Fairy Tail

Yeah, you're right... a replica of One Piece, huh?

Initially, Fairy Tail didn't mean much to me. It seemed like just another typical shounen series. But then my friend recommended it, saying it was different from the usual shounen adventures. When I finally gave it a try, I found it to be genuinely great! The art style might not be everyone's cup of tea, especially for hardcore otakus, but it's definitely worth reading. Plus, the emblems are pretty cool! Natsu may bear some resemblance to Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, but that shouldn't deter you. It's absolutely worth checking out!

I enjoyed this manga because the storyline is captivating and the characters are deeply developed. Additionally, Fairy Tail features numerous insightful quotes and meaningful themes. I would recommend it to both seasoned manga enthusiasts and newcomers alike. It's entertaining, yet it also has its share of sad moments. The mood fluctuates frequently, sometimes being humorous, other times serious, occasionally wild, at points sorrowful, and even just plain bizarre. There are also some incredibly funny OVAs, which stands for Original Video Animation, essentially serving as bonus content. Moreover, it has been adapted into an anime, which is quite good in its own right, but whether you choose to watch the anime or read the manga depends on your personal taste. Overall, it is a fantastic manga (and anime!) that anyone could appreciate.

Fairy Tail was one of those works that had a promising premise but gradually fell into the pattern of another clichéd shounen manga.

• Story •

My biggest issue with the story is the excessive "nakama power." Regular shounen readers will understand – during a tough battle, at the climax where the protagonist seems about to lose, the author suddenly grants them a power-up based on the notion of "I CAN'T LOSE HERE!!!! I'M GONNA PROTECT MY FRIENDS!!!!" and they emerge victorious to save their friends. Nearly every fight includes some version of this trope. If it doesn't, it's usually an overpowered fight where the opponent gets easily defeated, showcasing the protagonist's strength.

Another aspect I'm uncertain about, related to this, is that most 'good guys' don't die. This isn't inherently bad, and many manga handle this well, but Fairy Tail... ugh. I can't say more due to spoilers, but you'll have to decide for yourself.

The premise was good; sure, it wasn't unique (many other shounen share similar plots), but it had potential. Magic, guilds, a decently-built world. It could have been something, but hints of that were lost as the story progressed.

One last complaint many people have - fanservice. Yes, there's gratuitous nudity and sexual themes detracting from the storyline. It wouldn't be much of a problem if it didn't diminish the plot, but it does.

• Art •

One positive aspect. While not extraordinary, the art is adequate and well-drawn in my opinion. Mashima has a distinct style that suits the story.

• Character •

Ugh. Female protagonist: weak, needy eye candy always needing help. Male protagonist: dense, simple-minded, hotheaded, loves fighting, OP. Rival character: dark hair, colder than the MC, sometimes brooding, admits friendship eventually. Sounds familiar? (Like One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, KHR, etc.)

Basically, characters are clichéd tropes seen repeatedly in manga. Character development? There's plenty, but it's mostly the usual "bad guy turns good," "protagonist's backstory revealed, overcoming challenges together and strengthening friendships."

• Enjoyment •

I started Fairy Tail when I was around eight or nine. At that age, I couldn't think rationally, so I enjoyed it a lot. Re-reading it later, I realized how much of a trainwreck it actually is.

• Overall •

In summary, this is an overrated, clichéd shounen manga filled with nakama power, fanservice, static characters, and other overused shounen tropes. What it lacks is a good plot, good character development, or anything enlightening. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but if you're just looking for fight scenes and action (and bewbs), you might get through it without many complaints.

Fairy Tail is a typical shounen series filled with speeches about friendship, characters that don't evolve much, and a storyline you can see coming from miles away. Despite all that, it's incredibly entertaining. Just remember, this isn't everyone's cup of tea. If you're into shows that squander their potential, Fairy Tail might just be your thing. No matter how poorly constructed the final arc was, I could never bring myself to hate this series because earlier arcs always remind me of its true potential. Most characters are genuinely likable (even though some get ruined in the Alvarez arc), and most battles are captivating. The artwork in this series is the best I've ever seen, something Hiro Mashima deserves more recognition for. What I'm trying to say is that everyone should give Fairy Tail a chance. It's a solid, albeit clichéd, series up until the Alvarez arc, and all the criticism it receives feels somewhat overblown.

It infuriates me that the lowest rating I can give is a 1. This series doesn't even deserve a 1 because it's terrible in every aspect. It's the only series I've encountered that utterly fails at everything it attempts. The story began with Natsu aiming to find Igneel, not too bad, right? But throughout the series, he does nothing to reach his goal. Even in the first 100 chapters of the manga, Natsu makes no effort towards achieving his objective. That's absurdly ridiculous and demonstrates poor writing. It feels like the mangaka completely forgot the point of the story. However, that's not even the worst part. The entire plot is an absolute mess. Some arcs are just random dark guilds attacking Fairy Tail for no reason. The Phantom Lord arc and the Tenrou Island arc are examples of this randomness where the Fairy Tail guild uses their nakama power-ups to defeat them. This is a terrible way to introduce conflict and villains. Most arcs in this manga are poorly done; the only decent one is the Tower of Heaven arc. The worst is undoubtedly the Grand Magic Games arc, filled with deus ex machina, retcons, and nonsensical power scaling. Characters get sudden power boosts without training. For instance, Erza gets a friendship power-up to defeat Minerva, and Laxus beats Jura easily despite being previously defeated by Natsu. This inconsistency proves the series has awful power scaling. One of the worst moments was when Erza fought Akuma—a fight that made no sense. The characters are terrible. By the end, I realized there wasn't a single interesting character. Some used to be good but got ruined. Natsu is a generic protagonist, a complete copy of Luffy. He gets no character development and resets after any progress. He lacks introspection and internal dialogue, making him a poorly written character. His involvement in conflicts revolves around protecting his nakama, which is cliché and uninspired. Gray, once cool, became another nakama-obsessed character. Lucy is pointless, only there for fanservice, though she might be the least worst of the main cast. Erza, initially badass, became a damsel in distress and had all her fights resolved through asspulls. Character designs are lame, with all girls looking identical with massive boobs and the same face. Most developed characters revert to being weak and useless eventually. Characterization in Fairy Tail is poor. Elfman and Mirajane's backstory about Lisanna’s death becomes pointless when she returns. Lisanna herself serves no purpose after returning. Characters brought back from the dead receive no development, ruining potential character growth. The lack of creativity in the series shows Hiro Mashima didn’t put much effort into it. Mainstream battle shounen like Yu Yu Hakusho or Boku No Hero Academia are generic but well-executed, unlike Fairy Tail. The worst part is the constant asspulls during fights. Every fight follows the same formula: main character gets beaten, gives a speech about friendship, then wins with a new power. None of the fights are won through training; it's all about friendship power-ups. The main characters never lose, removing any sense of danger. They can defeat anyone, even gods, by yelling about friendship. There's no suspense due to repetitive fights and terrible power scaling. Combat system-wise, everyone has generic magic powers, showing little effort from the author. The world-building is also lacking, with minimal information about the setting. Overall, Fairy Tail has no well-written characters, lacks originality, features horrible fights, and is filled with more asspulls than anything else. Overall rating: 0/10 Absolute garbage that should have never been created.

If you're in search of a manga filled with action and a touch of comedy, Fairy Tail is a top recommendation.

Short Summary:
The narrative follows the adventures of Natsu, a fire mage, and Lucy, a young mage aspiring to join the renowned 'Fairy Tail' guild, which Natsu belongs to. Their paths cross during an encounter with another mage, leading them back to Fairy Tail where their thrilling adventures commence.

Several elements make this manga exceptional. The characters are outstanding, each with unique personalities that will quickly win your affection.

The action sequences and battles are superb. As my first manga after Bleach, I was initially unsure about reading fight scenes without animation, but Fairy Tail has consistently impressed me with its high-quality action and artwork.

The comedy factor deserves a special mention. From the very first chapter, Fairy Tail delivers not only intense action and a compelling storyline but also unforgettable humorous moments.

In summary, this series is fantastic and has made me wish I had delved into manga earlier. I eagerly anticipate its animated adaptation.

Highly recommended!!!!!

Forgive me, this is my first review, but I'm going to give it a shot.

Fairy Tail was one of the first manga series I decided to dive into. I got hooked on the anime during my high school years. Many people complain about the plot being repetitive, but personally, I enjoyed it and didn't find it too tedious. Most series follow that classic trope of the heroic idiot saving the day against a powerful enemy.

The initial chapters were similar to the anime, slow-paced and somewhat difficult to get into. Once I finally immersed myself in it, I truly enjoyed the series. Characters like Erza, Gray, and Gajeel particularly stood out to me. However, I felt that the two main characters, Natsu and Lucy, lacked depth in their personalities and backstories despite being central figures. Other characters had more intricate backgrounds and relationships compared to these two. The story kept me engaged and even stirred emotions at times, but this changed after the Grand Magic Games arc.

This part of the story had immense potential! There were numerous possibilities for romance, friendship, and thrilling battles. Unfortunately, it seemed very rushed. The narrative introduced many new details, and everything progressed too quickly. Honestly, knowing that Mashima was planning a new manga series, I felt he hurried the ending of Fairy Tail to move on. I was genuinely frustrated when it concluded. It was a huge letdown, abruptly ending without tying up loose ends. Too much was left implied but never properly developed. There was no confirmation on relationships, the state of the guild, or anything else.

Overall, I initially enjoyed the manga, but was disappointed by its conclusion. Interestingly, the anime turned out to be better than the manga, which is rare for me to say.

Hey, I ended up writing a longer one, so

tl;dr: If you're looking for something good, don't read Fairy Tail. If you're just bored and curious, then just read until you get bored, then drop it—it doesn't get better afterwards. If you've already read FT, didn't really like it, and want to commiserate about how similar our opinions are, feel free to scroll down—you might even get a small thrill.

DISCLAIMER: I swear a lot and there's plenty of irony and sarcasm in this review, so take it with a grain of salt (the positive sides are mostly genuine though). Also, I can't be bothered to grammar check this review or spell check it or re-read it to see if it makes sense, so please don't get triggered.

Oh, Fairy Tail, what a rough ride it was. Guys, I'm about to write a pretty long one, so let's get going.

I first got into FT back when I first got into anime. It wasn't that long ago, and back then I was very new to the medium. I only knew classic shonen anime like One Piece, DBZ, Naruto, and so on. But as a newbie, I got interested in this one character a friend had as a profile picture on Facebook—a guy with pink hair, wearing a scarf, and with a pretty cool-looking tattoo on his shoulder. So past the cringe of me thinking he was the main character from Bleach, I figured out it was actually Fairy Tail, and it already had quite a bunch of episodes. As a bored high school student with a lot of time to waste, it all started.

In the beginning, I really liked the series. The cool-steampunky-fantasy world was a great setting. I had just seen FMAB and felt like this was the kind of thing I wanted, just with way more episodes. Let's go! What could go wrong? It was all cool at the start. The guild felt like a fun place, people were drinking and shouting all the time, and it felt like there was good chemistry between the characters. It kinda reminded me of One Piece's chemistry (nowhere near as good, of course), but I appreciated it nonetheless. A few weeks of binge-watching passed by. I loved the Jellal arc (I still call him Gerard, come on), I liked Grey's flashback, and I enjoyed Natsu vs Gajeel. I wouldn't mind the "power of friendship" asspulls too much—they were annoying, but I accepted them and moved on.

It was after running out of episodes that I started reading the manga, binge-reading until I reached the end and then reading FT weekly. That's when the problems with the series started showing up. When you binge-watch/read a series, you often miss narrative failures, which become obvious when reading weekly, especially if you check out reviews and opinions online. And that's when the downfall started for me.

I had a very similar experience with Bleach and Naruto—all three mangas made the biggest mistake in battle shonen manga: messing up the power scaling. While Bleach and Naruto started messing up towards the end, Fairy Tail managed to screw it up right from the start! Power scaling isn't everything in battle shonen anime/manga, but since battles are the focus, it sets basic rules for enjoyable fights. Messing that up creates loopholes, losing credibility in your fights!

So conclusion number 1: There is absolutely no credibility in FT fights, and there's no real tension within the fights since you know expectations will be ruined by the power of friendship and Natsu eating another element.

The second point is another huge mistake Mashima made—not setting up a real goal and the lack of consequences in each arc. What does Natsu want to do? Meet a dragon? How does he need to become stronger or better to do so? Literally, the show could have ended at episode 1 with him just waiting for the chance to meet him. Like Bleach, the plot doesn't go anywhere. By chapter 400, we know pretty much the same about Igneel as we did at chapter 1! How am I supposed to enjoy a villain-of-the-year formula without cool swords?! Bleach died because of that, and so did FT.

The second part of the same mistake is consequences. Characters can't die, all enemies become allies, and the guild can just rebuild if destroyed. There's no tension, and most arcs feel useless, like a dragged-out One Punch Man fight without satire and comedy. So it's shit.

So conclusion number 2: The fights are meaningless, there's no driving tension, and each arc feels like the same soup of ideas funnelled through the same "power of friendship" conclusion.

My third point is that 99% of introduced characters are pointless/bland/niche. At the top of my head, I can think of few characters I liked: Mystogan, Gerard, Gajeel, Ichiya, Panther Lily, Shanks, Mira (just cuz that savage demon took me by surprise), and maybe Ultear? Everyone else is either a trope copy-paste or nothing at all. Who the hell is Cherry and who remembers her? Why can I remember Lt. Fullbody from One Piece clearly? Mashima, your characters suck!

So conclusion 3: Characters are mostly garbage.

Now that I've made three conclusions making it sound like this is the worst series ever, you may wonder why I'm giving it a 6. Here's why:

The one thing I hate most about FT is that despite an interesting premise with dragons, keys to alternate dimensions, magic circles, and potentially interesting backstory, Mashima wastes time focusing on boobs, stupid shipping, and shitty fanservice meant to appeal to preteens while forgetting that an interesting story would probably get more reads! Every new chapter, I wondered, "Why am I wasting time watching boobs bounce? Is this 545-chapter story just a pretext for Mashima to achieve his middle school dream of drawing 10k pages of boobs?" The whole thing felt like a waste of time.

So in conclusion, here's why I'm giving FT a 6 and not a 1: FT, despite doing everything wrong, still accompanied me through my initial phase of getting into anime, and I enjoyed many moments. This series is mostly terrible but not 100% terrible. There are cool moments, especially at the beginning before catching on to its bullshit pillars. Some characters look really cool (Gerard's tattoo is badass, Natsu's design is okay, Ichiya is funny, the girls are eyecandy, the exceeds are cute, certain moves are cool, some gags are hilarious).

Overall, I'd like to thank Fairy Tail for showing me what's wrong in anime and shonen, especially. Because of you, I appreciate One Piece even more. I'm glad you concluded somewhat less rushed than Bleach.

I hope for the best for Mashima. Hopefully, all the money you made will sustain you forever. Otherwise, please make a decent series next time—copy elements from good ones. No disrespect, you worked hard for 11 years, enjoy life.

Cheers everyone, for the end of another pillar of shonen anime and manga (this one was a pillar of salt, sand), let us hope the new generation learns from the old one's mistakes. But keep this in mind, shonen manga readers and writers: no matter what you believe/do/think, One Piece will always be shitting on you from the heights of heaven where Goda resides.

Peace.

Well, how can I begin this review...

Sorry, but this review will contain some minor spoilers, though you might not even notice them.

Fairy Tail is essentially a manga in the shounen and ecchi genres. That's basically what it offers. It has two major plots and some "cool fight scenes."

Story:

There probably isn't a story more predictable than Fairy Tail. If you think for just a moment, even if you're only in the opening chapters, you can already understand how the story unfolds. The story primarily focuses on a wizard guild called "Fairy Tail," and we could say that by certain arcs of the story, the guild as a whole is truly the main character. There's a variety of characters with different personalities, but in reality, they are all the same. As mentioned, it's a guild of "wizards," which means the story takes place in a world where there's some kind of magic system, with rules and such to make the world at least tangible and realistic. But in this case, the main tool of magic has no kind of rule or impediment; things literally happen because they have to happen. For example: We have a fight between two characters, one with a power level of 10, the other with a power level of 4, but weakened from other battles, so his level is around 2. However, he has much more willpower than the level 10 character. He wins. As an adventure, action, and shounen manga, it doesn't create any minimal reality or logical system that works. A little fight between two characters may not seem very important, but let's look at a bigger example: the state of a country? A country that lost a huge number of soldiers in a total onslaught, lost its most important and powerful mages, and lost its emperor. This country has lost all its structure, and what happened to it? NOBODY CARES. We just forget about it and remember that all the main characters were happy in the end. Seriously, even the villain (who wasn't really a villain, he had been cursed to kill those he loved who were around him) who theoretically would have died appears at the end, without any explanation. It must be all the power of friendship.

1/10

Art:

Nothing to complain about the art of this manga; it manages to keep up with the enormous number of chapters that exist (by the way, how do these long-running mangakas manage? Seriously, it's very difficult). My only irritation is the ecchi style it has, but I can accept this because there's a lot of ecchi in the Japanese market, and success with this isn't improbable.

6/10

Character:

There's a wide variety of characters in Fairy Tail, but most share the same base - I love my family, my friends, my guild, but I'm mean to others until I get punched with fire and start being like the Fairy Tail guild. No character has a personality other than this; only a five-minute fight can change the entire character from being a villain and almost killing their relatives to suddenly saving them and dying. But they probably didn't die either; nobody dies in this mess, they all come back.

1/10

Enjoyment:

I think it's clear that it wasn't very good. I laughed at every chapter that surpassed the mediocrity of this manga, and I forced myself to finish it just to see if I was wrong, but sadly, I wasn't.

2/10

Overall:

2/10

And I think that's it.

Why did I even read this till the end... I should have stopped.

Best days of my life were spent watching this marvelous anime. I've been a fan since 2013, though I know I'm not a veteran Fairy Tail enthusiast. I wish I could turn back time to relive the excitement of waiting for each episode and to have started watching it from 2009. This show made me cry, laugh, rage, and cheer like never before. It's an emotional rollercoaster that I've never experienced in my entire life. Every character taught me valuable lessons, especially my hero Natsu Dragneel. Much love and support from me. Some people say it's hentai or just fanservice, but maybe being a girl makes it less relevant to me, haha. Anyways, thank you Mashima-sensei!

I'm currently rewatching the series from the very first season for the third time and finished it recently. Sadly, the last season is airing now, which leaves me feeling both happy and sad at the same time >_< T_____T. I know I'll feel empty once it ends, just like when the manga concluded, and I don't know what to do with myself afterward T______T. Here's hoping that the 100-Year Quest arc gets its own anime adaptation too.

When I first started reading Fairy Tail, I was thoroughly captivated by its enchanting fantasy world filled with magical guilds. It reminded me of other popular shonen manga like One Piece and Bleach, which I adored at the time. I was fifteen years old and had limited exposure to adventure stories, so I eagerly devoured all available chapters before dropping it for about two and a half years. My hiatus wasn't due to the content but rather my impatience with the weekly release schedule.

Now that I've resumed reading, my perspective on Fairy Tail has shifted.

Story:
Back then, I was younger and less discerning about storytelling nuances. Now, I find the story's quality fluctuates. Initially engaging, it becomes increasingly repetitive as new arcs introduce characters of varying quality. The narrative follows a common pattern in long-running series where plots start to feel redundant, especially if you're familiar with other fighting manga.

Art:
The art is one of Fairy Tail's strongest aspects. The style continuously improves, presenting clear visuals even with detailed backgrounds. There's little more to say; it's simply good.

Characters:
Character development in Fairy Tail is somewhat lacking. Most characters remain static from their introduction, with only a few exceptions showing growth. Villains occasionally transform after realizing past mistakes, but these changes often feel rushed or implausible. Additionally, character motivations tend to be overly simplistic—villains are evil because they want power or destruction, while heroes are inherently good. This black-and-white portrayal can be tiresome. Furthermore, the excessive fan service undermines character respectability, transforming them into objects rather than well-rounded individuals. Sometimes, entire chapters seem dedicated to showcasing female characters' bodies instead of advancing the plot.

Enjoyment:
Fan service significantly detracts from my enjoyment. Moreover, the overuse of cheesy ability names without meaningful context makes battles feel hollow. Despite these issues, Fairy Tail does have memorable moments that keep readers engaged. While I've highlighted many negatives, they stand out prominently to me.

Overall:
Fairy Tail is an enjoyable manga for younger audiences, provided they overlook the excessive fan service. For older viewers, this might be a drawback, though opinions vary. Based on my observations, I'd speculate that younger readers might rate it around 8/10, while older readers might give it a 7/10.

This review reflects my personal opinion, and I hope it's received as such.

I recall watching the anime since my high school days. Once I finished the series, I quickly moved on to read the manga, and it was incredible. I shed a few tears while reading the last page because it marked my first-ever manga experience. Here’s my review:

Whether or not it will be considered one of the greatest manga of all time is debatable, but its plot remains captivating from start to finish. The character development, action sequences, and comedic elements keep readers thoroughly entertained. While the story may not be entirely original, you might find similarities with other manga out there. Nonetheless, it's a must-read for fans of the magic genre and those eagerly awaiting the 2018 anime adaptation.

Hiro Mashima is an exceptional storyteller. He has a unique talent for turning antagonists into likable characters—a feat not many manga creators or artists can achieve. I sincerely hope he considers creating a sequel to this fantastic manga.

Farewell, Fairy Tail universe. It has been quite the enjoyable journey.