Fairy Tail Week: Top 10 Fairy Tail Characters

Fairy Tail Week - Top 10 Fairy Tail Characters

Written by: ClayDragon and Shiggins

For today’s entry in Fairy Tail Week, we’ve made a list of our Top 10 Fairy Tail characters. As with many shonen series, Fairy Tail has a huge amount of characters, so there was no shortage of options when it came to writing this list. However, as always we’ve had to limit ourselves to choosing the best of the best, so apologies if your personal favourite isn’t on this list, but sadly they didn’t make the cut.

As is this the case with many of these lists, SPOILER ALERT. You have been warned.

10.)        Juvia Lockser (Written by Shiggins)

“Juvia lives for the ones that she loves! You've got to as well. If you have love in your life, then you must keep on living!”

To be honest, I’m a bit saddened to see Juvia is so low on this list. I did always enjoy her quirky personality, even though I know a lot of fans despise her for that exact personality which I suppose is understandable. She’s a very love-obsessed character who can go from bright and cheery to dark and angry in a matter of seconds, and then right back again. And if you were to look at almost any random moment involving her, you’d realise the one she is in love with is the Ice Mage himself, Gray Fullbuster.

Sometimes, when we go looking for pictures for these Top 10s, we see a picture that just screams “Use me!” And we have no say in the matter.

To be honest, I never fully understood why Juvia loved Gray. I never liked Gray myself but then again, I’m not a girl or gay so maybe Juvia is just really shallow for shirtless guys. (I joke because I care). Due to Gray being a stubborn idiot who’s freaked out by Juvia’s blunt declarations of love, the two of them aren’t a couple but that doesn’t keep Juvia from trying her hardest. We’ve seen her offer body pillows, cookies and even her own ass at one point so Gray can sit on it.

Juvia has an amazing zombie impression for when you threaten her Gray!

The reason Juvia probably makes it onto this list is perhaps her actual backstory and how well it works in this story. She grew up alone, considered a freak and with zero friends. A person who just wanted to join in with the others and spent her time making “teru teru bozu dolls” (which is considered a good luck charm relating to weather), and got teased constantly for it.  She was alone and shunned, and now she spends her time constantly surrounded by friends and even a love. That side of her is relatable and if more fans focused on that aspect of her, I think she’d feel a lot less hate from the world.

9.)           Sting & Rogue (Written by ClayDragon)

Sting: “Funny, my biggest pet peeve is when assholes try and hurt our friends.”
Rogue:  “Truth be told, I’m as clueless as you are. But I won’t turn into him. I definitely won’t.”

Okay, I admit it. We’re technically cheating here by allowing two characters to share the same spot. But since Sting and Rogue are two characters that are constantly together, it seemed unfair to give this spot to just one of them. Sabertooth’s two Dragon Slayers, Sting and Rogue were first introduced as haughty, arrogant jerks who mocked Natsu’s failure to defeat Acnologia and rubbed their Third-Generation Dragon Slayer abilities in his face.

Put on a proper shirt, jackass!

Thankfully, they got knocked off their high horse when Natsu managed to defeat them both in a 2-on-1 battle. To rub salt in the wound, they had both activated their Dragon Force whilst Natsu hadn’t even gone full power. After this defeat (and their subsequent loss of the Grand Games), the two began to mellow out and became more open and caring. In fact, once Sting became the new guild leader of Sabertooth, he completely turned the guild mentality around, making it a much more fun and caring guild akin to Fairy Tail.

It's funny because violence.

The best thing about Sting and Rogue is that, despite being relatively minor characters that have only shown up in two arcs so far, they’ve been given a surprising amount of depth and characterisation. What’s more, the manner in which they begin to develop feels perfectly normal, as opposed to some characters whose development can feel forced or unnatural. Their growth shows that despite being in one of the worst guilds in the series, they both had the potential to be good guys from the very beginning.

8.)           Mavis Vermillion (Written by ClayDragon)

"Comrades isn't simply a word. Comrades are about heart. It's the unconditional trust in your partners. Please, feel free to lean on me... and I, too, will lean on you as well.”

Fact – smart characters are awesome. Mavis is the smartest character in the series so far, so it’s only natural that she made it onto this list. The very first guild master of Fairy Tail, as well as one of its founders, Mavis was born 118 years before the story started. However, she’s not an old lady – far from it. She’s actually a ghost with the appearance of a 13-year old, which sadly means that she didn’t live very long at all.

Yes, this is the face of the most badass tactician ever.

When she was alive, Mavis earned the nickname of ‘Fairy Tactician’, as she was able to command entire battalions in fights and managed to consistently achieve victories. Her age hasn’t dulled her abilities in the slightest, given that in the space of four days she was able to memorise the abilities and personalities of every participant in the Grand Magic Games and use that data to guide Fairy Tail into a flawless victory.

Just a family day out to the pool...

Even when she lived alone(ish) on Tenrou Island she was still smarter than most people. She was able to correctly deduce that Yuri Dreyar wasn’t a botanist, and beat him at a game of truth in one move, all without breaking a sweat. Despite this, she’s still very much a child at heart and manages to have a lot of cute and funny moments too, which only serves to add to how likeable she is.

7.)           Elfman Strauss (Written by Shiggins)

“I'm fine being trash! But I won't let you call my allies trash! As a man, I won't allow it!”

In my opinion, this is the best role model for men reading Fairy Tail. He is a strong and noble guy who rants like a champion and will gladly charge headfirst into any fight that comes his way. As the middle child of the Strauss Siblings and the only boy, Elfman has a lot of pressure to live up to which explains his constant need to prove himself and “be a man”.

My soul burns with the power of youth! ….I mean the power of men!

Elfman has the same magic as his other siblings, Take Over, which is basically the ability to transform into anything he has fought in the past and gotten some DNA from. Unlike his sisters however, Elfman transforms his entire body into the creature which gives us some nice visuals, including a lizardman and a leopardman transformation. Back in the day, when Elfman was shy and sensitive, he had trouble controlling it which caused the “death” of Lisanna and made him change his ways forever.

Overcompensating much?

Originally, Elfman seemed like nothing but a background character. He looked like he was only going to be a one-joke nuisance who we’d never remember or even want to remember. However, Elfman kept proving time and time again that he was so much more than that. He’s a perfect example of the Fairy Tail Guild as he stands up against his foes to do what he can, never backs down from a fight, and will gladly rush in to assist his friends and family no matter the cost. He truly is, one hell of a man!

6.)           Wendy Marvell (Written by ClayDragon)

"There's nothing about combat that I enjoy. However, for the sake of my Guild, I must toss that ambivalent feelings aside...and fight with all my might!"

The youngest Dragon Slayer seen so far, as well as one of the youngest Fairy Tail members, Wendy is another example of why you shouldn’t judge people based on their age. When she first showed up, she was a member of Cait Shelter sent to help the alliance stop the Oración Seis. At first, she was a shy and timid girl who didn’t know how to fight and had to be told what to do by Carla, her Exceed companion.

From this...

This behaviour continued most of the way through that arc until the very end, when she gained enough courage to help support her friends. After joining Fairy Tail, she continued to develop as a character, going from a quiet clumsy girl to someone who doesn’t think twice about risking her life in order to help her friends. She’s also the second Dragon Slayer in the guild to achieve Dragon Force, something that even Gajeel has been unable to do.

...to this. Hard to tell she's the same character.

Wendy’s best feature is undoubtedly her character development, and I’d go so far as to say that she’s the most well-developed character in the guild (if not the entire series). When you look back at the chapters in which she was first introduced, she seems completely unrecognisable from the girl she is now, which is best shown during her fight against Ezel. It’s obvious that joining Fairy Tail was the best choice she could have made – not only for her, but for us as well. If she hadn’t stayed, we would have been robbed of one of the series’ best characters.

5.)           Erza Scarlet  (Written by Shiggins)

“All I need is the power to protect my comrades. So long as I have the strength to do that, I don’t care if I’m weaker than everyone in the world.”

If I had to give Erza a title it would be “scary female” of the series. (Every series has one). A strong but blunt character that will dominate any situation she’s in and look good while doing it. Starting as a slave inside a tower, she eventually broke out when Jellal got possessed and a whole lot of other drama happened. And then… she joined the Fairy Tail Guild. Interesting missing piece of her life there, isn’t it?

She has armour for every occasion. Luckily, most occasions involve beating the shit out of someone. 

The first thing you’ll notice is her massive amount of armour, all with unique designs and abilities and weapons that come with them.  Her magic of Requip is a fun and inventive way to create instant combat and surprisingly funny situations too. We’ve seen her in multiple costumes and clothes, from black winged armour to cute pyjamas, and although sometimes they seem too random and unexpected, the majority of them are great.

The anime basically looks at Erza and goes “She’s hot… but we can make her even hotter!”

Perhaps it’s the fact that she’s constantly in control, or that she somehow manages to scare every single person around her by giving a glare, or maybe even the fact that’s she has the most interesting and complicated history. Whatever the reason is, we do indeed enjoy her company and the time she spends amongst the other characters. She has given us feels and laughter and that’s just perfect.

4.)           Lucy Heartfilia (Written by Shiggins)

“I don't want...to run away by myself... because no matter what...I'd rather be together with everyone...”

And now we come to the main protagonist herself, Lucy. Despite Natsu always taking the spotlight by winning in every main battle at the end of each arc, Lucy is who I would consider the main and far more interesting protagonist of the series. She has had great development over the course of the series and although, in her own time, she hasn’t been with Fairy Tail for more than a year, she’s come to love them all like she’s been there her entire life.

I honestly never thought a blonde could look so good in purple.

Starting off as a brat who would use her sexy body to get discounts in stores to buy some Celestial Keys, Lucy eventually joined the titular Guild in the first chapter after meeting Natsu and Happy and doing the typical first-chapter method where you defeat an extremely forgettable and pointless villain. Since then, she’s been in almost every single chapter of the series and has fought dozens of foes while going through every major event that has happened since the series began.

She’s also the biggest victim of the series’ infamous fanservice.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Lucy is so appealing. Maybe it’s because she’s the relatable character of the series, which we follow the most and can identify with the most. Or perhaps it’s because she’s got a strong personality and unlike the other characters, seems extremely human. She feels weakness, temptation, anger, despair and she’s had her history of winning and losing. She’ll cry for her friends’ losses but stand up to defend them until she’s literally got nothing left. From being a cowardly brat with big breasts, she has become a strong determined woman… with bigger breasts.

3.)           Gildarts Clive (Written by ClayDragon)

“Fear is not evil. It tells you what you weakness is. And once you know your weakness, you can become stronger as well as kinder.” 

From the moment we first heard Gildart’s name, we knew the S-Class wizard would be strong. He’s the only person in Fairy Tail who’s able to take on requests that haven’t been completed for hundreds of years, and he’s regarded as the strongest member of the guild, bar none. For comparison, Natsu, who is about as strong as Erza, was only just able to defeat Laxus (albeit with Gajeel’s help). Natsu makes it perfectly clear that he could never hope to beat Gildarts. The man is just that strong.

"Doors? Where I'm going, I don't need doors."

In fact, he’s the only person shown in the series to be able to fight Acnologia 1-on-1. Even though he lost an arm and a leg in the process, he was able to escape from the dreaded dragon by himself – a feat that no one else has accomplished. His magic allows him to disintegrate anything he touches, and so he definitely deserves the title of the guild’s strongest mage. Of course, he wouldn’t be a proper member of Fairy Tail without some sort of quirk, and it just so happens that Gildarts is incredibly absentminded – so much so that the town needs to rearrange itself to prevent him from walking into (and through) buildings.

And the Father of the Year award goes to...

The problem with Gildarts is that he’s hardly ever in the series. In-universe, this is justified by him being on missions that can take years to complete (some even take so long that he was completely unaware that he had fathered a daughter). Of course, from a writing perceptive it makes sense as well – after all, if he was a regular character then there would be no tension. He’s far too powerful when compared to the other mages, so every fight would easily end in his victory.

2.)           Laxus Dreyar (Written by Shiggins)

"I ain't got a clue what your goal is, but I'll hold you responsible for hurting my friends! My family is Fairy Tail! I will crush my family's enemies!”

I have a confession to make. I used to hate Laxus more than any other character in the series. And the fact he has made it to number 2 on this list is amazing when I think about how I used to feel. The grandson of the current Fairy Tail Guildmaster Makarov, Laxus has struggled with many issues in his life and gone through many changes as well.

He used to be annoying. Now he is a supreme badass!

With an asshole father named Ivan, who liked to experiment on his own son and wear stupid golden armour, Laxus has always felt like he was living in the shadows of his relatives, especially Makarov. Starting as a kind lad who loved his grandpa, inventing the famous “salute” that Fairy Tail members do nowadays, Laxus eventually grew into an arrogant bastard who actually tried to overthrow the entire Guild so he could remove all the weak fighters and be stronger. Luckily, Natsu and Gajeel put a stop to him.

Funnily enough, I doubt Natsu could defeat Laxus now… even with Gray or Gajeel helping him out.

After what is considered one of the series’ most tragic moments, with Laxus shedding tears because Makarov had no other choice but to banish him from the Guild, Laxus disappeared for quite a while. Upon his return, Laxus blew everyone away with a stronger, kinder personality change that everybody, including us, came to love and appreciate. When Laxus lost what he had, he realised how great it was and why he should defend it. We know we’ll never need to lose him to appreciate his awesome might.

1.)           Gajeel Redfox (Written by ClayDragon)

“I don't know if I'm living with meaning like you wanted me to... but... there are people before me I want to protect! No... that I will protect!”

Yes, Gajeel is our number 1 Fairy Tail character. An unorthodox choice, perhaps, but we feel it’s a justified one. When we first met him, Gajeel was an amoral sociopath who cared little for his opponents as long as they put up a good fight. Now, he’s a slightly less amoral, slightly less sociopathic person. Okay, maybe that’s doing him an injustice. Much like Sting and Rogue, Gajeel thought he was the strongest Dragon Slayer around. And just like Sting and Rogue, he had a change of heart when he was defeated by Natsu.

"Thanks, best buddy."
"Shut up or I'll drop you."

After a deep, meaningful conversation with Makarov, Gajeel decided to join Fairy Tail in an attempt to make up for the trouble he had caused them before (like bolting Levy to a tree). Ironically, this brutal, unprovoked attack started a series of developments which have led to Gajeel and Levy being one the series’ most-shipped couples. And for good reason; of all the guild members, Levy has been the one with the biggest effect on Gajeel’s life, and almost every kind and caring moment he has has been centred on Levy.

This is the point where you should just turn around and walk out of the room.

Originally, it felt as though Gajeel would just be a simple arc villain or, at best, a recurring rival for Natsu to face. However, the more he appeared the more we grew to love him, and now it seems unthinkable for him to return to his old ways. Almost every moment he has is either funny, heartwarming or flat-out awesome, and we can only hope that this trend continues for as long as possible.

Honourable Mentions:

Leo

Mirajane Strauss

Zeref

Makarov Dreyar

Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki

Is there a character that you feel we missed out? Or do you have any suggestions for another Top 10 list? Let us know in the comments below!

"Wait, why wasn't I on the list?"

Thanks for reading!

ClayDragon:









ClayDragon is currently studying Physics at university, and is constantly bewildered by it. The main method of contacting him is his Gmail account at kyleroulston1993@gmail.com. The alternative is his Skype account at kyleroulston1993, but he doesn’t use it that much. When not playing games or reading, he can be found with his head in his hands whilst trying in vain to understand quantum physics. I have a real job now! With real customers and real pay and real responsibilities that I am in no way ready for!

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.