Template:TMITM/Apr2013

 

The Grand Magic Games ended, and the Eclipse Gate casts its shadow on the surroundings as its wings open. What will happen of Fairy Tail, both the series and the guild? Will Fiore's strongest group of Mages survive the incoming dragon Apocalypse (speaking about the guild)? And will Mashima come up with something better than what we've had for most of the recent chapters (speaking about the series)?

Stick to us and find out.

I - Chapter 326: Natsu vs. Rogue
Here starts April 2013's first chapter... just as the clock strikes twelve, Crocus' bells ring, and the 6th July ends.

It's the 7th July.

The fated day has come.

Fairy Tail is gathered in Crocus' "central park", the area it was tasked to protect, while the other guilds guard different sections of Fiore's capital (pretty sure Cerberus is watching over the place's hospital... Hell, this is what I'd been waiting for). Gazes dart to the sky, where the moon has been obscured... an eclipse is taking place.

Just as the homonymous Gate opens before everyone's eyes.

Not even Natsu and Rogue, still engaged in their duel, are unaware of the Gate's opening. Rogue notes how Lucy couldn't keep it closed, but states he's sure she'll get in the way, closing it somehow. Some Nakama Crap ensues on Natsu's side as the Fire Dragon Slayer pulls out his ever-so-hated Lightning Flame Dragon Mode, readying to land a mighty and devastating blow to his foe.



End of battle, Rogue down, Nakama Crap?

Not today.

Natsu is unable to land his attack, dazzled by a sudden burst of light from the Shadow Dragon Slayer, who goes on to reveal his "Villain Armor" (aka Plot Sword, Plot Armor Wrecker, Badass Twist, Malleus Villainarum or simply "Harold"), White Shadow Dragon Mode, which engulfs half of his body in light, and the other in pitch-black darkness.

Alright, this really isn't that much of a twist, but it's still better than nothing, right?

You'll understand why I outlined the previous sentence soon enough.

Now "possessing the properties of both light and darkness", Rogue goes on to attack Natsu at blinding speed (how come Sting never came up with something like this?), subsequently inflicting heavy damage upon him with the countless oversized needles of his White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk.

...

Waxwing Flash, Rough Silk... Seriously, can Rogue get any more gay than this?

Natsu lies on the ground, questioning Rogue about his new skill... which the Shadow Dragon Slayer states he's obtained by killing Sting in the future.

...

Alright, now go read the outlined sentence again. That stays true for both this and the previous development.

The Fire Dragon Slayer asks his foe whether he doesn't really care about life at all, which he confirms. He then readies to finish off Natsu with what we'll likely see soon as the "White Shadow Dragon's Roar (though hey, it's not like we haven't seen different stuff before), but he's suddenly surrounded by a multitude of floating orbs, which hone in on him at the command "Flash Forward".

Yup, folks, Ultear's here.

The two female members of Crime Sorcière rush to the injured Natsu's side to help him... only to find Rogue's shadow trying to snatch him away.

Meanwhile, Eclipse's leaves are almost completely open. Everyone expresses their hopes for the weapon meant to keep humanity safe, and Wendy tells Lucy how her future counterpart would be happy about it. The Celestial Spirit Mage, however, has something else going on in her mind.

She slowly starts approaching the gigantic doorway, her wide open eyes showing something's wrong with her as she states she has to close Eclipse. So, yeah, I must say I liked chapter 326. Rogue's White Shadow Dragon Mode was nothing special or particularly unexpcted, but I must say it was likely my favourite Something Something Dragon Mode so far due to the proverbial dichotomy it sports. Light's presumed speed was finally taken advantage of, and that Rough Silk move, despite its gay name and its relatively poor epicness when compared to "nails attack" from other series, was likeable. The bright trail from Rogue's seemingly injured eye, while nothing special, was a nice trait too.

Of course, everything I said above is made better by the fact that this set of skills brought down Natsu.

Hey, it's not like I expect him not to stand on his feet again in few chapters and beat the crap out of Rogue... but it's something to begin with, right?

As for "future Sting's" death... Remember what I said about Lucy 2.0's death (damn, should have highlighted that too)? Well, that stays true for Sting. So, yeah, nothing too shocking.

And Lucy's seeming trance... Well, let's wait and see. Might turn out to be something interesting.

Nice drawings, 2-pages shot of Rogue beating the crap out of Natsu, Cover showing some random Lucy.

II - Chapter 327: My Part Too
So, wazzup with Lucy?

The Celestial Spirit Mage continues walking towards the gate, crying for it to be closed, much to everyone's dismay. The Princess steps forward, telling her how Eclipse is the only weapon capable of stopping the incoming Dragons, but Lucy contradicts her, stating that the massive doorway leads to 400 years in the past... just as the earth starts shaking and something makes its way to Fiore from the Eclipse gate.



Oh, fuck.

The new guest soon goes for the second option, knocking everyone down on their feet by clearing its throat and then trying out the gravity of today's Fiore by stomping gently, destroying a long section of Crocus in the process.

Oh well, accidents happen.

As shock and dismay spread everywhere in town, more inconveniente guests storm out of the gate. Lucy grabs a shocked Hisui, asking her how to close Eclipse, and the Princess points at a nearby pedestal. The Celestial Spirit Mage rushes in its direction, but is forced to momentarily back off when one of the newcomers, literally BURNING with enthusiasm, expresses its appreciation for the new world quite loudly, causing the host to welcome it by giving the (reptilian?) a flash of her underwear.

With her skirt back in place, Lucy grabs the large trigger meant to close the door (better known as "Detached Door Handle", "DDH"). When asked by Wendy about how she knew of the door, the Celestial Spirit Mage states that she had Crux research the whole thing, with the results being that Eclipse combines Magic from the Book of Zeref with Celestial Spirit Magic, allowing its user to input coordinates from the time travel... coordinates which were corrupted by the eclipse of the 7th July, causing the gate to connect nowadays Fiore with the one from 400 years ago, when dragons existed.

Seriously, with 364 other days to choose from, did you guys REALLY have to go for the 365th?

Damn, does someone in the entire place actually THINK?

Sheesh.

As one more, rather rocky guest comes to he host's place, Lucy tries to close the gate, without success. Hisui despairs while standing still, proving herself useful as a knife during a gunfight, and Fiore's bustiest Celestial Spirit Mage gives out some Nakama Speech... which corresponds to Natsu's, who's now awake and seemingly unaffected by Rogue's shadow.

THE END.

So... Well, yeah, this chapter was pretty neutral to me. Nothing special, and not much of a plot twist. Not saying it sucked either, but... But.

Some of the dragons seemed to have a nice design... but let's wait for the next review to comment on them.

Two 2-pages shots showed the first living dragon in ages making its way to the modern Fiore and destroying a large section of Crocus, respectively. Cover showing young Fairy Tail Mages for the umpteenth time.

III - Chapter 328: Zodiac
So, things really got fucked up for good. The opening of the Eclipse Gate proved to be a big, BIG mistake, dragons are storming the place and Lucy is powerless, unable to close the space-time doorway.

Don't worry, sistah, here comes the cavalry!

It's Yukino and Mirajane!

...

The former has gained her old outfit back through unknown means. Where did it come from? Wasn't it supposed to be back at Saber's place? Did the Celestial Spirit Mage have enough time to leave the castle and go back to the headquarters of the guild which covered her in crap to get what's rightfully hers back, EVERYTHING DURING A DRAGON DAY OF JUDGEMENT? Or maybe the King bought her attire from Jiemma in order to sink his face in it (in-manga fanservice?)? Anyhow, Angel 2.0's back to her former looks.

As for Mirajane... She's now wearing a dress.

"Sheds a tear" Farewell, spy leotard with thigh-high boots. The time we spent together was great.

Anyhow, Yukino comes with an idea: she urges Lucy to pull out her Golden Keys, wanting to close the Gate through the use of the 12 major Celestial Spirits. The two Celestial Spirit Mages unceremoniously throw the metal accessories into the air, join hands and then, under the amazed look of most of Fiore's mob of soldiers (employed either as cannon fodder or as amazed spectators, that is), summon the twelve Spirits, who are tasked with closing the door and shot towards it like bullets.



Mmh...



The group (instead of just going and pulling the lever which Lucy isn't strong enough to use) rushes towards the door and pushes its wings (stopping a rather hefty clone of Elfman's Beast Soul: Weretiger in the process... how is that supposed to be a dragon?), eventually managing to CLOSE THE ECLIPSE GATE.

Hurray!

All's well that ends well, right?

Oh no, wait... Dragons indeed made it through the gate.



When questioned by Arcadios on the number of reptiles who're still around, a cannon fodder/amazed spectator (who looks like he's been punched on the nose too many times) announces there are 7... just as Rogue 2.0 appears on the scene.

The Shadow Dragon Slayer notes how Lucy did indeed get in the way, but states that 7 dragons will suffice, adding that controlling ten thousands would have been a real nightmare.

Say what?!

The (former?) Sabertooth Mage's following words are welcomed in disbelief: his arms raised to the sky crowded with the flying reptilians, Rogue announces the end of human race and the beginning of the era of dragons.

TON TON TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!! Soooooooo, all you were trying to do from the beginning was to fuck everyone, right?

Sheesh, I guess everyone needs a hobby as if the fascination with Gajeel and the overlong ponytail hadn't already given out your tendency to fuck people. Male people. Yeah.

As a first step, the Dragon Slayer from the future orders the dragons to kill all of the Mages scattered throughout Fiore... something they ready to carry out without a word.

Rogue can control dragons? WUT? What's up with this?

But of course the simplest possible explanation... The secret art of dominating dragons, Dragon Manipulation Magic.

Seriously, what an original idea.

And what an original name, since we're at it.

Anyhow...

Rogue rapidly finds his place on one of his reptilian minions' foreleg, and then tells another he can do as he pleases... causing Zirconis, his listener, to rejoice at the thought of tasting humans. All of the Fairy Tail Mages who were present when Milky Way was casted watch on in dismay as the one who was dead is shown alive, having made his way to year X791 from the past alongside his brothers.

Elsewhere, the guests have started greeting their hosts: the Fairy Tail Mages stationed at central park are blasted away by the fierce roar of "Atlas Flame", the dragon(?) clad in flames who first introduced itself to Lucy, and Sabertooth doesn't waste time in assaulting a horned fella. Everyone else basically just has a look at how destructive dragons can be without doing much.

In the meantime, Rogue flies over Crocus aboard his scaly plane, rejoicing in destruction, until he spots something, a figure standing on top of a tower... Natsu.

______________________________________________________________________

What can I say... This chapter was peculiar. It all happened SOOOOO fast: Eclipse getting closed, Rogue being revealed as an asshole, dragons fucking everything, Natsu back to action (damn, already???)... Hell, had Mashima done more than that, he'd probably have finished the series right here, with 327 chapters behind him.

So, in the end, nothing special.

Nice art and portrayal of dragons, pretty epic 2-pages shot of Rogue and his newfound servants, and another of Atlas Flame causing some ruckus... without actually hurting everyone. The Cover, a color page of Lucy (in her "Celestial" attire) surrounded by the 12 "Golden" Celestial Spirits, is worth noting.

Alright folks, let's move on to... Oh, wait, no finishing chapter from Mashima this month. For no apparent reason. Oh well... Bye.