User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 498: Gray vs Invel, Review./@comment-4449950-20160823113616/@comment-4449950-20160824070838

Hi anon, sorry for the late reply, I've been busy.

Yeah, looking at them now, my reviews lately have been mostly negative. I do try to find some good in every FT chapter, but as many pointed out, it's just getting harder and harder to. I LOVED FT when I first started reading it and I will admit to still loving the story up until the end of the Tenrou arc. In fact, I think that Tenrou is FT's best arc. Since then though I think the quality of FT has just progressively dropped. Mashima used to not be scared to make interesting decisions and most fights had some degree of logic to them. Nowadays it's like he's scared to have the good guys look bad in ANY way. Remember when Gray lost to Bickslow in the FF arc? Man, those were good times. Mashima wasn't scared to have his characters fail and let others take the spotlight. It was okay for someone to need help, or to not be well-versed in a battle because their Magic just didn't suit their opponent - stuff like that. Now all of that is gone. Fights are one-shots with no logic, FT guild main characters only get to shine while the rest of the cast is forced aside, fake deaths are dropped like candy for short-lived drama. Just... gah, I wish it didn't have to be like this but for some reason it is. Maybe I am harsher on Fairy Tail than I need to be, but tbh I'm harsh because I still remember what I used to love about it, and am so unbelievably sad that it's declined as such.

As for other series I read besides FT, well, tbh I don't read all that much. I watch a lot of anime though. However, I can say that so far that (and I do acknowledge that these series could pull an FT and go downhill) I ADORE (like, seriously ADORE) Akatsuki no Yona, and I also read and enjoy Barakamon, Rokka no Yuusha and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun.

In terms of finished series, I loved Assassination Classroom - a shounen that shows how great shounen can be when the tell their story and then end without unnecessary dragging. AssClass does have problems, don't get me wrong, but it tells such a fun story with a great, and incredibly TRUE message, and I love it for that. Fruits Basket is also a manga that is perfectly executed and is my favourite series of all time so far (though, if AnY ends well it will be second) and I also enjoyed OHSHC and Orange. I've also read Rave Master and at first I liked FT more; however, now I can definitely say that RM is better... FT ruined any chances of surpassing it now with what it's done lately. Hmmm... what else... what else? A Silent Voice was also well-written, even if I didn't like the art style all that much. Dunno, I like a variety of things, but, as I said, I'm more of an anime person.

I usually like to follow a shounen though, so because I've finished AssClass I'm looking into either Souma or BnHA. Not sure which one I'll pick up yet... might wait for both second seasons to finish airing and then decide. Also looking at reading OPM, because I loved the anime. Just so busy right now though, so my reading time is greatly reduced.