I havent watched AoT since the first season aired and Im excited to catch up for the final half of the final season These OVAs remind me just how good this show can be. On one end of the spectrum we have perilous situations where life and death hang in the balance of a single decision... and on the other end of the spectrum we have a cooking episode Here are my thoughts on the individual episodes: 1: Ilses Notebook 7/10 I think this is the only one of the three OVAs that actually ties into the main narrative what with Hange trying to capture a titan for her research. It drops some interesting titan lore but theres not too much more substance than that. She gains Commander Erwins trust based not on something she does but based on something Levi found while she was acting foolhardy so I dont see a reason why he would have given her permission based on someone elses actions. Regardless it was a pretty neat episode altogether. 2: The Sudden Visitor 7/10 Man I know Jean can be a jerk sometimes but how can he be such a big jerk to his own mother? This OVA ended up using a lot more comedy than I expected probably more than the whole first season in total. It certainly helps that Sasha gets a main role this one. Surprisingly the lighter tone actually works well with the frankly strange premise and I had a great time. I wasnt sure what to think when the idea of a cookoff was brought up considering the overall serious and bleak tone of the show proper but I bought into it pretty quickly once the action started. And by the time it decided to go off the rails a little I was totally there for it However being the more grounded show that it is it does a good job balancing the fun which is something I never thought could happen in AoT with the serious. Jeans strained relationship with his mother is kind of heartbreaking and they bring it to a nice characterbased conclusion in the end. 3: Distress 8/10 This one feels the most like an episode that was cut from the show as opposed to a spinoff. There were some great moments of character conflict good and clear stakes plus it was really cool to see them use the 3D Maneuver Gear for something other than killing titans. From the very opening of the episode it oozes tension. Seeing the team start off with lessthanstellar teamwork then seeing them evolve to a welloiled machine was well written. I kind of wish the other team with Mikasa and Annie had a larger part in this but they did a good job of using them where they were needed in the story. A solid episode all around. Summary: These could have all fit pretty seamlessly into season ones narrative especially Ilses Notebook but since the last two dont have any impact on the overall story it makes sense to turn them into side story OVAs. If you enjoyed season one these are absolutely worth watching even if theyre not strictly necessary.