User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 447: Escape Battle, Review./@comment-26451407-20150805081453/@comment-5268982-20150805185249

I do believe that eventually Natsu and Laxus will probably surpass Gildarts when they're his age, however I don't think they're quite there yet. Mashima doesn't really change his formula that often; if Gildarts was No.1 when the manga began, then that's what he'll remain for the entirety(or the majority) of it.