What is the difference between 受け継ぐ、引き継ぐ，and 継承する?


I know these words roughly translate to "to inherit", "to take over", "to
succeed", etc, but what is the difference between these words? These words
were used in Attack on Titan: Final Season Episode 5.

Examples:

>   1. 戦槌の巨人と共に受け継いできた記憶
>   2. 始祖の巨人を継承すると同時にタイバー家と画策して
>   3. 自らの思想を引き継がせる
>




I would say 受け継ぐ is the most general in meaning and most commonly used. It can
be used for a wide range of things, including 伝統 (traditions), 特徴 (physical or
character traits), and 財産 (properties).

引き継ぐ is often used for 仕事, tasks or responsibilities at a job that someone
leaves behind when, for example, leaving an organization. You take over those
things not so much because you want to as an individual as because your
position requires you to. Though I don’t have enough context, I believe your
example of 自らの思想を引き継がせる is talking about passing on a certain philosophy to
someone as a legitimate successor or something. 自らの思想を受け継がせる would be
naturally understood the same way, while 引き継いできた記憶 may sound a bit strange.
始祖の巨人を引き継ぐ may work if 始祖の巨人 is some official title or something to be
succeeded.

引き継ぐ may refer to an act of providing necessary information about tasks or
responsibilities so another person can take them over, as well as what the
second person does in the same scenario.

Being a word of "Chinese" formation, 継承 has a formal sound to it. It is not
usually used in a job scenario like the one used to explain 引き継ぐ above,
although 継承してきた記憶 and 自らの思想を継承させる both sound natural enough.

