Is Fairy Tail Worth Watching? Here Is Our Review!
Fairy Tail is an adventure and fantasy manga written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, first published on August 23, 2006. There are 545 printed chapters, which have been collected in 63 volumes (tankōbon) when the manga ended in July 2017. The series has also inspired several spin-off manga, including a prequel, Fairy Tail Zero, and a sequel titled Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest. On October 12, 2009, the anime adaptation premiered, whose first season ended on March 30, 2013, with a total of 175 episodes. In August 2012, an anime film was released based on a story derived from the manga. A second anime was produced starting on April 5, 2014, and ending on March 26, 2016, containing 102 new episodes. A new anime part came out in 2018. Due to the popularity of the series, we have decided to tell you whether Fairy Tail is worth watching or not.
As far as shonen anime go, Fairy Tail might not be the most popular one, but it is definitely worth watching if you’re a fan of shonen works. It has a very quirky and fantasy-filled plot set in a world that combines magic, dragons, knights, and whatnot; the characters are also quite interesting and likable; and the animation is pretty high quality. Based on these facts, Fairy Tail is definitely worth watching as a whole.
In the rest of this article, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about Fairy Tail and whether it’s worth your time or not. You’re going to find out the basic production information so that you know the idea behind the series, as well as how the plot of the series fits into the overall narrative, all of which will add up to whether you should watch the series or not. We’re going to help you resolve this issue swiftly.
Should you watch Fairy Tail?
It is well-known that Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece make up the “Big Three” shonen works. Now, Hiro Mashma’s Fairy Tail came out roughly at the same time, and while it was animated a tad later, it was still part of the same stream of anime series, like – for example – Black Clover. These titles have never reached the cult status of the “Big Three” but are still quite famous and often talked about. Fairy Tail is a prime example, and we are about to tell you whether you should spend your time watching it or not.
You need to know beforehand that Fairy Tail is an anime from an older period of time. At the time, anime series ran weekly, and while there were breaks, the breaks were often short, lasting a couple of weeks or months; back then, waiting for more than a year for a new anime episode usually meant that the series was canceled.
In the case of Fairy Tail, that is not true, and while we had some longer pauses, the anime continued until it adapted the whole manga. But, due to its specific schedule, which is something that new anime fans are not accustomed to, the series has 300+ episodes and numerous fillers (although the overall number of fillers for Fairy Tail is relatively small). This is not something that has to do with the quality of the series, but we had to clarify that for our readers, who might be confused with such a large episode count.
Now that that’s out of the way let us discuss the story of Fairy Tail and some of its other aspects. The world of Fairy Tail is a fantasy world. It combines various elements ranging from medieval iconography, via magic and dragons, to classical shonen tropes. The plot itself is nothing out of the ordinary in the scope of the shonen genre, so if you’re acquainted with how shonen series usually work, Fairy Tail is – more or less – a typical example. It is not as exaggerated as The Seven Deadly Sins, for example, but it is also not as dark as Bleach for example. If we had to compare its quirkiness to another series, we’d say that Fairy Tail is quite close to One Piece, although it is probably the only similarity between these two series.
Be that as it may, the plot of Fairy Tail is definitely intriguing and you’ll have fun exploring the adventures of the protagonists along with them. There are some twists and turns, some major revelations, and – of course – epic battles, all of which are present during the adventures of Natsu and the others. This is a high point of Fairy Tail; if you like shonen anime, you’ll like Fairy Tail.
As for the characters, Natsu is one of the best-known shonen protagonists, whose charisma and oddball personality make him quite likable. He is unlike Ichigo or Naruto, the protagonists of Bleach and Naruto, respectively, but he has a somewhat unique personality that makes him great. The other characters from the series are also quite popular and likable, with Erza Scarlet being among the more popular. There are also a lot of kawaii and -dere types of characters, but they all manage to fit into the world of Fairy Tail in a great way.
The animation and the overall quality of the series are also something the fans will enjoy. Again, it’s not Bleach or Naruto, but the animation quality of the Fairy Tail works is much better than your average shonen anime, which is what fans of the series will definitely confirm. Also, the music – especially some memorable OPs and EDs – is something that you’ll definitely enjoy and is another high point of Fairy Tail. So, what’s the rundown here? Watch Fairy Tail or not?
Well, in our honest opinion, Fairy Tail is definitely one of the better anime out there; it’s not the best, but it is definitely worth watching. Sure, it has a lot of shonen tropes, and sure, the series has 300+ episodes and two movies, but even if you’re not used to that or even if you don’t like shonen tropes that much, the fact that Fairy Tail is an epic adventure you’ll enjoy thoroughly remains. We definitely advise you to venture on the journey with Natsu and his guild to see a different and more traditional fantasy world that will definitely provide enough thrills, chills and laughs for you to enjoy.
What is the story of Fairy Tail?
Fairy Tail takes place in the fictional Earthland, a world of magic. The magic that is always traded is an integral part of the inhabitants’ lives. In addition to the traders, some people live off magic, which is called magicians. Mages belong to different guilds in which they accept orders. One of the strongest guilds in the country, Fairy Tail, resides in the city of Magnolia in the Kingdom of Fiore.
The plot’s focus is, among other things, Lucy Heartfilia, who runs away from home to join Fairy Tail. On her way, she meets the Dragonslayer Natsu Dragneel, who is looking for his foster father, the dragon Igneel, who disappeared seven years ago. His companion is a flying blue cat named Happy. After Natsu saves Lucy from a magician posing as the Salamander and eventually reveals herself to be the real Salamander, she follows him to his guild, Fairy Tail, and joins it.
She forms a team with Natsu and Happy, though at times also includes ice mage Gray Fullbuster and weapons mage Elsa Scarlet. Lucy’s team goes on missions together to earn money. Normal people usually write these out (e.g., hunting monsters), often involving fights with illegal guilds, the so-called dark guilds, and other villains. One day, Fairy Tail is attacked by the Phantom Lord guild. However, she is defeated by the magicians from Fairy Tail and is dissolved.
This introduces two new mages to the guild: water mage Juvia Lockser, who develops feelings for Gray from the very first encounter, and metal dragonslayer Gajeel Redfox, who was raised by the dragon Metalicana. The guild also meets Gerard Fernandes, Elsa’s childhood friend. Ultear Milkovich manipulated him into using the “Tower of Heaven” to revive the black magician Zeref. Natsu defeats Gerard and destroys the Tower of Heaven. Later, the guild is attacked by Laxus Dreyar, grandson of the guild master Makarov Dreyar. This belongs to the guild itself, but it demands more power and thinks it can be obtained through a fighting tournament.
After a difficult fight, which Natsu ultimately wins, Laxus is banished from the guild. A guild alliance is formed to fight the dark magicians guild Oración Seis. This alliance includes select mages from the Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Cait Shelter, and Fairy Tail guilds. Oración Seis tries to revive Gerard, who fell into a kind of coma during the last fight. He is supposed to tell them the location of the weapon Nirvana, with which they want to exchange light for darkness. However, Gerard, who has lost his memory, sides with Fairy Tail. During the fighting, Nirvana is activated but later destroyed by the Alliance. After the fighting is over, the newly formed High Council appears.
