Fairy Tail Chapter 388 Review - Erza vs Minerva

And Minerva is dead. To me, at least.

So this week starts off with Wendy, Carla and Doranbolt looking in horror at all the Face bombs that are going to go off soon. Wendy however, refuses to lose hope and strengthens her resolve to keep trying, even doing the classic "cut hair to symbolise resolve" tactic. (That would be almost ineffective if the character was male). And then of course, it's time for the title itself. We go to see Erza vs Minerva.

Who wore it best?

Unlike last week which just gave massive spoilers in it's title but didn't actually show what they were referring to, the rest of this chapter focuses on the battle between Scarlet and Orlando. And at first, it shows signs of promise. Erza is only sticking to her most powerful sword and Minerva is doing her silly ranting about being the strongest. (Because no manga character has EVER done that before). However, nothing really impressive is being done.

Except that. That was awesome.

Erza then asks Minerva why she is fighting and we get sent to the land of Unwanted and Unnecessary Flashback Land. I hate Unwanted and Unnecessary Flashback Land. This visit shows us a young Minerva training and getting smacked by her shit-of-a-man father for being weak. This causes present day Minerva to have a hissy fit and start attacking again, declaring she must be strong.

Okay, seriously? You're just turning this into some sort of creepy fetish!

We then see Erza tell Minerva she understood why she did all that stuff in the Grand Games, and that it was all because she did it for Sabretooth. And I'm calling immense bullshit because Minerva did it all for herself because she wanted to be the strongest. She never cared about Sabretooth and that's why she ditched Sabretooth as soon as they were defeated. So no Erza. I love you but you're wrong here. And then Minerva tells Erza that she wants Erza to kill her... *sigh*

Might as well. Her character is already dead to me anyway.

So yes, Minerva now views herself as a weakling and wishes to die. Erza refuses and says to Minerva that "she's sure someone is waiting for her to come back". This is when Mard Geer pops up again. So yeah, like I predicted, what a waste of time it was covering him in stone. He was gone for ONE CHAPTER! Erza tries to stand up to Geer but in a flash, she is sent flying back by him. He then blasts his magic attack to wipeout Minerva but Minerva is saved. By who?

The appropriate reaction to Sabretooth and Rogue's Samurai-like design.

So overall, fuck this chapter a bit. I am so sick of seeing great villains ruined by backstories and feelings of regret and such. I saw the film Maleficient recently and this made me think of it again. Don't get me wrong, I like a backstory for a villain, but I don't like it when that changes who the villain is completely. Not only was Minerva's sudden transformation into a "good person" rushed and random, it completely contradicted past events and motives. A huge and bitter disappointment.

On the bright side, the action was good and the ending was, once again, a good one that got me excited for next week. Let's just hope it's more satisfying than this week's chapter of bullshit. And on one last note, how is Erza still fighting!? She was tortured, fought Kyouka and has been fighting Minerva for ages! And don't give me that Second Origin stuff because by the evidence at hand, she hasn't used it yet! So like I said, I'm calling bullshit!

Manga Rating: 1.5/5

Character of the Week: Erza Scarlet for some satisfying combo attacks.

Predictions: Sting and Rogue vs Mard Geer could be satisfying, but I get the bad feeling that somebody will interfere or Geer will succeed without doing anything too big, like when he fought the Spirit King. Wendy will get support from Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Oracion Seis and whoever else is out there. (Please let Quatro Puppy return!)

Best Part: Wendy's resolve.

Worst Part: The defamation of Minerva's character.

I am fully prepared to teach her!

Shiggins:[Admin]
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