Shonen Beam

[chapter link]

I’m not sure how I feel about the female being reduced to the role of “cleric,” but it’s nice to see Wendy as an integral part of the action.

Missile arrays feel out of place in a magical fantasy series.

Natsu had to save poor little Wendy after all. When she was introduced, I was hoping Mashima had finally created a female character strong enough to stand on relatively even terms with Natsu. She even had the Dragonslayer title backing her up. Ultimately, though, it seems like she’s being firmly cast as support, even in the hierarchy of Dragonslayers.

The Dragonslayers’ ability to eat magic continues to play a far too important role in climactic fights.

No argument here

Black Heaven? Does Mashima not realize that’s the name of a different series? Someone should have given him a cautionary warning.

Mystogan was defeated on purpose. Garbage.

I’ve heard of lazy eyes, but lazy eye sockets? It might just be an optical illusion caused by the facepaint, but something seems horribly wrong with Mystogan’s facial structure here:

Awkward art

About time Erza v Erza is beginning to be settled. This should have happened chapters ago.

Final Flash: A couple moments of decent action, and we’re edging closer towards resolution.

[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.

[chapter link]

It’s The Disbeliever! This generic shonen character is generally a decent soul who fights for the wrong side because a hardened heart limits his/her willpower, which, in such generic shonen series, is usually the primary source of energy. S/he provides constant negative reinforcement to the protagonist (and associated group, if applicable) for continuing to fight, because defeating the major antagonist is “impossible.” Proving this character wrong is a primary function of the protagonist.

The Disbeliever

Is there anything more inspiring than a flock of crying winged cats in flight? … actually, don’t answer that.

Lily crying could have been a pivotal, touching moment if his character type wasn’t so overused, therefore making his eventual breakdown obvious. Also, he’s still a cat. Are you crying because Mufasa died, Lily?

Honestly, I’m not trying to unfairly criticize this series. The entirety of Fairy Tail is still enjoyable, but because of its solid action and good core group of characters. A little element of the unusual is acceptable, but that element must complement the series, rather than overwhelm it. A few cat characters (Happy, Charle) in the grand scheme of a series are acceptable. A parallel world full of cat civilizations, cat government, cat conflict and cat plot is not. If, before reading Fairy Tail, all you knew about it was the following picture, would you have read it?

Not what we signed up for

Mystogan saves the day. I’m a little torn on this. It’s great that Natsu isn’t the strongest character in Fairy Tail (the guild), but Mystogan is one of those characters whose amazing strength and ability is only told to us and never fully shown. Having him come and solve a major problem is okay, but it would be better to see him more involved, to demonstrate his skill for the audience.

Lily’s expression as he is shot is more comical than pained.

Bizarro Erza isn’t finished yet. Seems like a major battle will ensue between the swarms following behind her and the cats. Hopefully Erza v. Erza will be a suitable focal point.

Final Flash: Standard flashback and standard exposition for a standard character.

The Edolas arc

[chapter link]

At least this chapter doesn’t claim to be the climax.

As usual, Lucy is useless. Screaming at inanimate objects tends not to solve problems, dear.

In the long run, the disappointment of Gazille’s fight being cut short could pave the way for more focus on him in the future. Hopefully, the fact that he (presumably) will have a cat companion means that he will begin to matter as much as the main group.

That said, I find myself depressed at the prospect of a character being legitimized thanks only to a cat.

“I don’t need infinite magic. I want an infinite smile!!” is a horrible line. This girl is approaching cat-city levels of terrible.

Mashima has no capacity for dramatic scenes. “Even if it splinters my body, I’ll just stop it with my soul!” Really? That’s the best you could do? Terribly cheesy.

I take it back. This cat-city focus is too much. Can we go back to the little girl now?

There’s no sense of shock in revealing a “major” secret about a character we’ve never met. Also, lone-wing character design is stale.

The lack of character establishment leading to this moment would likely have prevented me from enjoying these scenes regardless, but it’s absolutely impossible to take it seriously because they’re cats.

Final Flash: At least the cats are approaching the climax of their storyline. Anything to be done with them.

[chapter link]

Another double false advertisement on this week’s cover page. First, it says “Climax of the Edolas Arc” again, and second, there’s an attractive female. Don’t try to fool me into thinking I want to read this.

There’s still a small chance Mashima could pull a decent twist and have this Erza actually be the Edolas Erza. Doubtful, but possible.

Never mind. Hopes die quickly when reading Fairy Tail.

Okay yes, thank you, everyone and their mother knew that this would happen. Please don’t waste any more pages explaining what was painfully obvious.

Unsurprisingly, Knightwalker is still able to fight. Also unsurprisingly, some kind of cataclysmic event is happening that the cast will have to race against time to prevent. This happens in every arc.

Gazille’s fight is looking like it might be interrupted by the arrival of the cast. This must not happen. Allow the few interesting characters in this series their time to shine.

Final Flash: The “climax” remark seems closer to the truth this time, but we’re still not there. At least two fights plus one catastrophe-avoiding Natsu moment to go.

[chapter link]

A cover page with animals on it? No parallels to be drawn here. Nope. None.

Shut up, Conis! … I mean, Wendy!

Oh, good, Gazille. That’s not sarcasm, either; he’s about the only character I care to see right now.

“I’m gonna make him my cat.” I sincerely hope this happens. Gazille is pretty cool.

P17, bottom-right panel: Was that really necessary?

Oh, Erza. I was wondering how long it would take to get back to her.

Bizarro Erza won? Doubtful. She’s probably the real Erza, ex-quipped to look like the Bizarro Erza, to get past the door.

Final Flash: On one hand, that wasn’t enough Gazille. On the other hand, we get more Gazille later.

[chapter link]

The cover reminds me of what I actually like about this series: jovial, lighthearted action. Not over-the-top comedy, nor feigned emotion. I hope for a cool-down arc after this one.

It’s Batman! Oh, sorry, Gray’s bike looked familiar.

Typical talkative enemy.

The climax of this fight is going to be two guys holding hands?

What was I just saying about over-the-top comedy? It’s not like all the seriousness has to be saved for Natsu’s final fight.

Gray has some pretty cool attacks. It’s a pity he hasn’t been given a real fight in this arc.

Good last page. That’s just the right amount of cleverness that this series, when at its best, is able to offer.

Final Flash: A one-chapter fight. Even if it was silly, I’m pleased with its brevity. Let’s hope for the same with Erza, but I wouldn’t mind a little more time with Gazille.

[chapter link]

Cover page says “Climax of the Edolas Arc.” I am holding you to this, chapter.

Taurus: Useless, as always.

Virgo, now. Proving Lucy’s powerlessness before she reveals a new summon, maybe? I don’t know. There’s no sense of purpose to this fight.

I am entirely unsurprised that Mashima is having a cute girl fighting a baddie with tentacles.

You can’t use a “protect your friends” speech when the character is trying to save a stranger. This is a basic storytelling principle.

Yep, Lucy proved to be unnecessary. Natsu would have come through that wall and saved the day whether or not the octopus guy was tied up. Chalking this up to fanservice.

Two mid-bosses were defeated, and that’s the “climax of the Edolas arc”? Gray hasn’t even fought, Erza is still fighting herself somewhere, the old man has yet to reveal his power, and there are surely at least two more “shocking” developments in this cheap Enies Lobby ripoff.

Final Flash: Chapter, that’s unacceptable false advertising. I demand to see your supervisor, chapter.

When’s the last time you saw One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, etc., use a narrative box for recap purposes? Even Hunter x Hunter doesn’t do that, and it goes on hiatus for months at a time. Major series don’t need to refresh anyone’s memory.

Magic vs. … a guy who throws boats.

Wait, or is it magic vs. an amusement park?

Okay, two notes on the other, uglier baddie: 1. Kurama; 2. his weapon can make anything soft and limp? I don’t even have to say anything; the jokes write themselves.

Ugh, taking a roller-coaster picture? Really?

Dramatic Natsu panels have lost all their edge at this point. They’re like “shocking” twists in the last three pages of any given Bleach chapter.

Nice to see Aquarius facing a real challenge. She was too one-dimensional of a character.

Mashima would be well served learning to stagger fights in such a way that not every single protagonist is on the brink of the losing, while simultaneously the world faces some kind of cataclysm, before inevitably someone (Natsu) turns the tide and saves the day.

Final Flash: Stupid amusement park.

Cat Island is expendable, for the record.

Natsu’s face is amusing, but his reaction is predictable. So little originality in his character.

Wendy might be the stereotypical “little girl with secret power thrust into difficult situation,” but she’s still cute.

Gazille! More of him would be entirely acceptable.

So he’s just going to go punch the crystals? Yeah, I’m sure no one will interfere.

… “I’m sure no one will interfere,” he said.

Transparent foreshadowing, but unlike Naruto, where it leads to plot advancement, this is entirely gratuitous. An amusement park? Really?

More weirdo enemies.

Final Flash: “At least we’re moving forward” is becoming a tired assessment of this series. Some decent storytelling along the way wouldn’t hurt.

[chapter link]

Nice try, Doppelganger! Save it for Queen Doppelpopolis. … wait, wrong series.

At least one Erza was kind enough to put markings on her face.

The way I picture Erza shouting “Explosion!”

I’m actually interested in seeing Gazille in more action. Hopefully he won’t be taken out too quickly and leave all the rest of the Dragon Slayer responsibilities to Natsu.

So all of the main characters are back and they can use magic? Good. We can make actual progress in this arc (and then be done with bizarro-world).

Final Flash: Disappointing that the Erza fight will last more than one chapter, but I can’t complain that we’re moving forward.

[chapter link]

Let’s see how much I can write without mentioning cats.

“What path is left in Edolas without any help?” is a pretty shallow statement. It wouldn’t be predictable shonen manga without someone coming to help them right about now.

Hm, handcuffs that restrain special powers. That sounds familiar.

Activate the Buster Ca– er, Code ETD.

“So, the purpose of strengthening our military was for this…” Yes, it was, Dalton.

What do you know? Someone showed up to help.

Final Flash: The swerve of the humans waging war on the Eksheed is the only redeeming quality of an otherwise linear chapter.

[chapter link]

Please: Fewer cats.

A character named Pyro? I’ll just pretend it’s the Pyro.

“Sugerboy,” too. Wow.

Oh, good. Cats.

… and a million more cats. That square-faced cat makes me rage a little bit every time I see him.

Even if you like Happy, you couldn’t sensibly argue that this arc was a good idea. I love One Piece, and I love Chopper, but a One Piece arc with an entire parallel world full of Choppers would be putrid. Nearly as putrid as this, even.

Final Flash: Hurry up and rescue Natsu. He’s the only chance this arc has of any redemption.