Fairy Tail Chapter 506 Review - Broken Bonds

Written by Shiggins

And so the tragedy continues.

After last week's chapter, fans were really curious to see where this one would go. By the look of things, we should be safe. I'd personally have preferred someone like Wendy to be there and confirm he can't be healed, but that's just my paranoia setting in. People did find something to complain about though, and while I was mad at first, common sense settled in and I realised it's not as bad as you might you think.

I regret asking to see tears.... This is sad now. (Although don't you DARE reverse this!)

This chapter begins right where it left off, with everyone horrified and heartbroken at the loss of Makarov. Mavis completely collapses, remembering when she saw Makarov's birth and actually naming him. So for her to see this moment is really heavy. Luckily, there is one person who is able to keep it together and that's my man Laxus.

It's so nice of the Spriggan 12 and whatever other monster is out there to give these people time to mourn.

Laxus knows they need to keep fighting and they need Mavis to keep using her strategies, so he's remaining strong. Erza bows to the body of Makarov, thanking him for what he did for her. We then have a brief visit to Irene and Zeref, who are discussing the use of Fairy Law. Irene says that although around 80% of the army is defeated, there is still the Spriggan 12 so she's not concerned.

Like I ask almost every single time I go to a political party: Who is left?!

Finally, we rush back to Natsu and Gray's fight. The next few pages are pure action, with almost no dialogue. They're just screaming and beating each other, and throwing their magic about everywhere. Eventually, this fight is interrupted by Erza catching both their punches and asking what they're doing, while she cries because she's lost her father.

Opinion: You're expecting me to be angry, aren't you?

Surprisingly, I'm not angry. I'm not even confused or upset that Erza was able to catch both Natsu's and Gray's fists with her bare hands. In fact, it makes sense to me. As you can see in the picture below, Erza isn't walking away unharmed. Her hands are clearly suffering, from both the fire and the ice. If she was unscathed, then I'd be complaining.

The other reason I'm not upset is because, in my eyes, I can't see either of them hitting Erza full-force. To me, the second they touched her is when they held back as much as they could. Hell, they might have seen her just a nanosecond before she caught them, so maybe they held back even more. So no, I'm not angry. Erza is stronger than Gray, Natsu is not full-E.N.D, and both of them clearly regained their sanity while Erza got huge damage. 

Tell me that her arms don't hurt! Tell me that this is easy! I'll wait for you to tell me because look at that! Go on! Deny that!

I was surprised at the fighting as well. Almost every series has battles lasting forever, and while it is a shame that this one is probably about to end because of Erza's tears and Makarov's death, it was still quite brutal. There was no unnecessary speech or cliche cries about revenge and murder. It was just them fighting, which is what we want to see. 

I'm starting to think Zeref isn't going to be the final boss of this arc. While he's clearly the one in charge, it really does feel like Irene is wrestling control from him both figuratively and literally. Zeref himself has actually done very little, obviously waiting until the final battle, and I'm positive that this isn't Zeref's last arc so I believe it's Irene. 

Every time I look at this woman, I notice something else that's so odd about her outfit...

On a final note, I was surprised we didn't see Ivan. His dad did just die, and while he is a side character that's far away in prison, almost every series needs to show the relative/lover/friend look into the distance and feel a disturbance in the Force.

Manga Rating: 3.5/5

Character of the Week: Laxus for his composure and just being so awesome, even though he's probably dying inside.

Best Part: Laxus comforts Mavis.

Worst Part: Erza causing yet more controversy.

I'll admit, I was totally expecting a fanservice page here. It's nice to see they went with a more vulnerable feel to it.

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/