User blog comment:FairyRaven/Fairy Tail Chapter 424: Avatar, Review and Commentary/@comment-147.4.36.65-20150317063639

I'm liking the direction that Mashima is taking the story arc so far. I had a feeling that he was trying to switch things up the moment Lucy called out Natsu on leaving without saying anything to the guild back in 419. I like that Lucy is still bitter toward Natsu about going off on his own and I hope she and anyone else continues to expose him as a hypocrite. I'm not sure if the majority of readers like or hate Natsu's character, but I've never been able to enjoy Natsu at any point in the series. He just bores me now. Nothing he does makes me say, "WOAH!!!" This is just my own theory, but I feel like Mashima is going to continue to expose Natsu's character flaws as he is making him represent the past and that this story arc is a way to show that everyone else no longer clings to the past like Natsu and they have all moved on with their lives. I think the characters no longer need to be part of an official guild to be considered Fairy Tail members as they have built strong enough bonds with each other to be considered a family thus they still have these bonds even without the official affiliation. Also, another part that I don't think is getting brought up. Finally, Mashima is making an effort to make Lucy competent. No longer is she relegated to being nothing more than fanservice as I wish her character can grow enough to be taken more seriously. This notion was confirmed to me the moment she was able to use Regulus (granted, it was in the form of a Lucy Kick but it's a start) I also noticed this the moment Jason finally noticed her enough to give her a job as an underwear model. I found that to be one of the funniest moments in the arc so far because it's been a running gag that most people seem to ignore Lucy despite her efforts to show off her looks. Anyway, it's about damn time Mashima started to commit to improving her character. I hope she will continue to show that she has gotten stronger during the time skip and Hopefully, we see less of Natsu hogging the spotlight and more of a focus on for the rest of the cast. I want to see if the other guild members have changed in any way. I wonder what will happen to Gray and the Avatar faction and I can't wait for 425.