Template:Real Tail/July2012

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Chapter 291, aside from bikinis and violent catfights (Mashima's trademark), portrayed a gigantic dome of water with people swimming around it, seemingly able to breathe without the need for specific devices. Well, dear readers, this was Mashima's idea of what he called "Naval Battle". His twisted idea, that is.

Much time ago, Roman emperors would sometimes "entertain" people by organizing real naval battles in artificial basins, where a number of ships would be gathered and thousands of men would fight for the audience's entertainment... You might call it a wet gladiatory battle on a larger scale. The ones putting their lives on the line would often be prisoners of war or criminals sentenced to death (a funnier way to die than others, right?), and the two opposing fleets would represent two factions which fought each other on the sea in the past, with the bloody event thus assuming the appearance of an innocent historical commemoration...

Mhm. I hardly think those American guys who're alsways running around in blue and grey clothes commemorating the Civil War are that willing to take lives for mere historical accuracy.

Anyhow, the event I described above was referred to as "Naumachia", from the ancient Greek word "ναυμαχία", "naval battle", in turn formed by the two words "ναῦς", "ship", and "μάχη", "battle".

Wonder whether Mashima knew about this and/or took inspiration from something else. His "Naval Battle", aside from bearing the name of an historical event, bears also great similarities to something fictional like his Fairy Tail... The only thing the competitors of the Grand Magic Games' fourth day are missing in such context is a ball covered in lumps.

Blitzball is a fictional game introduced in the tenth installment of the well-known series Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy X (yeah, that "X" is actually a "Tenth". SHOCK!) It incorporates element from a variety of sports, among which are soccer and rugby, with two opposing teams trying to kick a ball covered in lumps (here its is) into the opponents' goal and brutally tackling each other on the field... which is a gigantic sphere made of water where they swim around, breathing without problems. You catch my drift, don't ya? The playing and battle field from the two fictional series are almost identical, and, knowing what an avid gamer Mashima is, I wouldn't be surprised if he had partially been inspired by a game whose birthplace is Japan itself... especially since, as far as I know, Mashima can't speak English (is this true or I'm saying bullshit?).

Ahhh, good ol' Blitzball, what a great game... Unlike the even older but not that good Tretra Master. Motherfucking Tetra Master.

And now, last but not least, something about Fairy Tail itself.

Lucy was among those swimming in the water dome, and, after trying to use Aquarius in her natural environment without success (stupid bitchy mermaid), she was deprived of her keys by the ever-so-asshole Minerva, who then proceeded to toy arond with her. This is soooooo like Mashima. Anyhow, such a situation shouldn't be unfamiliar to most Fairy Tail fans... I say "most" because I never know what's going on in you guys' heads, but still. Let me refresh your memory. Phantom Lord arc. Lucy is targeted by the evil guild giving the arc its name (at least on our site, that is), she is found by two of Phantom's top Mages, the sadistic, mustached Sol and the good character-to-be Juvia, and caught in the latter's Water Lock, a dome of water which renders her unconscious, prompting her keys to fall to the ground. Can you see the similarities now?

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It's done, my friends. This month's Real Tail ends here. Hope you enjoyed this special edition full, as always, of Junk Trivia. And, if you didn't... Well, screw you.