Fairy Tail Chapter 457 Review - Battle of the Naked

Written by Shiggins

Well, that could have been a LOT worse!

I remember last week I had a bit of a rant about the stupid inclusion of girls bathing together for no real reason, except maybe to just highlight Brandish's ability of power. And while this week didn't do anything to justify the nudity, it didn't succumb to the inappropriate water-wrestling image the title claimed would occur. In fact, it's a surprisingly interesting chapter on many levels.

I don't have a joke here. That's just funny.

This chapter begins with the aforementioned nudity, as Lucy and Brandish are face-to-face and looking so intimate that we could easily be entering a yuri fanfiction that I totally did not write a few days ago. *cough*. Oh and it gets even more like the fanfiction I had no part in when Brandish makes Lucy wear a collar and cat ears.

I don't know if this picture is trying to arouse me or not, but all I can think is how uncomfortable that bath actually looks...

Thankfully, Lucy finally starts talking as Brandish tries to figure out where she has seen Lucy before. Sorcerer Weekly when Lucy was a near-stripper? No. When Lucy was in the Grand Magic Games? No again. As Lucy is now washing Brandish's back because deal with it, she realises she now has an advantage and, in what is easily the most disturbing part of the chapter, raises the broken Aquarius key to stab Brandish in the back!

A naked girl in cat ears about to stab someone in the back, who is also naked... What kind of tone are you trying to set here, Hiro Mashima?!

Brandish suddenly realises who Lucy is: Layla's daughter! And just as I begin to fangirl over that name finally being mentioned again, the entire house shrinks and Lucy scrambles to get away. As she is now outside, naked and in cat ears remember, Brandish appears before her with all her clothes on. No idea how but eh, who honestly cares.

Nothing can beat the power of the fluffy!

Speaking of not caring, Brandish has decided she won't bother telling Lucy about her history with Layla, and the two are interrupted when Cana arrives to save Lucy. Lucy, grateful, rewards us all by smashing the little box with Marin in it, rendering him unconscious (very unlikely he's dead), and this means Lucy can activate her Celestial Spirit Magic again, so she turns into her Aries Stardress.

I hate how much I have in common with this guy.

Back up on the ship, it turns out that Marin actually was the one manipulating Erza's magic, and now that he's done, Erza is free to use Requip again. And we also see Natsu's squad have defeated those captains. Bakel tries to attack Natsu again, but is sent utterly flying and literally smashes through Ajeel's ship, who gets a bloody slash from Erza.

Opinion: That could have gone soooo wrong!

The nudity managed to be funny for once, and didn't overstay it's welcome too much. Unlike the last big naked moment with Gajeel and Levy, the humour didn't make me cringe because of how much it fitted the character and wasn't so, for lack of a better phrase, tragically cheesy. So I can't say I hated it like I expected to.

It would be a nice way to move this plot faster, yes thank you.

Brandish knew Layla somehow! ...Does that mean she's older than we realised? It's so difficult to tell, because Erza is meant to be around 19 when she first appears, and anime never get ages right really. Could Brandish be a long-lost sibling of Lucy? A girl who idolised Layla and was jealous of Lucy? The daughter of Layla's true enemy? Whatever the case, Fairy Tail is finally going to give some development to a character I've been curious about for so long.

Um... Humble beginnings?

Lucy almost stabbed Brandish in the back! That is not just dark, it's twisted! Has Lucy fallen so far? Has war changed her to such a horrific level? It's almost tragic to see her turn into someone who might have to commit such a horrendous act.

Natsu's gang will hopefully be moving on to someone interesting soon, but at least we're not wasting time with the lesser enemies. (I'm sure the anime will give us a lengthy fight scene or two though). This chapter also ended with Erza slashing Ajeel, and I really pray that this won't be Ajeel going down so quickly, and by someone who should have no reason to beat him. So once again, I end this chapter nervous about future outcomes.

Manga Rating: 3.5/5

Character of the Week: Brandish for her comedy, imposing attitude, and for finally bringing Layla into the story.

Predictions: Erza wins against Ajeel. Yawn. Big whoop. I hope there is at least some decent fanserv... fighting.

Best Part: Brandish said Layla!

Worst Part: Erza's super-effective slash against Ajeel came out of nowhere.

He's wearing the scarf!!!!!

Bonus:

HAPPY BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY!

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/