On the third day of Ecchmas my senpai gave to me…
♫ On the third day of Ecchmas my senpai gave to me… ♫
Three breasts groped!
I’ll be posting a new part of the ’12 Days Of Ecchmas’ song, every day leading up ’til Christmas so look forward to that!
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A 100 Question Anime Review for Fairy Tail (Part 3).
If you’re still with us, what the heck is wrong with you?! If this is the first of these blogs you’re reading, best start with Part 1 and then Part 2 before reading this one!
So you’ve been dying to talk about these characters, where do you want to start? Argh! There’s too many to talk about and so much to talk about them, I don’t know where to start—so overwhelming!
Well I guess let’s begin with the main characters? What are they like, who are your favourites, stuff like that! Well as discussed Natsu is… I wouldn’t say dull but he’s the least developed, not to say he doesn’t get some great moments like the flashbacks to when he was a kid playing ‘house’ with Lisanna is very sweet, though if I’m super cynical about it, it was only to help facilitate the audience’s connection to Lisanna through him and make learning about her death and then her eventual “return” more impactful.
…Okay, I’m already confused but go on. Lucy I can relate to a lot, because she’s a writer like me! She also has some daddy issues, not that I have daddy issues, that’s a seperate point I was making. I’ve always thought it was weird that Lucy has to rely on her Celestial Spirit’s to actually fight, because she otherwise kind of doesn’t do much, she’s like a Pokemon trainer in that respect.
Is that all you like about her? Well now you’re just deliberately goading out a pervy comment, you can’t chastise me if you’re the one who’s asking! She has ~nice oppai~ there, you happy?!
I’ll never be happy… Speaking of Happy, our cute little flying blue cat belongs to a race called the Exceed. And for what could have easily come off as an annoying animal sidekick in any other show, here is an invaluable part of their team and has a lot of great character development and emotional moments!
So there’s other Exceed? Well they don’t come in ’til later in the series but every Dragon Slayer Wizard, of whom there are Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel (there’s others belonging to different guilds too—we’ll get to them if we have time) each have an Exceed. Carla is Wendy’s and she’s annoying, though that’s mostly because I don’t care for the voice actress (I watch Fairy Tail in English, get over it!) Gajeel eventually gets Panther Lily and he’s pretty cool, he can also transform into a humanoid version which comes in handy for fighting.
And who are Wendy and Gajeel? Wendy Marvell is my fifth favourite character! She’s uses Sky Dragon Slayer magic and she grows a lot from when we first meet her as a shy and clumsy girl to the powerful and determined girl she becomes, even though I think she’s under-utilised in actual stories. Gajeel Redfox is a former member of dark guild Phantom Lord and uses Iron Dragon Slayer magic also he’s a total tsundere.
Uh-huh. Should we maybe get back to the main characters? Well these are main adjacent characters but sure! Erza is total badass and my third favourite character! I just admire her strength and resolve so much, she’s an absolute inspiration—she’s also probably the strongest member of Fairy Tail, just don’t go telling Natsu!
And the other one, Gray was it? Yup. Gray uses Ice Make magic, and likes to take his shirt off. He’s also kind of a grumpy asshole, but I guess girls like the badboy type… Speaking of which; Juvia Lockser has a total lady boner for Gray but he’s just not that into her, shame because she’s kind of adorable in an obsessive and slightly terrifying way!
What’s this about “favourite characters”? You have a list? Kind of, just the Top 5 plus an honourable mention.
Well okay, let’s hear about them? Well you already know about 5 and 3. Number 4 is Mirajane Strauss, a quietly spoken, delicate waifu who transforms into a literal demon. Like she’s so powerful that early episodes has her working behind the bar rather than fighting bad guys she’s that over-powered. I mean sure there’s “story” reasons behind it but that’s totally the reason… She also has a brother and a sister in the guild.
Another diversion from what we were doing but sure why not, tell me about them? Elfman Strauss, big muscular dude with a kind heart, obsessed with being manly. To the point of concern. When he’s in his beast mode he can kind of be unruly, at one point he actually attacked and “killed” his other sister Lisanna, only of course she didn’t actually die, she was just sent to a parallel world(?) and so returns back to her siblings and the guild afterward. Lisanna’s okay I guess, kind of boring, very cute though!
Right, back on topic your 2nd favourite character? Cana Alberona! Always drunk, frequently belligerent, also daddy issues for miles. Her father is the frequently absent but undeniably charming Gildarts Clive, a super powerful S-class Wizard who saunters in when it’s convenient to the plot.
Don’t get to distracted we’re almost at your number 1 favourite character! But first an honourable mention!
Wait, what? “honourable mention”? Yeah, a character I really like but doesn’t have enough screen-time or is kind of inconsequential.
Okay, sure, who is this honourable mention of yours? Frosch! So cute! I want one! Ahh~ I love it so much! Look at it’s pink little frog onesie! The episode all about Frosch is like pure joy and wholesomeness and warmth and—
—That’s enough! Who is your number 1 favourite character in Fairy Tail? Listen, I’m not usually into cat-girls—not that there’s anything wrong with that—but I just adore Millianna, sure maybe I’m not making this decision with my brain but whenever she’s on screen I literally can’t look anywhere else. I mean she’s not even in Fairy Tail! She belongs to an all female guild called Mermaid Heel and I just realised we totally need a Mermaid Heel spin-off series!
…You really are a lost cause. So anybody important you’ve missed out? Yes in fact! Makarov Dreyar is a very small, very old man who’s young at heart and filled with energy and enthusiasm, he also happens to be the Guild Master of Fairy Tail. He was a bit of a perv in the earlier episodes but thankfully those character traits seemed to die down a bit by the end.
…You’re one to talk… What?
Nothing, nothing. He also has a grandson, Laxus Dreyar who is a user of Lightning magic, and uh… he kind of wants to destroy Fairy Tail. Or at least he does until he doesn’t, I can’t remember what stops him from doing so, but there’s a really touching moment between grandfather and son that makes me unable to dislike his character, even if he is a headstrong, arrogant douche a lot of the time.
Right, jeez, there are a lot of characters… Oh you think this is a lot? Haha~ we haven’t even listed half the Fairy Tail members, son! Not to mention all the characters in other guilds and all the villain characters and friends and family of other characters, it would take more than a 100 Questions to talk about them all!
Please don’t. Don’t worry, I’m not going to talk about them all, just a few others I like.
Okay fine, go on. Levy McGarden who is among the most beautiful of the exceptionally beautiful women in this show. The only reason she didn’t get in my Top 5 is because Gajeel, namely her falling for him, it kinda makes her character less interesting. I think her characterisation suffers for having her act like a less crazy Juvia.
Anybody else? Laxus’ cronies, Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow. They’re fun, if a bit two dimensional, Freed is the best of the three though.
Anybody else? Macao Conbolt and Wakaba Mine, the two bickering ‘dad’s’ of Fairy Tail, I enjoy their interactions with each other.
ANYBODY ELSE? Sting and Rogue from rival guild Sabertooth are pretty cool, they also use Dragon Slayer Magic as well as Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic, I like their rivalry with the Dragon Slayer’s of Fairy Tail and of course their eventual forming of a mutual friendship.
*gasps* anybody… else… Hmm, I’m happy to stop here. At least with the character talk, I feel like I should be wrapping things up soon anyway.
Thank god, I thought this would never end. You’re such a douche sometimes…
I did notice there are a ~lot~ of scantily clad big breasted attractive females on this show? That wouldn’t have anything to do with you liking this show so much, would it? It was an unexpected surprise, I assure you.
Sure sure… so how do we go about summing up some 265 episodes of a TV show in a succinct way? You want succinct, after I just spent 1500 words talking about characters?
Who’s fault is that? Besides, this wasn’t exactly a well planned out review, you know. You only decided to do this review a few days ago… Shhh~
Final score and recommendation for Fairy Tail? Even though it’s a show I came to late, had no experience with the manga and binge watched it over the course of a couple of months Fairy Tail still holds a weird nostalgic place in my heart. The first hundred or so episodes I recall fondly and the absolute joy I had watching (most) of it is unrivalled by most anime, even today. It’s not by any means perfect, it can be repetitive and sometimes stupid, but it’s also action-packed, emotionally rich, occasionally hilarious and above all else exceedingly fun. But there’s something else, something that’s continued to be true even in some of the lacking later episodes…
What is it? Fairy Tail is a show about the power of friendship and the importance of a family that’s not one bound by blood but forged in people’s love and respect for one another and fortified by common-interests. In a lot of ways Fairy Tail—the guild—is a lot like this wonderful anime blogging community I’ve found myself a part of. We all come from different places and walks of life, with different values and opinions but we share a love for anime and we respect each other and support each other because that’s what being a family is all about. And with that I say a humble and deep thank you to everyone who is supported me and my blog, thank you for getting me to 100 followers and thank you all for being you!
(Sorry to interrupt this touching moment but you forgot to give the scores!) Oh shit, um… right: Fairy Tail Season 1 gets 88 out of 100. And Fairy Tail Season 2 scores an 82 out of 100. Thank you all so much for reading!
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A 100 Question Anime Review for Fairy Tail.
This is Part 2 of my 100 Follower Celebration, Part 1 can be found here if you missed it and Part 3 is here.
And we’re back—my god we’re only a third of the way though this thing—so what is the show actually about? Well it’s about the Fairy Tail guild, a group of adventurers with various magical abilities who take up various jobs and quests around the fictional world of Earth-land.
Pfft, “Earth-land”?! Shut up!
Sorry, go on. There’s various other guilds throughout the land, some are friendly toward Fairy Tail while others are downright hostile and aggressive. The early story arcs such as the ‘Lullaby arc’ which deals with the dark guild Eisenwald that has been banned by the Magic Council and the ‘Phantom Lord arc’ which deals with rival guild are great storylines for the truly massive ensemble cast this show has. These larger event arcs get to showcase the cool powers and entertaining personalities of the side characters, of whom most of my favourite characters belong to.
Well we’ll get to favourite character later. There’s others ‘arcs’ you want to talk about? Yes the ‘Oracion Seis arc’ and the ‘Tenrou Island arc’ also deal with dark guild’s, but the ‘Oracion Seis arc’ in particular brings together a bunch of friendly guilds too to help form an alliance and we get to see even more characters.
Uh-huh. But are the storylines in these arcs any good? You seem to be only talking about the characters here? “It’s the friends we’ve met along the way that help us appreciate the journey”.
Is that a quote from the show? No, but it might as well be, this show puts a massive emphasis on the power of friendship and caring and helping one another. I’m sure it’s nothing new in the world of Shonen anime but it was really heartening to have these kind of messages of warmth and positivity in a show. Even if it did get a little cheesy at times…
How do you mean? Well, I do recall on one occasion at least, somebody’s tears brining a person back from the dead. If that isn’t some top quality cheddar I don’t know what is.
*nods* Wait, you completely evaded my question with a lame inspirational quote. What about the storylines? Some of them are good! Some of them not so much, the point of that quote was trying to get across the point that it’s the characters that make Fairy Tail the kind of show that I love unreservedly even if it’s lacking in other areas.
We’re still not ready to talk about your favourite characters… Damn!
So tell me what arcs you liked, the plots of that is, not just the fact they had a lot of side characters. Sure, I mean the ‘Phantom Lord arc’ certainly upped the stakes with the destruction of their beloved guild hall by the dark guild Phantom Lord. And obviously the Edolas arc was pure fun since we got to see alternate reality/mirror universe versions of a lot of the characters and the genuinely touching moments of Mirajane and Elfman being able to reunite with their sister Lisanna (or a version of her) who had died long ago.
Feels? So many damn feels! Also, also the stuff with Happy and his parents, oh my god, I’m crying all over again. I can’t even with these feels…
*hands over a tissue box* Thank you… *loudly blows nose*
No problem… so uh, any other noteworthy arcs? Yes! Maybe my favourite, strictly from a story-telling perspective was ‘The Tower of Heaven arc’, only 8 episodes but so jam packed full of backstory and action and high stakes drama.
And worst story arcs? Oh… tough one, ‘Galuna Island arc’ was a bit lacking at times, but getting some of Gray’s backstory was super important. ‘Daphne arc’ was kinda lame filler, but it is what it is. I think the one arc where the show began to display some signs that it was tiring out or stretching things out way too long was the ‘Tenrou Island arc’ (what is it about Islands?).
What about it made it feel that way? Well up to this point the show had 3 ways of starting an episode. Either it just continues from where the last episode ended, it has a brief voiceover narrator recap of the previous plot points or it just shows the last 30 seconds to a minute from the previous episode’s ending scene maybe with some stuff cut out.
But I take it it’s different in this arc? It’s the worst. At the start of almost every episode in this arc they just play 2-5 minutes of the previous episode all over again, which might might be okay if I were watching it week-to-week but binge watching it like I did made for a frustrating experience. It’s a 27 episode arc, that could have easily been 20~ episodes had they not opted to pad it out so poorly.
But that’s more of a production problem (i.e. we need this many episodes, fill it out however you can) as opposed a problem with the plot itself. I mean the plot is fine, the main villain is kinda lame and there’s a lot of deus ex machina moments, but it’s just kind of repetitive. Lots of great character moments though, like the stuff with Gildarts and Cana is lovely. Can I talk about Gildarts and Cana yet?
No! We’ve got to pad this thing out to 100 Questions somehow! You could ask me the same questions and I could answer them again!
Heh, very funny. Yeah, I know, I’d never pad out a review.
Exactly, you’re above such cheap tactics. Indeed.
Indeed… Yes…
Ahem… So anyway, I’m looking at my notes here and I notice that Fairy Tail is actually split up into 2 seasons (with a 3rd and final on the way). All these arc’s you’ve been talking about have been from the 1st season. What about the 2nd season? Sure, let’s talk about the second season, it’s uh… kind of a mess. I mean I still love it because the character’s are as great as ever and there’s a lot of development of said characters, but the story is just kind of forgettable, which is obviously the opposite of what they were going for as it’s supposed to be some big deal the whole Tartaros trying to end the world thing.
Ah the ol’ reliable ‘end of the world’ plot. Indeed, it’s fine, it just doesn’t really have that much threat attached. I never once worried it was actually going to happen, sure I worried about the fate of some characters, but never that the world was going to end.
So what good things do you have to say about the 2nd season? Well the characters—
—aside from the characters, we’ll get there soon. Fine! Uh, so even though I watched the 2nd season more recently, I remember less about it. There were two things that stand out in my mind though one is Lucy having to break one of her celestial key’s, thus losing her connection to Aquarius, the celestial spirit she was closest to. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and such a good storyline.
And the second. Wendy! In Episode 243 and 244 she undergoes such growth. Not only defeating a powerful enemy by unleashing her ‘Dragon Force’ but then willing to sacrifice her own young life to stop the ‘face bombs’ from detonating. I cried, I cried a lot.
She… she didn’t die did she? Do I sense concern in your voice?
N-no! I’m just curious is all… Well no. She and Carla are saved by Doranbolt’s teleportation magic at the last second. Which ordinarily I’d say is a bit of a cop out, but Wendy was so brave that I don’t even mind.
Cool, so— Wait! I remembered another plot point, ugh, I feel so stupid that I forgot it. Though it happens in season 1, but I need to talk about it!
Okay, fair enough. Let’s hear about it then. It comes out of the arc I was complaining about earlier, the ‘Tenrou Island arc’, or rather at the end of it and in the ‘X791 arc’. See while a lot of the Fairy Tail guild was on Tenrou Island battling Grimoire Heart, seven years have passed outside the island, even though to those on the island it only felt like a couple of days! As you can imagine for the people left at the guild this is a big deal to find out that their friends and colleagues are still alive after all this time!
That’s is a pretty interesting development. It is, though I think they could have done more with it it’s still a great way of shaking things up. I think I would have preferred if say one of the main characters had stayed behind to make this plot line all the more interesting.
Right well— Can I talk about the characters now! I want to talk about how much I love them!
Alright, fine. But not here, we shall continue the discussion in part 3 of this ridiculous endeavour! Hopefully you’re all not too bored of this!
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A 100 Question Anime Review for Fairy Tail. (Part 1 of 3)
This post is a part of Anime QandA’s 100 Follower Celebration. Part 2 can be viewed here and Part 3 is here.
Wh-wh-what does that say up there? Up where?
Up there, the title of this blog entry, read it to me! Fairy Tail, 100 Question Anime Review.
100 Questions?! Have you lost your damn mind?! Not at all, it’s a sort of thank you to the readers of my blog for reaching 100 followers on WordPress.com, seems apt don’t you think?
100 Questions! Problem?
Ah, yeah, a few… Such as?
Well first of all—am I getting paid overtime for this— No! You should be grateful!
F-fine… ugh, and secondly who on earth wants to read a 100 Question review? I guess we’ll find out, won’t we? Plus, calm down, it’s only a one-off, I thought it’d be a fun little celebratory gimmick!
Okay, guess I don’t have a choice, right, let’s get this show on the road then! That’s the spirit!
What’s the show? Fairy Tail.
Ooh~ I’ve heard of this show, well that is to say I’ve heard you mention it in other reviews. It’s kind of a big deal—for me especially—it was the show that got me back into anime after having not watched any anime for about 5 years.
Wow! You went 5 whole years without watching anime? That’s kind of impossible to imagine, knowing how much of a weeb you are now. I was a different person back then, a poor and misguided fool, without as much as dakimakura on my bed or a lewd tapestry on my wall. Dark times indeed.
Uh-huh. Sounds like I may have actually gotten along with the you back then… You bite your tongue, sir!
Right, so maybe let’s start at what got you wanting to watch an anime after such a long break. Right, so first of all you’re going to have to understand something about me as a person, I like buying and collecting things.
Okay… No but really, you have no idea how into materialism I was. Like one day—on a whim—I decided to buy every episode of the classic 1963-1989 Doctor Who series on DVD. And so me and the irl waifu drove around to like 10 different stores over the course of a couple of weekends trying to get the hundreds of DVD’s that comprised the collection. Not only do I get obsessive about things quickly but I go ‘all in’ when I do.
I think they call that an ‘addictive personality’ but let’s not dwell on this too long since, you know we’re trying to get to reviewing an anime here… some day… Right. So one day while surfing my favourite DVD/blu-ray website for upcoming TV show releases I noticed a series that was in its seventeenth blu-ray volume and obviously my obsessive collector impulse was intrigued! ‘Fairy Tail Volume 17’ and it’s got a very attractive anime lady on the front… *a million Google searches later* I’m at my local DVD/blu-ray store buying Volumes 1 to 5 of Fairy Tail on blu-ray, after having only briefly watched the first episode on Netflix before leaving for work one morning.
Wait. Stop. You bought it on blu-ray even though it was on Netflix? You underestimate the depth of my collection obsessiveness. If I want something in a physical copy because of ‘collection aesthetics’ I will buy it physically even if a digital alternative is cheaper/easier to obtain.
You’re an absolute mad man. Yes, I have been told as much.
Great, so are we at the point where we can actually start reviewing the show? I guess we’ve established the context around me discovering ‘anime’ again to properly ascertain my frame of mind when first watching this show.
Super. So after you’d watched a half dozen or so episodes… what was going through 2016 era Cactus Matt’s head? “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever watched in my entire life.”
So low bar then? Hey! Don’t judge, it’s not like you’ve watched Fairy Tail, so you can’t speak for it!
True, but I know this much at least… it’s not the greatest thing ever, I can speak to that fact with some certainty. Tch. Fine, you’re right. But listen, to someone who’d been so deprived (and it was an unintentional self imposed deprivation mind you) from the world of anime, something this rich and varied and action-y and comedic and emotional and just plain fun was bound to push every button.
Just say what you’ve been wanting to say for a while… Fine. Fairy Tail for me was like the second coming of Pokemon. Not in any literal sense but rather the sense of joyous abandon that accompanied following a young and headstrong protagonist as he begins exploring a wider world, with attractive companions and a cute animal sidekick, not to mention a rambunctious rival and an older tutor to guide him where need be.
You gonna keep going with that metaphor or should I just cut you off before you make a total fool of yourself? Alright fine, it’s not the perfect comparison, sure there’s some similarities but Fairy Tail definitely has the edge. It’s well-written and not aimed at small children, also in there’s a whole ‘Guild’ full of side characters to help populate the universe. And well, a lot of them are really sexy anime girls and I’ll be in my bunk—
Oi! What the hell are you doing? There’s sexy anime girls so I’m just having some private time… to myself…
Ugh, you’re the worst. Hey! I’m just trying to give you an accurate representation of my experience while watching Fairy Tail back then!
“Back then”? It was only two years ago! Besides, this review doesn’t need to chronicle every instance of you ‘jerking it’ to anime girls… Don’t be so crude, it was a very romantic experience…
*sigh* So we’ve gotten this far in the review and all we’ve talked about is how sexy the girls are, I wish I was even a little surprised. This so called ‘100 Follower’ celebration sure took a turn for the worse and quickly too. I’m pretty sure everyone reading this pretty much expected it. But all right fine, let’s get serious, let’s talk about the show properly!
Only 28 questions in and we’re finally talking about the show itself. Wow, just wow. Shut up. So our protagonist is Natsu Dragneel he has the power of fire! Also the power to be cocky little twat!
So you don’t like him? Oh, he’s fine. He’s exactly what I expected from a Shonen protagonist, shouting catchphrases and being noisy and angry and dumb!
So who else is in the show? There’s Happy, Natsu’s flying blue cat, who is absolutely adorable and a loyal companion! Then there’s Lucy Heartfilia, the busty summoner and aspiring writer and let’s not forget Erza Scarlett the headstrong and dependable warrior and Ice wizard Gray Fullbuster who’s frequently butting heads with Natsu! And… hmm…
And what? What’s up? I don’t know, it just kind of feels weird talking about Fairy Tail with a critical eye… I mean any show can be reviewed critically it’s just it’s hard to do it about this show for some reason.
You speak down to it often in your reviews despite the fact you clearly have a reverence for it. If I sometimes sound cynical about the show it’s only because I expect a lot from this franchise because it was so influential in bringing me back into the anime world and so whenever it deviated from its initial quality and enthusiasm it kind of felt ~personal~. Let’s just say I’ve got some complex feelings about this show!
Right, I think we need to take a break and continue this in another part. 100 Questions or not, no one’s going to want to read something like this that’s over 4000 words so this needs to be split up. Click on the links to continue reading Part 2 and Part 3 of the Fairy Tail 100 Question Anime Review!
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Anime QandA 