Template:TMITA/January 2016

 



Bit of a backstory, I have read Fairy Tail Zerø so I pretty much know how the story goes. I did like it back when I was reading it so I was pretty interested in how an anime adaption would be handled.

This one actually begins with Natsu and the useless blue cat wandering around the country aimlessly, reminiscing over the sights they see and the memories they bring up. Deciding to not be aimless though, they decide to go to Tenrou Island and so they get a boat which apparently steers itself to their destination. Checking some stuff out, they find an old house and soon locate Mavis' grave.

So, Mavis is evidently gonna be the narrator here and we see her backstory. Her parents died and owed money to their guild, Red Lizard, who accepted Mavis as child labor in order to pay it off. Due to something her parents told her about fairies never visiting those who cry, she decides never to cry no matter how badly this entire guild full of douchebags treats her. Zeeself, the guild master, is a special ass in particular seeing as how her physically abuses her and mistreats her in other ways. His daughter Zera doesn't show herself to be any better either.

Mavis does have a lot of ambitions though, despite her limitations. The anime added some filler about her delivering lunch to Zera at school and through this we see her interest in learning and in the world around her. It's really quite nicely done and develops her character a lot, as well as showing us the reasoning behind a lot of her behavior in the main series.

The guild war against Blue Skull, whose who ended up killing the members of Red Lizard, is not particularly bloody. Mavis actually watches Zeeself get his karma as he's killed by some Blue Skull member, his last words being his daughter's name. Said daughter is rescued by Mavis and the two flee into the forest cause nobody bothered to go there.

Flash forward, we see Precht, Warrod and Yuri arrive in a small boat. Treasure hunters determined to make their fortune on an island long-forgotten.

Verdict: 7 / 10

A well-handled episode. Nothing particularly outstanding about it but nothing to detract either. As the first episode in this arc, it is an overall good start.



Before getting to the meat of this episode, we have a bunch of content with Mavis and Zera, now at the age of 13, trying to clean the library of the island which belonged to the guild. Guess that Blue Skull had too much respect for books to burn it down. Of course, Mavis loves books so much, she keeps getting distracted while cleaning. I like this filler- Mavis' thirst for knowledge is a very interesting aspect to her character.

As it turns out, the guys are searching for treasure and Yuri makes his way to the library, where he meets Mavis as the formerly confident, controlling and talkative Zera hides from him as she "hasn't talked to another human in 7 years", which makes Mavis comically upset. As Mavis meets Yuri, the two talk and engage in a little banter before Yuri states his objective. To convince Mavis to show him where it is, he decides on a game where you guess things about the opponent and aren't allowed to lie. After a test run, Mavis manages to win the real game as she outwits Yuri with some tactics he hadn't encountered previously or even expected.

Though Warrod and Precht show up just as the game ends, having found the Tenrou Jade, that which they were searching for, making the game comically pointless. However, the Tenrou Jade was stolen by Blue Skull so Mavis gets the gang to agree to take her away in their ship so she can help them with her skills, and also so she can see the outside world. Didn't they arrive in a rowboat, or did I miss something? With her and Zera all packed up, and one awkward first meeting later, the gang sets sail.

So, this was overall a good episode. Seeing tactics like Mavis' during her game with Yuri is what I love seeing- not everything need be resolved by fisticuffs (though you ought to make said fisticuffs good if you do have them). I admit, I didn't fully get the "teenager" point way back when I first read the manga, but then I realized it was because Yuri said it, even if it wasn't part of his question to Mavis. Making me actually think like that for once? Good job, Mashima.

Verdict: 7.5/ 10

Episode 268 is primarily filler. The early stuff we see is Mavis trying to help Yuri with his sails, visiting Warrod below the ship's deck and checking out his hunting gun but avoiding Precht because he's scary-looking. I instantly like this guy, even knowing what he'll become.

So, Mavis avoids being the stereotypical kid around grown-ups who tries to help but ends up fucking things up even more. This being because she actually knows what's what. As the ship stalls due to a lack of wind, Mavis spots a bunch of dolphins swimming by the side of the ship and dons her swimsuit to join them, avoiding Zera's question about where she got it. Evidently, she can hold her breath for a really long time, as the friendly wild dolphins take her underwater, where she spots ruins of some sort.

Having overheard Warrod and Yuri discuss their low funds, Mavis opts to visit the ruins alone and find some treasure to give them. After taking some diving equipment, she leaves without telling anyone (other than Zera, for obvious reasons).

She does look around the underwater ruins for a while until she get attacked by a very aggressive fish when surprisingly, Warrod and Yuri come to rescue her after having received no leads and working together, they all solve a riddle to get them to safety. One that literally blows them away and out of the ruins.

Though, the got some jewels apparently when nobody was focusing on them, so that's some cash they can use.

Overall, not a terrible filler, but not exactly what I'd call well-written.

Verdict: 5.5 / 10

Finally, we have "Dances with Blades". The final episode of this month has the gang disembark from their ship to roam around Hargeon. Mavis continues to be herself as she explores the small port town and sees a lot which she'd never gotten the chance to see while living on the island. Since she's never spent time with him though, and there is a mission on hand, she goes off with Precht to get info on Blue Skull from the people of the town.

It's quite a lot of filler from here on out with the two walking around and getting into weird situations. I believe everyone already knows about that skirt-flipping scene. But what I do like about this filler is that it shows how very perceptive Precht is. He's a reserved individual but he has a great eye for detail and he does in fact care for other people. This is well-demonstrated by the fact that although he's not too thrilled about having Mavis tag along, he doesn't actually show any open contempt and thus views her as more of a tag-along rather than a hindrance.

Returning to the adapted part, a verbal slip-up from a bartender that Mavis points out, we find out that he's an underling of Blue Skull. Precht, however, has no problem dispatching those around him when they attack, since he dances freely with small blades. I'd kinda like to see him use a katana, tbh. But anyways, the guy tries to stop Precht and Mavis with a magic circle, but Mavis puts her brain to use and realizes that said magic circle was ineffective, allowing her to threaten him with very-convincing illusion magic and get the information she wanted.

Overall, this was quite a good episode. Mavis further shows herself to be a well-done character and at this point, may be the only character in Fairy Tail that I can actually say is well-done. A few art derps aside, the most important scenes in this episode are fantastic, most specifically the wolf illusion that Mavis brings forth and Precht's fight scenes.

Verdict: 7.5/ 10

Overall Score for This Month in the Anime : 7/10

Verdict : A solid, well-handled set of episodes to get this arc rolling.

How you guys enjoyed this edition of This Month in the Anime. Hopefully, we'll have a new writer for this article next month.

Till then, this has been Ultraprime2!