Monday, July 10, 2017

Fairy Tail Chapters 542 & 543 Review - Instinct & Hearts as One

Written by Shiggins

My last double-chapter review of FT?

Wow, even typing that sentence was hard-hitting... Guys, I might not be calm when I write the final review. Just a heads-up. *forces a laugh to hide the tears inside* .........Sorry, I have to focus on this review! You waited long enough! I'll do as you command, sirs and m'ams!

Still not convinced Yuriy is dead! Out of pure stubbornness, I'm folding my arms in defiance!
A-D is smashing shit everywhere, with no rhyme or reason. One of his attacks causes the entire library to shake and Lucy is buried in books. He isn't listening to anyone, clearly motivated by nothing but instinct to be in this location and destroy everything. Isn't that scary?

We see more of Acnologia fighting the Dragon Slayers but that's just them being beaten by his might. At Port Hargeon, the characters have found the biggest ship they can get and Erza promises to at least push A-D onto the boat so their plan can work. Just as they wonder if this plan can actually go well, Lucy finds the book to activate Fairy Sphere!

Where did these fucking bulls even come from!?
Thanks to his instinct, the mages are able to move A-D around with their own magical prowess. The Slayers continue to talk about protecting everyone against the laughing Acnologia, while the rest of the characters start holding hands to prepare for Fairy Sphere! Unfortunately, A-D is now here and he unleashes ultimate destruction on the port to destroy all the ships!

In Chapter 543, Gray thankfully comes up with an immediate solution and he, Lyon and Juvia work together to build a better ship! Lucy is on her way, flying there via Happy-wings, and the duo remember that this port is where Chapter 1 of the series happened. I'm probably being a total dork, but I love little callbacks like that.

"I'm going to build my own ship! With blackjack! And hookers!"
All the Slayers are down, broken in agony from Acnologia's ferocity. He talks about how he lives to kill dragons, but Natsu points out that he'd have to kill himself for that to work. Natsu tells him that dragons are noble and kind, but this pisses off the main villain and he makes an explosion! Natsu then corrects himself by stating that all dragons are different, and Acnologia is one that needs to be defeated. It turns out that Natsu is still standing because... well, Spirit Bomb!

I'm seriously convinced Mashima is trying to pay homage to Dragon Ball, or at least dozens of other 80s/90s manga.
The ship is ready and Lucy puts on her Aquarius-clothes to prepare Fairy Sphere. Erza sends every single sword she has on A-D while Juvia moves the ship into position. A-D crashes onto the ship and everyone, including Chelia/Sherria, hold hands as the light begins to glow. Natsu charges forward to Acnologia.

Opinion: We are racing!

The next chapter is apparently the climax of this battle, and you can really feel the writers trying to get this over with as quickly as possible. I almost wish we had gone with this plan from the beginning, rather than the Timelapse. There could have been a lot more twists and turns to it, and this battle wouldn't feel so rushed.

For something that is clearly rushed however, it is working well. The story is moving quickly, no panel is wasted and everyone feels like they are contributing to the climax in some manner. Even something as simple as Juvia using water to move the ship feels like it matters, so I'm not as upset about it as I could be.

And a bit of lightning too, Natsu. Don't forget that. Also, I think you should have a meeting because I don't remember the others consenting to you turning them into "fire" types.
It is a shame that Acnologia's hatred for dragons has never been explored until this point, although I have heard rumours that the movie "Dragon Cry" does discuss it far more. Unfortunately, I have not seen it yet so the mentions of a little girl dying and Acnologia losing his family feels out of place amongst the rest of his actions. And since he is almost definitely about to die next chapter, it looks like Acnologia will always feel... incomplete.

Lastly, I am feeling slightly more confident in having a satisfying ending now. Again, I have to reference Bleach when talking about a bad ending because that series literally ended without revealing if fan-favourites were alive or dead, but nobody in Fairy Tail is in that position upon this time of writing. So already, I prefer this story's ending to Bleach's! (I know, I need to stop referencing Bleach's bad ending but...)

Manga Rating: 

542: 3/5

543: 4/5

Best Part: Everyone working together!

Worst Part: Acnologia's missed opportunities.

One of the best openings. One of the worst endings. I still don't understand why James Cameron wants this arc to have a sequel so much.
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/

8 comments:

  1. I liked both chapters but I agree that Acno really should have had a proper backstory and that all the dragon slayers get to power up instead of just Natsu being given all their powers by Wendy who has been having these sudden moments of "Let me give you a power up Erza or Natsu whichever's close to hand to become stronger than any other character without any explanation as to how I learnt this and why I don't simply do it to myself". But overall I really do like these chapters and considering we are near the end I don't have that many complaints aside from the ones above.

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    1. I feel like Dragon Cry might have given us more of an Acno history lesson, but darned if we're getting it here.

      Honestly, I'm surprised I like these chapters at all considering the rushed feel.

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  2. It's quite sad that FT is ending in two chapters. Still can't get over it.
    I have to say, I'm quite enjoying this plotline. I like the idea of Fairy Sphere, and I like how everyone worked together against the big threat. it just felt... so much like Fairy Tail! And Lucy's flashbacks made it even better!
    The only big flaw is that everything is really rushed. Like.. REALLY rushed. As you said, Hiro is still doing a good job not making it like the Bleach ending but.. But I'm still sad. All of this goodness needs more chapters to flesh it out. ESPECIALLY Acnologia. His character just got a bit more developed, but it's still not enough time to develop him completely.
    Also, about the fight of the 7 DS vs Acno... This fight is pretty good, but it's way too rushed(like everything really). Also, I'm very worried about next chapter. Throughout the series, I have been super hyped for either:
    1)Dragonized Natsu
    2)END Natsu
    3)Dragon Demon Fusion Natsu
    And I still have hopes for that. Natsu did receive a 7 element powerup, but it seems he's converting it into magic power. So PLEASE Hiro, don't make it base Natsu vs Zeref all over again. I just want a cool and epic transformation to finish off the series. We already won't get END, so at least give us Dragon Form Natsu!
    If Natsu transforms into.. anything at this point, I'll actually be happy with the ending(besides, I'm sure the anime will flesh everything out... I hope). But if Natsu doesn't... I'll be dissapointed. REALLY dissapointed. Obviously not to Bleach levels but still..

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    1. I knooooow. I miss it already!
      I wouldn't hold out hope for any of those 3 to be honest. END seems to be gone, DDF is... well, I just doubt it, and Dragonized seems to be in Dragon Cry. If I were you, I'd expect a super-awesome punch and hope the resolutions of the characters are fantastic.

      And no, nothing is as disappointing as Bleach's ending. I literally wrote an article to fix it. Because I am great. Like Bender.

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  3. For fuck's sake Natsu dragons are gentle.>:|

    I think Acny fails as a final villain. I mean he has no consistent personality or goal. Mashima set him up as having depths, but it didn't really amount to anything. Even his competence fluctuated in this arc, and with his defeat most likely being Natsu nakama punching him, it's going to be really anticlimatic. There was literally no reason for him to not try to destroy everything earlier in the story. I get very salty when villains aren't used to their full potential.

    P.S. Don't bother watching the movie for Acny's back story you won't learn anything else.

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  4. Everything in this arc was rushed so it's amazing this is working out. Deep down I think my recent dissapoints in the series have been based on it ending so quickly reading these two chapter which were nice only makes me want more to ask for another arc or a sequel. Acnologia motivations have always felt to be in that moral grey area which would require dark fantasy style to talk about I think Hiro is probably preserving the "gentle" image of the dragons to keep the story fun and not have us think about how chances are at least one of them ate people or how humanity owes it current way of life to Acnologia.

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  5. IMO, this story is so filled with holes right now it's not even funny. We know the dragons aren't "gentle because well, dragon slaying magic exists. We've seen plenty of murderous dragons. If Mashima wanted to have the story be low stakes fun, he shouldn't have started a war arc.

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  6. Although this final fight feels rushed, Acnologia had enough build-up as a villain to make it count. At the very least, it's good that Zeref (& Mavis) got a proper sendoff.

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