Fairy Tail Chapter 396 Review - Air

Written by: Shiggins

Am I dreaming or... DID THAT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?!

Sorry, give me a moment. Just... I need a minute here. Okay... Alright, time for this review. And damn, I liked this chapter far more than I expected! I will admit that I am somewhat biased because of a certain page in this chapter but I'm going to try to be unbiased here. And I'm also going to try to stop giggling over this because it happened so fuck you! (Also, yes, I am aware this review and chapter was late but I'm not sure why. If anybody can tell me why, please do. I'd appreciate it. Thank you.)

Come jump in!

After the cringing disappointment of last week, I admittedly wasn't expecting much today. I was scared of more bad humour and childish jokes. Thankfully, I was utterly wrong although the first page made me sad because we had to go through the two Dragon Slayers childishly arguing over how they hit each other and blah blah blah. It's exactly what you'd expect it to be, but it also had an unconscious Juvia trying to argue with Lucy again so the scene wasn't all bad, at least.

Lucy captures my reaction to last week's chapter perfectly.

Then Torafusa! finally takes to the stage and unleashes his ultimate ability: Black water! Hallways are flooded with thick, dark water and we see a glimpse of Levy noticing all this water appear, and she's justifiably confused. As Levy is swept up, she realises she can hear Gajeel's voice within the water. (Somehow. Seriously, somebody tell me how that actually happened. Was it soundwaves through water?)

Claydragon would probably consider this "the perfect response" to any question I ask

Torafusa! suddenly attacks and knocks down Natsu within seconds, since Natsu is defenceless without his Flames. Tempesta isn't bothering to do anything right now, which leaves Gajeel the only one to fight Torafusa! Apparently, all of them had swallowed some of the black water, which kills a human within 5 minutes of breathing it. Torafusa! has also gained a huge advantage because his Etherion form allows him to swim at brilliant speeds underwater.

Am I the only one who finds this funny for some reason? Yes? Okay...

Gajeel has to literally close off most of his mouth with metal, just in case he accidently swallows some water but unfortunately for him, Torafusa! is beating Gajeel painfully. Gajeel fights back using his own Shadow Magic (which makes me wonder why Natsu couldn't try using his lightning... then again, that would have probably killed Lucy, Juvia and Gajeel too so I just answered my own question!).

I can't believe Torafusa! didn't take this opportunity to say "Geehee".

And then comes the big moment I did not expect. Gajeel is sinking down below, defeated as his friends drift and are dying. He's running out of air and unable to move, and he's begging for air. He then sees a bright light and...

GAJEELxLEVY CANON!

Yes, that actually happened! Levy used her kiss to give Gajeel the last of her air (hence the title), and with that Gajeel  can resume fighting and Levy falls down. Torafusa! gets angry at this sudden appearance and makes a move to kill Levy but to put it simply, Gajeel is not letting ANYBODY hurt Levy!

Opinion: I am so sorry for fangirling like that but... this is a big deal for me and probably a lot of Fairy Tail fans too. When I first started this series, the only couple I actually "shipped" was Gajeel and Levy. I was having trouble adjusting to the idea of Natsu and Lucy (or Lisanna if you're one of those people) and Elfman and Evergreen was only just starting. So excuse me for loving this part.

Aaah, such simple origins.

Now, I know some people are going to say "Oh, she only kissed him to give him oxygen. It doesn't mean anything". Well, I like to consider myself a writer as well and I know for a fact that no writer would place a scene like this in such a way without it being romantic. It is a romantic scene and a beautiful scene. And it helped me remind me how good this arc is, after the recent feelings of disappointment that was creeping up on me last week and the entire fiasco with Minerva's character.

You almost killed this arc... ALMOST!

I will admit though, Natsu being defeated that quickly bothered me a little. I know Torafusa! had the advantage and Natsu did drink the black water, thus causing him to pass out like that but it is surprising. I suppose it was a bit too convenient that Gajeel was the only person still fighting and Levy just happened to arrive despite not being in this arc very much, but every series has it's "lucky coincidences" so I'm just having to accept it really.

One final note: Am I the only one who wants to see how Jet and Droy are going to react when they hear what Levy did in this chapter?

Manga Rating: 5/5

Character of the Week: Levy McGarden for her surprise rescue.

Best Part: GaLe's kiss of life.

Worst Part: Natsu and Gajeel started the chapter by silly arguing.

Normally, I'd be upset by the lack of Gajeel in this picture but the chapter more than made up for it... Also, legs!

Shiggins:[Admin]
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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.