Fairy Tail Chapter 395 Review - Extreme Pain

Written by: Shiggins

Ironic. "Extreme pain" is the title of a comedy chapter.

With Ki-su/Kieth/necromancer defeated, Juvia suddenly collapses too because of the damage she took inside his body. Lucy holds her and Juvia says she wants to see Gray right now. (Oh gee. I never saw THAT request coming from her). And then we get a glimpse of the battle between Sting, Rogue and Mard Geer where nothing new is really said. They're taking Minerva back and Mard Geer is "impressed" by their power. So basically, filler pages to remind you that those three exist in this arc.

I just realised something today. How many manga/anime show us a girl in this position from that angle?

Then it's back to Erza, Minerva and the Exceeds. (Have you ever noticed how the Exceeds always end up together and with women?) As Minerva keeps killing my soul with her character change, wondering how Sting and Rogue are holding up, the Exceeds have a tiny bit of banter about how Sabretooth are good people and...*sigh*...that Minerva can cook. Clearly, these pages were important and crucial to the development of this chapter.

Does Pantherlily have a crush? Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually complaining. That could be really funny if used correctly...

And finally, we go back to the real focus on this chapter; Natsu and Gajeel fighting Tempesta and Torafusa!. To their surprise, Tempesta reveals he is bored and Torafusa! states that it is time to fight seriously and recognise them as equals. Which means, we get a big shiny transformation from all four characters as they transform into their most powerful forms; The Lighting-Fire, The Iron-Shadow and the Etherion forms. And I'm not going to lie, that's awesome.

As amazing as these pages are, I can't help but wonder the same thing I do when I watch DBZ; Why didn't you do that right away?!

Once Gajeel explains to a confused Natsu and Lucy how and why he has Iron-Shadow Mode, the two have another bicker about who is the strongest one. (A bit like Goku and Vegeta but nowhere near as entertaining really). And so they declare a contest to see who can take down their opponent first. They both charge into their opponents right away, and we can clearly see that the Dragon Slayers have the advantage here....until they both accidentally knock each other out. 

Yeah, this happens to me whenever I try to win in life too...*sniffle*

Opinion: I like comedy. If I didn't like comedy, I couldn't review this series because a lot of it focuses on comedy (and fanservice) and you need a sense of humour to properly appreciate the material you're reading. When it comes to Fairy Tail, I actually laugh a lot more than I'd expect.

I did not laugh during this chapter. That is not a good thing. Add in some jokes if you must but any comedian would tell you that timing is extremely important and this was not well-timed. In a big serious battle, you ended a chapter by making them punch each other in the face. I was shocked to see that was the ending and not in a good way. In another place in the chapter, this would be a tiny issue but the fact it was used as a "cliffhanger" is a bit... pathetic. I'm sorry Fairy Tail but it is. 

And before any of you say "but I don't like the fanservice", then I'd like to remind you that this (Chapter 355) is my most read review on this blog!

I did like the upgrade from normal fighting to Etherion vs Dragon Slayers' Fusion Forms. That was a nice touch and I surprisingly didn't hate Torafusa's form.

However, the fighting of this chapter was brief and the jokes too stale. The story didn't progress at all and because of all this, I have to give it a low rating this week.

Manga Rating: 1.5/5

Character of the Week: Gajeel for showing me the epic Iron-Shadow form again. (Now just give him Dragonforce and my life will be complete). 

Predictions: To be honest, I don't think Tempesta and Torafusa! have long to go. And to be even more honest, I sadly don't really care anymore. I'm hoping this fight can end in a truly great way. Mard Geer will finally play seriously and Sting and Rogue will be smacked down to nothing immediately. Hopefully, Minerva and Erza will discover a big plot twist involving the ex-Chairman in the main control room.

Best Part: Iron-Shadow, Lightning-Flame and Etherion forms all together.

Worst Part: That sorry excuse for a "cliffhanger".

Oh no. Please don't tell me she'll be wearing her short hair like that... Please no!

Shiggins:[Admin]
  .

Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. He can also respond to you if you contact him through GMails at shigginsishere@gmail.com, and you can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere.