FAIRY TAIL / First Impressions

「解き放たれた絶望」 (Tokihanatareta Zetsubou)
“Unleashed Despair”

I think this was the most exciting episode of the current arc so far and it just keeps getting better. Oh, where do I start? I can begin with Erza’s team – they really surprised me today; I definitely didn’t expect to see Erza lose a battle like this. Also, I’m a bit upset we never saw any impressive action scenes featuring Evergreen, although, considering the fact that Cana was affected by mind controlling magic (dreams) while putting these teams together (according to Bickslow’s conclusion based on Erigor’s story), I’m not surprised to see so many of the teams failing.

It appeared to me that many fans were disappointed in the lack of strength coming from FAIRY TAIL, which is understandable, but I don’t see a reason for them to remain upset now that we’ve been given so many explanations – seven years without any physical activities, bad teamwork because of the teams, and of course – traitors! But this doesn’t mean that they will keep losing all fights; the story will just progress a bit slower which is good considering how close to the manga the anime is.

Aside from the losses, we’ve had some successful teams as well! Sometimes, I forget how striking Juvia can be when she’s engaged in a battle. It’s been so long since we saw her fighting seriously. I thought her battle against Gatman was very impressive, and I was slightly sad when Gajeel ended the fight so quickly. I wouldn’t mind if the battle would’ve been a minute longer. Gajeel and Juvia’s triumphant victory didn’t come as a surprise to me as they’re both originally from the same guild and have probably fought together several times before joining FAIRY TAIL.

The contradictions within Zentopia are continuing. While it was obvious that Oración Seis were part of Zentopia, it is now a given fact. Technically it’s not Zentopia; it’s just Lapointe playing both ends in this game where apparently Oración Seis have the upper hand.

I didn’t expect Jackpot to be Klodoa so I was positively surprised to see him unzip that ridiculous costume. He shouldn’t be a threat to FAIRY TAIL so I consider him to be out of this game for now. But that doesn’t mean that it’s game over. Midnight is up against FAIRY TAIL’s only married couple – the Guns Magic wielders – Alzack and Bisca who both seem to have some problems fighting their opponent.

Oración Seis are clearly dominating everyone in this arc, even the Legion Corps. They’ve set everything they planned in motion. The only thing left to do is to capture Lucy which shouldn’t be too hard now that “Michelle” – or Imitatia – turned out to be one of them. While I had been suspecting Michelle for a long time, I was still a bit surprised and excited to see her as an antagonist. I don’t think she’s completely evil though as she was seen crying while apologizing to Lucy before revealing her true colors. I think the same thing applies to Cobra; he might be one of the good guys later because he is only looking for his snake – his one true friend.

With so much power on Oración Seis’ side (including the power to control the Legion Corps), the Infinity Clock rising and activating itself, people revealing their true identities, and Lucy probably being captured – how will luck return to FAIRY TAIL’s side? The preview isn’t promising at all, in fact, I’m scared of it because it seems like the Jiggly Butt Gang will return – oh, the horror!

Hopefully they won’t be too ridiculous or have a lot of screen time, so aside from them, I hope to see more about the clock itself. I’m still a bit lost about its effects; I know there will be “chaos” and that this is some sort of crusade, but the chaos itself needs more explanation which I hope to see next week!

Moete kitazou!

Full-length shots: 2, 7, 14, 19, 30

 

Preview

20 Comments

  3. Wait… so Oracion Seis had 8 people in it?
    Regardless of the technicalities, I am enjoying this arc a lot, great filler. It feels important enough on its own, which filler tends to be unable to do in most anime. I’d say the only issue i have that keeps coming up is how steadfast Byro is in remaining loyal to Zentopia. He just saw a member of Oracion Seis blow up a church in front of him and he still obeys them because thats where his loyalties lie? I think he should’ve figured by now that the Zentopia he’s in now is not what it used to be and it’s time he rethinks his position more. I thought he’d join Natsu after this fight but he just continues to obey Zentopia. At least the other members have shown reluctance in what they’re doing.

    Airon
    Reply

  4. I still hope Michelle(or Imitatia) is good person, maybe she’ll turn to protagonist side again. she is my favorite filler character.

    ps.I still don’t understnad why people say filler suck. it awesome than i expect.

    ABC
    Reply

  8. Well I called basically in the beginning of this arc Michelle was a bad guy. But ya she has grown close to Lucy so I can see her switching sides again.. And ya I thought for awhile that the cardinal is brain 1. Either way this arc is coming together pretty nicely. Doesn’t even feel like filler now…that is until the butt boys show up again next week.

    I think they where going for the title of worse filler characters ever created when they made those guys lol..

    I hope Erza gets to fight Brain 2. aka Nightmare again. I’d love to see her fuck up his world for the second time..lol..

    chaosdemon06
    Reply

      1. I disagree. Mashima has already made her out to be a MILF, although I still can’t understand why she’d get more fanservicey after having a kid than she used to be before. I’m not complaining though!

        SOSAnimeBoy
        Reply

  10. I’d like to add something that crossed my mind: we’re gonna get fillers until the current manga arc ends, right ? In that case, while they’re at showing previous opponents, like the Oracion Seis guild, after the time skip, they could keep doing that until they start the Grand Magic Games arc, right ?

    If so, here something that I would LOVE to see: Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and Wendy go on a mission to a metropolis, but upon arrival, they are framed for a crime, one that they obviously didn’t commit. When they escaped the prison (which shouldn’t too hard for them), they try to find who frame them… but they wished they haven’t. Upon spotting a gang of thugs causing trouble, they stumbled across the culprits: Natsu Dragion, Lucy Ashley, Gray Surge, Erza Knightwalker and [adult] Wendy (her last name was never given), who all crossed from Edolas. All 5 of them are radically changed: they look 7 years older (the Edolas counterparts haven’t skipped 7 years in suspended animation), they have better weapons, they even have gadgets that replicate their Earth Land counterparts… and they looks menacing/evil/dark, as if something was off (well, MORE off for Knightwalker). Are they mind-controlled? Have they been swayed by something? What happened to them during those 7 years? Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet and Wendy Marvell now have to deal with their Edolas selves on their own, much to their shock.

    Ok, yes, it sounds like a fanfic idea, but think about it: they brought back Oracion Seis for the anime (which the manga hasn’t done since the timeskip), so I see NO reason why they couldn’t bring back Edolas characters post-timeskip, especially as villains/rivals for the Earth Land Tenrou gang. You got to admit, that would be awesome… and since the arc would resolve by sending the Edolas characters back home, there won’t be any countinuity errors with the manga.

    You have to give me A for effort here.

    JiCi
    Reply

    1. Here you go, an A for the effort! \o/
      *Gives you an A*

      About your question, I’m not sure myself but it’s very likely that this filler arc will end next month during the season ending with the way things are going now. I can’t say much more than that, but I think a second filler arc is possible.

      Stereoman
      Reply

      1. Yeah, we’ll have to wait and see. The current manga’s story arc seems to be quite long, and since they seem to wait for that arc to close before making the episodes, I’m pretty sure they’ll add another filler arc before starting the main arc. However, I’m no expert on that matter, because when they started the anime, there wasn’t a filler arc until the story was between the Oracion Seis arc and the Edolas arc. They went pretty far without a filler and the the Daphne Arc wasn’t that long either.

        I’m crossing my fingers for an Edolas-related arc in the anime before the Grand Magic Games… well, ok, chances are slim to none, BUT STILL CROSSING ^^

        BTW, thanks for the A Stereoman 🙂

        JiCi
        Reply

    2. I think the arc will end with the Season. Mostly due to the fact the GMG arc is turning out to be quite long. Also a good buffer tends to be 50~ chapters so at 2-3 chapters an episode you can go two seasons without a direct filler arc. Also the GMG I think is ripe for expansion and padding.
      Another fact is the upcoming Fairy Tail OVA which will be a beach/onsen episode (aka Fanservice) explicitly states its during the main groups training for the GMG + Elfman and Lisana. I can’t see them put out an OVA with manga material but continue the filler arc. Also the OVA comes out Oct 15th give or take right around the time this season ends.

      Moridin
      Reply

  11. Wait a minute, what’s with the connection with Celestial Wizards and the Infinity Clock? What do they need Lucy for? Because she can connect with the spirits or something? So confusing…
    Anyways, the battles have ended so far with the Oracion Seis and the climax should be coming soon with the end of this arc. Hope next season is back to the main storyline.

    random viewer
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *