User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 476: Bid Farewell to the Mage Girls, Review./@comment-121.54.44.94-20160309102156/@comment-25395791-20160309115331

You see anon, I agree with what you say for the most part. Fan pressure is a terrible thing that can ultimately lead to ruining a series and yes, maybe one-sided complaints can be irksome to some. However, bear in mind that Mashima also kept us with high expectations about this arc, or "hyped" or whatevs. He introduced new villains, heck, even a new continent, but that was basically its downfall. Seeing the reveal of some Spriggans, their meeting, power and such, you can't deny that we were left thinking; "Wow, there is gonna be some good stuff here". Just like that, the battles between Spriggan 12 and Ishgar Mages were expected to last, really last because, seeing their enormous power, it seemed only logical that only a group of very powerful Mages (or even a whole damn guild) would barely even stand a chance against just one Shield of Spriggan. However, the whole concept just started falling once the actual battles began, i.e. pre-battle suspense ended. Because you see, they just didn't meet the expectations, and along with that, we got some ludicrous scenes. Take Laxus vs. Wahl and this chapter's battle for instance. The point was to sum it all up in this arc as it's probably the last, but no, we received one-chapter battles with silly or poor excuses/ways to victory, such as Third Origin, which is just a lack of creativity (check my blog post for more reasons if you're interested). It all just seemed...well...disappointing when compared to what we were left thinking what should logically happen. Although, what's a bit funny-ish part about this is that battles in FT tend to be like this, so, while this was a letdown, it wasn't quite surprising to some of us. Every author has strength and weaknesses in writing a story, and it looks like Mashima isn't really the guy for making a concept for an epic battle. I am completely aware that you're just expressing your view on the public's reaction, but I'm just trying to point you to what I think most of us were all let down for, especially in a long, ongoing series like this. :/