User blog comment:Omega natsu2/Episode 181: Fairy Tail vs. Executioners, Review./@comment-24264679-20140511015701/@comment-7418318-20140511084744

The anime did get a PG rating (= inappropriate for children below 6), but that doesn't mean it was aimed at such a young group.

While the visual violence and the level of profanity in the words were low enough for this rating, the story itself contains many concepts that are beyond most 6 year old children't horizon.

Things like death. Lisanna supposedly killed by her own brother, Rob being disintegrated into little chunks of meat and a pile of ash, Jellal brutally killing the two cultists, Zeref murdering Hades because of being pissed off, Zoldeo being disintegrated. Or concepts like Loke being guilty as a party in Karen's death.

Erza and Jellal being tortured by the cultists, Gajeel torturing and almost killing Lucy out of boredome, Freed torturing and almost killing Elfman, Flare taking a child hostage, Flare torturing and humiliating Lucy publicly, Minerva torturing and almost killing Lucy,...

Those scenes might not be enough to trigger a higher age-rating, but they sure as hell aren't appropriate for a six year old child in my opinion and they very clearly show that it was never intended for such a young audience in the first place.

It might have been toned down compared to the manga to appeal to a larger target group, but not to the degree of being aimed at children of 5-8 years.