User blog comment:TheCarrotSaysYumYum/Why Lisanna is Fairy Tail's worst character~/@comment-1839664-20140105091858

Warning: Before I begin, the primary goal of this post is to offer an alternative point of view on Lisanna's role upon her return, with the counterargument to certain parts of Carrot's post being the secondary goal. Second Warning: My arguments will be mostly theoretical, though most arguments about story plots are theoretical, so why this warning in the first place? Third Warning: This is an opinion post from one genderless fan, and it does not reflect the opinion of the whole community. Even more Warnings: This is a long post, perhaps the longest I have ever done. For those who don't want to this long post, there is a TL;DR section

I can understand why people have a strong hatred towards Lisanna for her obvious role in the story right now: a younger sister who hasn't been portrayed in anything significant, a character who can be replaced by anyone else easily, someone who should have been Natsu's love interest, but not portrayed that way with her return, etc.

I don't see her that way.

Instead, I see her current role as the reason why Mirajane and Elfman had more significant role post-Edolas.

Let's begin with the love interest point (so we can get that out of the way), why didn't Natsu and Lisanna show love interest towards each other with her return? We have to first make note that this is a shonen manga, and love is rarely, if ever, the main focus. Even Mashima had stated that he gets yelled by both spectrum of the fans about having love (tease) in the story. As a result, anything involved love (tease) had to be toned down in order to target the intended audience in Japan (Teenage boys, primarily).

Now that's out of the way, back to what I stated about Mirajane and Elfman about their roles. Lisanna's role while she was "dead", really, is a motivation for Mirajane and Elfman. And by the end of Phantom Lord and Fighting Festival, their character has developed significantly, showing that their character has evolved and resolved.

...So what else is there about them that makes us remain interested in them now? In my opinion, I would say barely. Which also leads to the first question: What if she was never brought back?
 * If she stayed dead, would it really be better? This is where the fanbase argue the most about her character.  As stated, if it wasn't for her return, Mirajane and Elfman, in my opinion, would have their role significantly reduced post-Edolas (Elfman may not be selected for the S-Class trial, Mirajane not fighting seriously, if even fought, against Azuma, etc.).  This is because Mirajane and Elfman's development depends mainly on Lisanna and/or on each other. With them having their character developed, what else is there about them that would keep us interested?  Therefore, we either see their roles significantly reduced, or people will turn their frustration towards Mirajane and Elfman and their constant "my dead little sister makes us fight harder" speech if their screentime were kept.

So what is her role in the story now that she's back?
 * This is where she didn't shine by most people's standard. Why bring her back if she's not going to play a major role in the story?  Again, she is playing a major role of preventing Mirajane and Elfman from becoming just another background character.  Let us imagine, if Lisanna wasn't there:


 * Tenrou Island: If Lisanna wasn't there, Mirajane wouldn't even activate Satan Soul. I would even say that we would be cheated out of a fight between the two titans.  Remember, back at the time, Mirajane stated that Satan Soul isn't something she can use often, and she only activated out of desperation to save Lisanna, despite the distraction.  Otherwise we should've seen Mirajane in her Satan Soul form when when we switched to them fighting. Now, what if someone else was caught other than Lisanna?  We probably would see Mirajane using Satan Soul, but there will be two scenarios, one where Mirajane sacrificing herself to protect the other member, or both being defeated by Azuma (Mirajane was already short on magic at the time, mind you).  How the story go really will go depends on who was caught in Azuma's trap, and I wouldn't be surprised if the fanbase got more pissed towards Mirajane and/or the hostage for the sacrificial/protecting scene.  In short, Lisanna being the one captured made certain that Mirajane would sacrifice herself to protect her younger sibling, and making the strongest impact towards her defeat.


 * Grand Magic Game: Elfman and Lisanna were the one that delivered snacks to Team Fairy Tail A, and the first person to find Wendy lying by the bush with Happy. It may seem to be rather insignificant, but let's imagine that Lisanna's not there, would Elfman be Team Fairy Tail A's replacement?  Perhaps yes, perhaps not, and it's an argument that would end without a satisfying conclusion, as Elfman's role could've been replaced by Levy or Freed.  Would Wendy be found?  I'd say yes, but when?  The point is that with 80+ character, it is very difficult to have every single character do some things that are significant, even those who were prominent in the older arcs.


 * Tartarus: It is still too early to tell from what we're given. While it is true that Elfman would've feel distraught strangling anyone, would that really make him desperate enough to sell his soul to save his nakama?  Imagine if he was strangling Laxus, would you really believe Elfman would sell his soul?  I think he would, but not because he wants to save Laxus, but himself from Laxus.  All jokes aside, this is yet another "depending on the person" scenario, and Lisanna would've made the most sense for Elfman to sell his soul to protect his younger sister.

For the TL;DR people: Without Lisanna's current role in the story, Mirajane and Elfman, post-Edolas, would have their character role reduced significantly, or hated by the fanbase. In my opinion, Elfman would be reduced to somewhere around the level of background character, and Mirajane would just be a minor supporting character. Lisanna's current role in the story is to bring out a greater role for Mirajane and Elfman, and how much they would go to protect their own siblings, pre- or postmortem.

I have my flame shield off. Feel free to burn me, I welcome the challenge.

P.S.
 * The quote said by Lisanna is actually an anime only quote, created by the anime team, and not by Mashima. I'll leave it there.
 * I didn't dive into the re-written part is that it is an opinion of how the story should have been written, and not about how the story is right now.
 * Finally, a fun note, Lucy noticed that Mirajane looks much more energetic now that Lisanna has returned in the Q&A section of volume 24. Interpret that however you like.