User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 277: Stockings, Review./@comment-4511900-20120331033135/@comment-3290324-20120331042921

Well, I have to disagree with you guys there. I think Mashima does objectify women often with the way he dresses them but that's not a surprising thing for us men to do. We like sexy women. Mashima actually lets women play a much larger role than they do in most mangas. Erza is one of the strongest characters in the series and is constantly defeating powerful opponents. Ultear, Mirajane, and a variety of other female characters are also very strong. Authors like Kubo, Kishimoto, etc. fit into that category better than Mashima does imo.