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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 203

Okay, I get that tenrou is based on an upside-down tree (baobab?) or something, but like. The characters point out several times how it looks like there's an island above the island.

So. Not doing anything up there is just a unloaded Chekhov's gun. That's a big upset. Why would you do nothing with that fun location design.

C'mon. Mashima. Put one goddamn battle up there. Let us see the view from the top. Why did you make this island a tree and not let anyone climb it at least once? Heck. The one time we were teased to go up we get interrupted by Zeref? And in the end we never went up there?? This is bullying. If I'm ever reincarnated into Fairy Tail my life's goal would be to climb that fucking tree. That's how frustrated I am at this wasted good location design.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 202

It's a bit of a shame that we don't come full circle with this one, actually. This moment, in hindsight, is incredibly powerful once we find out what Cana told her here.

Lucy, whose relationship with her father is permanently fractured and just starting to rebuild again--- hears that Cana is struggling with the same problem. What these girls want is to reconnect with their father again, to receive that love they've craved their whole life again. Lucy knows how painful it is, and that's why, she helps Cana.

Which is heartbreaking when Lucy comes home, only to realize her father passed away in the seven years gap.

I'm all for Nalu and Happy doing what they do best, but I do feel it is such a shame we don't get a scene of Cana helping Lucy through that grief of losing her father. Of Cana mourning with her, if only to return the favour of company that Lucy gave to her here. It'd be the final staple to this whole Cana arc of family, reconnections, loss, and moving on.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 202

The two ship-based pairs in thie arc are actually... quite similar? The set up the upcoming couples, but other than that.

They both started off as enemies. Specifically, the S-class candidate in these teamups lost against their partners. Definitely people focus more on Gajevy and its problematic parts, but I feel it's not as emphasized how Evergreen turned Elfman into stone after curbstomping him in Fantasia. It's the same 'one sided defeat followed by being put on display/humiliated' situation.

I guess, sure, it was only a short fight and not nearly as bad as crucifying someone after marking her belly with the enemy's insignia, but like. I feel Elfgreen could have had an interestingly shaky development similar to Gajevy's powerful strides, if they didn't immediately focus on Tsundere and ganguro tropes. Not to say Gajevy was perfect or anything, they had their tremors, but like, Mashima knew where he was going with it.

Pointedly, Evergreen and Gajeel are both pushy and dominant, and Elfman and Levy are often just strung along their pace. (Especially in the case Evergreen fakes being engaged to Elfman to get past Mirajane.) Both of these pairs needed the help of their partners to get as far as they did on Tenrou. (Elfman definitely wouldn't have gotten past Mira if it wasn't for Evergreen being the crafty person she is, and well, Gajeel does literally save Levy.)

Elfman and Levy do pull their weight at times, but in the middle of the arc, they both break down crying because their partners are unconscious and they're mourning the fact they couldn't protect them better.

It's... a big thorough parallel, actually, I'm quite fascinated how far it goes. Maybe I'll follow them both along as we go through the arc's battles later on.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 202

See? the whole thing about Lisanna wanting to be a bride when she grows up is good here. I'm talking in the context of Juvia!

Juvia found the joy of friendship with Lucy. She then found the joy of family with Cana. Now, she's going to discover love with Lisanna.

I'm not saying this as in she's going to fall in love with Lisanna (though Jusanna seems like it'd be a cute rarepair...), I mean that Lisanna has always been a love-centric, 'raise a family with warmth and motherly love' sort of nurturing character. (She did, after all, roost Happy with Natsu and taught him how to care for and warm something gently. She would be teaching that exaact same lesson to Juvia, who has only known strength-based expressions in her life.)

Juvia knows she loves Gray, but she doesn't know how to express it, or how to handle it at all (the whole regressing to Phantom Juvia thing once she learned about Edolas). Lisanna is here to fix that! She sees a girl in love and wants to meddle!

Juvia's character arc is dependent on the fact that she is already strong, and thus, her journey in Fairy Tail is the journey to find emotions, and the many forms of love she can now experience. She never got any of it when she was a child, and that's why all her new arcs with the girls in Fairy Tail is so important.

Alas, the one with Lisanna that was clearly set up here? it didn't go anywhere. Instead, Juvia found another arc with Meredy. It was also an arc about motherly love! It was also powerful, but it offset everything, and I think Mashima lost sight of it all afterward, because Juvia ended up just focusing on Gray henceforth.

I do wish we saw this. Of course, don't take out the Meredy story--- this should've been a character arc that starts from Juvia getting to know Lisanna and what she experiences in love-- and then applying it when she encounters Meredy. I think it would've still made sense without taking anything away from her fight with Meredy and the whole protecting Gray situation happening then. It'll actually enrich Juvia as a character, add another layer to Gruvia even, and Juvia's care for Meredy should've been built upon further after the arc ended to become the next Juvia-discovering- emotions saga. Alas.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 202

It is still fascinating to me that all of the Fairy Tail cats, including Loke, have their guild marks in the center of their backs. Like, the exceeds do that because they don't have space elsewhere, but Loke is just a funny coincidence or deliberate visual humour lmao

It's like the Dragons all having it on their upper arm thing, except it's the Cats having this species telepathy instinct going on too.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 202

I'm savouring this panel. It's one of the last moments we actually see spirits having a life and history outside Lucy and their role as her powerset.

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Hey, first I wanted to say I love your analyses. I feel you bring a layer of nuance typically overlooked in a straightforward shounen like Fairy Tail.

Second, I was curious what your reaction was to the introduction of Zeref in chapter 200. He’s my favorite character. I think he, especially in Tenrou, brought the level of nuance to Fairy Tail that clashed with the messages of love and camaraderie that would’ve been interesting to unfold if not for his handling in Alvarez (which I’ll always be mad at where his character ended up going).

Hi <3 thank you! That makes me happy to hear, I really like doing these analyses, even though I've slowed down recently. There's just so much the fandom doesn't talk about (or at least have stopped talking about) in FT, especially since it has lost lots of hype since its days as mainstream shounen.

Zeref! I remember being obsessed with Zeref's reveal.

I watched FT in the era where the 7y time skip just happened. Fairy Tail's anime, which was sourly cut off at the climax of GMG, was essentially carried by the existence of Zeref. At the crest of the story's first big saga (pre time skip) we dug into the history of Fairy Tail and then revealed the story's final antagonist, the name that has always been around us, Dark Mage Zeref. And then of all directions to go-- we realise Natsu is connected to him. Which meant the disappearance of the dragons, Fairy Tail's history, the mysterious sevens--- it was all connected, somehow.

It was such a monumental full circle, because Zeref showing up on Tenrou enriched the story in a way that really felt coherent. The seven year time skip felt like the checkpoint where the real mysteries began to unravel. And they did--- Eclipse, Tartaros, the reveals just tore down the mysteries piece by piece. I will always be bitter about how anticlimactically it happened, but this started it all.

I love Zeref's entire concept. The best antagonists are foils of the hero-- in the sense that our hero could have so easily been in the villain's position if the world was against him. That's exactly what Zeref is-- Zeref is someone with so much love and kindness in him that he could be a perfect member of Fairy Tail. And yet, because of the Curse of Ankhseram, he became its antithesis.

In Tenrou, Zeref holds the same perspective as every Fairy Tail member including the viewer--- death is bad, horrible, and sad, and he would do anything and endure any pain to prevent it. But at the end of the arc, Zeref discards that ideal, and punishes Hades with death. In this arc, Zeref is an ally, and his actions and role in the arc never sets him up in a position to antagonise Fairy Tail--- and yet, because he brings death, he is regarded as evil. While he was never a cruel or hateful person like the villains so far, he is still the most dangerous enemy we'll have, and that's made clear from the start.

This is interesting, because up until now, Fairy Tail's enemy has always been people who attacked them first. Let's ignore Alvarez for a moment--- Zeref has always been there even from Lullaby Arc, indirectly involved in everything. Zeref has never been the instigator, but they have always been fighting against him (Deliora, Tower of Heaven, Oracion Seis being a result of Tower of Heaven)-- almost like this battle was always inevitable. It feels ironic, in the way that Fairy Tail's true enemy has never been some kind of outside force that will pick battles--- their biggest enemy will always be destiny. Even after they fix a problem, another crops up, and the next problem comes from previously unsolved strings, and it'll never end, it'll just get bigger!

Zeref and Mavis, in their youth, thought they were being passionate and full of love. But that brought them both into ruin. That's why Fairy Tail's stretch towards its final antagonist is similar--- they live strong and passionate, protecting and loving each other... unaware that the darkness is encroaching with no way to stop it, and the darkness within the guild (Fairy Heart) will one day be the reason they're eaten alive by their own greed. It's by no fault of their own, because it was always inevitable.

Zeref and Mavis' story of failed love, and love that hurt the people they held dear--- it was made as an antithesis to the whole starting saga of Fairy Tail. And neither of them did anything stupid or evil-- it can hardly be called a mistake. It just happened because their passion for magic and their love for their friends, the things they trusted and lived by, betrayed them.

And that's such an insanely bold way to frame an antagonists' message in a story about the power of friendship. It was so strong, I don't think Mashima ever managed to give it a good resolution. They moved on, and they were able to return to the cycle of life-- but it didn't solve the problem.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 202

I am so happy that Loke gets character development by having a whole role in Tenrou arc as a candidate. I love that Mashima gave him a whole arc to play a role in, even a proper opponent set up and everything. This is my Loke bias talking.

Also, Gray always wears winter coats, but this time specifically he's wearing one with a furred hood just like Loke used to wear and my Grayloke heart is not okay

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 202

He was born with a larger-than average body, and isolated him from his fellow Exceeds. Which is why he doesn't mind his current tiny one.

That. Is very cute actually.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 201

Unfortunately, since Levy is written as what she is, she'll always feel out of place in this bracket. I feel like Levy was really owed more moments to shine in battle, because she really has never won an on-screen fight on her own. Like, ever. It's always a tag-team or off-screen narration. At least Elfman won his fight with Sol, and Freed was a genuine threat in Fantasia. Levy's only role in the show thus far has been to 'be smart', and the upcoming 'lucky route' and 'helpless until saved by Gajeel' chain of events don't help her case at all.

I'm so sad. I love Levy. But the story doesn't do her justice until Gajevy comes around, and I wish there were more Levy wins than Gajevy wins, please.

Cana is a different case, she's clearly the focus character of the arc, and Mest, a new character right now, is an outlier that needs to be in attention for story purposes. The rest of the members fit fine, though, and I quite like that Lucy is not in the bracket, which is unusual for heroines in the tournament arc.

Also, canonically, Juvia is the outlier in this bracket! Which is fun, at least until she lost in the first round and proceeds to prove that she's not taking her candidancy seriously at all, which is very disrespectful honestly I wish they'd stop framing those moments as humour.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 201

Honestly, I think it's really cute that Lisanna is a girl in love with the idea of love. It's kind of like Juvia but in a slightly different, less obsessive way, and that's why I also like they teamed up in Tenrou. It's a fun character to explore. Lisanna adopted the role of a waitress in Edolas, and for a slightly tomboyish character type, it's sweet that she wants to get married as a dream of sorts.

Personally I don't look for marriage, but Lisanna does, and there hasn't been a character explicitly looking forward to one day finding love and settling down in the guild. (Sherry, for example, is one.)

At this point in the story, it's a fairly unique dream. Lucy and Erza want freedom, Juvia wants belonging, and Lisanna wants to one day build her own family that means just as much to her as her siblings. Her whole thing is 'love for family', so it suits her! Now if only we expanded a little more on her and her entire character in general, she could have been a solid character.

It honestly feels quite more like Mira's thing, if I'm honest. Lisanna seems less like the type to want to find love, which is exactly why I want to see more of this. It could really help build her up and have all her separate personality pieces fit together and make sense as the old precocious tease she used to be. She's mature, willing to hurt herself to hide secrets that could hurt the people she loves-- maybe one day there'll come a character that can see right through her kind lies. Wouldn't that be truly the romance she wished for?

To clarify, this isn't really a nice stereotype to put into all girls that get canon romances, but before Gajevy canonized and Mashima put Levy into the meek housewife role, I'd honestly have liked a character whose dream was to settle down and make a family. Especially in a story so heavily themed around family like Fairy Tail. Almost all nuclear families in this story is broken in some way, and I feel like it'd be powerful to finally have one that's picture perfect. I think Gajevy is headed in that direction, but I'm afraid Mashima'll do the same to Juvia and Erza. It would be bad for all of them to decharacterise into those stereotypes, especially Nalu, whose entire dynamic centers upon the fact and she and Natsu will always go on adventures together.

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Btw, following on the previous analysis about Edolas and Tenrou being about family reunions/reconciliations: GMG is about losing family and travelling across time to make sure they live.

Future Lucy for Fairy Tail, Future Rogue for Frosch, the five Dragons saving their kids across 400 years, and of course, Ultear's Last Ages saving many, many lives.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 200

Find it quite poetic that the arcs from Edolas to Tenrou are the arcs of reuniting lost family after being separated.

Gildarts reunites with the guild after getting horribly hurt-- he mentions a dragon, which makes Natsu miss Igneel. Then he mentions Lisanna, which leads us to the bittersweet grave visit in the heavy rain. And then when Anima comes, the Wendy is ripped away from her new family. After a long, hard fight, they're all finally reunited. In all of these, 'coming back alive when some people thought they could have been dead' is a theme.

Edolas is the arc of reuniting with lost family that have been separated, and then Tenrou is the arc of reuniting estranged family, separated because one side didn't know the truth behind their separation.

First, we have Natsu and Zeref, who meet after four hundred years only for Natsu to not remember him. We then have Cana and Gildarts, because she was too afraid to tell him the truth he didn't know about. Then, we have Ultear and Ur, who after a horrible misunderstanding in their lifetime, died without ever reconciling. There is a death involved in all of these.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 200

I understand why we never had extensive interactions with the Edolas cast, but I'm still kinda bitter honestly. They would've been so cute if we had time for it. I don't think it's possible, but I'd love to see a reverse Edolas arc, where Edolas versions get to see more of our Earthland family. I think it'd be bittersweet, considering a lot of the Edolas guild are canonically dead.

Honestly, I think Earth Cana and Edolas Levy would get along well. Edo Shadow Gear would so bully their Earth counterparts, and Gajeel would step in.

I think Edo Lucy would fall in love with Earth Mirajane when she sees Satan Soul.

Edo Natsu would be crying once he realizes there are no magic car technology here either (carriages are slower), but then Earth Gray introduces the bikes and he'd love it. But he won't be able to use SE Plugs, so I can see Earth Gray taking Edo Natsu on a bike race.

Somehow I can see Earth Juvia trying very hard to understand Edo Gray. Like, he's meek, and shy, and precious beyond belief, and she'd look at him like some kind of precious untainted being and she wouldn't even know what to do except declare her undying love and Edo Gray would combust instantly. In the battle of who declares their love first, they both get bashed over the head by Edo Juvia and Earth Gray and promptly removed from the scene. Edo Juvia and Earth Gray proceed to politely apologize to each other for their respective buffoons before promising to never come within vicinity of each other again because their idiots will not behave. (Also because their idiot is their idiot and they are not sharing)

I'm going too far. I'll leave my rant here.

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 200

Warning: generally negative.

And so the decharacterisation of Juvia begins. Like, I get that Gray was the reason she broke out of her rain woman slump and all, but her new hairstyle and her friendships within the guild came from Lucy and Cana. Why does everything get reset all the way to Phantom era just because of Gray?

I feel like this could've been some kind of deep character building moment in the long term-- it could have been Juvia realizing she was being overdependent on Gray because the second he discards her (he wasn't holding on to her particularly to begin with) she dissolves back into being socially inept. It could've been her moment to go from focusing on Gray to focusing on herself and her own goals. Does she return to this form because it's the one that Gray saved? Did she want his attention again, so she reverted, so Gray could save her again? I wish it went in that direction, because then there would be something. But there wasn't. This was just Mashima's brand of humour, and it's what begins Fairy Tail's downward spiral.

Which is ridiculous! She spent so much time away from them in Nirvana and Edolas and was fine until Happy told her about Edolas Gruvia!

It's so unhealthy and I wish I could be joking right now, but I can't. It isn't even portrayed as negative unlike her usual stalker shenanigans. God forbid, when it happened in Avatar it was entirely stated that Gray was the one that needed to be brought back to their side because Juvia's not okay without him. Sure, Gray needed to be brought home, but no one mentions how Juvia is way too fucking dependent on her man that she's somehow completely unable to take care of herself once he's gone! She made herself sick and wandered about like a zombie without any meaning left in her!

What did she spend so many months in the guild for, if she somehow never experienced family enough to remember it after Gray left? Even Phantom Lord taught her the meaning of 'being accepted regardless of your flaws/baggage' and you're telling me Fairy Tail gave her nothing except crippling overdependence on Gray?

When did she become someone that only lived for Gray? Where is my strong and brutal, desperate to prove herself, confident, self-sacrificing shy girl? Where is the girl that just wanted Cana to accept her, where is the girl that hurt herself to save Gray from Meredy, where is the girl that brought Gajeel to Fairy Tail because she didn't want him to be alone after Phantom disbanded? Where is the girl that, when mind-controlled, cried because she didn't want to hurt Lucy anymore? Where is she?

I really feel like this moment and the later Avatar situation could've been a character building moment to enrich both her and Gruvia as a dynamic. Rather than Avatar completely tuning all the blame on Gray, it should've been a moment where Juvia herself went to save Gray and bring him home. She proves her place later on, during the Water Make moment--- but that's about her love for Gray. What about her pride as a member of Fairy Tail, as family, as Juvia Lockser, the strong and independent rain girl that now knows the sun? Where the fuck is she, Mashima? Why were we robbed of the moment where Juvia, after growing as a member of Fairy Tail, went and brought Gray home to a place that would accept him after he turned to the dark side? Where is Juvia bringing Gray into the sun to bring their development and relationship full circle? Why is Gruvia going up and down like a cheese grater?

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Happy 2024!

Will be rambling about fairies once more. Happy year of the Dragon!

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 200

One thing that's similar between Fairy Tail and One Piece, and a big part about why these two manga do nakamaship so well, is probably the post-battle banquet. While in One Piece the trend is that it gets bigger and bigger, in Fairy Tail it's always similarly wild, and sometimes it's less "yay we made it through hell" and more "oh hey, welcome home". Both are good.

I love the spirit of "let's find any excuse to drink and dance and be idiots!" it's just the spirit of how we can always just forget everything and have fun celebrating the present.

Also, this Raijinshuu reintroduction. I wish we did more. I kinda wonder what would've happened if these three decided to adopt Lisanna into their tribe instead. Sure it's more story coherent that she formed a team with her siblings, but just for narrative advancements it'd be fun because these three are some of the ones we don't see any interactions of them with Lisanna, because they're not in the kid era. Wouldn't it be funny if Mirajane and Elfman, overprotective and all, were like 'how about you go on missions with the raijinshuu from now on? Safer that way. And that's just. A thing from now on. Gives the thunder legion development while giving Lisanna a fun new experience rather than just going off her experiences in Edolas.

Like, would it be funny if Laxus came back and Lisanna was like hah! they bodyguard me now! And laxus, who never really cared that the tribe were technically guards, would just be like didn't you die, and then he would be completely on board with the protect Lisanna agenda. It'd be funny