User blog comment:Ncduru/Alvarez Empire Arc: Recap/@comment-25111584-20160228234622

Honestly, I'd say this is one of the worst arcs, only outdone by the filler ECS and Daphne arcs. Even Avatar was better than this.

Firstly, there's the fact that Mashima is trying to portray a world war level event... without having ever bothered to build the actual world. It's why we get the 4 Gods of Ishgar abandoning the continent and simply wanking off too FT/Mavis/FH. And loads of other things. Far too many to actually type out.

I'm pretty sure I'd've liked Mavis if she was not purported to be some sort of genius. 'Cuz, unfortunately, FT sucks when it comes to proper tactics. The only ones I've ever been able to appreciate are some of Gray's battles, Erza vs. Midnight and my personal favourite, the revelation of the Galuna Island mystery. Faust's mission in the Edolas arc was cool too. But somebody almost precisely predicting the actions of a human being? Give me a break. That's worse than the Kyouka battle. So it's obvious that the strategies employed in this arc make me cringe. They are hideous. Any of us who thinks about them for even a second would be able to punch holes in them. Not overthink, just think.

Zeref doesn't even have a strategy. His forces simply march. Sure, overwhelming power is a strategy by itself, but, c'mon, once you lose 2 of your Shields, you immediately advise caution and immediate execution of enemy forces (unlike what Dimaria is doing). However, I won't lay the blame on Zeref as I feel the guy's far too immature to lead. I actually think that Yajeel and Invel are the true governors (not treacherous though), so I'll blame them. Ironic, considering I was actually liking them. .-.

The battles are mindnumbingly boring. They don't even feel like a war. None of these skirmishes seem like a war. They seem more like scripted charades. Who can save Sherria other than Wendy? Who can help Kagura and Erza other than Jellal? Who can always accompany Gray but Juvia? Who can save Juvia but Meredy? Sickening is the only word. When it comes to mindless garbage cliches, Mashima has outdone himself this time, allowing him to rival even Black Clover.

The match ups are ridiculous. Erza & Kagura vs. Dimaria? Sure, that would be far too predictable. Yet, given a choice, I'd definitely choose it over Sky Sisters vs. Dimaria, because the latter is infinitely worse. And what is Gray's role in this arc anyway? Simply shooting off retarded one-liners and exchanging love letters with Lyon? I guess he'll battle Invel. And, no matter how that battle goes, I will call it the worst battle of this arc. Frankly, seeing how the battles on the south side are going, I have very little interest left in what happens to the north, despite Mira and Gajeel being there. Just can't muster up any excitement. Because it seems these will just be simple battles without any real tension. Sure, I'll most probably fanboy over Mirajane's new Soul and the appearance/abilities of some Shield; however, in the end, it's just same ol' same ol'. The whole war reduced to childish fights which will be read in a moment and forgotten.

Power gradient? War weapons? lol, who gives a damn? The Shield are war weapons themselves, so who needs weapons which can be mass produced and eventually turn out to be far superior to the Spriggan 12? Alvarez Empire definitely doesn't. And Ishgar? Sorry, I mean Fiore, 'cuz the rest of the continent is obviously filled with spineless weaklings who can do nothing. Fiore doesn't even have an army! Every person for themselves? That's absurd! The BS is outta the roof! \( ._.)/

However, it's not all bad. We now know who the significant characters are as well as their roles. Natsu is incredibly important, with Happy being his primary support. Lucy is of course important as the PoV. She is also a potential FH deployer/OM user, not to mention the fact that CS Magic is extremely important. Erza is the likeliest future GM and another potential FH deployer. Dragon Slayers are required to take down Acnologia. Mavis and Zeref are incredibly important as the leaders of the opposing factions as well as users of the most powerful Magic. Gildarts (and possibly Jellal) is(/are) Ishgar's trump card(s). ...That's all, I think. Oh, and good to see Lucy and Aquarius interactions as well as Lucy obtaining a goal.

Atm, I score this arc a 3.5/10.0, all marks thanks to the divine being Dimaria was until a few Chapters back and the final revelation of the important characters. *goes back to reading Magnostadt arc 'cuz has too much time on hand (which will not be spent on wiki work today :P)*