Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Fairy Tail Chapter 521 Review - The Mightiest Mage

Written by Shiggins

Not the fight we needed, but the one we deserved.

Finally, I can be more positive for once... This war arc really does feel like it has been going on for a while now, but the end is clearly getting closer as we wrap up almost all the encounters with the Spriggan 12 and move to focus on the remaining foes, although I have my doubts if August is really the only one left to be a factor in this arc.

The second-best scene of the chapter.
The city is back to normal, and we finally see the glimpse of the greatest character ever... Max! Yes! All hail Max! Oh and Freed and Bickslow, but who cares? MAX! I can't wait for Max to save the day! Mavis is giving orders to the fighters, while Laxus holds his grandfather in his arms and reassures him that he'll take Makarov to the Guild soon.

"I'm lucky he was a weirdo", says the girl with her tits hanging out during a war.
Meanwhile, Mirajane has defeated Jason Statham and is confused why he averted his eyes so much, but that helped her beat him so it's a good thing really. Obviously, this is a reference to Jason Statham's problem with white-haired people and nothing else. We then cut to what is easily my favourite scene in the chapter, where Ajeel is also defeated.

Anyone else went right to the Fairy Tail Wiki after he popped up? Just me? I'm a bad reviewer...
Lisanna and Elfman have defeated Ajeel, but he's determined to get back up. This is when, almost literally out of nowhere, Ajeel's grandfather arrives. (For those who can't remember, this is Yajeel. Minister of Alvarez.) Yajeel says enough death has occurred in this war, and Elfman and Lisanna both correct him. People die in every war, and Yajeel just never realised because no other way has backed the Alvarez Empire into a corner like this before. Elfman and Lisanna of course say they were never going to kill Ajeel and they reveal they are siblings, much to Ajeel's surprise.

I want one. I want one now... for science.
Back to Natsu, Lucy and Happy as they exit the flat, they come across my newest waifu Brandish and her own mini-waifu Dimaria, whom Brandish has shrunk. After Natsu teases Dimaria a bit, Brandish reveals she is leaving but Lucy is excited for when they meet again some day. Juvia, carried by Evergreen, arrives beside Polly and Carla but they can't find Gray.

Atop the church stands August, who has now seen the defeat of every member of the Spriggan 12 except for himself. August is angry, so he prepares to annihilate the entire town but suddenly... Gildarts! The church is destroyed and the battle of the legends begin. Meanwhile, Gray has arrived at Zeref.

What is it with old men appearing in random locations this week? Do they just get lost? Do they need a carer?
Opinion: Because he's Gildarts!

It's August vs Gildarts and this fight better be amazing to make up for that annoying God Serena battle. Whenever I think about Serena, I get angry and kick a small animal with big eyes so let's hope Gildarts actually has a challenge for the first time in his life.

See? Old man! Out of nowhere!
My initial reaction was anger as I watched Jason Statham and Ajeel fall, since we didn't actually get to see how they were defeated. And while I do call out immense bullshit at the idea of Lisanna defeating Ajeel, I understand why we never saw the fights. This war has gone on long enough and the last thing we needed was more fighting with predictable endings. Just... At least explain how Ajeel was defeated.

Speaking of Ajeel, that was the best thing I'd seen all year from Fairy Tail. While it was far too rushed, scenes depicting the damage of war for everyone and showing that there can be no true winner is very mature and keeps me far more invested than any bullcrap Irene came out with over the past few weeks. People with an actual education know that war is never the answer and is full of tragedy, and its a theme I would love to see explored more in the finale of this arc.

Next week is two chapters, most likely starting with Gray vs Zeref until Natsu arrives. It'll be interesting to see how Gray's conversation with Zeref will go, considering he knows about Natsu's connection to Zeref and won't want to kill his best friend (despite what a recent battle between them might have suggested).

Lastly, bets on August being the only Spriggan 12 member to do anything for the rest of the arc should be very low. Brandish, Invel... Hell, maybe even Ajeel might have more to do before Zeref falls.

Manga Rating: 3.5/5

Character of the Week: Ajeel for introducing us to a scene that highlights the pain of war.

Best Part: War sucks.

Worst Part: Another easy win for Gildarts?

Huge wasted opportunity to not show Juvia staring at Lucy hatefully here.

Shiggins:[Admin]   .
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/

4 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this chapter quite a lot. I don't know if it is because Magnolia is back at last or because I liked the war better without Universe One, but.. this chapter was great! It wasn't something super special, but it was something positive at last.
    First of all, I have to say, the Ajeel fight was a tiny bit dissapointing. The fact that Mira defeated Jacob is completely fine, but Elfman and Lisanna defeating Ajeel? The one Erza barely defeated? While I still can see this happening, considering that Elfman probably grew after the timeskip, I still would like to see the battle. Hopefully it will be shown when the anime returns. Maybe Hiro is rushing everything on purpose, so that the anime has more blanks to fill. Well, we'll see.
    Also, I'm quite glad that we are gonna see Gildarts face off August. This is a really hyped battle, and I REALLY hope it won't get offscrened. I had a thought that God Serena might be mentioned after August mysteriously said "He's here with me" about 30 chapters ago, but I doubt it. Which sucks, because God Serena was one of my favourite Spriggans.
    Also, at long last we are going to see what Gray's "Trump Card" is. It has been hyped from the very start of the war, and we never figured out what it is. And since next week is a double chapter, I think we're going to completely dive into Gray vs Zeref stuff. Which is hype!!!

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    1. Ajeel is far too cool to be defeated without explanation, but I am convinced that the anime will take full advantage of moments like this. They'd be fools not to, and Mashima-senpai loves working with the anime so maybe he'll tell them how Elfman and Lisanna actually somehow won. That dude has a lot of energy.
      If I had to guess, I'd say Gildarts won't offscreen the number 1 Spriggan but he might just punch him super-duper hard and that will be his victory, in which case I shall be filled with disappointment and rage. As for Serena... I am still just too annoyed over that. Don't even want to discuss it right now... grumble...
      I honestly forgot there was a Trump Card. So much has been happening that I've lost track of so much.

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  2. I'm afraid to get my hopes up. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions and with all the hype August has gotten I can't help but be afraid he will lose in a disappointing way. I have so many questions does brandish leaving count as treason? Why has Zeref been chilling the entire time? What is this ace Gray was talking about? Where is Acnologia? What was all that business with Larcade smelling like Natsu is there a back up E.N.D?

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    1. Aww, I know how you feel. The best we can do right now is hope and pray to Imhotep.

      - Brandish leaving would count as treason, yes. Although I doubt August will try and stop her, since he seems to at least be friendly with her.
      - Zeref knows he can win this without a problem, so he's just lying back and waiting for everyone to exhaust themselves and come to him. It's Villain 101.
      - Might be Iced Shell? I'm honestly unsure but he seems the type to bring that out yet again.
      - Acnologia is just chilling, bro. He's trying to find the Dragon Slayers, but he's been swapped about twice now. Maybe he needs a lie down. Or orange slices. I bet he's having some orange slices.
      - I think so, yes. Zeref is the father of Larcade so they must be connected somehow. So look forward to his return.

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