Fairy Tail Chapters 433 & 434 Review - Ikusatsunagi & Crumbling Fist

Written by Shiggins

I officially dub this "The Goku Stage".

If you're a fan of Dragon Ball Z, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to. Natsu and the gang have gotten to the point where even formidable opponents most characters would have trouble with, are nothing compared to the hero. Which means that the only way for them to get a challenge is for the greatest villain the series has had so far to appear. And before you ask, this week did NOT give us that villain.

Woah! Was Juvia always drop-dead gorgeous like that?

Our first chapter begins with Natsu engaging in a battle with Arlock the Asshole. Arlock's abilities seem to consist of nothing but blasting magic and creating walls (like Griamor from Nanatsu no Taizai but not as cool). And of course, that doesn't do shit. Natsu is overpowered to the point of Batman at this point, and he punches Arlock in the face.

Huh... Deja vu.

Arlock's face is cracked and we see signs of burning as Arlock claims he paid this price for his next big trump card; Summoning a god! Ikusatsunagi comes forth from the sky, sending Arlock's own members flying in it's arrival. Arlock reveals this was the plan all along, as it turns out that the only way to do the Purification Ritual was to kill believers of Zeref!

Damn you, Arlock! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

Yes, one of the "18 Gods of Yakuma" has appeared and he is massive! And he even has a sword to cause destruction and death with! And as you'd expect, Natsu is raging at what Arlock has done and how he treated his comrades.

Someone better get to calling Kratos.

The next chapter begins with a massive smash, as Iku brings his sword down on the ground and causes a massive shockwave. (And yeah, I'm calling him Iku now. Deal with it.) Of course, never one to waste time, Natsu immediately begins running up the sword with the power of his raging rage that is enraged.

Oh gee! Who could it be? I WONDER WHO IT COULD FUCKING BE!

As Natsu climbs up, Arlock says it is useless and he is ready to be a sacrifice for Lord Zeref. Oh and here is a big shock... It's time for a speech about friendship and comrades! And this speech has been done so many times, I'm not even going to explain it to you. Hell, I could write a song about it at this rate...

"We're all friends and that's why I'll win

So suck my dick, you face of tin! 

I love my guild, filled with jokes and more

And I'll give it my all. I'll make you sore.

You treat your comrades with respect,

or I'll come for you and get you decked!
This is your last chance, I'm very pissed.

And now I'm coming for you... with my new flame fist!"

Speaking of new flame fist, that's exactly what we get with Natsu using the flame of Igneel, (I'm not sure exactly what he meant...) and he brings down his most powerful attack on Iku's head: Flame Dragon King's Crumbling Fist! And yes, that actually destroys Iku while Erza watches with an... odd expression.

Which panel appeals to you the most? For me, it's the ominous foreshadowing of "greater purpose".

Opinion: Ups and downs really. Although I was expecting as much, so I'm not too bothered. 

Once again, the action is good. It's fast-paced and all that. Lots of fire because Natsu is the main fighting force in most of these situations. (I still consider Lucy the protagonist though... Hmph!). However, you know what I'd love to see? Natsu getting the utter shit beat out of him! And Erza too. A victory is sweeter when you need to work for it, and when the big bad of this arc that is FAR superior to Avatar appears, I want to see Natsu lose, then recover and get a rematch.

Have we ever seen him lose? I mean REALLY lose.

Speaking of big bads, I have a theory who the main villain of this arc will be: Ivan Dreyar! Remember him? The head of Raven Tail and son of Makarov. My reasoning behind this? If Makarov was to suddenly disappear without any reason, Ivan would be the first person I suspect. And nobody knows where Makarov is right now so...

Admit it, you forget he even existed didn't you?

We saw a giant God! And he was a big bastard too, which made me realise something really exciting: We finally know why God Slayers exist! There are actual "Gods" in this series, although I doubt it's actually religious gods like in Christianity etc. This is probably like Marvel's Asgardians, where they are just giant monsters that humans decided to worship. I doubt we'll get a big history of them but at least we can be excited for the hopefully stronger 17 other Gods. 

No Gajeel or Levy or the rest of the Magic Council... I'm really sad to see that they might end up being the clean-up folk. Next week has a big reveal, so maybe Gray and Gajeel are going to have a difficult confrontation or something.

So... does this mean she's over Jellal? If so... I feel she's made another bad choice.

And one last thing to notice. Erza's expression. What did you think her expression was? I've been told it's respect, admiration, concern... I've heard some people say she looks worried, as if she knows something about E.N.D. Or maybe even.... attraction?!

I want everybody to study this expression and let me know what they think in the comments below. Thanks.

Manga Rating: 3.5

Character of the Week: Natsu because nobody else did anything worth noting.

Predictions: Time to celebrate! Mary, Briar and the others will be going to jail but Able and/or masked-robot-guy will escape and we'll see they actually work for Zeref directly and were just spying on Avatar for him. Erza will congratulate Natsu in a touching moment... that'll make me puke! (I'm kidding.)

Best Part: Fear the Iku...!

Worst Part: ...For 12 seconds!

Oh honey... You feel so far.

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/.