Written by Shiggins
Well, it's time for Otakunuts first review of 2015 and FUCK!
FUCK YOU, ZEREF! FUCK YOU, ACNOLOGIA! FUCK YOU, 2015!
Ooooh this one annoyed me and I think that's a first for big dark Zeref, whom has usually made me excited and giddy but today he has brought shame to his name with the harsh betrayal he represents and... I'm going a bit too far now. I'm not that pissed off actually but I am mad so let's get this going.
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| Can we please start being nicer to books now? |
Zeref is currently in possession of the END book and Mard Geer looks over. Just as Geer tries to tell Zeref that he can still be of use, Zeref snaps his fingers and the demon turns back into a book then dissolves into dust. And with that lads and lassies, Mard Geer is finally no more.
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| Oh well. I'm sure he'll be replaced by another throne-sitting villain soon enough. |
Zeref then tells Natsu that he wanted to fight with him today but because Acnologia is in the way, it'll have to be another time. If a miracle happens to save them from Acnologia, Zeref promises more despair! ...And then he leaves. And I'm not joking. He takes the E.N.D book and leaves!
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| Yeah... I ship it. |
Now to the big moment of this chapter and if you're even a little bit involved in the Fairy Tail fandom on Tumblr, you'll be fully aware that this was spoiled last week. Acnologia and Igneel are battling it out, with Igneel claiming he's been asleep for a long time so he's not as strong as he usually is. Igneel then starts to talk to Natsu via telepathy and leave a message to him.
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| *sudden image of Doctor Dragons now* |
He tells Natsu that the two reasons the dragons were inside the slayers were because they were making the antibodies to make sure the Dragon Slayers never turn into actual dragons. (Which feels like a bit of a cop-out to me actually because I'd love to see dragon forms...). The second reason was that Igneel needed to defeat Acnologia, but Acnologia is stronger than anticipated.
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| The page that a thousand Tumblr users cried over. |
As Natsu starts running over to Igneel, planning to join forces so they can fight together, the battle is over as Igneel takes off Acnologia's arm... and Acnologia takes off half of Igneel's entire body. As Igneel falls from the sky, he remarks how it's thanks to Natsu that Igneel grew to love humans before Acnologia unleashes his roar on Igneel.
Opinion: Alright, let me deal with Zeref first. GET THE FUCK BACK HERE! I went through this whole arc to see E.N.D and you just... Get back here and take this seriously! I know that this means we'll get E.N.D reveal sometime later but since we all know what it is, it makes the wait even more painful. It's like Tobi from Naruto!
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| Like. A. Glove. |
Mard Geer is officially 100% dead... Hooray! And no, I'm not sorry. Fuck Mard Geer! I want Jackal back! Jackal was cool! Mard Geer was boring. Hell, I'd actually like Lamy to stick around because some jokes could appear but never Mard Geer. Wait... Franmalth is still alive! Shit!
And now, for Acnologia. I never thought I'd say this but I no longer like Acnologia, but not because he killed Igneel. No, the reason I dislike Acnologia is because he is just so boring! Somehow, the giant dragon of darkness is actually boring to me! He has no motive or reason to be doing anything other than "because he hates humans". He has no charm, wit, unique magic or even a funny sidekick to play along with. Acnologia is not engaging and other than being scary sometimes, he doesn't seem to serve much purpose or look like he's going anywhere.
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| Admittedly, I'd love to see this version of Acnologia. |
As for Igneel, that is tragic! He's only been in the series for 10 chapters after over 400 chapters of searching for him, Natsu finally reunited with his long-lost father, and now he literally watched him die right before his eyes. I know last week I theorised about Igneel being a villain but that's only because I wanted him to stay in the series without dying... I really liked Igneel and the very few interactions he was able to have with Natsu over this arc. I think this arc hates parents because both Natsu and Gray have watched theirs die, Minerva's father got beaten up badly, a pregnant woman was almost killed by Jackal, and one of the dead council members was once a parent who lost a son... Is Hiro Mashima working through some issues right now?
I don't have much else to say really so... here are my responses to Igneel's tragic passing.
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Manga Rating: 2/5
Character of the Week: Igneel for bringing all the FEELS.
Predictions: Acnologia has lost an arm so he'll be weaker now. Before he can attack the heartbroken Natsu, who will be unresponsive now, the other dragons will appear. Acnologia will choose survival and fly away, and this arc will be just about finished with some loose ends to tie up. This is not an arc with a happy ending, ladies and gents. It's a dark arc.
Best Part: Farewell, sweet Igneel.
Worst Part: Come back, Zeref!
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| Wendy can predict my future? Awesome. Let's hope she's right. |
Shiggins:[Admin]
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Regarding the Acnologia bit, I think it's because since he turned into a dragon, he has lost most of his mind to 'Instinct'.
ReplyDeleteI feel Gildarts may or may not show up to give more damage to Acnologia, or LH may come to effect. I think Gray (or someone) will stop Natsu from attacking Acnologia (Unless Natsu realizes he's too weak for him) because he's being too reckless to attack Acnologia. Zeref, comes and leaves when I really wanted ANSWERS but I guess this arc is going to end in a couple of chapters.
P.s. Your DanganRonpa nonsense ruined me. Now whenever someone says 'despair' all I can think of is Junko.
Man, I loved Igneel. Being only in 10 chapters, he showed a lot of personality (his annoyance because Natsu kept pestering him questions, his smiles when Natsu and him both attack, his smiles during battle, and his smile while dying). Not often a dragon can make you feel empathy. People complain that they felt nothing because of how quick Igneel appeared and died, to which I think they are saying it for the shake of nitpicking. Igneel's death has certainly changed Natsu one way or another. So what now, Natsu? You found your father, and now he's gone....
ReplyDeleteAs regard to Zeref, him taking the END book prevented a fight between Natsu and Gray, so there's that...
P.S. I've heard that Hiro Mashima's father died when Hiro was a baby, but take it with a grain of salt.
Can't say I'm surprised. I kinda expected something like this.
ReplyDeleteThree of the four main characters have lost something now: Lucy lost Aquarius, Grey had to re-lose his father, and Natsu lost the closest thing he had to a dad after searching for him most of his life.
Still, this has me concerned about something: Erza. She's the only one of the four who hasn't lost something this arc. Sure her past is by far the worst, but I've got a bad feeling she's about to take direct shot to something precious to her.
I'm more interested in Lumen Histoire. We haven't seen it used yet, so there's at least a small chance it can be used to save Igneel. Due to the obliteration factor of Acnologia's attack it's unlikely I know but this isn't the first time Hiro will have pulled a "about to die but doesn't" trick on us like he did with Wendy and Makarov.
I wouldn't be too worried about answers though. If Igneel knew about End then the other dragons most likely reveal something about it, or at least give us some answers themselves. So I'm sure things will be explained soon enough.
Last Point: I'm curious to see the character interactions after this, particularly between Juvia/Grey and Lucy/Natsu. Silver asked Juvia to take care of Grey, and my guess is he's going to need someone to comfort him after all this. And seeing as Lucy and NAtsu have both lost someone close to them, it would be interesting to see if Hiro uses this as a chance to build character between them.
Any thoughts?
Ok I'm gonna try and answer all three comments in one massive comment. Let's see here...
ReplyDeleteAxlorg89:
Acnologia is mostly instinct? That's probably a fair analysis but I still dislike that because Acnologia gets so much focus and instinct can only make me pay attention for so long, unless there is something else to balance it out, like a companion character or another personality.
Gildarts is another theory I have. I can see him arriving to end this war, almost like Shanks in OP, since Gildarts is literally the only member of Fairy Tail not to appear in this entire arc. (We've even had all the Guildmasters!).
Zeref has left. I suppose we just have to keep reading to find out answers... Hooray! Another reason to keep reading FT!
P.S Good! Bwahahaha! Fall into Despair! - http://media.animevice.com/uploads/2/20763/684995-d13_13.jpg
Anonymous:
I disagree with anybody who complains about Igneel himself. I loved Igneel and the fact he's already gone breaks my heart. The amount of tragedy in this arc has really raised the bar for the future. I hope every arc isn't as tragic as this one though, because part of the reason I like FT is the light-hearted moments.
I guess... but a fight between Natsu and Gray could have been a great ending to this arc if it had consequences afterwards.
P.S Oh god really? If that's true, I am so sorry! I feel so bad. I really do. That's awful to hear. Well, I didn't mean anything bad with what I said...
Slaher672:
Oh yeah, that's true. I had forgotten about Aquarius. Geez... This arc brings all the tears, huh?
Erza has been tortured and beaten and stripped naked and screamed in agony, yet still comes out fine. Unless Jellal appears and gets torn apart by Acnologia I doubt she's going to take any more pain this arc. Maybe next time though...
I... don't want to sound heartless but I actually hope that isn't the case because although I love Igneel, I don't think Hiro Mashima should just reverse his biggest shock of the arc. I personally think Lumen Histoire will erase the rest of the books from existence or something because I don't think I could express my anger if this arc was reversed. It's too character-building and tragic to just forget and reverse. So please, Mashima-senpai! Don't ruin the ending!
Fair point. The other dragons better just stick around then. Metalicana the Awesome should hopefully be entertaining too. (I picture him being inappropriate, a bit of a dick, funny and teasing Gajeel about Levy!)
That last point is something I've been thinking about a lot too. With everybody hurting and suffering, they need each other now more than ever to get through this. Hiro Mashima does seem to enjoy placing small character moments in at times unlike certain other mangaka (like Kishimoto for example). I would love some calm, gentle but heartfelt chapters to give us a break from the action we've been experiencing.
My last point about that though: I don't want people crazy-shipping during it. I know that's strange and I do ship NaLu and Gruvia but this isn't a time for romance or cutesy moments. This is a time to be there for each other and supportive. If they do get together, great but the main focus should be "comfort over loss".
Great comments, guys! Thanks!
Yes, that's what I meant by character interaction. Nothing lovey-dovey, but comforting and supporting each other, coming together to help cope with the loss.
DeleteThe thing with Erza though is that none of that broke her. The other three all lost something that really broke them, but Erza's a beast when it comes to these sorts of things. She survived her eye being gouged out and being enslaved as kid. She's durable.
Agreed on igneel. It adds more character development for Natsu if he stays dead. It kind of reminds me of Jiraiya's death from Naruto in a way, although there are differences.
I would love to see Metallicana tease Gajeel about Levy. I would pay to see that.
Then yeah, I totally agree with you.
DeleteThat is kinda my problem though. I'm worried that Erza will walk away from this arc like a champ, when she's getting overpowered to the point of ridiculousness. "because she's Erza" still pisses me off to this day.
I can see why. I suppose in many ways this is probably FT's "Jiraiya death". (sniffles at the loss of Jiraiya)
I've seen some pictures of it. It's hilarious.