Fairy Tail Chapter 443 Review - And the Land Just Vanished

Written by Shiggins

You're going to be surprised by my complaint this week.

I remember last week, when they said this chapter would have a colour page, my first thought was "Why?". I wasn't complaining or anything. I love a good colour page but I was confused. Was it a special chapter perhaps? A big reveal? An anniversary? For what reason did Mashima decide to make this chapter one with a colour page? And then I clicked the link...

I GET IT NOW!

Ah Mashima-senpai, you fucking pervert. You never disappoint me. You and your love for boobs, butts, legs and whatever else will never not be apparent to us. And it's set in a hot spring too. That's like your number one setting! Seriously, if the final chapter doesn't have a hot spring in it, I'll be appalled! And if the bath wasn't enough to make me grin, it's B Team! Yes, boys in one side and girls in the other. We have Cana, Mirajane, Lisanna, Levy, Juvia, Gajeel, Elfman and.... ICHIYA?!

Another one of those perfect panels. And I'm not joking. There is absolutely nothing wrong here!

Yes, Ichiya is here. I shouldn't be surprised. He is by far the sexiest character of all anime and he reveals that this village is home to the Blue Pegasus Guild, where the Thunder Tribe are currently living. Evergreen and Jenny are good friends too, apparently. It turns out though that Laxus goes off training somewhere but Gajeel silences Ichiya before he reveals anymore, wanting to surprise them. Ichiya then flashes Elfman (no, I don't know why), and he hits Ichiya who flies into Gajeel who flies into Levy. 

Well to be fair, when someone shoves their dick in my face, I scream "Manhood" too...

Back to Caracol Island, the men stand in shock as Brandish is now in front of them. Interestingly, Natsu's bandaged arm twitches and Gray notices that. Instead of acknowledging the boys, Brandish suddenly walks past them for some star mango gelato but she gets comically upset when she sees the stall has been destroyed. Disappointed, she starts to leave.

I've figured out a great secret today. Shed a few tears like a baby, and the entire fandom falls in love with you.

Acting quite baby-like, Brandish claims she's not interested in whatever chaos Natsu and Gray got up to last week and tells Marin to let Erza and Lucy go. Marin starts to protest and suddenly, the entire ground shakes. Wendy, Carla and Happy fly up to see what's going on but the ground follows them and we see that Brandish literally caused the entire island to rise up into the air and become a mountain.

Is the "I can see my house from here" joke too obvious?

This of course reminds Marin why NOT to piss off the super-powered god of destruction that stands before him in a bikini, so he quickly releases Erza and Lucy who are perfectly fine. (So no torture today, gents.) Realising that she's most likely stronger than Makarov, the others are defenceless while Marin keeps talking. He reminds Brandish that they're meant to be gathering spies but Brandish says they aren't stupid enough to go to Albaress, which is fair considering the mountain they are on top of. 

This gave me a theory actually. I think the Spriggan 12 are genetically modified mages, made more powerful through science and stuff. It would explain where they came from, right?

As she goes to leave, Natsu angrily steps up and says she can't leave yet because of how harshly Mest has been beaten up and that he can't let this slide. Brandish seems to realise this and she suddenly makes Marin completely disappear! Yes, she'd rather just wipe away Marin than deal with troublesome annoyances, and I am totally on her side with that one. 

Hooray! And now, I love you too Brandish!

Giving them a warning not to go to Albaress, she then informs them that Makarov is indeed alive but she can't promise it will stay that way. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the entire island goes underwater and everybody in Caracol is sent into the island. And with that display, she disappears while letting them ponder the fact that there are 12 more wizards just as powerful as her to deal with. 

Opinion: It wasn't a complete victory!

Oh I was so worried it would be! Not only did they not beat Brandish, she humiliated them! Made them tremble in fear! She even "killed" Marin. Oh Brandish, I love you! You're actually a badass threat! Whether or not she killed Marin or just sent him to that "other room" that Mest went to, we can't be sure at this point. Probably the latter since my life thrives when annoyances live.

From left to right: Yuriy, Hammerhead, Spike, Vampira (I think they have wings), Fuzzy, Wildcat, Tombstone Hair, Squidhair, Swag, Detective and... Torafusa!?

Natsu's arm twitched so it looks like that theory a few of us had a while back was right. E.N.D is starting to infect Natsu and he's hiding it under his bandage. If I had to guess, I'd say E.N.D's power is going to be a double-edged sword in this arc, providing assistance when going up against the Spriggan 12 but also hurting Natsu in the process.

That or Natsu needs to hold back violence against women so Tumblr doesn't get mad at him.

Laxus is up to something or has joined something or is doing something... and now I'm really wanting to see. Has he become a crossdresser, like Blue Pegasus' Guildmaster?! Anyway, this does lead me to my first nitpick of the chapter. I think Gajeel was a bit too funny here. I like when he's funny but I think it was just a bit too much. That's just my opinion though, and it's far superior to your opinion so what I'm trying to say here is, never disagree with me. 

JESUS, MIRAJANE! What a bitch... Where did that even come from?!

And finally, the complaint I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter that got you so intrigued. Is it the nudity? Surprisingly no since I've learned to embrace the nudity... Let me rephrase that. I've learned that this is one of many series who like to make nudity fun and energetic so I've grown accustomed to it. 

No, my main problem is... the teasing of Gajevy. Yes, this chapter is the one that made me realise that the teasing is starting to get tiresome. It wasn't that big a tease in the Grand Games Arc since all we really saw was Levy watching Gajeel fight Rogue etc. Tartaros has the amazing kiss of life moment, which I mistook for the big official confirmation. Oh how hopelessly naive I was back then... Every scene Gajeel and Levy have shared this arc has been nowhere near as subtle and although I do love it for it's cuteness, I'm thinking it's time to move on. It's time for Hiro Mashima to please make these two an official couple. 

Gajeel, if you could just move up slightly, then this Gajevy thing wouldn't be a problem. 'Kay thanks.

The reason I want Gajevy confirmed but not, say NaLu, is because it's far too into the point of "obvious" now. We KNOW they like each other. We KNOW they've kissed. We KNOW they are going to get together. Dragging it out at this stage is nothing short of torture and while I will keep my love for them, I am going to be sighing occasionally as well, unless it's a truly sweet or hilarious moment that makes my heart shiver happily. NaLu won't be confirmed soon and that's okay because that feels more like a "final chapter" ending, and Gruvia won't be confirmed because Gray is a dick. That's fine. I can wait with them. Gajevy... JUST KISS ALREADY!

Manga Rating: 4/5

Character of the Week: Brandish for "killing" Marin and making Fairy Tail collectively shit themselves.

Predictions: Next week, we get to see Spriggan! I'm assuming this will be during a meeting so we'll see more of the 12 and maybe even how Makarov is doing. Not gonna lie, I'm excited! If we're lucky, we might end this chapter seeing what Laxus has been up to during this year. And if he picked out a lovely dress for himself.

Best Part: Nobody fucks with Brandish!

Worst Part: Gajeel's funny side is starting to go a bit too far.

Daaaaaaaaamn, Lucy... that thing is filling up half the page! ........I mean the sandcastle, obviously.

Bonus:

...........Why do I suddenly ship this?

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/