You remember the hype. Back in 2019, fans were losing their minds waiting for the continuation of Meliodas and Elizabeth’s journey. The Seven Deadly Sins had established itself as a powerhouse on Netflix and in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Magazine. Then, the first episodes of Seven Deadly Sins Season 3—officially titled Wrath of the Gods—actually dropped.
The internet melted down. But not in a good way.
If you’re looking back at this season now, or maybe watching it for the first time, you’re probably wondering what on earth happened behind the scenes. It wasn’t just a "bad day" at the office for the artists. It was a perfect storm of production shifts, studio swaps, and impossible deadlines that fundamentally altered how we view the franchise today. Honestly, it’s a case study in how business decisions can collide head-on with artistic integrity.
The Massive Studio Swap Nobody Saw Coming
A-1 Pictures. They were the ones who gave us the vibrant, fluid action of the first two seasons. They handled the Signs of Holy War special and the Prisoners of the Sky movie. They had the "sauce," as people say. But after the movie didn't perform quite as well as the production committee hoped, A-1 Pictures exited the project.
This left a massive hole.
Studio Deen stepped in to take the reins for Seven Deadly Sins Season 3. Now, Deen isn't a bad studio—they’ve done great work on series like Konosuba and Fate/Stay Night. But there was a catch that most people didn't realize until the credits started rolling. Studio Deen was already overbooked. To keep the project moving, they outsourced the bulk of the actual animation work to a smaller, less-equipped studio called Marvy Jack.
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Imagine ordering a gourmet meal from a five-star chef, but they’re too busy, so they ask the guy at the local diner to cook it using a microwave. That’s basically what happened here.
The result was a jarring shift in visual quality. Character models looked "off." The lighting was flat. But the biggest offender? The "White Blood." Because of broadcasting regulations on TV Tokyo, the red blood was censored into a glowing white liquid. Fans joked that it looked like milk. It took the grit out of a series that was supposed to be hitting its darkest, most emotional peak during the Meliodas vs. Escanor fight.
Why the Meliodas vs. Escanor Fight Felt Like a Slideshow
We have to talk about the fight. You know the one. The climax of Seven Deadly Sins Season 3 was supposed to be the legendary showdown between the Captain and the Lion’s Sin of Pride. In the manga, Nakaba Suzuki’s art for this encounter is breathtaking. It’s heavy. It’s brutal.
In the anime? It felt like a PowerPoint presentation.
Movement was static. The impact of the blows lacked weight. If you watch the scene closely, you’ll notice many frames are just still images being panned across the screen. This wasn't because the animators were "lazy"—a word fans love to throw around but is rarely true. It was because they had no time. When a production is rushed to meet a seasonal slot, the first thing to go is "in-betweening," which is the process of drawing the frames that make movement look smooth.
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The Story Still Hits (If You Can Look Past the Art)
Despite the visual hiccups, Seven Deadly Sins Season 3 actually contains some of the best writing in the entire series. This is the part of the story where the lore finally opens up. We learn about the 3,000-year-old curse. We see the origin of the Ten Commandments.
- We finally understand why Elizabeth keeps dying and reincarnating.
- The tragic backstory of Gowther is revealed, and it's a genuine tear-jerker.
- The power scaling goes through the roof, introducing "The One" form for Escanor.
If you can separate the narrative from the pixels, the emotional stakes are incredibly high. Meliodas’s descent into his old, ruthless demon self is genuinely chilling. The voice acting—especially Yuki Kaji’s performance as Meliodas—remains top-tier throughout the season, carrying the weight that the animation sometimes dropped.
Comparing Season 3 to the Rest of the Series
When you look at the series as a whole, Season 3 stands out like a sore thumb. Season 1 was a bright, adventurous shonen. Season 2, Revival of the Commandments, stepped up the stakes. Then Season 3 hit a wall.
Interestingly, the subsequent season, Dragon’s Judgement, tried to course-correct. The animation stabilized a bit, though it never quite returned to the A-1 Pictures glory days. The franchise eventually moved toward 3D animation for the Grudge of Edinburgh movies and the Four Knights of the Apocalypse sequel. This shift suggests that the production committee realized the traditional 2D pipeline was breaking under the pressure of the series' complex designs.
How to Actually Enjoy Wrath of the Gods Today
If you’re planning a rewatch, don’t watch the original broadcast versions. Netflix carries the "Blu-ray" versions of Seven Deadly Sins Season 3, which actually fixed a lot of the most egregious errors. They removed some of the weird white censorship and touched up the character faces so they don’t look quite as wonky.
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It’s still not perfect. But it’s watchable.
Another tip? Read the manga chapters alongside the episodes. Nakaba Suzuki is a master of paneling and kinetic energy. Seeing how the scenes were supposed to look gives you a much better appreciation for the story beats. Specifically, look for chapters 197 through 267. That covers the bulk of what this season tried to adapt.
The Legacy of a Rushed Production
The saga of this season changed how anime fans talk about production cycles. It made "outsourcing" a household term in the anime community. It’s a reminder that even a massive, successful IP isn't immune to the pressures of a bad schedule.
People often ask if they should skip Season 3. You can't. The plot points are too vital for the finale. You need to see the formation of the New Holy War and the revelation of the Demon King’s true nature.
Actionable Steps for Fans
If the animation is truly a dealbreaker for you, here is how to handle the "Season 3" gap without losing the plot:
- Read the Manga for the Escanor vs. Meliodas Fight: Go to Chapter 231. Just do it. The anime version doesn't do it justice.
- Watch the Gowther Backstory Episodes: Even with the lower budget, these episodes (roughly 14 and 15) are handled with enough care to be worth your time.
- Switch to the "Four Knights of the Apocalypse" Sequel: Once you finish the main series, the sequel's animation (handled by Telecom Animation Film) is a massive step up in consistency.
- Focus on the OST: Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto killed it on the soundtrack. If you stop looking at the screen for a second and just listen, the "epic" feeling returns instantly.
The reality of Seven Deadly Sins Season 3 is that it's a brilliant story trapped in a struggling production. It's a bumpy ride, but for the sake of Elizabeth and Meliodas's three-millennia-long romance, it's a ride worth taking to the end.