First Impressions:
I had high hopes for this anime when I first read the summary. Not only that, but based on the first few episodes, I felt like I was really going to enjoy this series; it started off strong.
Really strong.
Not to mention, that it was very light-hearted and had a noticeable amount of comfort and warmth to it. But somewhere along the line, unfortunately, I think it started to fall off for me and I felt like I was losing interest. I can't say the exact moment those feelings hit me for sure, but maybe it was around the Tenrou Island arc. Whatever the case may be, Fairy Tail started to stray away from what initially brought me there in the first place.
Dislikes/Complaints
One of the few complaints I have involves fanservice. Now, I understand that the anime is Ecchi, but I personally felt like it kept going overboard. Typically, I usually don't have a problem with it. I mean I expect it, given that shonen anime is usually geared towards boys.
It's only fair, right?
But when it feels like it's constantly in my face or it's all at questionable and weird times, it gets a bit annoying. The crazy thing is that I don't remember the fanservice being that bad in the beginning. In fact, I think it just kinda started randomly ramping up as the arcs continued.
Obviously, this may not be the same for everyone else, but I firmly believe in moderation. There are certain times when things can be too much or too little, but it's all about trying to find that balance.
I mean, that's pretty much life in general, right?
Anyway, here's a prime example of what I mean about annoying and questionable. This moment at the Grand Magic Games was a moment that irritated me because I found this unnecessary. We're supposed to be seeing Lucy show out and do her best to win, yet she's made light of and when Lucy summons one of her celestial spirits, Gemini in a towel.
A literal towel.
Before the eyes of everyone.
In my opinion, it really downplayed the moment. I was already getting kinda frustrated because I really wanted Lucy to have a memorable moment in the series. In the Fairy Tail community, I feel like Lucy gets overshadowed and I feel like she's looked down upon and seen as weak.
When she's the furthest thing from weak. Sure, Lucy fights a bit differently than the others, considering she summons celestial spirits through keys, but I think that makes her unique.
Not weak.
Not to mention that Lucy has gotten to the point where she can use the powers of her summons while simultaneously fighting alongside them.
One other complaint I have with Fairy Tail is the "Power of Friendship" troupe which is probably my main dislike about Fairy Tail. To be frank, I feel like it's overused and spammed so much that it becomes BS. Now obviously I understand the importance of relationships and I get that the "Power of Friendship" or "Protecting your Nakama" or "the Power of Bonds" is a thing. That comes naturally as it is a very common theme in anime and I'm not mad at it.
Like, I don't have a problem with the concept; I like it a lot actually.
However, what I don't like is the way it's over-delivered.
It goes back to what I was saying about moderation and I think it's fair to say that that applies here as well. To be honest, there were plenty of situations where Fairy Tail should have lost or faced some sort of memorable consequence, but instead, they were able to turn the situation around off of pure will. I kid you not, it feels like it goes like this: Fairy Tail members can be losing against someone and then turn the tides the next second because they can't fail their friends.
An example of this is when Erza fought Asuma on Tenrou Island.
Or when Lucy first fought Angel from Oracion Seis.
Another example of this was when Natsu and Gajeel were teamed up to defeat Sting and Rogue. They were both getting pummeled and rocked, yet somehow Gajeel ends up wandering off somewhere and Natsu is able to take them both on himself.
Two Dragon Slayers.
Alone.
Either Dragon Slayers aren't as strong as we thought (which is not the case), or Natsu is too strong. If he has the ability to win no matter what just because he doesn't want to fail his friends, then there's no need for consequences and Natsu will never face any true hardship that will force him to evolve as a character. There's no need to fear death, loss, or anything horrible because they will always come up on top as long as they have each other.
I know this is kinda weird to say about an anime, but it's not exactly realistic.
Give me more moments of Natsu facing someone overwhelmingly strong and then being emotionally crushed when he realizes he's weak. Kinda like what happened with Gildarts.
Let the Fairy Tail gang take a loss from time to time. Let them lose a fight from time to time. They don't have to win every single time. It actually makes things a bit more fun and entertaining when you can't predict it. I mean I love Erza a lot. But Fairy Tail kinda took the fun out of her character a bit.
Like even though Fairy Tail does great with women and makes sure that they get screen time, Erza should not win "simply because she's Erza".
That was a BS line and one that really disappointed me with Erza's character; Erza should have not won that fight against Kyouka. Maybe a few of you will debate with me on the other fights I listed, but this fight was horrendous. You gotta give me that one at least.
Let's move on to my next complaint. This one has to do with Lisanna's death. Simply put, I can't help but feel like there aren't really consequences in Fairy Tail at all. Once again, it's predictable and you know there's going to be a cop-out somehow. And while I hate to use Lisanna's death as an example, I think it's a good one to use.
Personally, I didn't think this was necessary and I really feel like it basically pooped on everything that Mirajane and Elfman went through. We saw that Mirajane's personality completely flipped; she changed and stopped fighting because of this. And I mean what was the point of bringing Lisanna back when she's literally doing nothing.
They weren't utilizing her for much of anything.
Not even as a love interest.
In my opinion, if Lisanna was to be brought back for anything at all, it should've been as a love interest at the bare minimum.
This kinda goes back to that lack of memorable consequences thing I mentioned earlier. There are very few deaths in Fairy Tail and that's not an issue at all. The issue is when these characters are going to die or appear dead (like Lisanna) and are brought back to do nothing. And in a show that feels as consequence-light as Fairy Tail, I feel like that does more harm than good.
And what about that moment with Makarov? That bothered me more than I thought it would. But just when I thought that he was going to finally kick the bucket and sacrifice himself to help Fairy Tail prevail, even that moment was pooped on as well.
Turning Point
Alright!
So I had a lot to say about Fairy Tail and I feel like a good bit of it was negative, so let's shine some light on some positive aspects of the series.
The first turning point I want to give Fairy Tail credit for would have to be how the women are written. The women have decent and great backstories. It may not matter much to others, but this is something that is really important to me. Like if the anime already has great character development and great writing, that's great.
But if the women are written well, that's a huge bonus.
Because for some reason, I don't think that's something that everyone can excel in. Let's look at Naruto for an example, as it's the first anime that comes to my mind that has this problem. Let's be honest, Naruto excels in many things, but the women having decent development is not one of them.
In fact, I'd argue it's Naruto's weakest point.
Now the next turning point has to do with romantic relationships and love interests. Fairy Tail does a really good job with ships. Like you have a pretty good idea of who feels what for who and it's pretty clear cut. There's no confusion on that end at least. Unlike Naruto, there are not a million different love triangles or anything messy like that. I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the point.
Anyway, I think that's pretty much all I have for now. Let me know what you think! Do you have anything that you dislike about Fairy Tail? Anything that bothers you? What about likes? Let me know down below; thanks for tuning in!
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