So we're right back where we left the manga last year, with Natsu having just invaded Tartaros on his own to save Erza and Mirajane. Franmalth is of course acting all annoyed and freaking out in surprise, which gets annoying very quickly. Then Kyouka summons Yakudoriga to watch over Erza while she goes to find out what all the noise is. I was instantly horrified at seeing this thing. A tentacle frog-faced monster that spews acid? That's just disgusting. I know Hiro Mashima is going for some sort of dark "mutant-demon" theme this arc, but I think he went a bit too far here. (Especially since you just know the haters of fanservice are going to target this demon.)
 |
| I've Seen Enough Hentai To Know Where This Is Going. |
 |
| I Think These Two Should Marry And Adopt Tons Of Little Badass Leopard Babies |
Franmalth says that since Natsu hit him, Natsu owes him 1000 souls. He then breaks his armour and starts stretching about. He grabs Natsu and begins draining him of his power. For some reason, the big bad demon then lets go because Happy's bite actually has an effect on him. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. Anyway, after smacking Happy, Natsu gets another big fire hit in and Franmalth demands 2000 souls now. At least it's nice to see Franmalth isn't going down easily, despite being loud, annoying and easy to hurt.
 |
| There's A One Piece Reference Here That I Really Don't Want To Say |
Then Franmalth gets told to take away the Ex-Chairman for now, as Silver appears. For those of you who've forgotten, this was the Demon Slayer we saw who froze the Sun Village in the previous arc, and who I instantly theorized had some connection to Gray. Well, after Silver apologises for freezing the village over a misunderstanding, Natsu starts to prove my theory might be correct by saying that Silver smells like Gray. Silver is angered at hearing that name and instantly freezes Natsu as punishment.
 |
| Silence! I Do Not Like That Colour! (That Is Very Similar To My Own Name) |
Manga Rating: 2.5/5
Overall Character of the Week: Silver for saving this chapter by taking Natsu down easily and proving my theory correct (by the look of things.)
Predictions: Next week's chapter is called "Jellal vs Oracion Seis" so it looks like we'll see the conclusion of that. I'm guessing Jellal will win because he's one of those "fuck you, I'm me" characters who can't ever lose anything except his memory for a while. Then he'll reveal why he came to fight them in the first place, and the group will begin an alliance. We might see Silver give Natsu to the Kyouka and her tentacled pet.
P.S What is the deal with these souls? Is it like Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean?
 |
| Is He Seriously Expecting Natsu To Pay This? |
Shiggins:[Admin]
.
Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. He can also respond to you if you contact him through GMails at shigginsishere@gmail.com, and you can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere.
Cool review. I agree with the whole tentacley-hentai thing. It was a bit too disturbing for my tastes and I wonder what kind of fans Mashima's 'serving' on that one. XD
ReplyDeleteI really want to talk about the central incident of the most recent FT chapter first. I'm going on a limb here and say that Silver is Gray's father (like so many have already concluded but I'll just say it). That is one revelation that I could think about. I would also risk saying that he might be angry with Gray because he might be Ul's husband/lover, therefore making Gray and Ultear half-siblings. I could totally see that because Ul's lover was never shown in the manga. Ultear had really great magic which rendered her ill and can only be because both of her parents were mages (well, her father is a demon). Meanwhile Gray might have a non-magical mother, therefore balancing it and that's why he was healthier and more normal than Ultear. That's just a guess of mine. Silver would be angry with Gray because he was the 'indirect' cause of death of both Ul and Ultear. I guess Silver doesn't know that Gray is his son. It's not a far-fetched theory, but still.
And I agree that the balancing factors for this chapter is Silver's appearance and reaction to Gray's name and the Gray x Juvia scenes. They do interact on a normal level and Juvia's fangirling is mostly to provide comic relief for the couple. They do have all elements that could make a canon couple, not just angst or comedy or whatnot.
~ the crafty cracker
Here's a hint: Those fans don't read Fairy Tail for the plot ;-)
DeleteI have to admit, I love that theory. It makes complete sense, it would cause drama and character development, and hopefully a few more plot twists. I was thinking that Silver was Gray's older brother/father who caused Deliora to kill the village, but your idea seems more likely.
I'm not usually a shipping fan, but Gray and Juvia are one of those times where I throw all rules out the window. Like when I have my rare moments of love for Ouran Highschool Host Club.
Hi there. Cool review. I totally agree with this not being the perfect chapter, but you`re really strict on manga, aren't you:)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I see this chapter as a beginning of an other great storyarc I was so painfully waiting for since the end oft the magic games arc. As a girl I'm really annoyed by the excessive fanservice but I'm still a great fan of Hiro Mashima. I know from his previous work "Rave" that he is a genius storyteller and I can't wait to see how the existing points in the story will connect into one great plot.
This is a Shounen Jump Manga where every Chapter gets 19 pages (except on speciall occasions). So I'm glad the chapters aren't so episodic but one part of the story. That's why I think Manga chapters shouldn't be rated as one single element because it will never be near perfect with mere 19 pages. Not if the author wants to reach a grander scale.
Yeah, I really love Gray and Juvia when they're not acting for comical purposes :D
(Btw: sorry for bad english)
I am quite strict but that's mostly because I'm so passionate! >:D
DeleteI think you're right. Unlike the first few arcs of Fairy Tail, you can tell there is a grand plan that is happening. I'm on the same field as you: Excited for the future!
It's not Shonen Jump actually. It's another manga magazine called Weekly Shonen Magazine. In fact, out of the four biggest shonen series in the world, Fairy Tail is the only one that isn't in SJ.
Gray and Juvia for life! :-D
(Don't worry. You did well with your English. Well done.)
Oh, it wasn't criticism, I really like your passionate side. Today I found your blog only by chance, but I'm already looking forward for more of your posts.:D
ReplyDeleteWell, great! You should register a username if you plan to comment a lot. (It can always get confusing when there's so many anonymous people.) I hope you keep reading! :-)
DeleteThe whole Erza stripped naked and tortured and now the tentacle monster is just a little too much on the creep side. I don't mind the torture but naked... Really this just looks more and more of an hentai manga at this rate and in all honesty I think Erza and Mira just dropped their guard way too easily and were defeated/captured too easily for being such powerful mages come on -_-.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know much about Gray, of all we know Silver might be his father, or older brother, or some sort of future Gray like that future Lucy. All we know about Gray is that his hometown was destroyed by Deliora and supposedly his whole family was killed but we never saw any bodies to actually prove their deaths.
I hate how Hiro made this arc a little too predictable, when this arc started it was easy to see that it was going to be tied with Gray somehow and yeah with this chapter it proved it right. Natsu again being all idiotic and attacks Tartaros all by himself, he really does not use his brain.
For me, it's just the tentacles. The torture was dark and tragic but I thought it was well done until the tentacle creature. And yeah, you'd expect Erza and Mira to have been aware of the sleeping drug or at least a bit suspicious, although I suppose that's because it was almost inconceivable for them to think of the ex-chairman as a villain.
DeleteI was never a fan of Gray, and I'm not sure of many people who are. I ship GrayXJuvia though so that does help him in my view. I think this arc is going to give him character development, which is good because it's something he's been missing this whole time. We've been building up to it with his one-chapter death, his talks with Ultear, his relationship with Juvia etc. So I think this arc might improve Gray for many of us.
As for Natsu, no he does not use his brain and I am extremely bored of his attitude right now. Hopefully, we'll get a nice break from him and then he'll return and go back to being likable again.