That was quick – I can’t help but feel the decision to revive Gray was considerably too swift in the making. The part that Ultear played in his resurrection was especially candid and it was as straight from the shoulder as it gets in terms of what she did and what she needed to do – Arc of Time Last Aegis, just this one spell. Don’t get me wrong – I fully expected Gray to make a return sooner or later, but to erase all of what happened in a single chapter was still quite baffling, and there was hardly sufficient time for us to take in all the drama and commotion that ensued. Not surprisingly, it was the depiction of Ultear’s dilemma that continues to fascinate me to no end, and her flashback this week highlighted yet again just how complex and conflicted she is as a person. It was nice to see Hades in his flesh and blood again, and Ultear’s interaction with her former guild Master showcased a more sympathetic side of her characterization that is so often ignored, both by herself and perhaps the readers – the poor girl is simply a lonely soul who wants to regain the time of happiness that she shared with her mother. Her innocent longing was what prompted the prodigy to delve into the Lost Magic of time and, indeed, it was also such a development that made it possible for her to reverse the flow of time at this critical juncture – even if it was merely a minute!

The events that eventuated following the unleash of Ultear’s Last Aegis were a good example of the Butterfly Effect in force. We saw the impact that such small changes have on the future and the effect was magnifying like waves across the battlefield – it wasn’t just Gray’s life that was spared, Macao Conbolt, Droy, and Bacchus were able to live for another day as a result of Ultear’s intervention. Be that as it may, I’m not sure if such a breakthrough was adequate to turn the tide of war and it remains to be seen how the humans can win this battle with their ostensibly futile attempts. Natsu and the Dragon Slayers are obviously key in their retaliative effort and while I don’t believe this will be the last time we see Ultear in action – she’s probably not dead, at least I hope not – I sincerely hope the ones she saved will make good use of her courageous sacrifice, not least of which is Gray – whose seeming “back from the dead” could just give him the epiphany he needs to make a move on Juvia. It’s a long shot, I know, but nothing would make me happier than to see Juvia’s manic love for Gray reciprocated and it goes without saying that I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the best outcome!

Random tidbits:

  • A loli Ultear with twin tails – I know a certain RandomC author who would go completely gaga over her!
  • “I am Fire and Life incarnate! Now and forever, I am PHOENIX!” – The resemblance is uncanny! Let’s hope Ultear can find a way to survive this ordeal.
  • Quatro Cerberus just can’t catch a break – Is it just me, or does Bacchus always seem to get the short end of the stick?
  • Ultear looks absolutely gorgeous at the cover page of this week’s chapter – Yes, I do realize I mention this almost every week!

tl;dr: @SeishunRC – #FairyTail 335: A valiant sacrifice and the Butterfly Effect of a mere minute – I hope Ultear can make it out alive! #Manga
 


43 Comments

  1. I for one absolutely love Ultear’s character and I agree that Gray’s revival was too swift, one week is just not enough for his “death” to sink in. I do hope Ultear survives this “ordeal”, she’s one of the characters I want to see more of in Fairy Tail, I remember her scene with Melody as she was about to commit suicide for all the pains she caused her and not wanting Melody to dirty her hands, those were some of the best “touching” scenes in both the manga and anime of Fairy Tail.

    JCDRANZER
    1. Let’s not cut Her off yet, I don’t think She died maybe She just passed out and any ways knowing how Fairy Tail is even if She died, She will still come back some how.

      K C M
  2. Personally, I found this chapter brilliant, yet quite sad.

    I think it was quite obvious that Gray would be brought back and while you do have a point that it was rather quick, Fairy Tail is known for its fast pacing so I won’t touch this issue.

    Ultear sacrificing herself for Gray was a popular theory last week, however, I’m glad that Mashima has managed to surprise (at least me) with the way it was executed. Using a time spell to go back before the Gate was open didn’t even give me any time to think because seeing that she only managed to rewind the time only for 1 minute made me go O_O From certain point of view, having the power to affect even 1 minute of whole universe is awesome, in my opinion.

    What saddened me the most, however, was the fact that while her sacrifice was noble and she managed to help a bunch of people, she doesn’t realize it and thinks of her life as completely worthless. Dying (if she’s dead) while thinking that is quite depressing.

    Now, is she dead or she will survive? It was clearly said that the user’s time is stolen upon the usage of the spell, however, knowing Mashima and his previous work, Rave Master, where a certain character used a spell with the same name which also dealt with time… I wouldn’t bet on it. 🙂 Personally, I’d like to think that she’s dead because this being her last moment would be, despite everything, quite memorable. Of course, nothing will beat Sieg Hart!

    Misk
    1. Maybe something went wrong with her spell that’s why it’s only worth one minute. With that, she might still be alive. Well, that’s just my wishful thinking. I really like her character because she has the depth that others don’t have and besides, her power is awesome!

      I want her to survive this because, like you said, she died thinking that she’s worthless. That’s just so sad.

  3. Well I knew Gray would come back to life, but I didnt expect it this soon either.

    Ultear is growing on me more and more as a character, I really hope she survives this arc.

    I mean from the flashback, she has to give up her time to use that magic right? Since it only reversed one minute, doesnt that mean she technically only lost one minute of her life? She didnt look any older or anything, the damage might just be the effect of the lost magic.

    YanDaMan
  4. The idea was good, kinda like Flashforward series but yeah Hiro should have spent a few chapters making tragedies happen left and right while pushing Ultear into this sacrifice for the climax.

    gawrshness
  5. Perhaps Ultear,if she still barley alive, only hope is Lucy. She must take her into the World of their Summons. There Time flows different. Sure Faster compared to Normal World. But perhaps this is the Key, extend the last second of Life force so much, that there is Hope for her. But, she need to be find very soon. or all this is really unrealistic

    Germanguy
  6. Most people were already speculating that Ultear would do this should anyone in the cast died and null it out. As long as she could use it, people would be saved.

    Well, that die has now been cast. With Ultear herself either dead or unconscious, it means that there is no safety net of that nature available to save someone from dying. It also means that Hiro could turn around and go “btw, remember that person Ultear saved? Yeah, s/he’s dying again”.

    As for Ultear, I’d lean more to the unconscious thing for quite some time (one or two arcs preferable). Just so that she could know that her sacrifice did pay off, but that someone she saved still ended up dying anyways and there was nothing she could do about it.

    Dorian
  7. Nobody saw it coming. No one. And nobody will see Ulteass not dying next week. No one.

    In the end, same story as every week, it manages to be worse than the last time.

    Ananas
  8. *in Accelerator’s voice* MAAAAAASHIIIIIIIMAAAAAAAAA!!!!

    First off, stop having dinner parties with Tite Kubo and Gen Urobuchi. Giving me Loli Ultear does not calm the fires of rage I feel for you right now Mashima.Ultear was slowly becoming a female Piccolo, but you just Hirobutcher her.It’s bad enough that you killed Gray, but you kill other likeable characters before pulling this bullshit just to revive them.

    I should’ve realized this was a Death Flag T-T

    Magoiichi
  9. Fine chapter but two things bugged me.

    1. The flashback with Ultear and Hades was totally ripped straight from Rave Master where Sieg Hart had a similar conversation with Nibel about a useful technique at the cost of lifespan, and how both were like “I was told it was dangerous, but now is the time to use it”

    2.The whole using an ability to turn back time at a great cost, only to realize you didn’t go very far back at all reminded me of Mr. “20 Miserable Minutes” Nox, so the shock value of that didn’t really register with me.

    Also, Ultear’s “death” totally won’t take, I mean, everyone knows girls don’t die in Fairy Tail outside of flashbacks. ;P

    BaronMunchausen
  10. Why is it only the humans that keeps memories of the 1 minute lost and not the dragons? And if all the humans do, then Future Rogue will also have some advantage from that as well.

    TSouL
    1. Actually, when you think about it, it doesn’t matter. Imagine that both Dragon and Gajeel had a premonition about Gajeel getting owned, however, upon seeing this, Gajeel manages to counter-attack. The Dragon will NOT get a premonition of Gajeel attacking because that’s the alternate future, after Ultear rewound the time.

      Misk
  11. I actually expected the gate to have something to do with Gray’s revival, but I guess it’ll be used later to bring Ultear back and restore all the damage done by the dragons or something.

    Maybe.

    Crunchie
  12. Ultear’s death may be sad but bringing her back from it only makes her noble sacrifice seem so damn cheap and, well, stupid. Let them stay dead and let others who still lives mature from that experience.

    Krillos
  13. firstly relieved that gray did not die but sry for ultear she will always be remembered can anyone tell when will the next fairytail manga chapter will release and new episodes after 175 will come

    sanjukta

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