uneasy, but Grisha distracts her by showing her the way to where the airship would land.
- They climb a short set of steps to see a river stretched out before them with a hangar on the other side.
- As Fay admires the airship, one of two men from Marley Public Security ask if the kids have come to see the airship and whether they have their exit permits.
- Any beat where a “necessary” plan is spoken out loud — that is the franchise’s real weapon.
Pros & Cons
Pros: Specific to “That Day”; WIT Studio craft; character pressure through-line for Eren/Mikasa/Armin and the Corps.
Cons: Requires sequential viewing; politics / logistics hours can feel dense if you only want Titan fights.
Final Verdict
Kagex overall: 8.3 / 10
- Story: 8.7
- Characters: 8.3
- Animation: 8.6
- Music: 8.3
- Enjoyment: 8.6
“That Day” keeps Attack on Titan’s pressure honest — no soft reset, just the next cost. thumb|left|200px|Fay and Grisha see the airship Grisha and Fay Jaeger find themselves in a larger part of the city beyond the security gate …
What to Expect Next
Next: Season 3 Episode 21 (“Attack Titan”). Sequential viewers should continue — Attack on Titan pays off patience with revelation pressure, not random filler resets.
FAQ
Do I need Season 3 Episode 20?
Yes in order. Skipping “That Day” leaves gaps Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina assumes filled.
English title?
“That Day” (Fandom / streaming listings).
When did it air?
June 17, 2019 · WIT Studio · ~24 min.
Is this filler?
No. Attack on Titan’s slower hours are politics, memory, or logistics with payoffs — not padded clip shows.
Overall episode number?
57 of 94 TV episodes across four seasons (Final Chapters as episodic 88–94).
Where to watch?
Crunchyroll / Hulu / Netflix (region-dependent).
Character guides?
Facts & spoilers hub?
Keep exploring
- Attack on Titan hub
- Season 3 review
- Overall review
- Previous: Season 3 Episode 19 — The Basement
- Next: Season 3 Episode 21 — Attack Titan
- Browse
Your turn
Did “That Day” earn your continue button? Favorite line, kill, or quiet dread beat?
Which voice felt loudest this hour — Eren, Mikasa, Armin, or the Corps brass?
Sources: Attack on Titan Wiki (Fandom) Summary sections; © Hajime Isayama / Kodansha / Production I.G / WIT Studio / MAPPA.
WIT Studio’s Season 3 Episode 20 board prioritizes readable dread when Titans and politics stack cuts. “That Day” (Royal Government / Return to Shiganshina) assumes you already care why Eren’s rage is not a power fantasy and why Mikasa’s protectiveness costs her — that friction is the series engine, not a mid-season lecture.
Kagex story score 8.7 for this hour only: thumb|left|200px|Fay and Grisha see the airship Grisha and Fay Jaeger find themselves in a larger part of the city beyond the security gate of their neighborhood. They bump into a man who curses them … Compare binge pace vs weekly 2013–2023 drops — the episode was designed as a chapter, not a highlight clip.
Animation 8.6: ODM wire geometry, Titan flesh texture, and faces held long enough to read panic. When the episode goes quiet (barracks talk, memory fragments, war-room maps), composition still carries threat — walls, steam, and who is lying.
Characters score 8.3: Attack on Titan never wins because one ace gets a speech buff. Wins (and losses) come from who plans, who freezes, and who pays the bill. Armin’s brain, Levi’s precision, Erwin’s gambles, Hange’s curiosity — role clarity is the craft.
