Fairy Tail

[Mite]

Bumping this, not to talk about the tournament in particular, but rather to talk about a couple of characters shown in the last couple of chapters.

The first is that Kurohebi from Raven Tail. Now he, like I assume the rest of the members to be, is a real A-hole. And yes I say that because he destroyed dog-guy's missing sock. I know the feeling of finding a sock that's been missing for a long time, it's freaking amazing. So yeah, he's a horrible person, easy enough to see.

Now about Bacchus. It's been a while since I've seen a really "good" douchbag. Beating Cana in a drinking contest and taking her top as a trophy, and hitting on Erza; he's a douch, that's easy enough to see. But to actually go up to Elfman and say to him; and I'm going to paraphrase of course: "Let's make a bet, If I win I'm going to bang both of your sisters at the same time." Oh my God, he's such a douchbag! I really, REALLY want Elfman to win. Not just to shut this guy up, but also because Elfman really needs to win one. I don't think he's won any of his big fights in the whole dang manga.

[Zero Sora]

Elfman really needs to win one. I don't think he's won any of his big fights in the whole dang manga.

Chad-syndrome .

[Nostalgia]

Alright, so I just finished catching up with this series. (Got into it a few weeks ago).

I must say, I was expecting it to be good, but not amazing, given its limited popularity when compared to the big 3. I was very, very wrong. This manga and its anime adaptation are kupoing fantastic. I was not expecting it to be on the same level as One Piece, even if it was inspired by it to some extent, but it really delivers.

First of all, I love the premise of this. I feel like if its story and characters were instead just put into a video game, it could've been a potential Final Fantasy game. I love the RPG references, as blatant as they may be. They incorporated the idea of equipping armor with various abilities with Erza, they've involved Lucy as the group's summoner, and they even recruited a white mage who can also cast support magic. It's the kinda thing that's become a cliche in video games, but converting it into the setting of a manga is absolutely incredible. The idea that it's centered around a mage's guild shows that it draws inspiration from both J-RPGS and W-RPGs.

Another thing I wanna mention is the pacing. Granted, I've never read/watched Rave Master, so this might have already been a part of Mashima's style when he first started working on it, but either way, he's mastered pacing. His arc lengths are perfect. They're long enough to be filled with plot depth, character development for new ones and further development for characters that were previously in the background (e.g., Cana in the Tenroujima arc.) But at the same time, they're not tremendously long. There's never anything that makes it feel like he's stalling for time. Every event is relevant and it affects the story progression in some way. Not only is this good for the sake of keeping things fresh, but it's also better for the anime. If this continues, it may never suffer like Bleach did with 2 massive paradoxical/alternate universe filler arcs squeezed into one huge arc.

Next, I wanna talk about Mashima's brilliant style of bullshitting. Not to pick on Bleach again, but it seems like Mashima does the same thing that Kubo does, except that he gets it right. I'm basing a lot of this on assumption, but it does feel like he comes up with new concepts on spur of the moment, and he really knows how to make it all work plausibly and in such a way that makes it feel like that's how it should be. For example, Gildarts. When he was first introduced, I wasn't impressed. It just seemed like a last ditch effort to replace Laxus as an elite member of Fairy Tail. It was so out of left field the way that he 'suddenly' returned and that he's the true strongest member of Fairy Tail. It's pretty obvious that his character was just suddenly conceived right around that point in the story, so his personality was built around it, hence why he's a traveler who rarely ever stays at Fairy Tail for too long. It's a way to work around the randomness of it and make it feel less peculiar to the viewer. And all it did was enhance various aspects of the story (by showing how Natsu behaves around an older role model, for example.) Overall, it's just another example of Mashima's mastery.

The story's pretty solid, as is usually the case in shonen. What I like in particular about Fairy Tail is that everything seems to build off previous arcs. Naruto and Bleach have this trait to some extent, but it's more so that there isn't much of a difference from one arc to the next. I mean, if you think about, half of Bleach was probably Hueco Mundo alone, and that's not including the battle with Aizen in the fake Karakura town. Anything before that was just setting up the battle against Aizen, so it's fluid in that sense, but very static at the same time. The shippuden portion of Naruto has basically been completely revolved around the Akatsuki. Yeah, there's been a lot of stuff going on, but again, its central premise has been the same throughout most of it. One Piece, on the other hand, is very dynamic, but most of the arcs tend to be more individualized. For example, Alabasta doesn't relate in any significant way to Thriller Bark. I don't think this is a bad thing because it helps to keep things fresh, which is one of the reasons why I've always felt that OP was superior to Naruto and Bleach. Now, along comes Fairy Tail. I feel like Mashima observes the Big 3 (particularly One Piece) and finds ways to improve those basic formulas. All of the FT arcs are their own independent stories, which helps to keep everything exciting and quickly paced, but it's unique in the sense that many events from those past arcs play a role in seemingly unrelated new arcs. The best example that comes to mind would be Jellal's involvement in both Oracion Seis and the Great Magic Battle. It's another demonstration of how Mashima can continuously pull things out of his ass at random, but it always works, and he's created a story that comes together beautifully as a result.

Now, here are some of my nitpicks. My biggest issue is that certain aspects of this show are very reminiscent of One Piece. In fact, a little too reminiscent. As funny as the humor can be, it's really derivative of Oda's style of humor. It mainly consists of fast-paced ironic statements based on the situation and shocked reactions from the surrounding characters. Other little nuances come to mind as well. Characters that have their own unique laughs, others that end their sentences with non-existent words, etc. It all felt a little too familiar as I was watching the anime. The ecchi can also get to be a bit much. I like fanservice and all, but sometimes I feel like I'm reading a doujin (especially between Tenroujima and the current arc.) Lucy and Cana spent a huge chunk of the former in bikinis needlessly and more recently, we had a drinking contest that ended in Cana's top being ripped off and a swimsuit competition that was supposed to be a battle, ultimately becoming a wager to see which of two models would have to pose nude in a magazine. That said, those are the only two real flaws with the series imo, and it still maintains an awesome track record as far as I'm concerned. I can also nitpick about Mystogan to some extent, but that's a matter of preference. Frankly, I just wanted to see more of him. When he and Laxus were introduced as the upperclass members of the guild, Mystogan seemed to be much more of an interesting character. It was exciting just to see him with the mask, and when we saw that he looked like Jellal, I was like, "DA FAWQ??" But then, I was disappointed when he chickened out of fighting Laxus because the mask came off. Then we see him again in Edolas, and once again, he throws the fight. He's supposed to be one of the elite members of Fairy Tail, and he always seems to wimp out whenever he has to participate in a fight. But like I said, it's just a personal nitpick.

Ultimately, I seriously love this series. One Piece may still be my overall favorite, but Fairy Tail is now a close second in the shonen genre. I really hope that, with Funimation doing the English dub, it'll gain some popularity in the west because it really deserves it.

[Sinker]

After seeing the last couple of chapters, I'm curious about what people think of the other guilds in the competition, especially Sabertooth, and other people like Arcadios.

Anyways, after reading chapter 291 and 292, I'm not really sure how to explain how much I hate Sabertooth, I don't even know where to begin with that. I guess it's mostly just hate and annoyance at Minerva especially because of what she does in chapter 291. Also, Sting is WAY more sadistic than I originally thought he was (eh, not sure if sadistic was the right word, not sure how else to put it though).
Also, does Arcadios come off as like extremely crazy to anyone else?

Also, I feel like Mashima trolled us all in chapter 292 with both Fairy Tail teams combining and I guess he had to get Natsu and Gajeel on the same team somehow...

[matrix8140]

Well mehh he didn't have to get them on the same team. You know he could've made some other event or something. But it makes more sense with Raven outta the way because it's uneven and also the fact that there is less competition for the Guild too which gives them a bigger advantage with two teams.

As for Sabertooth? I hate em and love them. I love that they're so efficient but I hate their spirit. And they're like arrogant and smug while Fairy Tail is cocky but silly at the same time. Kinda hope to see them get their asses kicked. I think Mashima is a genius with the feelings because honestly the other mangas I read haven't gotten me worked up like this in forever.

I do like Mermaid's Heel. When it really comes to it they're strong but they don't get shown much. Blue Pegasus tho? So far over the course of the series I find them as being okay fighters. I like them too but they seem more about brains than brawn in fights and that's not that exciting as it should be. Lamia Scale is a favorite of mine. Their characters are interesting to say the least. They have a God-Slayer, another Wizard Saint, a Ice-Make Wizard who constructs animals, an "anti-mage" mage, and others we haven't seen.

[Sinker]

Well mehh he didn't have to get them on the same team. You know he could've made some other event or something. But it makes more sense with Raven outta the way because it's uneven and also the fact that there is less competition for the Guild too which gives them a bigger advantage with two teams.

That last remark of mine was actually partially sarcastic and also serious. I said that because of the tag team battle. Just my prediction, but I think it will end up with Natsu and Gajeel vs. Sting and Rogue. I think this 1) because of the King's remark about wanting to see them later and 2) given the character backstories and magic of the latter two. But again, just what I think.

[matrix8140]

^ That better happen and no DBZ BS where the tournament ends with the heroes having to save the world. I wanna see them fight first and actually showcase their different powers and stuff. Then when it looks like they've exhausted half of their energy or whatever they team up. Basically just show me a real fight first.

[Space Cowboy]

This arc is going to end without the tournament getting a proper ending.

The King or whoever is in charge has made that clear with his shceming as did Charle's premonition so look forward to that.

The arcs not bad, not sure why Gray is in their combined team though.

[matrix8140]

Who could they switch Gray with that could truly be a better choice? I know many people have been saying Mirajane on other forums but it makes sense to me because she most likely has reached where she once was in terms of power and has been brought down some. <.< I mean sure she probably could match up but she probably wouldn't be that much of a better choice. BUUUUT I'm sure Makarov would allow Gray to hop in to defend Fairy Tail's honor or whatever because of his earlier lost.

[Space Cowboy]

Mirajane would be the option I would go for as Gildartz has disappeared off somewhere. She's an S-Class Mage! She won her last match. That's all.

I suppose thats the reason Makarov is sending Gray out, to regain his honour. The rest of the team are strong so will probably win, Gray's then a wild card.

[efyues]

..hey hey excuse me .. ^^ ... i have a question ... why can't i see fairy taiL at Free MP3 downloads - Free Video Game OST - Game Soundtracks for download ?! ... .. and ...... am i suppose to ask this question here ?? ....... eheheh :)

[honeymade]

..hey hey excuse me .. ^^ ... i have a question ... why can't i see fairy taiL at Free MP3 downloads - Free Video Game OST - Game Soundtracks for download ?! ... .. and ...... am i suppose to ask this question here ?? ....... eheheh :)

huh?? are you trying to watch the show or you want the music in the show?
Fairy Tail | Watch Anime Now! – Watch Anime Online

Fairy Tail Soundtrack OST 1 - Fairy Tail Fansite - Fairy Tail Fansite

right click and "Save as target" or "Save link as" :D hows that?

[Zero]

Gray is on the team because he is beast, that is all.

[Space Cowboy]

Gray is on the team because he is beast, that is all.

But he lost his round.

Even then, for awhile I haven't exactly found Gray to be that beastly.

Maybe its just compared to what else we've seen as of late, he seems small time now.

[Sinker]

Hey, for those of you who read the last chapter, who do you think is going to be in the match in the next chapter and what do you think is going to happen (based of the title)?

I think it was made a bit too obvious that Ichiya is probably going to be in it. And Quatro Puppy (Cerberus) is probably going to lose. Wonder if the Rabbit(?) is going to be in it too. I've been wondering what the heck that thing is since it first appeared in the manga.
Also, does anyone else feel like Quatro Cerberus was there just for comic relief and a place-holder kind of team because there needed to be 8 teams?