(no subject)
After many months of trying, I finally succeeded in catching up to Fairy Tail.
The story and illustrations are both done by Mashima Hiro, the same manga-ka who created Rave Master. Fairy Tail began serialization in Weekly Shounen Magazine in 2006, and has been running since.
Plot: B
The story revolves around the mage guild Fairy Tail’s newest member, Lucy Heartfilia and the adventures her team get into. Throughout the series, the rule of the Mage Council and the looming shadow of a believed to be dead dark mage Zeref come forward and retreat the the background in order to move each story arc’s individual plot along.
There are several other mysteries mixed in, including the significance of the year X777, and the disappearance of the world’s dragons.
It may not have the most unique plot, it still keeps readers engaged.
Universe: A+
The world of Fairy Tail, known as Earthaland. The world is made up of several kingdoms and nations, and within those nations rest the mage guilds or the world. Guilds serve as a way for normal people to seek a magical solution to their problems, for a price of course. The Light Guilds are guilds that are approved and operate under the umbrella of the Mage Council. Dark Guilds are guilds are ones that no longer or never did have the approval of the Council. They make up the majority of Fairy Tail’s enemies.
Besides Earthland, there is an alternate world known as Edolas. It is a mirror of Earthland, with many of the same inhabitants, but with different personalities, but there is also one key difference. On Earthland, magic is within a person, though the earth itself also has magic. On Edolas, magic refers to magical artifacts, and it isn’t ever replenishing.
Overall the entire universe is very well thought out, and Mashima brings out the rules of the universe to readers in such a way that there isn’t a giant block of exposition.
Characters: A-
The cast of Fairy Tails is huge. And yet, they are still a Cast of Snowflakes. New characters are introduced every story arc, but many of them still find a way to make a reappearance later on. The dynamic of Fairy Tail is often compared to the dynamic surrounding the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece.
In the interest of this review having an ending, I’ll only review the Main-Main cast.
Overall, the characters are interesting, and while some of the characters have tragic pasts, many of them have had fairly good childhoods.
Art: B
The art style changes little throughout the series, but even with the consistency, the range in character designs are still impressive. Many of the female characters, Wendy being the exception, are rather large breasted, giving rise to quite a few fanservice fights. Mashima doesn’t shy away from drawing in backgrounds either, unlike some artists. Nor does he keep characters in the exact same outfit. Natsu being one of the few who’s clothes never really change.
Miscellaneous:
There are a ton of Shoutouts to Rave Master in the series. The wiki page has a whole article listing them. It’s always fun seen them.
Overall: B+
I really wish I’d read this sooner.
The story and illustrations are both done by Mashima Hiro, the same manga-ka who created Rave Master. Fairy Tail began serialization in Weekly Shounen Magazine in 2006, and has been running since.
Plot: B
The story revolves around the mage guild Fairy Tail’s newest member, Lucy Heartfilia and the adventures her team get into. Throughout the series, the rule of the Mage Council and the looming shadow of a believed to be dead dark mage Zeref come forward and retreat the the background in order to move each story arc’s individual plot along.
There are several other mysteries mixed in, including the significance of the year X777, and the disappearance of the world’s dragons.
It may not have the most unique plot, it still keeps readers engaged.
Universe: A+
The world of Fairy Tail, known as Earthaland. The world is made up of several kingdoms and nations, and within those nations rest the mage guilds or the world. Guilds serve as a way for normal people to seek a magical solution to their problems, for a price of course. The Light Guilds are guilds that are approved and operate under the umbrella of the Mage Council. Dark Guilds are guilds are ones that no longer or never did have the approval of the Council. They make up the majority of Fairy Tail’s enemies.
Besides Earthland, there is an alternate world known as Edolas. It is a mirror of Earthland, with many of the same inhabitants, but with different personalities, but there is also one key difference. On Earthland, magic is within a person, though the earth itself also has magic. On Edolas, magic refers to magical artifacts, and it isn’t ever replenishing.
Overall the entire universe is very well thought out, and Mashima brings out the rules of the universe to readers in such a way that there isn’t a giant block of exposition.
Characters: A-
The cast of Fairy Tails is huge. And yet, they are still a Cast of Snowflakes. New characters are introduced every story arc, but many of them still find a way to make a reappearance later on. The dynamic of Fairy Tail is often compared to the dynamic surrounding the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece.
In the interest of this review having an ending, I’ll only review the Main-Main cast.
- Lucy Heartfilia: One of the female protagonists. She is a Stellar Spirit Mage, giving her the ability to contract and summon spirits from a different realm for battle. Lucy isn’t the most useful members of the cast, her main purpose being that of fanservice, considering how often her clothing gets torn to shreds. She has however, successfully defeated more powerful mages, though often with some help.
- Natsu Dragneel: A male protagonist of the series. He is a Fire Dragonslayer. His magic was taught to him by the dragon Igneel, Natsu’s foster-father. His abilities revolve around the fire he is capable of generating from all parts of his body. He can also ingest the flames created by others in order to boost his power. He also has a habit of eating other kinds of magic he isn’t supposed to. Like most dragonslayers, he suffers from severe motion sickness. Even a bicycle could make him incredibly ill and weak. No one knows why. His first name follows a trend in Mashima’s work of a male protagonist named after each of the four seasons. Though there hasn’t been anyone named Fuyu yet.
- Happy: A magical cat known as an Exceed. His particular species originates from Edolas. His only magical ability is being able to generate wings and fly.
- Gray Fullbuster: An Ice-Make Mage, capable of creating anything out of ice. He has an ongoing rivalry with Natsu. Do to his training as a child, he was forced to spend time outside in the snow in nothing more than his underwear, and as a result, he has become a compulsive stripper. He can control it enough to keep his pants on, but when not on the job, he is most likely walking about guild headquarters in nothing more than his boxers. He also bears a slight resemblance to Musica, a character from Mashima’s previous work, Rave Master.
- Erza Scarlet: Another female protagonist with the ability to Ex-Quip (short for Exchange Equipment). It allows her change out her armor and weapons in battle to suit the situation. She can even Ex-Quip civilian clothing. Erza is considered one of the most powerful mages in Fairy Tail. She is one of four S-class mages in the guild.
- Wendy Marvell: Currently the youngest member of Fairy Tail. She is a Sky Dragonslayer. Her abilities are meant more for defense and support by boosting the strength, defense, or speed of another mage. She really has only one attack.
- Carla: Another Exceed, and Wendy’s self-appointed protector. She doesn’t like Happy much.
Overall, the characters are interesting, and while some of the characters have tragic pasts, many of them have had fairly good childhoods.
Art: B
The art style changes little throughout the series, but even with the consistency, the range in character designs are still impressive. Many of the female characters, Wendy being the exception, are rather large breasted, giving rise to quite a few fanservice fights. Mashima doesn’t shy away from drawing in backgrounds either, unlike some artists. Nor does he keep characters in the exact same outfit. Natsu being one of the few who’s clothes never really change.
Miscellaneous:
There are a ton of Shoutouts to Rave Master in the series. The wiki page has a whole article listing them. It’s always fun seen them.
Overall: B+
I really wish I’d read this sooner.