User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 473: Red Lightning, Review./@comment-30807545-20160217155042

Quite literally, this was my reaction when I heard about this fight. Love to see that my point was proven; this "final arc" lampshades the entire series in a nutshell: a downward spiral with nothing improving.

Speaking of, I'm sure some of you have noticed this but the entire plot of the manga is basically the same; actually a friend of mine said this, and he puts it oh so eloquently

"Don't know if it ever changed up things, but up to and including Hades, every arc more-or-less boiled down to. Threat > Fairy Tail gets involved > Meet the Threat > Split up into various fights > Natsu fights big bad of the arc > Loses > Gets a power up > Wins."

- Zf6

While I'm on this subject, this meme lampshades and completely explains the magic in this series



Hate me all you want for pointing this out, but deep down, you know this is true.