Fairy Tail Chapter 437 Review - Magnolia

Written by Shiggins

Hiro Mashima-senpai, you did well.

The double-chapter weeks are over for now, and Hiro Mashima can rest. Well, "rest" to Mashima means one chapter per week instead of two. He loves to work and we love to read. Everybody wins, so you people better be buying his volumes when they are released! He earned it, baby! ...Oh yeah, I'm meant to be reviewing this chapter!

Lucy: Wendy, don't talk to me. I'm angsting right now! It's a serious time for me.

It's been a year since Natsu and Happy returned and... Wait, what?! An entire year?! How much did we miss? Are you telling us that between the defeat of Avatar and this chapter, that nothing has happened?! Okay... Already starting off with a big leap. I'm a bit nervous now... Anyway, they're back in good old Magnolia.

That moment when you realise just how far Fairy Tail and Hiro Mashima have come.

After the events of Avatar, Erza went back to working for Jellal (which I'm now realising needs a lot more explanation considering Jellal's whiny "I walk the path of darkness so you must avoid me!" bullshit), Gajeel and Levy went back to the Council, Juvia and Gray back to living together etc etc. Oh and Avatar didn't know anything about Zeref because they only worship him and don't directly work for him... I would have liked it if they told us this beforehand but... grah!

Should we be concerned that Lucy's first thought of Erza was her covered in blood and screaming? Twisted!

Back to present day and Lucy is all nostalgic as she remembers the Fairy Tail Guild. Meeting Natsu, Happy, Mirajane, Gray, Leo, a bloodied Erza, the Fantasia Parade, constantly breaking into her room, her dad... She even remembers how bad the artwork used to be too. I wonder if that counts as "fourth wall breaking".

Mashima better pull a "Kishimoto" and reveal the big secret reason behind all this.

Then she remembers the day Makarov announced the disbanding of the Guild. The Guildmembers did not take this news kindly, demanding answers and refusing to quit. Surprisingly, Makarov actually got quite scary and ordered them to never say the name "Fairy Tail" in his presence ever again. And then Makarov disappeared of course.

Just another one of those panels I could stare at forever. I wonder why...

Lucy tells Natsu and Happy she is worried about what she will see. Will the building be there? Will all the letters she sent be found by the members? Will they even want to return? And why are my breasts being groped? Oh it's Cana!!! Well, that's at least three questions answered right there! Yes, Cana is back and she was going on a trip to find her dad during the year.

If you wanted to hang out with him, maybe you shouldn't have torn up his card!

Cana reminds Lucy that she's been there since she was a kid and she was just as confused about the separation as the others. And now thanks to Lucy, (almost) everybody is back! The dancer has a new hairstyle and Warren invented the phone-lacrima thing which means I might kick his ass later! And of course, the Strauss Siblings! Some new hairstyles and clothing, and it's a big reunion! 

That 100 Chapter Parallel... That is pure awesome.

Our chapter ends with Lucy shedding tears of joy, and Natsu climbs through the rubble and raises the torn but still recognisable Guild Flag to announce it's return! 

Opinion: ....Mixed but more leaning towards joy.

It's great to see the Guild back together. The Avatar Guild wasn't as much of a "Bring the Guild back together" as it was a "Bring the team back together", which makes sense since we do want to see as much of the great characters as possible and I doubt anybody really cared to see several different events focusing on bringing back all the characters we know are coming back. Although saying that, I was hoping for a Strauss "episode", just to see more of them.

Why do I like Cana so much? I feel like there's a clue here... Why? WHY?!

Gajeel and Levy already quit the Council?! It makes sense but so much potential is lost! Sigh... Maybe we'll get flashbacks or something... NO WAIT! Make that the spinoff! I am 100% dead serious! I want the Gajevy Council spinoff! MAKE IT SO!

If Levy does not become the main character of the Scooby Doo-esque spin-off "Council Mysteries", I will have a tantrum like you have never seen! 

Cana and Elfman and Lisanna and Mirajane and all the rest! Just the way I like it! We still don't know what happened to Makarov but I'm sure there is something else going on here. Did Makarov's refusal to use Lumen Histoire cause him to lose faith in himself as a leader? There must be more to it than that. Maybe Lumen Histoire is too wrong for anyone to use...

Manga Rating: 3.5/5

Character of the Week: Lucy for the tears and the narrative focus.

Predictions: The next Guild Master... WE'RE GOING TO FIND LAXUS AND BRING HIM BACK TO THE VILLAGE... I MEAN GUILD! Lead us, you beautiful blonde bastard!

Best Part: The tears flow.

Worst Part: Cana and Elfman never got individual stories.

Sigh... I wanna play a game where I can run around that place... Just one... please? For me?

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. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/.