Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest Chapters 29 & 30 Review - White Out & Fighting Festival

Written by Shiggins

Old arc, new context.

Since we're up against a cult and this is currently the season before Autumn, would it be appropriate to call this "Midsummer"? Eh? Get it? ...Anyway, we're back with more Fairy Tail and a surprising return to one of the original Fairy Tail arcs, The Fighting Festival! Is this arc going to be as good as the original, if not better, or will it just be a cheap copy used to stir up nostalgia? Or neither? Or both?! Probably not both.

Summer breeeze.... makes me feel fiiiiine...

Chapter 29 begins with the heroes confronted by the legion of their own allies, all of whom are now wearing the white robes of Touka, obeying her like hypnotised worshippers. Touka attempts to "White" the others, but Wendy's magic prevents it. Gray attempts to put some distance between them by making a wall, but Touka has Laxus-sama under her control to destroy it easily.

They make a hasty retreat, with Touka focusing on making Aldron as white as her. Juvia quickly reminds us that she's a split personality, (but what about that tail?!) and she explains Touka's grand plan to White all the God Dragons and have control of their ultimate power, probably to kill someone or take over the world. Fairy Tail is instead of Mercuphobia.

The amount of "white" mentions here makes me uncomfortable...

As Touka destroys one crystal-ma-jig, she speaks through Juvia and says that the other four McGuffin Crystals must be destroyed for her plan to work, so the Fairy Tail members must go to each city on Aldron and destroy them. Wendy could use her healing magic to restore them back to normal, but not when they are conscious... so Natsu proposes an impromptu Fighting Festival!

And in chapter 30, he races off in complete excitement at the idea of fighting everyone again! Knowing they have no other choice, the others split up in various directions while Erza worries about Jellal, which is totally not foreshadowing for her upcoming battle. Touka decides to play along by ordering Fairy Tail to kill the group, even the cats!

Um... he was investigating Touka. How is that not obvious, Erza? This is a very odd panel, made even odder by Max in the background.

Our first situation is shown with Gray and Juvia, the latter of whom actually can't use her magic due to Touka still being in control of her technically. And this is when the Thunder God Tribe arrive, while also reminding us of when Gray once lost to Bickslow (one of my favourite underrated characters actually).

Wait, Levy isn't fighting is she? She's pregnant! That legitimately worries me. I don't want to see a pregnant woman getting beat up!

Lucy comes across the Strauss Siblings, led by S-Class monster Mirajane, and she summons the help of Virgo and Leo to take her on, even though none of them have any confidence with this match. And Natsu is having fun wiping out Macao, Wakaba and even little Romeo, until Gajeel shows up to have the rematch I think we've all wanted for a very long time.

Opinion: Let's fighting now!

So out of every arc of the original series, it's easy to see why we've gone back to Fighting Festival. Grand Magic Games is too big and chaotic, Tartarus is too dramatic for right now, and Tenrou Island would be better suited for when we've met everyone from Diabolos. No, Fighting Festival is the way to go because it brings back all the supporting characters we prefer and gives us an excuse to see them all in action yet again. As expected though, there are both ups and downs.

One of the biggest downs I'm immediately going to point towards is that nobody is doing this for a very good reason, except mind control. By comparison to the last Fighting Festival, everyone had a legitimate goal and was doing what they felt was right. So any opportunity for growth or change is lost. And sure, that means we can just have fun but I rarely complain about development getting in the way of mindless violence.

Another big down, just getting this one out of the way now, is that Romeo is already down. Now, I actually don't give a flying shit about Romeo and think he's one of the most pointless characters of the lot, occasionally thrown in to remind us he exists but never bringing anything of value. However, this was a perfect opportunity to make me care! Natsu having to fight someone he cares about, seeing how far Romeo has grown over the years by following his back and never realising it... Instead, he's already down. Maybe that's mostly because of my previous complaint, but a Natsu vs Romeo is something that could have been great.

It's great to see Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen together again as a deadly force, since it feels like forever since they actually got to do something. (Was the fight against Wahl's robot the last time?) And obviously, you can imagine my face when Natsu and Gajeel finally came face-to-face again! Honestly, it's making me pray for a Majin Gajeel appearance sometime soon. Yes, we'll never get that, but that's the point of prayer isn't it?

See, tell me that doesn't work! (......it doesn't, does it?)

Speaking of prayer, join me for a group chant everyone as we hope to the Gods above and below that this arc does not let us down. The fights are well set-up, everyone is where they should be, and we're ready for a powerhouse arc of battles! This could so easily let us down, but it hasn't so far! Make us proud, Fairy Tail!

P.S Is Wendy going to fight Laxus? Please say yes.

Manga Rating: 

29: 3/5

30: 4/5

Best Part: Choose your challenger!

Worst Part: Romeo, o'Romeo.

A casino arc? I think that could work...

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/