User blog comment:Miskos3/Fairy Tail Episode 252: Tartaros arc: Gray vs. Silver, Review/@comment-25111584-20150926114946

Face elimination plan: I like the fact that, currently, there are two plans in motion to stop Face and neither plan is related to the other. Doranbolt and Wendy scene was cool. On the other hand, the Exceed scene was a mood killer for me. I'd rather have had Minerva or Erza make dark threats instead of the comedy. Something on the lines of Gray's, "Scarier than Dark Guilds," or Erza's, "Worst Guild to anger." By itself, the scene was cool, but didn't really like its insertion here. :c

Dragon Slayer duo vs. Demon duo: Yeah, Tempester. is getting too many random Spells. Muttering bastard fits him. This fight also seems a bit too extended. The Demons have held the upper hand for quite some time, but don't do anything. Natsu and Gajeel haven't pulled out their Dual Modes yet. Knowing what is going to happen later, this just feels a bit off. Seriously, what are you guys waiting for?

Juvia vs. Keyes: I've developed a Juvia-complex similar to how many people have a Natsu-complex, so just gonna skip her. Keyes loves to talk though. But all his talk is quite probing, as if Juvia is just a lab rat. Fits him, tbh.

Silver reveal: Looking at Silver throughout the battle and actually knowing that it is coming, I'd have to say that I prefer the anime's take on it. The Iced Shell scene, especially. He didn't really seem that scared for himself there, like in the manga. Of course, this might be because I know what is gonna come. Still, reading the Chapter again, I prefer the anime's rendering of the reveal. Still find it too damn cliche and boring though. On a positive note, at least Ur's sacrifice isn't demeaned.

Gray vs. Silver: A vs. episode which actually focuses on the fight?! Finally! The fight has its fair amount of speeches, but there is actually a fight too. And it's really good. It's fast-paced where required and slow when Silver is mocking Gray. Lovely. Also nice to see Silver's armour getting shredded as the battle proceeds. That happened in the manga too, but didn't really notice it there, for some reason. /o/
 * Sound: Damn, Silver's VA is magnificent. And the OSTs went really well with the action. Gray's VA was cool too. Imo, Fairy Tail almost always delivers in this department. \( ^_^)/
 * Animation: Conflicted here. Silver close-ups were great. Gray was pretty cool. But there were some devastating fails. In the anime image above, as Misk stated in RWA, RIP hair shading. Also, take a look at Gray's right ear in the manga image. See the earlobe? Now look at the anime image. Great going, anime team, you made Gray lose an ear and grow hair in its place. .-. And some other scenes like this which reduced my enjoyment. In contrast, we got scenes like the Platform one. That one is bloody awesome.
 * Blood: Look at the manga image above. No way are all of those bruises. The really dark shade is blood. There's blood coming out of his nose, mouth, near his left eye. Yeah, Gray is gonna have another huge brawl after this, but that is definitely blood. This battle is a gory affair. He gets impaled several times, is thrown through rocks and Mashima actually emphasizes it. So, anime team, where is my friggin' blood?! >.<

Overall, enjoyed the episode, but wish the Exceed scene had been replaced with something darker. And that they had actually shown some blood. The occasional animation messes Imma just ignore. Silver's VA, Silver's smirks and the brilliant battle itself more than make up for any disappointments. \( ^_^)/