Rogue gives Sting the idea to endure the sleep spell slightly longer by making him go inside the shadow itself, but since Sting is unsure how to do that since he literally got Shadow Powers 4 minutes ago, Kaguya intervenes to use her Gravity Magic and bring him to his darkness. And so, with the power of all three mages, Sting does that super-dramatic attack that (possibly) killed his former Guild Master, and Larcade is defeated.
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| Anyone else kinda wish Sting now had Force Lightning? ...Get it? Dark Side? Force...? |
Meanwhile, Natsu is walking around his own mind/King's Cross, but his weird Spirit Guide has become Rogue now. Then comes a question I legimitally feel like an idiot for never asking; Why is Natsu's scarf made from Igneel's scales white when Igneel himself is red? And that's because when scales fall off a dragon, they lose their pigmentation. And the one who knitted the scarf, because again why the hell did I think a dragon knitted a scarf, was Anna Heartfilia. Speaking of Heartfilia, Lucy is getting naked to warm Natsu up. When Natsu starts mumbling how he'll defeat Zeref, Happy gets upset and lets it out that Natsu will die if Zeref dies.
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| Damn it, Happy! Can't you do anything right!? You and your love for Natsu caused a secret to slip! THAT IS A SIN! |
The next chapter begins with Minerva and Yukino, as well as the Exceeds, checking on Sting and Rogue. Minerva and Kagura have a small moment that basically answers how they each feel about the evil version of Minerva from the Grand Games, and then the serious moment is followed by Angel having a wet dream.
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| Who is she dreaming about? Cobra and his snake? Racer and his super-fast hips? Hoteye and his... Hot eyes? There's a potentially interesting premise going on inside her head that this series needs to explore. |
FUCKING FINALLY, we move to Erza fighting Irene. Erza is doing her best but is clearly outmatched by Irene's powers, and even went to the weirdly extravagant effort to mock Erza by making a flower circle out of her swords. Now that's devotion! Irene then reveals the plot twist we've all been saying since Day 1 of Week 1, that she is Erza's mummy. Erza recognises only Makarov as her parent however, so Irene can suck it.
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| That dragon looks like the one that killed Natsu's sexy parents. Coincidence? I think YES! |
It turns out Irene is also indifferent to their relationship, and both basically agree that this reveal is a waste of time since it changes.... well, nothing. However, Irene does decide to make things interesting by actually revealing that she is also the Queen of Dragons!
Chapter 514 starts 400 years ago, in the Dravnov Kingdom. A land where dragons and humans live together, but some dragons in the west are less intelligent and attack humans. Lord Belserion, a huge dragon that is one of the humans' allies, has returned from his journey and seeks out Irene. Irene is young/Erza's doppelganger, and is worried about the war between dragons and humans.
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| You know, it's kinda creepy when parents look exactly like their future spawn. Gives me the shivers. |
Belserion assures Irene that he will defend humanity, and we move to present day where Irene is explaining that the beginning of the war is what we know as "The Dragon King Festival". With the duo understandably confused by how young Irene looks despite being over 400 years old, we continue our flashback. Irene apparently discovered "Enchantment" and was having to use it to fight the war. Unfortunately, that didn't really help matters.
We flash forward a bit to where Belserion admits that they are about to lose the war, and he reminds the concerned Irene that he fights for humanity because of her predecessor saving his life. Irene then gets an idea that will enable her to fight against the evil dragons, by taking the power of Belserion and using it as magical strength. Yes, Irene is about to become the very first ever Dragon Slayer!
We then go back to Lucy and Happy, both naked and holding Natsu for warmth. The Spirit Guide has become Wendy and Gajeel next, and he's just about to see the very cause of this current situation he's in. I'm guessing that the next form the Spirit Guide will become will be Lucy... or a taco that craps ice-cream.
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| I am soooo looking forward to the joke that's going to follow after Natsu wakes up to this... We're getting one, right? |
Anyway, let's keep the tension moving as we ignore that reveal and stick to Irene again. She reveals that the Dragon Slayer magic did help the humans win the war, but it also drastically affected everyone who used it by destroying their senses, sending them into a rampage or... destroying their appearances. Oh and Irene is pregnant now!
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| I'm not the only one who thought Irene had been impregnated by the Dragon Slayer Magic, am I? |
Chapter 515 is here and it begins with the reveal of Erza's father, so thankfully we're avoiding another damn virgin birth. It turns out he was a general of a neighbouring country, and he was her comfort when Belserion was killed in the war. Irene also states, rather abruptly, that Acnologia caused the war to end without any winner being decided.
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| Shouta Aizawa?! Or... a sane version of my man Wahl? |
A week after the war however, Irene's skin had changed to resemble scales and Erza's father thinks Irene has turned into a monster. Ignoring the fact she's pregnant, he has her arrested and Irene's life becomes hell. Years pass, and as her days are filled with torture and humiliation, Irene's body continued to change with the scales all over her.
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| Okay, Erza's dad has gone from a dick to a Full Grade Cock. There's bastards and there's crazy people, and then there's Erza's dad. |
Despite these years, the magic inside Irene kept Erza from growing and so Irene has been pregnant all this time. Erza's father, sick of hearing what he assumes are lies, grabs a knife to cut her open and prove she isn't pregnant, but this causes Irene's magic to spring forth and thus we get a brand new rage form! God, I love when anime gives us rage forms!
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| I assume this is going to be her Awakening in Fairy Tail Storm 5? |
Irene literally transforms into a gorgeous dragon, kills Erza's father during her transformation, and escapes. She's horrified however, having lost her human body, and then... literally hundreds of years pass and Irene the dragon is met by Zeref! Without any difficulty, Zeref turns Irene back into a human but warns her that only her physique has changed. At first, Irene doesn't mind.
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| I'm not even going to make a joke here. I just love the design of this dragon. |
Over time however, Irene realises what Zeref meant by this. Food has no taste, she can never sleep, her body hurts and can't adjust to normal temperatures, and I assume she can't poop either. It's then that Irene remembers that she has a human baby inside her and gets the horrifically disturbing idea to enchant herself into Erza's unborn body so she could... be the baby.
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| Guys... I think Mashima snapped exactly at this page. |
Present day, and Wendy is the only one reacting appropriately, as Irene tells Erza that of course, the enchantment failed and the reason Erza was ditched at a random village was because of this. Erza is thankful however, because this just meant she got to meet Fairy Tail. So... no rage form? Sad face.
Opinion: Oh Fairy Tail, I missed you so much!
Larcade is defeated for now, so let's start with that. While I admit it was nice that this fight was not a quick one like say, Jason Statham's, it's still felt a bit lacking in the punishment and trial. I'm not sure why, but it really feels like the series should up the ante even more when it comes to battles, including have some actual losses again. We're all getting a bit too comfortable right now, and the beginning of the arc was a good reminder why we shouldn't be. Mashima-senpai, kick my ass again to remind me I can't underestimate you!
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| Oh yes! That is proper evil! Keep this! Roll with it! Be evil, Irene! Forever! |
Irene has now technically called herself the mother of Erza, Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus, Cobra, Sting and Rogue. She is the source of all the Dragon Slayer Magic, and she gave birth to Erza, which makes her the Grand Mama. I admit this probably has zero significance, but I thought it was a fun fact.
One disappointment sadly is Erza's reaction. It would have been great if we saw Erza covered with rage, unable to control her emotions despite trying to act all high and mighty earlier. I can't remember the last time I saw Erza genuinely lose herself, although I suppose you could argue that seeing a protagonist go full-blown rage so shortly after Natsu and Gray fighting it out like that might come across as repetitive. Then again, a lot of people were frustrated at how Natsu and Gray were acting, so maybe a more justified and understandable rage episode would have a better public response.
It's great to finally be focusing on Irene's story now, and the conclusion to it was thankfully one that's as interesting as she is. She deserved a really creative backstory, so I have high hopes. I was so expecting the series to go for the safe "I loved you but I wanted to protect you" route that plagues so many other parental abandonment, so the fact that I got to witness such a dark and horrific story made me giggle like a schoolgirl. Although I do have to admit that as I wrote the explanation for this chapter, I did start to wonder if Fairy Tail went a bit too dark and horrible... Having a character threaten to cut out another character's baby with a knife is something I never expected with this series.
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| It's Bunny Girl 2.0, bitches! |
The action of these past four chapters has been a lot of fun, with Sting and Erza stealing the show in this department. As always, it's hard to consistently review action every week, so I'm just saying it's good here so you all like me. What I'm more interested in however is the reveal of Natsu's "inner demon" and the form it will take. With how long we've built it up, I'm starting to wonder if this is really going to be something as simple as E.N.D as a character... Maybe there's more to this than meets the expectation.
Lastly, to those who complained about the "fanservice" of chapter 514 and said it ruined the chapter... It was two panels of Lucy trying to keep Natsu warm out of concern. If that's all you focused on during that chapter, it says more about you than the author. Also let's be fair, there's a big joke about that coming up soon.
So much has happened and I've been away for so long, which means there is a chance I missed quite a fair bit to talk about. Let me know in the comments, and again my apologies for being away for so long. Happy 2016 everyone!
Manga Deluxe Rating: 3.5/5
Character of the Deluxe Review: Irene for going into the backstory of her own internal organs.
Most Deluxe Part: Irene IS the mother!
Least Deluxe Part: Natsu's Spirit Guide is being a real tease right now.
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| That sweater is hideous. |
P.S
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| Someone please buy me this. Please. I've had a rough month and a rough year and I gave you all reviews. Spend money on me. Please. I'd buy it myself but I am poor. Also, I don't know if this is released in Scotland yet. |
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/
I missed your reviews so much!!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, Irene/Eileen is my favourite Spriggan so far. I liked her before, and now I like her even better. I just hope she won't turn out ot be "good", which, I'm pretty sure she wont. However, Erza should NOT be able to defeat Irene. And to be honest, I don't think she will. I actually feel like either she will stay in the series, and play a role in other arcs(it would be awesome, but it is unlikely), or she will get destroyed by Acnologia. She already said that she hopes to meet Acnologia again, and Acnologia should have a grudge + she was/is a dragon, so she should be on his kill list once he finds out.
Also, about Erza's reaction, I actually think it was very realistic of Erza. Erza always said that Fairy Tail is her family no matter what, so I doubt Erza would freak out that much, if she found out that she has a biological mom whom she never met, and who abandoned her. I can't really say, but I think that if I was in this situation, I would also not really care, especially if I was raised by a good family. But that's just my opinion.
Also, I noticed an interesting thing happening in Natsu's mind, and I don't think it's a coincidence. I noticed that Natsu's "guide" always changes, and that it's always (except Zeref) a dragon slayer. I'm pretty sure the "guide change" is not simple comic relief, and might be something bigger.
Haha, thanks!
DeleteI don't blame you for that at all, but my favourite is still Wahl because of his sexy face and sexy cyborg body and his sexy insanity. Clearly, I have a craziness fetish and shouldn't visit Arkham.
Erza better not win, because that would just be insane really. After everything we've seen her go through, it'd be unthinkable... but we've seen Erza lose all her senses and have her pain super-duper-quadrupled and she still won, so it's hard to judge at this point. But yes, I'd love to see Irene and Acnologia meet soon again, especially since they have a history and met briefly once before.
That is true of Erza's reaction, but I personally just wanted to see her angry and flip out. It's something we see rarely, but as I said as well, I'm conflicted because of Natsu and Gray and all that noise. I just would like to see Erza not be in control more often.
That... is a good point actually. Other than Cobra and Laxus, every Dragon Slayer has appeared as a Spirit Guide, with the exception of Zeref who... well, maybe he has dragon powers actually. We don't know. Personally, I'd love a surprise involving that since the twists involving Natsu's scarf already threw me for a loop. Thanks for reading!
First of all: YAY, you didn't abandom this! *gives you a hug*
ReplyDeleteSecondly: You said everything about Erza's mum I could ever say and I'm totally on the same page with you.
Now to my Gajeel-fangirl-gushing: First of all, now that Erza is the child of a dragon slayer, can we finally see it as canon that Gajeel is the child of Acnologia?
Secondly: I noticed that the spirit guide form of Gajeel looks and acts a lot more like he did at the beginning of the series. Seems like Natsu didn't update his impression on him.
And lastly, when the side effects of DS magic were explained it got me thinking that maybe power levels didn't have anything to do with Gajeel getting motion sickness so late but instead that as he became less beastlike in personality, his brain couldn't keep up. (As anyone with an introverted personality can tell, social interactions can be quite overwhelming)
Also: Hey, we saw Gajeel once! YAY!
I'll reply to both your messages here. It's easier that way.
DeleteFirst of all, *blush because hugs*
As for Gajeel's Spirit Guide form, remember that every other form has also been mostly informative and indifferent as well. Gajeel in the past was a (seemingly) emotionless asshole, so I doubt it's anything like Natsu having a bad portrayal of him in his mind. As a side note though, wouldn't it have been fucking amazing if the Gajeel Guide had been wearing his white suit and guitar?
Ooooh... So your theory is that Gajeel's relationships and humanity caused the later effects of motion sickness. Laxus was hinted to have it during the Games, a time when he was a huge part of the Guild. Sting and Rogue were bros-before-ho-ho-hoes (Christmas humour!). Cobra had basically nobody except his snake so we never saw him with motion sickness. Wendy became closer to the FT Guild so she got it later on... There's a few tiny holes in this theory, but I kind of love it actually.
Any time with Gajeel deserves a YAY! Any time with Gajeel and Levy however deserves a parade. FYI, those two better be together next arc. I'm not going to be happy if we sweep his confession under the rug until the ending much like Naruto did with Hinata's.
Also, fair point with Sting!
Delete...wait, you write articles?
He was actually drawn in an earlier style and he doesn't use such rough language anymore.
DeleteOMG, that would have been hilarious!
I think it works like changing gears. If the tempo of the engine and the wheels is roughly the same there is no problem. (The dragonslayer's brains have the right mentality for their power level) Problems arise when you are in the wrong gear. (Like being too human in thought) Or they are just in the metaphorical awkward place where you aren't sure if you should switch gears or not.
I want Redfox twins now!
That was actually one of my first thoughts but it was a few weeks ago...
No, I don't but I rant in my own head enough that I should! (Would give me practise in writing in english...)
Oh, something I forgot in my Gfg: So Sting needs a friggin manual on how to use his best friend's magic. Remember the grand magic games and how Gajeel managed to figure it out in seconds and even overpowered a killcrazy posessed Rogue with it? ... I slowly get the feeling that Gajeel is one of the smartest characters in FT, at least when it comes to tactics.
ReplyDelete.... Actually, I could write a whole article about that....
angel still being useful, where did all the august hype go, why didnt achno smell another dragon so close, is august ever going to explain what he meant by serena was with him, gildarts better not one shot august and neither should jella, is it possible for laxus and cobra to turn into a dragon, will the wizard sait hype ever return. these r what i ask myself whenever a new chapter comes out
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm aware, Angel has no magic. So I'm assuming her role to play is coming, but isn't here yet.
DeleteThere's tons of drama going on right now. I bet August knows this and is waiting patiently for his turn, because it'll be epic.
Acnologia might have been fooled because of Zeref's magic, which turned Irene's body into one that seemed human. Remember, Wendy said she smelled like Erza. And as far as we're aware, Erza doesn't smell dragon-y.
August is very patient. We must be too... even if we kinda hate that fact. Irene first though.
You're goddamn right about the one-shots.
Laxus and Cobra... maybe. Or at least, to some extent that's not as powerful as the others. We did see Laxus with some scales in his fight with Natsu, if I remember correctly.
Wizard Saint hype better return, damn it. My hype for them was huge when this began. I was like an idiot, especially over God Serena... who has been nothing but disappointing really.
I wonder how Acnologia got his human form back? The same way Zeref did with Irene? Can't really see them getting along, though.
ReplyDeleteWas thinking what the big deal was with having to create antibodies against turning into a dragon, when Acnologia turned back in the end somehow. (Still a dragon, unable to age, however. Would that be why?)
Or maybe I'm missing something and being retarded. Not really thinking straight, it's late and I haven't slept *^*. Sorry for this not being that relevant to these chapters I just thought of it randomly. Also sorry for the grammar. I blame sleep deprivation for this mess.
FORGIVE ME SENPAI (okay ill just stop now......)
Knowing Acnologia, he either figured out a way by himself or instantly betrayed Zeref because he's an asshole. Zeref was probably just happy to make Acnologia even more dangerous though.
DeleteWell, we don't know the exact details about Acnologia, and we know even more than the characters within the series. For all we know, there's a huge explanation we're all missing out on right now. A huuuge one!
......Did someone call me senpai? *must... not... squee....*
Thank you for your awesome reviews. I felt sympathy for Irene for what happened to her, but lost all respect when she snapped and went all evil like that.
ReplyDeleteP.S - Please consider review the manga The Promised Neverland. :)
In Irene's fairness though, she definitely had a reason to snap. Also, let's be frank, she's got far more important goals than liking Erza right now!
DeleteThe Promised Neverland, eh? I'll take a look at it and see how it is. I won't be doing any more weekly reviews, but I might do something special for it since it's a request.