Template:TMITA/March2013

 



We start off this month in the anime in Bar Sun, with Fairy Tail celebrating all the great shit that Erza, Cana, Laxus and Wendy pulled that day. I have to wonder... does Gajeel need to be asleep in every scene he appears in nowadays?? I swear, the guy must have chronic fatigue or something...

Anyways, Mira and her pointless sister start talking about Elfman and we cut to Elfman sneezing in bed, because, well, obviously you sneeze when people are talking about you being a man~!! MEEEEENNNN!! However, Elfman is not alone! And no, it is not Porlyusica being a third wheel as usual, it is Evergreen, who has fallen alseep on him. Now, I'm not the biggest ElfmanXEvergreen supporter, but no-one can deny this was cute :3 Gotta love Jellal and Erza moments!! romantic moments in FT X3

~DA DA DA DA DAA DA DA DA DAAA DAAA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DUM DUM~

^(impersonation of the title theme)

So, back to the bar, and what is the flame brain doing? Barrel surfing of course~! Because what else does the slightly tipsy Fairy Tail like to do other than reckless sports that defy basic physics and make no real sense?? Ah, no, there is a point, as Natsu wakes up Gajeel... finally.

Gray goes next and of course looses his clothes somehow (we now know not to question Gray's stripping laws) and then Erza is up, flashing everyone due to her wearing of a skirt... Little does she know how much fun she will get up to later this very evening >:) (we need OVA 5 for that).

Whilst FT does canon things rather averagely animated, we cut to non canon things, being done very nicely animated (FT anime has no logic). Sting rambles on about something and Rogue plays that game with his ceiling where you have to concentrate really hard and find a picture. Millianna sits on a balcony and Risley talks to her, which is a nice additional scene that was well thought out. Mega doesn't make it past 5:26 because Kagura is shown in the shower, and then MY HONEY *flings herself in a pirouette releasing glitter* appears walking by a river and pondering... *swoons* it takes a real man to look hot and be pondering things at the same time >:) *running hug attacks Jellal*

'''EW!! FLASHBACK OF THE LAST EPISODE!! MAKE IT STOP!! IT BURNS MY EYES!! NOOOOO~!! *claws at her face*'''

Oh good >.<" We are saved by Yukino, who, wearing the horrifically coloured (why did the anime pick such weird colours for everything... Jellal's awesome CS gear especially) uniform, reports to Arcadios, with Levy finishing her creepy commentary of this whole event.

Now! To the main point of this whole episode! NAVAL BATTLE!! Rabian, that annoying guy that nobody remembers or cares about is in for day four as a commentator, and as he spouts his signature line, the girls from the participating guilds get into the water sphere that is the event arena...

... ... ...

Oh... Rocker is there too ( .__.) Being the only male XD Gotta love his line though about being wild ;D Awww, Rocker, you are very wild honey :)

The timer goes off and Lucy... wait... everyone can speak very clearly for people who are underwater... *glances at voice actors*

Voice actors: Uhhh ^__^" ... ... MAGIC!! *all slink away*

Well, anyways, Lucy summons Aquarius, who performs her usual over-the-top-completely-massive water attack... and the contestants go "WAAAH" as they are flung all over the place, Rocker deciding that out of all the possible women, he will grab Risley to keep him safe (I would have gone for Jenny mate).

Whilst Juvia and Aquarius battle it out, we get that flashback of Erza trying to convince fans that she and Gray ARE JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! SERIOUSLY PEOPLE!! Gray and Erza ARE NOT a thing! Stop asking me on the FTA Wiki if they are!! telling Gray to give Juvia a response to her never ending advances. Aquarius then leaves Lucy with her usual excuse and Lucy is forced to summon Virgo and Aries to save her. I loled so hard at Virgo's "your sexy guard is here" line XD Ahhh, I've actually been missing Virgo lately ;D

Being the biggest troll and bitch in the game, Jenny (actually, I that back... title of biggest troll and bitch goes to Minerva) kicks Rocker out of the arena whilst he is distracted by Juvia's massive ass-shot. Gotta hate that trolling of Quatro Puppy D;

Juvia decides that Jenny is on to something and unleashes a new Second Origin Spell!! What is it going to be? What is it going to be? What is it going to be!?

It... it... it... it's water with some hearts in it ( .__.) ... let's just move on...

Four splashes are shown on the side of the water sphere, which makes no sense you maths failing animators because only three contestants fall out: Jenny, Chelia and Risley. Minerva uses cute rainbows to block the spell and I have no idea what the threesome of Lucy, Virgo and Aries are up to on the other side of the arena o___O but the event is down to three players...

...No ( .__.) I take that back... Whilst glancing at Gray and seeing his completely turned-off expression Juvia is kicked from the arena by Minerva... who apparently could have booted everyone out in a matter of seconds, but obviously wanted to show off her hideous swimsuit as long as possible. Either way, only she and Lucy remain... 

The two begin to... '''OMG! MINERVA HAS A PENIS!!''' I am not kidding... check out 17:36! O___o I now see why she is so uptight... poor girl D;

Properly now: The two begin to talk and blah blah blah, but this part is important because it is here that serious things start to happen, because Minerva uses her indescribable Magic to take Lucy's keys and kick her around... something which is made doubly serious by the lack of music for most of the scene. Lucy says some lines about not giving up, and then Minerva turns from plain mean to plain psycho bitch.

It's one thing to hurt someone in this game to get them out and then call it a day, but Minerva bringing Lucy back again and again just to attack her and the referees doing fuck all to stop it?? Seriously twisted things happening...

Naturally, you feel bad for Lucy in this scene, and this is a major point where Minerva is moved into the bad guys section of the character list. However, it is points like this that also set the precedent for things to come... Minerva and Sabertooth's dethroning in this case.

I should put  here, but we all know that this ep just set the ball rolling for this, and we will get more of it next week.



Stupid Mato and the commentators finally figure out that Lucy may be more injured than they thought and halt Naval Battle, whilst people who actually seem to care about the health and safety of others rush in to catch/heal/protect Lucy after Minerva tosses her from the rink.

Two things I have to note here. Firstly, Chelia is a very nice person :) She didn't have to help Lucy, yet she ran out straight away to offer her assistance despite barely knowing her. That, in my books, earns respect. The second thing though is the retardedness of the crowd. I mean, we already knew that they just like to boo people for no reason and stuff, but them getting all excited over Sabertooth and Fairy Tail getting tense and the fact that Minerva beat up Lucy is really just sick... Not to mention Rabian getting a hit out of the fact that the crowd love what's happening. Seriously?? People in Crocus are weird...

Luckily, and despite the crowd wanting it, the to-be-fight is broken up by Erza, who I swear is the only smart character around right now (besides Chelia and Wendy) and actually pauses to think about the consequences of actions.

We move to the infirmary once more, with Lucy once again in bandages and resting... I swear... the amount of time Lucy spends ill in this arc ( .__.)~ We get a cute little scene of everyone praising her, and then Makarov appears to declare that due to Laxus completely smashing Raven Tail both the A and B team need to combine into a single team for the tag battles and final day.

Well, this had to come at some time. I mean, how could Natsu and Gajeel fight Sting and Rogue if they are on separate teams?? I'd be seriously surprised if any anime-only fan didn't figure this out... but anyways...

We get reintroduced to the commentators YET AGAIN >__> and then the teams are reintroduced YET AGAIN >__> and then finally, after that waste of time, Team Fairy Tail is finally brought out:

Natsu - As expected... Laxus - HEEEEELL YEAH!! Erza - >:) Gajeel - Whoop~! Go Gajeel~! Miraja- WHAT THE FUCK!? WHY IS GRAY THERE!? 

( .__.) Oh... right... Sabertooth tension... we need someone to counter Rufus >:( Bummer... Mirajane gets sidelined again... *sighs* Ah well... This scene was done fairly well, though I think it was only held due to the Main Theme (in it's Grand Magic Games arc version) being played in the background, meaning that, as usual, the music makes the ep :/

But screw all of that, because we are about to get into the tag battles, which means two awesome things (right now): Quatro Puppy members fighting and the blue-bunny-suit-clad member of Pegasus being revealed >:) Yeaaaahhh!! Pumped man!

ERMAHGEWD! A SHOT OF JELLAL * ^ * ... ... and Lawhore and Douchebolt >__>

Arg... skipping to Datong and Arcadios who talk about boring things that I zone out for, and then Datong finally drops in the fact that the Grand Magic Games was once called the Dragon Festival. Wow... nice of you to mention that... I mean, it may or may not be TOTALLY FREAKIN' IMPORTANT TO THE STORY LINE!! >___>

Whatever though... because back on the field Ichiya (EWWW) and Rabbit are to face Bacchus (Whoop~) and Rocker (Awww :3). The two teams meet in the middle of the field and BP moves to shake hands... which unnerves Bacchus and Rocker... and me :/

ButBUTBUTBUTBUT!! '''WE ARE FINALLY GOING TO SEE WHO THE BUNNY IS!! >:D''' The man lifts the mask off of his head... It's... It's... It's... It's...

( .__.) ... ( .__.) ... ( .__.) ... ( .__.) ... ( .__.) ... ( .__.) ...

Oh fuck... it's Nichiya >__>

Well, that revelation completely ruined a good plot device... and the anime team ruin a good minute showing everyone's reactions... which are mixes of :O o___O and :< Poor Erza... though what is Gajeel doing catching her?? When Erza faints it is Jellal who should be swooping in to save her >__> Damn it Gajeel... go get Levy instead.

Credit to the anime team though for including that Nichiya is a full-fledged member of BP now... something Mashima failed to cover. However, the anime then has to go on to put in fillers about how the two met.

Prepare your eyeball bleach ladies and gentlemen... If someone falls behind in the next few minute, just leave them. It's every man/woman for themselves for this next scene!! D:

The scene is kinda weird and over creepy and doesn't really add much to the story... "Passionate friendship" says Ichiya... Well... I think something a little more... intense is going on between those two, but if I go into it people are going to be sick/mentally damaged... so let's just move on...

TO BACCHUS SUDDENLY RUNNING UP AND SLAPPING NICHIYA IN THE FACE! XD HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I laughed so hard! Way ta go Bacchus! Screw standing around listening to gay stories... just slap people!

Nichiya goes down as Team BP stare on in shock at Ichiya's own stupidity, and Ichiya cries and sparkles as he realises Nichiya has no battle prowess... at all...

This means that Ichiya will fall too, right? I mean, it's now two against one and Bacchus is one of the attackers... Ichiya has no hope in hell.

( .__.) I spoke too soon... didn't I??

No... wait... no... no... Why does Ichiya get Jellal and Erza's awesome theme!?! Take it back anime team! Take it baaaaack!! D:< Only Jellal and Erza are worthy of that awesome theme song!! T^T Don't ruin it with Ichiya!!

Too late though... The awesome theme plays and Ichiya uses Titan Magic uses his parfum to bulk up and pull a hideously ugly face at Bacchus and Rocker. The two freak (no duh) and as the crowd cry from the sight before them the two QP Mages are smashed into the side of the Domus Flau... down and out and subsequently completing the part of Mashima's contract that states they much be trolled at least once in every fight/event they partake in.

We end with Lyon, Yuka, Kagura and Millianna taking to the field for what will obviously be a filler battle. Hopefully it is far better than the battle I just witnessed... Well... as long as I don't want to tear my eyes out just from watching, it'll be fine ;D

To next week!!



Okay! Before I get into this properly, can I just state that I loved this episode XD I know it was mostly filler, but I think that's why I appreciated it so much, as it was nice to actually see filler content that was not totally lame/repetitive/OOC and actually made me laugh :3 Anyways, ONWARD!!

We start first person through Lucy, who wakes up in the infirmary. Gosh... I don't know about you, but this infirmary is starting to piss me off D:< I'm sorry Lucy, but watching you sit around going on about how sorry you are/worrying about whomever is fighting is really boring :<

A few good minutes are also wasted as people comment on who they want most to win in the match between Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel. Juvia however saves the filler by being absolutely hilarious over her want for someone in Team FT to be injured so that she can join and participate alongside Gray. Funny though how her vision only had Gajeel, Natsu and Erza being potential victims... guess she likes Laxus more than she lets on ;D

Mavis also does stupid things... like falling off the side of the stands trying to sit >___> *awkward silence from the awkwardness of the scene* Uhhhhh... Let's just move on...

Finally the battle starts, and Kagura ditches Millianna so that the cat woman can fight alone and get stronger. Okay ( .__.) Kagura's a bit intense... but whatever...

Millianna attacks and oh my gosh, I love her fighting style! XD Hahahaha!! All of the stupid fake outs and kitten punches and the way she runs like a cat... somebody in the animators studio really thought this through and I thank them for it. And then she unleashes her secret attack!!

Wild Millianna uses Scratch Attack!!

It is somewhat affective at making Lyon and Yuka look stupid with giant red lines on their faces...

Finally Yuka starts to use his Magic (about time) but Millianna responds with more tubes! I laughed so hard when she had to count to figure out what came after double and then triple XD HAHAHAHAHAHA!! So cute and totally like Millianna!

Just... just A LOT!! XP

Lyon and Yuka get caught up, but Lyon manages to get them out by making an ice mouse that Millianna chases. I always thought people couldn't cast Magic when bound by her tubes... but whatever I guess >__>

Lyon then uses freakin Blizzard to make the arena cold (thanks for giving him more Magic that is non-canon animators) and the cutest little scene with Millianna under a random kotatsu (yeah, these just appear in the arena sometimes) begins. I was laughing so hard by this stage just from the pure stupidity of what was happening... but it was great :)

However, Lyon wants to impress Juvia, so he creates some huge, scary-ass tiger to chase Millianna around... causing her to... run... into a... wall >__>

No... no comment...

However, this could be a good thing because Kagura is finally dragged into the battle. But then again it could be a bad thing because Kagura has to be the worst animated character in Fairy Tail anime history D; Man... they make her so ugly all the time!

Anyways, Yuka is quickly taken out of the picture, which is no real surprise as, as Kagura explains, his Magic is useless against someone who doesn't use Magic to fight. This leaves only Kagura and Lyon to fight~! Yeah >:)

The two pull out some pretty average moves, but then things get a little more interesting. And by interesting I mean that Lyon creates a whole lotta giant ice creatures and Kagura is forced to use her Gravity Change Magic.

I liked seeing this, as I think it was done very well. Two things that I really liked about this episode also occurred in this little scene:


 * 1) Lyon comments that Kagura was a lot like him in the past when he was trying to revive Deliora... someone who is filled with hate and has lost site of the right path.
 * 2) Kagura almost takes out Lyon completely, but the Ice-Make Mage is saved by the timer.

These two things were really well done for me, the first because it's nice to see Lyon's growth as a character from someone like Kagura to someone who can recognise his more malicious past self. It is also a nice hint for anime-only viewers at Kagura's true personality. The second I liked because though in the manga we only found out that the match was a tie, I always thought that, personally, Mermaid Heel would come out on top. It's nice to see that that would have happened had the match continued for the tiniest bit longer. No offence to Lyon, but I believe Kagura is the stronger fighter.

Either way, the match ends in a tie and both teams head off, Kagura being annoying once again and telling Millianna that she needs to get stronger, despite my personal opinion that, for a Mage with her type of non-offensive Magic, Millianna did very well in the battle :< Whatever though... Kagura's just uptight like that...

We move on to the final match that we already know all about due to the current opening, yet before that it's back to the infirmary for a NatsuLucy moment.

... NatsuLucy...

... NATSULUCY... *starts to shake*

'''WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET SUCH CUTE NATSULUCY, GAJEELLEVY AND ELFMANEVERGREEN MOMENTS YET THE ANIMATORS JUST ENJOY SPOILING EVERY JELLALERZA MOMENT THAT THEY GET THEIR HANDS ON!! FREAKIN' DAMN IT!! D:<''' I hate you animators!! :<

However, finally the match between Natsu, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue begins. I have to say that I found the animation only okay for this. It wasn't as bad as some other episodes *glances at second half of Wendy V Chelia* but at the same time it was not the best we have seen from the animators in this arc... though, what they have been delivering is nowhere near their full capabilities...

Sting's roar is looking a little funny, though I have to say that I like the way Rogue's Magic was done. I know some people thought it looked to smoky and stuff, but I liked it ;D

OH! We also got that shot of Igneel standing in fire and encouraging Natsu. Man... Igneel... where ya been buddy? Glad to see him once more because the whole "where the fuck is Igneel?" thing is still a major plot point that I want to uncover >:)

Igneel... Where the fuck is Igneel?? *dances*

Back on the field, Sting and Rogue decide to step up their game a bit and activate White Drive and Shadow Drive respectively. With new found strength, they fly towards our FT Dragon Slayers...

...and the episode ends ( .__.)~

Well, my feelings to you anime-only viewers who have to now wait another week for more development, but my hat tipped to the animators for a rather enjoyable episode :)



We're back at the Grand Magic Games (DUH CARROT!) to continue the fight between Saberooth and Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers!

Having powered up with their Drives (Well... Sting seems to lose his suddenly when the animators can't be bothered putting it in, but let's ignore this) Sting and Rogue begin to attack again, this time giving Natsu and Gajeel a good knock all over. Natsu and Gajeel whack into each other and start arguing amongst themselves as Sting and Rogue jump high into the air (no gravity in Fiore I see) and Sting heads down feet first to get Natsu, whilst Rogue goes face first... probably to try and kiss Gajeel whilst he is distracted.

Orga (<3) from the sidelines comments that things aren't as exciting as he hoped they would be. I have to agree. The animation at this point seems a little iffy here and there and for some reason the battle just isn't drawing me in :/ However, things are just getting started...

Wait... no they are not, because we just haaaas to cut to the sick bay to have Porly-whatever rant on about the noises she can hear >__> This infirmary is going to reappear a lot as filler.... isn't it??

Finally back to what we want to see and Sting hits Natsu with a paralysing attack that leaves him paralysed (YOU DON'T SAY, CARROT!?) and also with his shirt ripped  and some strange mark on his chest. What does this mark do? I wonder...

...no wait... Natsu burned it off >__> End of mystery.

However, this burning off does lead to a very awesome punch to Sting's face from Natsu, which even I have to admit was really cool XD Though how many times these guys can get hit in the face and still appear as good looking as they do is questionable ( .__.)~

Either way, Sting and Rogue are pushed back, Natsu and Gajeel advance, Levy strangles Lily through her love for Gajeel (MORE JELLALERZA DAMN IT!) and the FT members in the crowd cheer.

I could go on about Sting's next attack and the whole power up and stuff, but that would be completely pointless because in the end Natsu blocks it with one hand >__> As such, I'll just save myself the trouble and move on...

Sting stands (though I swear he was seen standing two frames ago) and remembers a little his promising Lector that he would beat Natsu to prove that Lector wasn't lying when he told others of Sting's power. Awwwww... not very sweet nor moving in any way, but I'll accept it :/

This little memory leads to Sting and Rogue activating their very well animated Dragon Force, whilst people in the stands go :O and Minerva declares that-

OMG!! A SHOT OF JELLAL <3

What is with these animators and putting people on statues?! Arg... being on statues IS NOT COOL!! How do you get up there?? How do you get down?? How can you possibly see Sting and Rogue activate Dragon Force from such a distance?? *sighs*

This aside, Natsu and Gajeel attack Sting (who has stated he wants to fight alone to have Natsu all to himself) and the Sabertooth man does some funny twitchy dance thing to block all of their moves.

Twitchy dance over, Sting flies up (again, no gravity) and blasts a huge hole in the floor of the arena with his breath attack :D Gotta admit this is cool. As they fall, blows are exchanged, but this ends with Sting casting Holy Ray, something which I am happy to say looked awesome~! Oh... and Mavis finally figures out that Sting's Magic is light based >___> You know Mavis, for a bright young Mage you really can be a dumbass sometimes...

OOOHH!! I love that little shot where Sting jumps backwards and shoots that little laser from his mouth really fast :D Awesome!

This apparently downs both Natsu and Gajeel and Sting stands tall (and rather epically) as the match is almost declared over. Boring shit happens in the sick bay as people worry, and also as Rogue spouts off stuff about differences between generations of Dragon Slayer...

... I also have to wonder... Does Rogue EVER use that sword he has?? I mean, it hangs at his side enough, why not put it to use in battle?? Arg... whatever >__>

Whatever indeed, because after long rants about friendship and happiness and friendshipness, Natsu and Gajeel stand once more!

I have to say, I got a laugh out of when the two started squabbling about where Sting pivots his foot to, though this could be because I feel like both Natsu and Gajeel have been a little close lately. Seeing them fight brings back the memories, and I like it ;D

Unable to reach a conclusion, Natsu pushes Gajeel into a mining cart and rolls him away :)

Wait...

WHAT!? o___O

Yep, you heard right... Gajeel is out of the fight and Natsu is threatening the two Sabertooth Mages alone... using the (not as cool as in the manga) threat of putting "Come on" in flames on his fingers XD

Well, this'll be interesting... right?



We jump straight back into the fray as Sting and Rogue get pissy at Natsu for trying to face them alone - Man, you're such a hypocrite Sting >__>

As the two clash, a mysterious person with a hood cries from the sidelines and Jellal, Meredy and Ultear sense the malicious Magic once more! Are the two things connected?? NO SHIT THEY ARE!! Jellal runs off to investigate :D

We cut back to the battl- FREAKIN' INFIRMARY!! D:< DAMN IT!! How many times are we going to pointlessly cut back to Lucy and the gang in this room. I swear, every time we do nothing, nothing productive or helpful is ever stated >__> *sighs*

Finally we actually cut back to the battle, and thank heavens we do because Natsu shrouds himself in flames and becomes very well animated as he discusses getting payback for his friends that were hurt and laughed at :) He then proceeds to beat the two senseless as people from all over the stands speak of his strength and one of my favourite OST's plays in the background ^__^ This part is very nicely animated, and I'm glad so much effort has been put in, because it really is a special part of the episode.

Having fallen, Sting remembers the time both he and Lector promised to become stronger together, and there is that really sweet little shot of Sting turning to look back at the camera-like device recording him for the Lacrima-vision. I have to say, I really, really liked that :3

Sting and Rogue then decide to gather their power and use a Unison Raid! I have to admit, again, this part was animated very nicely and I love the way the Unison Raid was portrayed :) The two huge spheres becoming those little masses of pure power and then combining... it was just cool :D

This is where things get interesting though, because, knowing that this will be the last episode for quite some time, I knew the animators would try and round off this part of the episode it a nice, neat and heart-warming sort of way. As such, seeing the scene in which Happy, and then Lucy and those in the sick bay and then all in the crowd pull the Fairy Tail hand gesture-thing, I was happy that I did find it sweet and heart-warming. I don't know... maybe there is just something nostalgic from the very second episode of FT when Makarov first did the gesture that makes it so every time I see it again I can do nothing but smile and just appreciate whatever is happening, and this was definitely the case here :)

After this touching scene, the Unison Raid is once again shown, only this time with Natsu's retaliation and his downing of Sting and Rogue. As I go "ARGGGGGG" at the annoyingness of Natsu winning YET AGAIN, but also go "HAHAHAAHA!!" at the fact that for some reason I don't seem to care as much, the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games is declared over, with FT on top ^__^

Elfman and Evergreen get another moment (DAMN IT ANIMATORS! JELLAL AND ERZA ALREADY!) and Natsu pulls the biggest trollface ever. We also get shots of people wanting to fight other people in FT, and of the guild masters threatening to take out FT in the final day... except Jiemma, who scares everyone shitless with his scary face...

But here is where things get sad, because a lovely tune starts to play in the background as Erza, Natsu and Gray head to the infirmary to see everyone, and all of us know in the bottom of our hearts that the episode is coming to an end D;

And end it does, but not before being nicely wrapped up with all of those in the sick bay promising to make Fairy Tail the number one guild in Fiore. We also get a little speech from Lucy about how she joined Fairy Tail and will continue to strive with it, something which, personally, brings back a lot of memories of her journey throughout the series.

HOWEVER!! And this is a big however! The episode does not end here with the closing theme! There are still a few things from the manga that need to be put into place!

The first is that Jellal is still stalking the person in the hood. Can I just say with this that that shot at the end of the closing theme has to be one of the nicest we have seen of him all arc <3 I would love to find the animator who drew that and kiss them! It was PERFECT! * ^ * Jellal <3

We also get dumped below the Domus Flau with the forgotten Gajeel, who will surprise a great heap of anime-only viewers by finding a dragon graveyard below the arena!! Wow!! :O

Yukino is next up for her (not as exciting) build up of tension through mentioning the Eclipse Plan and also the fact that she is working for Arcadios, something which, due to the man's ever-changing personality, still makes me consider what is going to happen very soon in the manga.

And finally, completing her section of this episode with all of her creepy awesomeness, Levy writes from the future in a land aflame about all of the terrible things that happened on July 7th. I'd like to comment here that this part was SO well done. I felt the shock horror of seeing what had become of Fiore, felt Levy's pain as she wrote, and it really took me back to when I first read the exact same thing in the manga and felt the exact same way :) To me, it's a credit to the anime when it makes me relive the emotions I originally feel reading the manga, so again, applause to the team for this scene.

There are around 50 seconds remaining in the episode, and for us manga-readers we know exactly what is coming... Finally... finally after all this time, Jellal finally approaches and confronts the person in the hood. Taking off his own and asking them to do the same, the person turns and Jellal can only stare on in shock, as the person is-

TO BE CONTINUED!!

... *sighs and laughs at the same time* If you are a reader of the manga and did not predict that they would end this episode in such a fashion then I have to accuse you of being a bit of a noob. However, knowing it or not, I cannot deny that this ending both made me happy and annoyed, and if fans go either way I can easily see why.

To say that this is a good way to end the episode and then cut off the anime for God-only-knows-how-long is not something that is too great in my books. I remember how annoyed I was when Mashima ended the chapter in such a fashion and I had to wait 3 weeks (chapter 298 and 299 fillers) to see it come back. So, if I were an anime-only fan and found out I will have to wait some ridiculous amount of time, I would be pretty pissed...

However, I can't deny that it was a good move as well. I say this because if the anime had just ended with "we are all happy, let's keep going", I may not feel intrigued to wait so long for the anime's return. These huge plot drops at the end will provide (hopefully) the fans with the curiosity and want to continue watching the series upon it's return, and, it's for this reason that I await the day episode 176 airs with great anticipation!

Until then though, my congratulations to the anime team for an awesome "final-like" episode that got me emotional and really back into the plot of Fairy Tail. May the team be happy, safe and inspired during this break in the anime, and come back with even cooler stuff for us when they return~!



Farewell, Fairy Tail anime~!! Know that no matter how long we are parted, I, for one, will not stop awaiting your return.

An endnote:

Dearest reader,

As you may have figured out, this will be the final issue of This Month in the Anime for some time.

Firstly, I (and Rauleli) would like to thank you for your continued support over the last year and a bit. I for one have loved hearing your feedback and all of the stupid conversations that have arisen from this article, and I put my pen (keyboard?) down with much sadness.

I was particularly crushed when I found out that the anime was ending, but, like with many endings, there is some happiness to be found just by looking back over what an amazing journey it has been. I know that I, certainly, have enjoyed all of the hours the FT anime has brought, making me feel happy and sad, making me laugh and cry. It has been such a great time, and I can not express just what an amazing coincidence it was that I ever watched that first episode of the anime all those years ago. For people who do not know of my story with Fairy Tail, I started off as an anime-only fan, something which eventually lead me to the manga when I had watched all of the episodes, and that within itself leading me here, to the Wiki and all of you lovely people. As such, I guess you could say that the reason you are reading these very words is thanks to the FT anime, and I know that due to this, the anime will always have a special place in my heart.

To anime-only viewers: It's been a great journey, hasn't it?? I hope you look forward to the return of the anime as much as I, though, and I say this with experience, I have to highly recommend the Fairy Tail manga to you. I had only ever read one manga before I started reading Fairy Tail, so manga was still a very new thing to me. However, I have never regretted the day I picked it up. It is, admittedly, better than the anime in my opinion, and, if you would like to continue the adventure of Fairy Tail alongside us here at the Wiki, I highly recommend it :)

Don't worry about having to read too much, as the manga is only around 25 chapters ahead of where the anime just ended, and as such you will not have to read much to catch up. Mashima-sama's art is exquisite, and I truly believe you will get even more out of the series by picking up the manga.

If this is something that you think will interest you, start reading from chapter 297, as that is where the anime just ended. If you choose to, the best of luck, and I know you will be back to discuss it more with us as the plot advances!

If you are a true anime fan through and through and know that you will not touch the manga no matter what, a farewell to you for the time being. However, I look forward to seeing you again when the series returns to us.

Another thank you to you all, and to the animators of Fairy Tail for their years of dedication and service that has brought us a lovely series.