Fairy Tail Chapter 401 Review - Igneel vs Acnologia

Written by Shiggins

I hope you already read last week's chapter because if not, that title just spoiled a ton.

In the red corner, weighing "who-the-fuck-knows", wielding scarlet scales and a lot to answer for, we have the dragon of flames himself Igneel! 

And in the other corner, the current heavyweight champion of dragon fighting, we have the darkness himself and former human being Acnologia! 

It looks like this battle is going to be intense, with dragon against dragon and I'm actually excited for this, despite the crushing disappointment of Celestial King vs Mard Geer earlier in this arc. To make matters even more confusing, every other Dragon Slayer has stopped feeling in pain as if Igneel's presence has calmed them all down. Due to the sudden pain they felt, Rogue and Sting have lost Mard Geer. 

You lost him?! Damn it, guys! You had ONE job!

As expected, everybody in the Fairy Tail Guild are watching in shock at the sight of a second dragon facing off against Acnologia and this includes Kyouka. Mard Geer stands alone with that same constant smirk that is really pissing me off as he claims he won't let either dragon spoil his plans. Meanwhile, Natsu has dried his eyes and calmly and rationally... explodes into the sky after Igneel.

I don't care if you're fighting the dragon equivalent of Satan! You will talk to me!

Natsu's lust for answers is too great to wait, so he's literally grabbed onto Igneel and is demanding answers. He starts asking all the questions he can. "Where were you?", "Why were you inside me? ", "Where are Gajeel's and Wendy's dragons?" and "What is so special about the 7th of July in the year 777?". Igneel is trying to focus and blasts Acnologia with massive amounts of fire but Acnologia is unharmed. 

Hmm... I dunno. I think Natsu's catchphrase was just a bit better.

Igneel just grins at that but has to deal with that pesky Natsu of his. He says he'll give Natsu a job to do, which it turns out is taking care of that smug Mard Geer and retrieving the book E.N.D without opening it. Igneel claims only Natsu can do this. In return, Natsu will get every answer he wants. And with that, Igneel tosses Natsu in Mard Geer's direction.

I love how Igneel is trying as hard as possible to not be a funny character, but Natsu keeps ruining it for him.

Opinion: Whenever a father enters a series, I have one question. "Will they feel like father and child?". I am happy to say that, after reading this chapter, I felt that Igneel and Natsu do have a father-son relationship. They bickered, they got frustrated, they have some of the same characteristics but not enough to be copies of each other and they both have the same love for battle. 

Best father/son combo in manga? Maybe not but they definitely beat Ging and Gon...

Natsu fighting Mard Geer was predictable but honestly, I'm okay with it because I just want Mard Geer gone. If Natsu wins this alone, I'm going to be angry though. He either needs help from Lucy and the others, or this E.N.D book will play a role in the battle. 

However, the biggest question I had after this chapter was "Why did the other Dragon Slayers stop freaking out?" Were they only being affected by Acnologia's roar and Igneel is the only dragon inside a child? Or did the inner dragons calm down? Hopefully, this will all make sense before this arc is over. 

These are the more obvious questions we've all had for a long time.

To be honest, I didn't really find anything to dislike except Mard Geer's annoying face of blandness and smirking. It was a very focused chapter and those tend to be the best ones, if the plot progresses because of it.

Manga Rating: 4.5/5

Character of the Week: Igneel for finally showing us an actual personality and some father-son time.

Predictions: I'm very scared because I think Igneel might die which means Natsu won't get his answers. Igneel vs Acnologia will be great to see though and hopefully, Mard Geer will STOP SMIRKING! Maybe he'll actually use magic now and transform into something else. I hope so at least.

Best Part: Igneel and Natsu together.

Worst Part: Mard Geer. (I have a feeling I'll say that again when I review this entire arc). 

I suppose Happy needed to make some sort of entrance in this chapter... for some reason.

Shiggins:[Admin]
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