User blog comment:Omega natsu2/Episode 179: Gray vs. Rufus, Review./@comment-24748439-20140426145811/@comment-4829046-20140427040226

Rave is a masterpiece and a demonstration of Mashima's skill as a writer. And yes, he wanted to take a different approach and apparently it was an approach that was inconsistent, disappointing, illogical etc. Again, it works for little kids, which is kind of like what the anime is aimed for anyway, but it doesn't work for us. Especially since we are used to reading shounen with a lot more depth. Not as always as much depth as RAVE but more or less.

That may apply to some, but I see that a lot of the people(anime-only fans mind you) who were watching FT since back then find it a clear downgrade from the previous anime. Let's face it, the biggest thing that everyone is overjoyed about is that the anime returned, not with all the content in it. We all like seeing scenes in colour and moving, regardless of how much they may have ruined it.