Shonen Beam

[chapter link]

We’ve gone from cat-fighting (literally) to royal family issues. This could bear some weight, but again, it’s another instance of lack of character development coming back to hurt the story. Mystogan has never been solidly established, so I have no attachment to him, and as a result, I don’t care about his relationship with the king.

The king is in a steam-powered dragon mech. Sure. Why not?

The spur is just gratuitous

I’m finding it difficult to root against the people firing beams that turn cats into collectibles.

Finally, a little action for Mystogan. Unfortunately, the king had to bring up the major problem with Mystogan: He’s Gerard. There are numerous obvious reasons one can dislike Fairy Tail, the most notable of which is the comparison to One Piece. An underrated reason is “absolutely anything to with Gerard.”

After all this time, the little Mystogan action we get to see is him being defeated almost immediately. What a way to kill the suspense and sense of legitimacy built around a supposedly strong character.

Wendy is doing something! Excellent. Long overdue. Also, Gazille gets to keep fighting after all.

Final Flash: Getting closer to the end of this arc, which is a great positive. Unfortunately, Erza Knightwalker still hasn’t been defeated.